Skip to main content
Log in

Effects of a non-native cichlid fish (African jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneuxi Sauvage 1880) on a simulated Everglades aquatic community

Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In an 8-month mesocosm experiment, we examined how a simulated Everglades aquatic community of small native fishes, snails, and shrimp changed with the addition of either a native predator (dollar sunfish Lepomis marginatus) or a non-native predator (African jewelfish Hemichromis letourneuxi) compared to a no-predator control. Two snail species (Planorbella duryi, Physella cubensis) and the shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) displayed the strongest predator-treatment effects, with significantly lower biomasses in tanks with Hemichromis. One small native fish (Heterandria formosa) was significantly less abundant in Hemichromis tanks, but there were no significant treatment effects for Gambusia holbrooki, Jordanella floridae, or Pomacea paludosa (applesnail). Overall, there were few treatment differences between native predator and no-predator control tanks. The results suggest that the potential of Hemichromis to affect basal food-web species that link primary producers with higher-level consumers in the aquatic food web, with unknown consequences for Florida waters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baber, M. J. & K. J. Babbitt, 2003. The relative impacts of native and introduced predatory fish on a temporary wetland tadpole assemblage. Oecologia 136: 289–295.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, J. T. & B. C. Cowell, 1976. Life history and ecology of the freshwater caridean shrimp, Palaemonetes paludosus (Gibbes). American Midland Naturalist 96: 52–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belk, M. C. & C. Lydeard, 1994. Effect of Gambusia holbrooki on a similar-sized, syntopic poeciliid, Heterandria formosa: competitor or predator? Copeia 1994: 296–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergmann, G. T. & P. J. Motta, 2005. Diet and morphology through ontogeny of the nonindigenous Mayan cichlid ‘Cichlasoma (Nandopsis)’ urophthalmus (Günther 1862) in southern Florida. Environmental Biology of Fishes 72: 205–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blakesley, R. E., S. Mazumdar, M. A. Dew, P. R. Houck, G. Tang, C. F. Reynolds & M. A. Butters, 2009. Comparisons of methods for multiple hypothesis testing in neuropsychological research. Neuropsychology 23: 255–264.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowles, D. E., K. Aziz & C. L. Knight, 2000. Macrobrachium (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) in the contiguous United States: a review of the species and an assessment of threats to their survival. Journal of Crustacean Biology 20: 158–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, W. R. & R. C. Jordan, 2010. Enhanced interspecific territoriality and the invasion success of the spotted tilapia (Tilapia mariae) in south Florida. Biological Invasions 12: 865–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chick, J. H., C. R. Ruetz & J. C. Trexler, 2004. Spatial scale and abundance patterns of large fish communities in freshwater marshes of the Florida Everglades. Wetlands 24: 652–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courtenay, W. R. Jr., 1989. Exotic fishes in the National Park system. In Thomas, L. K. (ed), Proceedings of the Conference on Science in the National Parks (1986), Vol. 5, Management of Exotic Species in Natural Communities. US National Park Service and George Wright Society, Washington, DC: 3–10.

  • Dalrymple, G. H., 1977. Intraspecific variation in the cranial feeding mechanism of turtles of the genus Trionyx (Reptilia, Testudines, Trionychidae). Journal of Herpetology 11: 255–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorcas, M. E., J. D. Wilson, R. N. Reed, R. W. Snow, M. R. Rochford, M. A. Miller, W. E. Meshaka Jr, P. T. Andreadis, F. J. Mazzoti, C. M. Romagosa & K. M. Hart, 2012. Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 109: 2418–2422.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunlop-Hayden, K. L. & J. S. Rehage, 2011. Antipredator behavior and cue recognition by multiple Everglades prey to a novel cichlid predator. Behaviour 148: 795–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duxbury, C., J. Holland & M. Pluchino, 2010. Experimental evaluation of the impacts of the invasive catfish Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock, 1828) on aquatic macroinvertebrates. Aquatic Invasions 5: 97–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewel, J. J., 1986. Invisibility: lessons from South Florida. In Mooney, H. A. & J. A. Drake (eds), Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii. Springer Verlag, New York: 214–230.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Figler, M. H., R. M. Klein & H. V. S. Peeke, 1976. The establishment and reversibility of dominance relationships in jewel fish, Hemichromis bimaculatus Gill (Pisces, Cichlidae): effects of prior exposure and prior residence situations. Behaviour 58: 254–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fogarty, M. J. & J. D. Albury, 1967. Late summer foods of young alligators in Florida. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 21: 220–222.

