Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

System productivity alters predator sorting of a size-structured mixed prey community

  • Community ecology – original research
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 29 March 2018

This article has been updated

Abstract

Predator–prey interactions are often size-structured and focused on smaller vulnerable size classes. Predators are also predicted to sort prey communities according to relative vulnerabilities. Increased system productivity and juvenile growth may benefit some species more than others, making relative vulnerability non-static and growth-mediated. We hypothesized that increased system productivity would weaken juvenile-stage predation generally, and potentially shift the community sorting effects of a predator. Using replicated wetland mesocosms we quantified the effects of a generalist size-specific crayfish predator (Procambarus fallax) on juveniles of two species of apple snails (Pomacea spp.) under two levels of system productivity (low vs. high). After 6 weeks of exposure, we quantified predator and productivity effects on snail survival, biomass, and composition of the assemblage. Crayfish depressed the final density and biomass of snails, and sorted the assemblage, selectively favoring survival of the native P. paludosa over the intrinsically more vulnerable invasive P. maculata. Both snails grew faster at higher productivity, but growth differentially increased survival of the invasive snail in the presence of crayfish and weakened the sorting effect. The native P. paludosa hatches at a larger less vulnerable size than the invasive P. maculata, but higher productivity reduced the relative advantage of P. paludosa. Our results are inconsistent with predictions about the sorting effects of predators across productivity gradients, because the more vulnerable prey dominated at low productivity. Our findings highlight that the relative vulnerabilities of prey to a common predator are not always fixed, but can be growth-mediated.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

Change history

  • 29 March 2018

    There was an error in the abstract of the original publication. The 9th sentence of abstract should be:

    “Our results are inconsistent with predictions about the sorting effects of predators across productivity gradients because the more resistant prey dominated at low productivity.”

References

  • Aljetlawi AA, Sparrevik E, Leonardsson K (2004) Prey-predator size-dependent functional response: derivation and rescaling to the real world. J Anim Ecol 73:239–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker P, Zimmanck F, Baker SM (2010) Feeding rates of an introduced freshwater gastropod Pomacea insularum on native and nonindigenous aquatic plants in Florida. J Mollus Stud 76:138–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes MA, Fordham RK, Burks RL, Hand JT (2008) Fecundity of the exotic apple snail, Pomacea insularum. J N Am Benthol Soc 27:738–745

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borer ET, Halpern BS, Seabloom EW (2006) Asymmetry in community regulation: effects of predators and productivity. Ecology 87:2813–2820

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks JL, Dodson SI (1965) Predation, body size, and composition of plankton. Science 150(3692):28–35

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brose U (2010) Body-mass constraints on foraging behaviour determine population and food-web dynamics. Funct Ecol 24(1):28–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brose U, Jonsson T, Berlow EL, Warren P, Banasek-Richter C, Bersier LF, Blanchard JL, Brey T, Carpenter SR, Blandenier MF, Cushing L, Dawah HA, Dell T, Edwards F, Harper-Smith S, Jacob U, Ledger ME, Martinez ND, Memmott J, Mintenbeck K, Pinnegar JK, Rall BC, Rayner TS, Reuman DC, Ruess L, Ulrich W, Williams RJ, Woodward G, Cohen JE (2006) Consumer- resource body- size relationships in natural food webs. Ecology 87:2411–2417

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson N, Kestrup Å, Mårtensson M, Nystrӧm P (2004) Lethal and non-lethal effects of multiple indigenous predators on the invasive golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata). Freshw Biol 49:1269–1279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cattau CE, Darby PC, Fletcher RJ Jr, Kitchens WM (2014) Reproductive responses of the endangered snail kite to variations in prey density. J Wildl Manag 78:620–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cattau CE, Fletcher RJ Jr, Reichert BE, Kitchens WM (2016) Counteracting effects of a non-native prey on the demography of a native predator culminate in positive population growth. Ecol Appl 26:1952–1968

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chase JM (1999) Food web effects of prey size refugia: variable interactions and alternative stable equilibria. Am Nat 154:559–570

