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Alien Grazing: Indirect Effects of Muskrats on Invertebrates

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Abstract

Effects of alien herbivores on plants are quite well known, especially on oceanic islands. Much less is known about the indirect effects of alien herbivores. Via indirect effects indigenous organisms can become more vulnerable to other ecological factors. We studied the effect of dense muskrat population on aquatic invertebrates in patches, which were in different succession phases after grazing. The succession was divided into three phases:(i) open-water area, (ii) mixed floating and submerged vegetation, and (iii) undisturbed Equisetum stands. Intensive muskrat grazing affected especially the size distribution of invertebrates. The proportion of small invertebrates was greatest in clear-cut areas, whereas that of large invertebrates was greatest in the Equisetum-stands. According to activity traps, the clear-cut areas harboured good populations of small perch, which are known as invertebrate predators. The study showed that the indirect effects of alien herbivore can be considerable. In this case, they seemed to be mediated to invertebrates through the change in vegetative habitat structure. This change rendered invertebrates more vulnerable to fish predation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland

    P. Nummi, V.-M. Väänänen & J. Malinen

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  1. P. Nummi
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  2. V.-M. Väänänen
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  3. J. Malinen
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Correspondence to P. Nummi.

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Nummi, P., Väänänen, VM. & Malinen, J. Alien Grazing: Indirect Effects of Muskrats on Invertebrates. Biol Invasions 8, 993–999 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-005-1197-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-005-1197-x

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