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Prey selection by larvae of Prochilodus lineatus (Pisces: Curimatidae): indigenous zooplankton versus veligers of the introduced bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Bivalvia: Mitilidae)

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Abstract

We studied experimentally the feeding selectivity of larvae of Prochilodus lineatus (Pisces), with particular emphasis on the role of veligers of the exotic bivalve Limnoperna fortunei. Three concentrations of veligers were offered to three developmental stages of P. lineatus. Veliger concentrations were: (1) higher than in the field (“enriched”, 0.09 ind. ml−1), (2) unmodified from field conditions (“normal”, 0.06 ind. ml−1), and (3) lower than in the field (“low”, 0.02 ind. ml−1). Fish developmental stages were protolarvae (approx. 10 days old), mesolarvae (17 days), and metalarvae (25 days). Proportions (in terms of numbers and biomass) and selectivity values were calculated for each prey item evaluated: veligers, small cladocerans + nauplii, medium-sized cladocerans, copepodits, and large cladocerans + copepods. Protolarvae and mesolarvae consumed veligers almost exclusively (88–90%, both in numbers and in biomass) when offered prey enriched in veligers, whereas for metalarvae veligers represented only 16.0% of the food consumed. At lower veliger concentrations, only protolarvae preferred Limnoperna veligers, whereas older fishes switched gradually to crustacean plankton. We conclude that veligers are preferred by the early fish developmental stages, and we speculate that this may be because their slower swimming makes them easier to capture than planktonic crustaceans. However, as fish larvae grow larger, veligers become too small a prey for their energetic needs, and they switch to larger items like cladocerans and copepods. We anticipate that this new and abundant food resource has an important impact on the survival and growth of P. lineatus.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants ANPCyT PICT 2004 25275, UBA X096, and UBA X020. We are grateful to the three anonymous reviewers whose recommendations greatly helped to improve the original version of the manuscript. Dr. Erik Thuesen and Mr. Bret Parker kindly revised the manuscript for English spelling, grammar, and usage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Av. Angel Gallardo 490, C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Esteban M. Paolucci, Daniel H. Cataldo & Demetrio Boltovskoy

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Esteban M. Paolucci, Daniel H. Cataldo & Demetrio Boltovskoy

  3. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Daniel H. Cataldo & Demetrio Boltovskoy

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  1. Esteban M. Paolucci
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Correspondence to Esteban M. Paolucci.

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Paolucci, E.M., Cataldo, D.H. & Boltovskoy, D. Prey selection by larvae of Prochilodus lineatus (Pisces: Curimatidae): indigenous zooplankton versus veligers of the introduced bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Bivalvia: Mitilidae). Aquat Ecol 44, 255–267 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-009-9263-6

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