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Trophic overlap between native and invasive stream crayfish

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Abstract

We examined trophic dynamics of a stream food web where invasive Orconectes neglectus appear to be displacing native O. eupunctus in the Spring River drainage of the Ozark Highlands, Missouri and Arkansas, USA. We collected crayfish species and possible food sources seasonally from a site of sympatry on the South Fork Spring River. We determined diet overlap and potential for competition between O. eupunctus and O. neglectus, and investigated seasonal variation using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses and gut content analyses. Gut content analysis showed both species of crayfish consumed mainly detritus during summer and spring, with other prey categories varying by species and season. Stable isotope analysis showed that O. eupunctus and O. neglectus relied on invertebrates as a major energy and nutrient source throughout summer, autumn, and spring, and the two species showed differences in their stable isotope signatures during spring and summer, but not autumn. Given the trophic overlap between O. eupunctus and O. neglectus, there is a potential for the two species to compete for food and to be ecologically redundant. Ecological redundancy can lead to reduced effects on ecosystem function post-invasion, and therefore examining ecological redundancy of potential invaders should be a conservation priority.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mike Rabalais for assistance in the field. Michelle Evans-White, Camille Flinders, Eric Larson, Matt Dekar, John Ludlam and Jon Flinders provided helpful comments on the manuscript. This project was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Geological Survey, Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. This study was performed under the auspices of University of Arkansas protocol #01027. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Daniel D. Magoulick

  2. CREAIT Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X5, Canada

    Glenn L. Piercey

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Correspondence to Daniel D. Magoulick.

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Magoulick, D.D., Piercey, G.L. Trophic overlap between native and invasive stream crayfish. Hydrobiologia 766, 237–246 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2457-0

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