Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Food-web modification by an invertebrate predator in the Great Salt Lake (USA)

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

During unusually wet years the salinity of the Great Salt Lake (Utah) decreased from above 100 g/L to 50 g/L. This allowed the predaceous insect Trichocorixa verticalis to invade the pelagic region of the lake and reach a mean summer density of 52/m3. Concurrent changes in the pelagic ecosystem were: a decrease in the dry biomass of the previously dominant filter-feeding brine shrimp Artemia franciscana from 720 to 2 mg/m3, the invasion of three other zooplankton taxa, a 10 × decrease in community filtration rate, a 20 × increase in chlorophyll a concentration, a 4 × decrease in water clarity and perhaps a decrease in soluble nutrients. Trichocorixa abundance was also inversely correlated with the abundance of Artemia along a salinity gradient in the lake's estuary. In a 9-d microcosm experiment Trichocorixa preyed on nauplii and decreased the total density of Artemia from 103 to 6/L. The reduction in Artemia allowed protozoans to increase 10–100 ×. Changes in chlorophyll and clarity were consistent with those observed in the lake. These results suggest that invertebrate predation may be an important factor structuring simple food webs such as those found in moderately saline lakes.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Public Health Assoication (1985) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 16th ed. APHA, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhargava SC, Jakher GR, Saxena MM, Sinha RK (1987) Ecology of Artemia in Didwanda Salt Lake (India). In: Sorgeloos P, Bengtson DA, Decleir W, Jaspers E (eds) Artemia research and its applications, vol. 3. Universa Press, Wetteren, Belgium, pp 127–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Batra SWT (1982) Biological control in agroecosystems. Science 215:134–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR (1988) Complex interactions in lake communities. Springer-Verlag, New York, 283p

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Kitchell JF, Hodgson JR (1985) Cascading trophic interactions and lake productivity. Bioscience 35:634–639

    Google Scholar 

  • Dana G (1981) Comparative population ecology of the brine shrimp Artemia. MS thesis, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Drinkwater LE, Clegg JS (1990) Experimental biology of cyst diapause. In: Brown R, Sorgeloos P, Trotman C (eds) Artemia Biology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 93–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Drinkwater LE, Crowe JH (1987) Regulation of embryonic diapause in Artemia: Environmental and physiological signals. J Exp Zool 241:297–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodson SI (1975) Predation rates of zooplankton in arctic ponds. Limnol Oceanogr 20:426–433

    Google Scholar 

  • Doohan M (1973) An energy budget for adult Brachionus plicatilis Müller (Rotatoria). Oecologia 13:351–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmondson WT (1966) Pacific Coast and Great Basin. In: Frey DG (ed) Limnology in North America. Univ Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 371–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie DM, Stephens DW (1977) Some aspects of plankton dynamics in the Great Salt Lake, Utah. In: Greer DC (ed) Desertic terminal lakes, Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, UT, pp 401–410

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert JJ (1989) The effect of Daphnia interference on a natural rotifer and ciliate community: short-term bottle experiments. Limnol Oceanogr 34:606–617

    Google Scholar 

  • Gulati RD, Lammens EHRR, Meijer M-L, van Donk E (1990) Biomanipulation — Tool for water management. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Belgium

    Google Scholar 

  • Hairston NG, Smith FE, Slobodkin LB (1960) Community structure, population control and competition. Am Nat 94:421–425

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer UT (1986) Saline lake ecosystems of the world. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, 616 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer UT, Hurlbert SH (1990) Is the occurrence of Artemia salina (L.) determined by the absence of predators or by salinity tolerance in some saline waters? In: Hammer UT (ed) Aquatic ecosystems in semi-arid regions: implications for resource management. National Hydrology Research Institute, Saskatoon (abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes CR (1971) Distribution, populations, and species diversity of phytoplankton and zooplankton of Farmington Bay. In: Carter CK (ed) Some ecological considerations of Farmington Bay estuary and adjacent Great Salt Lake State Park. Available from library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp E2 E21

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbst DB (1988) Comparative population ecology of Ephedra hians Say (Diptera: Ephydridae) at Mono Lake (California) and Albert Lake (Oregon). Hydrobiologia 158:145–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Hrbacek J, Dvorakova M, Korinek V, Prochazkova L (1961) Demonstration of the effect of the fish stock on the species composition of zooplankton and the intensity of metabolism of the whole plankton association. Verh Internat Verein Limnol 14:192–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Javor BJ (1983) Planktonic standing crop and nutrients in a saltern ecosystem. Limnol Oceanogr 28:153–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Jellison R and Melack JM (1988) Photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton and its relation to environmental factors in hypersaline Mono Lake, California. Hydrobiologia 158:69–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristensen I, Hulscher-Emeis TM (1972) Factors influencing Artemia populations in Antillean salines. Stud Fauna Curacao, Caribbean Islands 39:87–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavens P, Sorgeloos P (1987) The crytobiotic state of Artemia cysts, its diapause deactivation and hatching: a review. In: Sorgeloos P, Bengtson DA, Decleir W, Jaspers E (eds) Artemia research and its applications, vol. 3. Universa Press, Wetteren, Belgium, pp 27–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenz PH (1987) Ecological studies on Artemia: a review. In: Sorgeloos P, Bengtson DA, Decleir W, Jaspers E (eds) Artemia research and its applications, vol. 3. Universa Press, Wetteren, Belgium, pp 5–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis WM (1980) Evidence for stable zooplankton community structure gradients maintained by predation. In: Kerfoot WC (ed) Evolution and ecology of zooplankton communities. Univ Press of New England, Hanover, New Hampshire, pp 625–634