  • Gaiser, E. E., A. Zafiris, P. L. Ruiz, F. A. C. Tobias & M. S. Ross, 2006. Tracking rates of ecotone migration due to salt-water encroachment using fossil mollusks in coastal South Florida. Hydrobiologia 569: 237–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodsell, J. A. & L. B. Kats, 1999. Effect of introduced mosquitofish on Pacific treefrogs and the role of alternative prey. Conservation Biology 13: 921–924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goss, C. W., W. F. Loftus & J. C. Trexler, 2013. Seasonal fish dispersal in ephemeral marshes of the Florida Everglades. Wetlands. doi:10.1007/s13157-013-0375-3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson, L. H. & W. F. Loftus, 1993. The Everglades. In Martin, W. H., S. G. Boyce & A. C. Echternacht (eds), Biodiversity of the Southeastern United States: Lowland. John Wiley & Sons, New York: 199–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Havens, K. E. & N. G. Aumen, 2000. Hypothesis-driven experimental research is necessary for natural resource management. Environmental Management 25: 1–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hickley, P. & R. G. Bailey, 1987. Food and feeding relationships of fish in the Sudd swamps (River Nile, southern Sudan). Journal of Fish Biology 30: 147–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyslop, E. J., 1987. Aspects of the biology of Hemichromis bimaculatus from a small stream in Nigeria. Journal of Fish Biology 31: 745–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ITIS, 2013. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.

  • Jordan, F., K. J. Babbitt, C. C. McIvor & S. J. Miller, 2000. Contrasting patterns of habitat use by prawns and crayfish in a headwater marsh of the St. Johns River, Florida. Journal of Crustacean Biology 20: 769–776.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellogg, C. M. & N. J. Dorn, 2012. Consumptive effects of fish reduce wetland crayfish recruitment and drive species turnover. Oecologia 168: 1111–1121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, J. L., W. F. Loftus, K. Kotun, J. C. Trexler, J. S. Rehage, J. J. Lorenz & M. Robinson, 2013. Recent fish introductions into Everglades National Park: an unforeseen consequence of water-management? Wetlands. doi:10.1007/s13157-012-0362-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klug, H. & C. M. St. Mary, 2005. Reproductive fitness consequences of filial cannibalism in the flagfish, Jordanella floridae. Animal Behaviour 70: 685–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klug, H., A. Chin & C. M. St. Mary, 2005. The net effects of guarding on egg survivorship in the flagfish, Jordanella floridae. Animal Behaviour 69: 661–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kushlan, J. A., 1974. The ecology of the white ibis in southern Florida: a regional study. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Miami, Miami, 129 p.

  • Kushlan, J. A. & M. S. Kushlan, 1980. Population fluctuations of the prawn, Palaemonetes paludosus, in the Everglades. American Midland Naturalist 103: 401–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langston, J. N., P. J. Schofield, J. E. Hill & W. F. Loftus, 2010. Salinity tolerance of the African jewelfish Hemichromis letourneuxi, a non-native cichlid in south Florida (USA). Copeia 2010: 475–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liston, S. E., 2006. Interactions between nutrient availability and hydroperiod shape macroinvertebrate communities in Florida Everglades marshes. Hydrobiologia 569: 343–357.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loftus, W. F., 1988. Distribution and ecology of exotic fishes. In Thomas, L. K. (ed), Proceedings of the Conference on Science in the National Parks (1986), Management of Exotic Species in Natural Communities, Vol. 5. US National Park Service and George Wright Society, Washington, DC: 24–34.

  • Loftus, W. F., 2000. Accumulation and fate of mercury in an Everglades aquatic food web. Ph.D. Dissertation, Florida International University, Miami, 295 p.

  • Loftus, W. F., G. Ellis, M. Zokan & J. Lorenz, 2004. Inventory of Freshwater Fish Species within the Big Cypress National Preserve: The Basis for a long-term sampling program. US Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2004: 3131.

