Search results for "Baetis"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Diel vertical movements by lotic mayfly nymphs under variable predation risk
1999
Summary 1. The diel foraging periodicities of two grazing mayfly (Ephemeroptera) nymphs, Heptagenia dalecarlica and Baetis rhodani, under variable fish (European minnow) predation risk were examined in a series of laboratory experiments. 2. Heptagenia dalecarlica were almost exclusively nocturnal in their use of feeding areas on stone tops. There was a sharp increase in the proportion of nymphs out of refuge at nightfall, both in the control and fish-odour treatments. In a treatment with freely moving fish, H. dalecarlica decreased their activity during both the day and night. In feeding trials with three freely foraging minnows, nymphs were completely safe when they had access to refuges b…
Behavioural interactions in stream food webs: the case of drift-feeding fish, predatory invertebrates and grazing mayflies
1999
Summary 1. We examined direct and indirect behavioural responses of grazing mayfly nymphs (Baetis rhodani) to predation risk from a drift-feeding fish (European minnow; odour manipulated), and two types of invertebrate predators, Diura bicaudata (stonefly) and Rhyacophila nubila (caddis larva). We also assessed the direct responses of the invertebrate predators to fish chemicals. 2. Based on diel gut content periodicity, D. bicaudata nymphs were strongly nocturnal foragers. R. nubila was also nocturnal, but only in a fish stream; in a stream lacking fish, their gut contents did not vary significantly on a diel basis. In the laboratory, Diura was nocturnal even in the absence of fish and alm…
Nocturnal drift of mayfly nymphs as a post-contact antipredator mechanism
2000
SUMMARY 1. The predominantly nocturnal constrained drift of stream invertebrates is commonly regarded as a behaviour that avoids encounters with visually foraging fish in the water column. The alternative explanation, that drift peaks are caused by bottom-feeding, nocturnal predators, has rarely been tested. 2. We examined these hypotheses by collecting invertebrate drift in five streams in northern Finland: one with brown trout (Salmo trutta, a drift-feeding fish), one with alpine bullhead (Cottus poecilopus, a benthic fish), one with both species, and two fishless streams. 3. Drift by Baetis mayflies was aperiodic or slightly diurnal in both fishless streams on all sampling occasions. In …
Fishless-stream mayflies express behavioural flexibility in response to predatory fish
1996
The fish avoidance behaviour of nymphs of the grazing mayfly Baetis rhodani (Ephemerop- tera) was examined. The nymphs originated from a fishless stream. To study their responses to the addition of predator cues, nymphs were exposed to (1) chemical cues from a caged fish, or (2) a freely moving diurnal fish (European minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus). The nymphs immediately increased their refuge use when exposed to a live fish, whereas chemical cues alone did not cause any avoidance responses. In a second experiment, the eVects of (1) fish chemicals and (2) a fish model plus fish chemicals on the diel refuge use patterns of Baetis nymphs were examined. In the presence of a fish model, more nymphs…
Diel feeding periodicity, daily ration and prey selectivity in juvenile brown trout in a subarctic river
1999
Feeding of age-1 brown trout Salmo trutta in a third-order river in northern Finland was usually highest in the twilight hours and lowest around midday. Diel periodicity in food intake was less distinct and rarely significant for age-0 trout. Daily rations declined seasonally, being lowest in October, and highest in June (age-1 trout) or early August (age-0 trout). Prey selection did not differ between day and night, but differences between age classes and sampling dates were distinct. Age-0 trout preferred Ephemerella nymphs in summer and Micrasema larvae later in the season. Age-1 trout fed selectively on caddis larvae on all sample dates. Aerial insects and Baetis nymphs were avoided by …