Abstract
Predator encounters during early life can elicit behavioral and physiological responses that have fitness consequences during subsequent prey life stages. In threatened lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and other lithophilic-spawning fishes, newly hatched larvae (free embryos) are exposed to abundant predators including aquatic insect larvae that co-occupy stream substrates. We investigated stress effects on lake sturgeon larvae after encounters with common aquatic insect predators by quantifying mortality, body size, cortisol levels, and swimming behavior. Free embryos were exposed to either Perlidae (stonefly obligate predators) or Isonychiidae (mayfly filterers and facultative predators) or to no predators (controls). Free embryos that encountered perlids experienced high mortality, elevated cortisol levels, and exhibited cortisol reactivity when subsequently exposed to an acute stressor. Free embryos that encountered isonychiids exhibited elevated mortality, and elevated cortisol and cortisol reactivity relative to controls. Findings indicate that lake sturgeon free embryos are stressed by exposure to members of benthic stream communities during early life stages (predation of nearby conspecifics), and that metrics of stress exhibited threat sensitivity. Data are consistent with predictions that individuals modulate antipredator behavior in response to the intensity of perceived predation threat in the environment. We determined that behavioral outcomes associated with encounters with aquatic insects altered future behavioral trajectories, potentially as an adaptive response that can affect predation rates in subsequent life stages. Results contribute to a broader understanding of how interspecies interactions among co-occurring predator and prey communities may impact individual fitness and fish population recruitment.
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Availability of data and material
Data and R-code from this project has been deposited and is available for review at our lab’s GitHub site at https://github.com/ScribnerLab/Insect_Cortisol/. A doi number will be established upon acceptance of the manuscript.
Code availability
ImageJ is freely available on the NIH website (https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/). R is freely available for download on the R Project website (https://www.r-project.org/).
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Acknowledgements
We thank the 2018 Black Lake Sturgeon Facility crew for technical assistance: K. Marciano, S. Valentine, E. Rutledge, K. Skubik, and J. Kimmel. K. Holekamp, M. Wagner, and members of the Scribner laboratory provided useful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.
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Support for this project was provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, and Michigan State University Ag Bio Research.
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L.W., D.L., W.L., and K.S. conceived the ideas and designed methodology; L.W., J.R., B.H., G.J., and D.L. collected the data; L.W. and D.L. analyzed the data; and L.W. and K.S. led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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All experiments were conducted under approved Michigan State University Animal Use and Care protocols (04/17–071-00). To the extent possible, discomfort was minimized for all individuals in the experiment. Adults captured for gamete collection were handled for about 4 min each, while head and gills remained underwater. In the hatchery, Bioballs were provided as artificial substrate for free embryos until emergence. Once reaching the larval stage and beginning exogenous feeding, individuals were supplied with food ad libitum (premium grade brine shrimp Artemia sp., BSEP16Z, Brine Shrimp Direct). Flow rate of filtered stream water in tanks was maintained at 56.78 l/h to ensure adequate oxygenation. During the 4-min behavior trials in petri dishes, larvae were supplied with oxygenated stream water for the duration of the trial. Any larvae sacrificed for cortisol samples or for alarm cue odors were euthanized according to approved Michigan State University Animal Use and Care protocols using an overdose of MS-222.
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Wassink, L., Riedy, J.J., Huerta, B. et al. Early life interactions with aquatic insects elicit physiological and behavioral stress responses in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Environ Biol Fish 104, 989–1003 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01133-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01133-4