  • Loftus, W. F. & A. M. Eklund, 1994. Long-term dynamics of an Everglades small-fish assemblage. In Davis, S. M. & J. C. Ogden (eds), Everglades: The Ecosystem and its Restoration. St. Lucie Press, Boca Raton: 461–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loftus, W. F. & J. A. Kushlan, 1987. Freshwater fishes of southern Florida. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 4: 147–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, J. M., N. P. Nibbelink, K. T. McAbee & J. W. Stahli, 2012. Assessment of freshwater fish assemblages and their habitats in the National Park Service system of the southeastern United States. Fisheries 37: 212–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz, O. T., M. T. O’Connell & P. J. Schofield, 2011. Aggressive interactions between the invasive Rio Grande cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatus) and native bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), with notes on redspotted sunfish (Lepomis miniatus). Journal of Ethology 29: 39–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lydeard, C. & M. C. Belk, 1993. Management of indigenous fish species impacted by introduced mosquitofish: an experimental approach. The Southwestern Naturalist 38: 370–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, E. C. & W. A. Overholt, 2005. Potential allelopathic effects of Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, Anacardiaceae) aqueous extract on germination and growth of selected Florida native plants. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 132: 11–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea & J. D. Williams, 2004. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada and Mexico, 6th ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 29, Bethesda.

  • Nesbit, D. H. & G. K. Meffe, 1993. Cannibalism frequencies in wild populations of the Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki: Poeciliidae) in South Carolina. Copeia 1993: 867–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble, G. K. & B. Curtis, 1939. The social behavior of the jewel fish, Hemichromis bimaculatus Gill. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 76: 1–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom, C. A., 1998. The life history and ecology of the introduced African jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneauxi (Family: Cichlidae), in Dade County, Florida. Master’s Thesis, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 129 p.

  • Odum, W. E., 1988. Comparative ecology of tidal freshwater and salt marshes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19: 147–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennak, R. W., 1989. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca, 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porazinska, D. L., P. D. Pratt & R. M. Glblin-Davis, 2007. Consequences of Melaleuca quinquenervia invasion on soil nematodes in the Florida Everglades. Journal of Nematology 39: 305–312.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Porter-Whitaker, A. E., J. S. Rehage, S. E. Liston & W. F. Loftus, 2012. Multiple predator effects and native prey responses to two non-native Everglades cichlids. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 21: 375–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rader, R. B., 1994. Macroinvertebrates of the northern Everglades: species composition and trophic structure. Florida Scientist 57: 22–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team, 2012. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org/. Accessed 26 Oct 2012.

