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Vertical niche separation of two consumers (Rotatoria) in an extreme habitat

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Abstract

Herbivore populations are commonly restricted by resource limitation, by predation or a combination of the two. Food supplement experiments are suitable for investigating the extent of food limitation at any given time. The main part of this study was performed in an extremely acidic lake (pH 2.7) where the food web consists of only a few components and potential food sources for herbivores are restricted to two flagellates. Life table experiments proved that Chlamydomonas was a suitable food source whereas Ochromonas was an unsuitable food source. The two flagellates and the two rotifers exhibit a pronounced vertical distribution pattern. In this study, a series of food supplement experiments were performed in order to: (1) quantify and compare potential resource limitation of two primary consumers (Cephalodella hoodi and Elosa worallii, Rotatoria) over time, (2) compare their response at different temperatures, (3) evaluate the effect of having an unsuitable food source alongside a valuable one, (4) estimate the effect of predation on rotifers by Heliozoa, and (5) compare the results with those from other acidic lakes. Additionally, the spatio-temporal population dynamics of both species were observed. The field data confirmed a vertical separation of the two species with E. worallii dominating in the upper water layers, and C. hoodi in the deeper, cooler water layers. The results from the food supplement experiments in which Chlamydomonas served as the supplemented suitable food source showed that the two rotifers were food limited in the epilimnion throughout the season to different extents, with Cephalodella being more severely food limited than Elosa. The experiments at different temperatures provided evidence that Elosa had a higher optimum temperature for growth than Cephalodella. When the unsuitable food algae Ochromonas was added alongside the suitable food source Chlamydomonas, C. hoodi was unaffected but E. worallii was negatively affected. Predation of Heliozoa on rotifers was observed but the total effect on the rotifer dynamics is probably low. The comparison with other lakes showed that resource limitation also occurred in one other lake, although to a lesser extent. Overall, the vertical separation of the two rotifers could be explained by both their differential extent of resource limitation and differential response to temperature.

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Acknowledgements

I greatly acknowledge the experimental support of Christina Schirmer and Sabine Donath. The manuscript benefited from helpful comments of Gregor Fussmann, Ursula Gaedke, Norbert Kamjunke, and Elanor Bell who also provided the Heliozoa cultures. J. Tittel is thanked for providing the flagellate data shown in Fig. 1.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Modelling, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 2, 14469, Potsdam, Germany

    Guntram Weithoff

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Correspondence to Guntram Weithoff.

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Weithoff, G. Vertical niche separation of two consumers (Rotatoria) in an extreme habitat. Oecologia 139, 594–603 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1545-z

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