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chase JM (2003a) Strong and weak trophic cascades along a productivity gradient. Oikos 101:187–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase JM (2003b) Experimental evidence for alternative stable equilibria in a benthic pond food web. Ecol Lett 6(8):733–741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Childers DL, Doren RF, Jones R, Noe GB, Rugge M, Scinto LJ (2003) Decadal change in vegetation and soil phosphorus pattern across the Everglades Landscape. J Environ Qual 32:344–362

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson AT (2016) Predator impacts of crayfish on apple snails (Pomacea paludosa and P. maculata). Masters Thesis, Department of Biology, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL

  • Davidson AT, Dorn NJ (2017) Life history traits determine vulnerability of native and invasive apple snails (Pomacea spp.) to a shared juvenile predator. Aquat Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-017-9620-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorn NJ (2013) Consumptive effects of crayfish limit snail populations. Freshw Sci 32:1298–1308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorn NJ, Cook MI (2015) Hydrological disturbance diminishes predator control in wetlands. Ecology 96:2984–2993

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dorn NJ, Hafsadi M (2016) Native crayfish consume more exotic than native apple snails. Biol Invasions 18:159–1679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorn NJ, Trexler JC (2007) Crayfish assemblage shifts in a large drought-prone wetland: the roles of hydrology and competition. Freshw Biol 52:2399–2411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagerthey SE, Cook MI, Kobza RM, Newman S, Bellinger BJ (2014) Aquatic faunal responses to an induced regime shift in the phosphorus-impacted Everglades. Freshw Biol 59:1389–1405

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1959) Some characteristics of simple types of predation and parasitism. Can Entomol 91:385–398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holling CS (1961) Principles of insect predation. Annu Rev Entomol 6:163–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt RD, Grover J, Tilman D (1994) Simple rules for interspecific dominance in systems with exploitative and apparent competition. Am Nat 144:741–777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellogg CM, Dorn NJ (2012) Consumptive effects of fish reduce wetland crayfish recruitment and drive species turnover. Oecologia 168:1111–1121

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klecka J, Boukal DS (2013) Foraging and vulnerability traits modify predator–prey body mass allometry: freshwater macroinvertebrates as a case study. J Anim Ecol 82:1031–1041

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knorp NE, Dorn NJ (2016) Mosquitofish predation and aquatic vegetation determine emergence patterns of dragonfly assemblages. Freshw Sci 35(1):114–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leibold MA (1989) Resource edibility and the effects of predators and productivity on the outcome of trophic interactions. Am Nat 134:922–949

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leibold MA (1996) A graphical model of keystone predators in food webs: trophic regulation of abundance, incidence, and diversity patterns in communities. Am Nat 147:784–812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCormick PV, Newman S, Miao S, Gawlik DE, Marley D, Reddy KR, Fontaine TD (2002) Effects of anthropogenic phosphorus inputs on the Everglades. In: Porter JW, Porter KG (eds) The Everglades, Florida Bay, and coral reefs of the Florida Keys: an ecosystem sourcebook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 83–126

    Google Scholar 

  • McCoy MW, Bolker BM, Warkentin KM, Vonesh JR (2011) Predicting predation through prey ontogeny using size-dependent functional response models. Am Nat 177(6):752–7661

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison WE, Hay ME (2011) Feeding and growth of native, invasive and non-invasive alien apple snails (Ampullariidae) in the United States: invasives eat more and grow more. Biol Invasions 13:945–955

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osenberg CW, Mittelbach GG (1989) Effects of body size on the predator-prey interaction between pumpkinseed sunfish and gastropods. Ecol Monograph 59:405–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine RT (1976) Size-limited predation: an observational and experimental approach with the Mytilus-Pisaster interaction. Ecology 57:858–873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posch H, Garr AL, Pierce R, Davis M (2012) The effect of stocking density on the reproductive output of hatchery-reared Florida apple snails, Pomacea paludosa. Aquaculture 360–361:37–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posch H, Garr AL, Reynolds E (2013) The presence of an exotic snail, Pomacea maculata, inhibits growth of juvenile Florida apple snails, Pomacea paludosa. J Mollus Stud. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyt034