  • Rehage, J. S., K. Dunlop & W. F. Loftus, 2009. Mosquitofish antipredator responses to non-native cichlids: a test of the prey naiveté hypothesis. Ethology 115: 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehage, J. S., S. E. Liston, K. J. Dunker & W. F. Loftus, 2013. Fish community responses to the combined effects of decreased hydroperiod and nonnative fish invasions in a karst wetland: are Everglades solution holes sinks for native fishes? Wetlands. doi:10.1007/s13157-012-0361-1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimer, R. D. W., 1970. A food study of Heterandria formosa Agassiz. American Midland Naturalist 83: 311–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, J. M. L., M. S. Gunzburger & J. Travis, 2006. Variation in predation pressure as a mechanism underlying differences in numerical abundance between populations of the poeciliid fish Heterandria formosa. Oecologia 147: 596–605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rivas, L. R., 1965. Florida fresh water fishes and conservation. Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 28: 255–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruetz III, C. R., J. C. Trexler, F. Jordan, W. F. Loftus & S. A. Perry, 2005. Population dynamics of wetland fishes: spatio-temporal patterns synchronized by hydrological disturbance? Journal of Animal Ecology 74: 322–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, J. F., S. T. Heulett & T. M. Farrell, 1994. Interactions between two Poeciliid fishes (Gambusia holbrooki and Heterandria formosa) and their prey in a Florida marsh. Copeia 1994: 516–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoenherr, A. A., 1981. The role of competition in the replacement of native fishes by introduced species. In Naiman, R. J. & D. L. Soltz (eds), Fishes in North American Deserts. John Wiley, New York: 173–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schofield, P., W. F. Loftus & M. Brown, 2007. Hypoxia tolerance of two centrarchid sunfishes and an introduced cichlid from karstic Everglades wetlands of southern Florida, U.S.A. Journal of Fish Biology 41: 87–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shafland, P. L., K. B. Gestring & M. S. Stanford, 2008. Florida’s exotic freshwater fishes – 2007. Florida Scientist 71: 220–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. P., 1997. Nesting season food habits of 4 species of herons and egrets at Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Colonial Waterbirds 20: 198–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, N. F. R. & H. A. Snyder, 1969. A comparative study of mollusk predation by limpkins, Everglade kites and boat-tailed grackles. Living Bird 8: 117–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, N. F. R. & H. A. Snyder, 1971. Defenses of the Florida apple snail Pomacea paludosa. Behaviour 40: 175–215.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sridhar, M. K. C. & A. O. Bammeke, 1985. Lake pollution in Ibadan, Nigeria. Environment International 11: 419–423.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, P. W., D. A. Blewett, T. R. Champeau & C. J. Stafford, 2010. Post hurricane recovery of riverine fauna reflected in the diet of an apex predator. Estuaries and Coasts 33: 59–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strenth, N. E., 1976. A review of the systematics and zoogeography of the freshwater species of Palaemonetes Heller of North American (Crustacea: Decapoda). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 228: 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sykes Jr, P. W., 1987. The feeding habits of the snail kite in Florida, USA. Colonial Waterbirds 10: 84–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, D. W., 2003. Introduction to the Physidae (Gastropoda, Hydophila): biogeography, classification, morphology. Revista de Biologia Tropical 51: 1–299.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. C., J. C. Trexler & W. F. Loftus, 2001. Separating the effects of intra- and interspecific age-structured interactions in an experimental fish assemblage. Oecologia 127: 143–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trexler, J. C., W. F. Loftus, F. Jordan, J. J. Lorenz, J. H. Chick & R. M. Kobza, 2000. Empirical assessment of fish introductions in a subtropical wetland: an evaluation of contrasting views. Biological Invasions 2: 265–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trexler, J. C., W. F. Loftus & S. A. Perry, 2005. Disturbance frequency and community structure in a twenty-five year intervention study. Oecologia 145: 140–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg Jr., W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, & J. D. Williams, 1998. Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed. Special Publication 26. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda.

  • Turner, A. M., J. C. Trexler, C. F. Jordan, S. J. Slack, P. Geddes, J. H. Chick & W. F. Loftus, 1999. Targeting ecosystem features for conservation: standing crops in the Florida Everglades. Conservation Biology 13: 898–911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USGS-NAS, 2013. U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. http://nas.er.usgs.gov. Accessed 7 Jan 2013.

  • Watkins II, C. E., J. V. Shireman & W. T. Haller, 1983. The influence of aquatic vegetation upon zooplankton and benthic macroinvertebrates in Orange Lake, Florida. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 21: 78–83.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the USGS Invasive Species Program and the USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center. M.E. Brown (USGS) provided technical assistance in the field and in the lab, for which we are grateful. S. Ruessler (USGS) was especially helpful in maintaining the mesocosm facility in good working order. J. Lopez graciously facilitated our collection of H. letourneuxi at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. F. Thompson (Florida Museum of Natural History) identified gastropod specimens. J. Trexler (Florida International University) and V. Engel (USGS) kindly provided comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Comments from two anonymous journal reviewers lead to substantial improvements in the manuscript, and we are grateful for their input. Fishes were collected under State of Florida Scientific Collector’s Permit FNE-2011-15. Experiments were conducted under Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) USGS/SESC 2010-03. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pamela J. Schofield.

Additional information

Handling editor: Odd Terje Sandlund

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schofield, P.J., Slone, D.H., Gregoire, D.R. et al. Effects of a non-native cichlid fish (African jewelfish, Hemichromis letourneuxi Sauvage 1880) on a simulated Everglades aquatic community. Hydrobiologia 722, 171–182 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1697-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1697-0

Keywords

Navigation