Summary
Two congeneric damselfly species, Enallagma traviatum and E. aspersum, dominate the littoral macroinvertebrates of Bays Mountain Lake and of the adjacent fish-free Ecology Pond, respectively (northeastern Tennessee, USA). Extending previous experimental studies, we test seven hypotheses concerning the role of fish (bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus) and larvaldragonfly (Anax junius) predation, competitive effects on damselflies, and the interaction between competition and predation, in determining invertebrate dominance in these communities. Three types of experiments were conducted: an enclosure experiment within Ecology Pond, an outdoor replicated tub experiment, and a laboratory behavior experiment. The in-situ enclosure experiment showed that E. traviatum larvae were more susceptible to Anax predation than were E. aspersum larvae; a tendency toward greater vulnerability to fish of E. aspersum compared with E. traviatum was not statistically significant. The outdoor tub experiment confirmed both of these trends with statistically significant results. In the tubs, both predators inhibited feeding of both zygopterans (as indicated by reduced fecal mass), particularly for E. aspersum in the presence of fish. This effect appears to have been primarily indirect, mediated through exploitation of the zooplankton. We also detected competitive effects of E. traviatum on E. aspersum: E. traviatum reduced the emergence and increased the exposure above the substrate of E. aspersum. In the absence of predators, E. traviatum inhibited feeding of E. aspersum via interference. In the laboratory behavior experiment, predators inhibited crawling by E. aspersum. E. aspersum was more exposed than was E. traviatum; it swam and crawled more than did E. traviatum, considerably increasing these movements at night. Over all, E. traviatum consistently appeared to be the more cryptic of the two species, and E. aspersum appeared to be much more active. Our results suggest an explanation for the clear difference in structure between communities like Bays Mountain Lake and Ecology Pond: predaceous fish eliminate large invertebrate predators and shift the community toward cryptic forms at relatively low densities, reflecting the effects of both predation and exploitation competition. In the absence of fish, large invertebrate predators are less able to deplete littoral invertebrates but may favor the more active forms, perhaps because these are better able to avoid invertebrate predators.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alford RA, Wilbur HM (1985) Priority effects in experimental pond communities: competition between Bufo and Rana. Ecology 66:1097–1105
Baker RL (1981) Behavioral interactions and use of feeding areas by nymphs of Coenagrion resolutum (Coenagrionidae: Odonata). Oecologia 49:353–358
Ball RC, Hayne DW (1952) Effects of the removal of the fish population on the fish-food organisms of a lake. Ecology 57:915–927
Bohanan RE, Johnson DM (1982) Response of littoral invertebrate populations to a spring fish exclusion experiment. Freshwat Invert Biol 2:28–41
Cerri RD, Fraser DF (1983) Predation and risk in foraging minnows: balancing conflicting demands. Am Nat 121:552–561
Connell JH (1975) Some mechanisms producing structure in natural communities: a model and evidence from field experiments. In: Cody ML, Diamond JM (eds) Ecology and evolution of communities. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass. USA
Convey P (1988) Competition for perches between larval damselflies: the influence of perch use on feeding efficiency, growth rate and predator avoidance. Freshwat Biol 19:15–28
Crowder LB, Cooper WE (1982) Habitat structural complexity and the interaction between bluegills and their prey. Ecology 63:1802–1813
Crowley PH, Pierce CL, Johnson DM, Bohanan RE (1983) An enclosure for experimental manipulation of lentic littoral and benthic communities. J Freshwat Ecol 2:59–66
Crowley PH, Dillon PM, Johnson DM, Watson CN (1987) Intraspecific interference among larvae in a semivoltine dragonfly population. Oecologia 71:447–456
Crowley PH, Gillett S, Lawton JH (1988) Contests between larval damselflies: empirical steps toward a better ESS model. Anim Behav 36:1496–1510
Folsom TC (1980) Predation ecology and food limitation of the larval dragonfly Anax junius (Aeshnidae). Ph.D. dissertation. Univ. of Toronto
Folsom TC, Collins NC (1982) Food availability in nature for the larval dragonfly Anax junius (Odonata: Aeshnidae). Freshwat Invert Biol 5:33–40
Hall DJ, Cooper WE, Werner EE (1970) An experimental approach to the production dynamics and structure of freshwater animal communities. Limnol Oceanogr 15:839–928
Hassell MJ (1978) The dynamics of arthropod predator-prey systems, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton NJ, USA
Heads PA (1986) The costs of reduced feeding due to predator avoidance: potential effects on growth and fitness in Ischnura elegans larvae (Odonata: Zygoptera). Ecol Entomol 11:369–377
