Abstract
Predation is a well-known factor that structures rotifer communities. However, the role of protists as predators is relatively understudied. Here, we investigated predatory behavior of Actinosphaerium sp., a freshwater heliozoan, on seven rotifer species. Predators and prey were collected from a local playa; except for Brachionus calyciflorus that served as a naive prey control. Prey included large species (≥ 175 µm mean length: Asplanchna sieboldii, B. calyciflorus, Platyias quadricornis, and Lacinularia flosculosa) and small species (< 175 µm: Cephalodella gibba, Euchlanis dilatata, and Lepadella patella). Four experiments were conducted. (1) Single prey items of varying size and motility. Larger prey types were ~ 1.7 to 3.0 times more likely to be ingested than small prey. No L. flosculosa were ingested, contrary to field observations. No correlation was found between swimming speed and predation risk. (2) Preference tests. Asplanchna sieboldii and B. calyciflorus were favored prey. (3) Growth rate of Actinosphaerium on mixed diets, with and without Asplanchna. Highest population growth of Actinosphaerium was observed in presence of A. sieboldii. (4) Prey defenses. Susceptibility of spined versus unspined B. calyciflorus resulted in no significant difference in predation risk. Thus, size and being mobile (compared to sessility) are the primary risk factors influencing rotifer predation vulnerability.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Patrick D. Brown and the students in the Walsh laboratory for field assistance. This project was funded in part by CONACYT 2021-000021-01EXTF-00067 (ASSA) and the National Science Foundation (DEB 2051704 (EJW) and DEB 2051710 (RLW)).
Funding
This project was funded in part by several agencies including the National Science Foundation: DEB 2051704 (EJW); DEB 2051710 (RLW), the Ripon College SOAR program (RLW), and CONACYT 2021-000021-01EXTF-00067 (ASSA).
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Conceptualization, EJW, ASA; validation, EJW, ASA; formal analysis, ASA; investigation, EJW, ASA; resources, EJW, RLW; data curation, EJW, ASA; photomicrographs, ASA; writing—original draft preparation, ASA, EJW, RLW; writing, reviewing, and editing, ASA, EJW, RLW; project administration, EJW; funding acquisition, EJW, RLW. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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The authors have no conflicts of interest/competing interests. The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.
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Heliozoans and rotifers from Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site were collected under permit 07-21 issued to E.J. Walsh.
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Sanchez-Avila, A.S., Wallace, R.L. & Walsh, E.J. Motility and size of rotifers as risk factors for being consumed by the passive protistan predator Actinosphaerium sp.. Hydrobiologia 851, 3109–3123 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05260-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05260-0