    Google Scholar 

  • Lind OT (1985) Handbook of common methods in limnology. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa, 199 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunte CC, Luecke C (1990) Trophic interactions of Leptodora in Lake Mendota. Limnol Oceanogr 35:1091–1100

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazumder A, Taylor WD, McQueen DJ, Lean DRS (1990) Effects of fish and plankton on lake temperature and mixing depth. Science 247:312–315

    Google Scholar 

  • McCauley E (1984) The estimation of the abundance and biomass of zooplankton in samples. In: Downing JA, Rigler FH (eds) A manual on methods for the assessment of secondary productivity in fresh waters. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 228–265

    Google Scholar 

  • McQueen DJ, Post JR, Mills EL (1986) Trophic relationships in freshwater pelagic ecosystems. J Fish Aquat Sci 43:1571–1581

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittelbach G, Osenberg C, Leibold M (1988) Trophic relations and ontogenetic niche shifts in aquatic ecosystems. In: Ebenman B, Persson L (eds) Size-structured populations: ecology and evolution. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp 217–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague CL (1982) A causal hypothesis explaining predator-prey dynamics in Great Salt Lake, Utah. Ecol Model 17:243–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Neill WE (1981) Impact of Chaoborus predation on the structure and dynamics of a crustacean zooplankton community. Oecologia 48:164–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Nimura Y (1987) Probable reason why Artemia is confined to isolated saline waters. In: Sorgeloos P, Bengtson DA, Deleir W, Jaspers E (eds) Artemia research and its applications vol. 3. Ecology, culturing, use in aquaculture, Universa Press, Wettern, Belgium, pp 77–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen L, Fretwell SD, Arruda J, Niemela P (1981) Exploitation ecosystems in gradients of primary productivity. Am Nat 118:240–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1980) Food webs: linkage, interaction strength, and community infrastructure. J Anim Ecol 49:667–686

    Google Scholar 

  • Persoone G, Sorgeloos P (1980) General aspects of the ecology and biogeography of Artemia. In: Persoone G, Sorgeloos P, Roels O, Jaspers E (eds) The brine shrimp Artemia, vol. 3. Ecology, culturing, use in aquaculture. Universa Press, Wetteren, Belgium, pp 3–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters RH, Downing JA (1984) Empirical analysis of zooplankton filtering and feeding rates. Limnol Oceanogr 29:763–784

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter KG, Pace ML, Battey JF (1979) Ciliate protozoans as links in freshwater planktonic food chains. Nature 277:563–565

    Google Scholar 

  • Post FJ (1981) Microbiology of the Great Salt Lake north arm. Hydrobiologia 81:59–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Power ME (1990) Effects of fish in river food webs. Science 250:811–814

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeve MR (1963a) The filter-feeding of Artemia. I. In pure cultures of plant cells. J Exp Biol 40:195–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeve MR (1963b) Growth efficiency in Artemia under laboratory conditions. Biol Bull 125:133–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Riemann B (1985) Potential importance of fish predation and zooplakton grazing on natural populations of freshwater bacteria. App Environ Microbiol 50:187–193

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushforth SR and Felix EA (1982) Biotic adjustments to changing salinities in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. Microb Ecol 8:157–161

    Google Scholar 

  • Scudder GGE (1976) Water-boatmen of saline waters (Hemiptera: Corixidae). In: Cheng L (ed), Marine insects. North-Holland Publishing Co., New York, pp 263–289

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro J, Wright DI (1984) Lake restoration by biomanipulation. Freshwater Biol 14:371–383

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherr EB, Rassoulzadegan F, Sherr BF (1989) Bactivory by pelagic choreotrichous ciliates in coastal waters of the NW Mediterranean sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 55:235–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens DW (1974 Limnological considerations of the Great Salt Lake, Utah. PhD thesis, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens DW (1990) Changes in the lake levels, salinity and the biological community of Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA (1847–1987). Hydrobiologia 197:139–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens DW, Gillespie DM (1976) Phytoplankton production in the Great salt Lake, Utah, and a laboratory study of algal response to enrichment. Limnol Oceanog 21:74–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturm PA (1980) The Great Salt Lake brine system. In: Gwynn JW (ed) Great Salt Lake. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah, pp 147–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanni MJ, Luecke C, Kitchell JF, Magnuson JJ (1990) Effects of planktivorous fish mass mortality on the plankton community of Lake Mendota, Wisconsin: implications for biomanipulation. Hydrobiologia 200/201:329–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel RG, Likens GE (1979) Limnological analyses. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 357 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker KF (1981) A synopsis of ecological information on the saline lake rotifer Brachionus plicatilis Muller 1786. Hydrobiologia 81:159–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson L (1988) SYSTAT: The system for statistics. SYSTAT Inc., Evanston, IL, 822 p

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams WD, Boulton AJ, Taaffe RG (1990) Salinity as a determinant of salt lake fauna: a question of scale. Hydrobiologia 197:257–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirick CD (1972) Dunaliella-Artemia plankton community of the Great Salt Lake, Utah. MS thesis, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurtsbaugh WA (1988) Iron, molybdenum and phosphorus limitation of N2 fixation maintains nitrogen deficiency of plankton in the Great Salt Lake drainage (Utah, USA). Verh Int Ver Limnol 23:121–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurtsbaugh WA, Berry TS (1990) Cascading effects of decreased salinity on the plankton, chemistry, and physics of the Great Salt Lake (Utah). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 47:100–109

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife/Ecology Center, Utah State University, 84322-5210, Logan, UT, USA

    Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Authors
  1. Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wurtsbaugh, W.A. Food-web modification by an invertebrate predator in the Great Salt Lake (USA). Oecologia 89, 168–175 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317215

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317215

Key words

Search

Navigation