Abstract
The theory of cannibal dynamics predicts a link between population dynamics and individual life history. In particular, increased individual growth has, in both modeling and empirical studies, been shown to result from a destabilization of population dynamics. We used data from a long-term study of the dynamics of two leech (Erpobdella octoculata) populations to test the hypothesis that maximum size should be higher in a cycling population; one of the study populations exhibited a delayed feedback cycle while the other population showed no sign of cyclicity. A hump-shaped relationship between individual mass of 1-year-old leeches and offspring density the previous year was present in both populations. As predicted from the theory, the maximum mass of individuals was much larger in the fluctuating population. In contrast to predictions, the higher growth rate was not related to energy extraction from cannibalism. Instead, the higher individual mass is suggested to be due to increased availability of resources due to a niche widening with increased individual body mass. The larger individual mass in the fluctuating population was related to a stronger correlation between the densities of 1-year-old individuals and 2-year-old individuals the following year in this population. Although cannibalism was the major mechanism regulating population dynamics, its importance was negligible in terms of providing cannibalizing individuals with energy subsequently increasing their fecundity. Instead, the study identifies a need for theoretical and empirical studies on the largely unstudied interplay between ontogenetic niche shifts and cannibalistic population dynamics.
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Acknowledgments
A large number of people helped with the sampling, and we are especially grateful to Derek Allonby, Alex Elliott, Judith Elliott, Uwe Humpesch, and Paula Tullett. We thank the reviewers for useful comments that improved the clarity of the paper. Malcolm Elliott was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council through a grant to the Freshwater Biological Association, and Lennart Persson was supported by a grant from the Swedish Research Council.
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Communicated by Øyvind Fiksen.
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Persson, L., Elliott, J.M. Population variation and individual maximum size in two leech populations: energy extraction from cannibalism or niche widening?. Oecologia 172, 119–127 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2468-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2468-8