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Species and clone-dependent effects of tilapia fish (Cichlidae) on the morphology and life-history of temperate and tropical Daphnia

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Ecological Research

Abstract

In aquatic systems, tilapia introductions may result in marked changes in the structure of prey communities. In this study, we experimentally examined the effects of tilapia-mediated water at the individual and population levels of prey by exposing three Daphnia species to predation cues. We hypothesized that tilapia-mediated water determines reduced age and size at primipara, greater and faster reproduction, enhanced intrinsic rates of population increase (r), and longer tail spines in Daphnia; but that the magnitude of these changes would be species and clone-dependent. When three tropical D. laevis and one temperate D. similis clones were exposed to predation cues, adaptive changes were observed in some of the aforementioned parameters for each clone. The three D. laevis clones exhibited changes in all life-history and morphological measures. Temperate Daphnia spinulata displayed no changes but decreased r values in the presence of predators. The observed changes in the species and clones tested here suggest that, overall, both temperate and tropical Daphnia can detect and adaptively react to the risk of tilapia predation. However, only a fraction of the possible defenses may be displayed by individual clones. In contrast, D. spinulata seems more vulnerable to tilapia predation, given its long body length and absence of adaptive changes. Our study indicates that Daphnia can respond to tilapia-mediated water, and that interspecific and clonal variation exists between temperate and tropical species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of Fiocruz for assistance during the experiment. We also thank Adriano Caliman (UFRN), who kindly calculated the effect sizes. Financial support for this project was provided by Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), No. E-26/110.404/2011, and a fellowship to M. Tolardo was provided by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rodovia BR 465, km 07, Seropédica, RJ, CEP 23890-000, Brazil

    Monique Tolardo

  2. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Lab. Avaliação e Promoção da Saúde Ambiental, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 21045-900, Brazil

    Aloysio da Silva Ferrão-Filho

  3. Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rodovia BR 465, km 07, Seropédica, RJ, CEP 23890-000, Brazil

    Jayme Magalhães Santangelo

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  1. Monique Tolardo
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  2. Aloysio da Silva Ferrão-Filho
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  3. Jayme Magalhães Santangelo
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Correspondence to Jayme Magalhães Santangelo.

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Tolardo, M., da Silva Ferrão-Filho, A. & Santangelo, J.M. Species and clone-dependent effects of tilapia fish (Cichlidae) on the morphology and life-history of temperate and tropical Daphnia . Ecol Res 31, 333–342 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1337-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1337-z

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