Johnson DM (1973) Predation by damselfly naiads on cladoceran populations: fluctuating intensity. Ecology 54:251–268
Johnson DM (1986) The life history of Tetragoneuria cynosura (Say) in Bays Mountain Lake, Tennessee, United States (Anisoptera: Corduliidae). Odonatologica 15:81–90
Johnson DM, Crowley PH (1980) Odonate “hide and seek”: habitat-specific rules. In: Kerfoot WC (ed) Evolution and ecology of zooplankton communities. Univ. Press of New England, Hanover, NH, USA
Johnson DM, Crowley PH (1989) A ten-year study of the odonate assemblage of Bays Mountain Park. Adv. Odonatol. 4, in press Johnson DM, Crowley PH, Bohanan RE, Watson CN, Martin TH (1985) Competition among larval dragonflies: a field enclosure experiment. Ecology 66:119–128
Johnson DM, Akre BG, Crowley PH (1975) Modeling arthropod predation: wasteful killing by damselfly naiads. Ecology 56:1081–1093
Johnson DM, Bohanan RE, Watson CN, Martin TH (1984) Coexistence of Enallagma divagans and Enallagma traviatum (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae) in Bays Mountain Lake: an in situ enclosure experiment. Adv Odonatol 2:57–70
Johnson DM, Pierce CL, Martin TH, Watson CN, Bohanan RE, Crowley PH (1987) Prey depletion by odonate larvae: combining evidence from multiple field experiments. Ecology 68:1459–1465
Lawton JH, Thompson BA, Thompson DJ (1980) The effects of prey density on survival and growth of damselfly larvae. Ecol Entomol 5:39–51
Macan TT (1964) The Odonata of a moorland fishpond. Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol. 49:325–360
Macan TT (1966) The influence of predation on the fauna of a moorland fishpond. Arch Hydrobiol 61:432–452
McPeek MA (1987) Determinants of species exclusions from the Enallagma assemblage (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) of a fishless lake. Bull Ecol Soc Am 68:365
McPeek MA (1989) The determination of species composition in the Enallagma damselfly assemblages (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) of permanent lakes. Ph.D. dissertation, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing MI USA
McPeek MA (1990) Determination of species composition in the Enallagma damselfly assemblages of permanent lakes. Ecology 71:83–98
McPeek MA, Crowley PH (1987) The effects of density and relative size on the aggressive behaviour, movement, and feeding of damselfly larvae (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). Anim Behav 35:1051–1061
Morin PJ (1986) Interactions between intraspecific competition and predation in an amphibian predator-prey system. Ecology 67:713–720
Murdoch WW, Sih A (1978) Age-dependent interference in a predatory insect. J Anim Ecol 53:791–808
Paine RT (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Am Nat 100:65–75
Paine RT (1971) A short term experimental investigation of resource partitioning in a New Zealand rocky intertidal habitat. Ecology 52:1096–1106
Pierce CL (1988) Predator avoidance, microhabitat shift, and risksensitive foraging in larval dragonflies. Oecologia 77:81–90
Pierce CL, Crowley PH, Johnson DM (1985) Behavior and ecological interactions of laval Odonata. Ecology 66:1504–1512
SAS Institute, Inc (1985) SAS user's guide, version 5 ed. SAS Institute, Inc, Cary NC, USA
Schmitt RJ (1987) Indirect interactions between prey: apparent competition, predator aggregation, and habitat segregation. Ecology 68:1887–1897
Sih A (1982) Foraging strategies and the avoidance of predation by an aquatic insect, Notonecta hoffmani. Ecology 63:786–796
Sih A, Crowley PH, McPeek MA, Petranka J, Strohmeier K (1985) Predation, competition and prey communities: a review of field experiments. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 16:268–311
Sih A, Petranka JW, Kats LB (1988) The dynamics of prey refuge use: a model and tests with sunfish and salamander larvae. Am Nat 132:463–483
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry, 2nd edition. WH Freeman, San Francisco CA, USA
Spiller DA, Schoener TW (1988) An experimental study of the effect of lizards on web-spider communities. Ecol Monogr 58:57–77
Strohmeier K, Crowley PH, Johnson DM (1989) Effects of redspotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) on the densities of invertebrates in a permanent, fish-free pond: a one-month enclosure experiment. J Freshwat Ecol 5:53–65
Unger LM, Sargent RC (1988) Allopaternal care in the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas: females prefer males with eggs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 23:27–32
Werner EE, Gilliam JF (1984) The ontogenetic niche and species interaction in size-structured populations. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 15:393–425
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blois-Heulin, C., Crowley, P.H., Arrington, M. et al. Direct and indirect effects of predators on the dominant invertebrates of two freshwater littoral communities. Oecologia 84, 295–306 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329753
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329753