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Newman S, Osborne TZ, White JR, Fitz HC (2011) Phosphorous cycling in the Greater Everglades ecosystem: legacy phosphorous implications for management and restoration. Crit Rev Env Sci Tech 41:149–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rehage JS, Trexler JC (2006) Assessing the net effect of anthropogenic disturbance on aquatic communities in wetlands: community structure relative to distance from canals. Hydrobiologia 569:359–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogevich EC, Hoang TC, Rand GM (2009) Effects of sublethal chronic copper exposure on the growth and reproductive success of the Florida apple snail. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 56:450–458

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ruehl CB, Trexler JC (2011) Comparison of snail density, standing stock, and body size between Caribbean karst wetlands and other freshwater ecosystems. Hydrobiologia 665:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruehl CB, Trexler JC (2015) Reciprocal transplant reveals trade-off of resource quality and predation risk in the field. Oecologia 179(1):117–127

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma SSS, Jiménez-Contreras J, Fernández R et al (2013) Functional responses and feeding rates of Mesocyclops pehpeiensis Hu (Copepoda) fed different diets (rotifers, cladocerans, alga and cyanobacteria). J Nat Hist 47:841–852

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuford RBE III, McCormick PV, Magson J (2005) Habitat related growth of juvenile Florida apple snails (Pomacea paludosa). Fla Sci 68(1):11–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Crowley P, McPeek M, Petranka J, Strohmeier K (1985) Predation, competition, and prey communities: a review of field experiments. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 16(1):269–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa WP (1993) Size-dependent predation on the salt-marsh snail Cerithidea californica Haldeman. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 166:19–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner AM, Fetterolf SA, Bernot RJ (1999) Predator identity and consumer behavior: differential effects of fish and crayfish on the habitat use of a freshwater snail. Oecologia 118:242–247

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van der Heiden CA, Dorn NJ (2017) Benefits of adjacent habitat patches to the distribution of a crayfish population in a hydro-dynamic wetland landscape. Aquat Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9612-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Vonesh JR, Bolker BM (2005) Compensatory larval responses shift trade-offs associated with predator-induced hatching plasticity. Ecology 86(6):1580–1591

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vucic-Pestic O, Rall BC, Kalinkat G, Brose U (2009) Allometric functional response model: body masses constrain interaction strengths. J Anim Ecol 79:249–256

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warton DI, Hui FKC (2011) The arcsine is asinine: the analysis of proportions in ecology. Ecology 92:3–10

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wellborn GA, Skelly DK, Werner EE (1996) Mechanisms creating community structure across a freshwater habitat gradient. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 27(1):337–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner EE, Gilliam JF (1984) The ontogenetic niche and species interactions in size-structured populations. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 15:393–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox RC, Fletcher RJ II (2016) Experimental test of preferences for an invasive prey by an endangered predator: implications for conservation. PLoS One 11(11):e0165427. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165427

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yusa YN, Sugiura N, Wada T (2006) Predatory potential of freshwater animals on an invasive agricultural pest, the apple snail Pomacea canaliculata (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae), in southern Japan. Biol Invasions 8:137–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank E. Noonburg, B. Benscoter, S. Gonzalez, E. Binkley, and two anonymous reviewers for making helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. We also thank P. Polpornvitoon and M. Finn for assistance in the lab.

Funding

This study was funded internally by Florida Atlantic University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Andrew T. Davidson

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, 33314, USA

    Nathan J. Dorn

Authors
  1. Andrew T. Davidson
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nathan J. Dorn
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

ATD and NJD conceived, designed, and performed the experiments. ATD analyzed the data. ATD wrote the manuscript; NJD provided editorial advice.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew T. Davidson.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Communicated by Bryan Brown.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Davidson, A.T., Dorn, N.J. System productivity alters predator sorting of a size-structured mixed prey community. Oecologia 186, 1101–1111 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4099-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4099-1

Keywords