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Importance of feeding strategies on the long-term success of fish invasions

  • INVASIVE SPECIES II
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Abstract

This study assessed the feeding strategies of nine fish species in their native (Cuiabá River) and in an invaded basin (upper Paraná River) to identify trophic variables that may explain the success of these species in the new basin, over 30 years. The following predictions were analyzed: (i) species that display omnivorous or piscivorous diets in the native basin are favored in the invasion process over the long term, and (ii) specialist feeders are favored in the invasion process provided that their food items are highly available in the invaded area. These predictions were supported by the data; the species that were successful invaders had high trophic plasticity (omnivores), consumed a wide variety of food items from specific trophic guilds (piscivores), or if a species had a specialized diet, the resources demanded are abundant (detritivores). Thus, in a long-term perspective, the food resources used by these species are rarely limiting in aquatic ecosystems, and these feeding characteristics should be one of the key factors determining the colonization success of fishes. Understanding the factors that determine the success of invasive species in new areas is critical for developing management policies aimed at minimizing the impacts of biological invasions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Nupélia/UEM, Itaipu Binacional, the Graduate Program in Ecology of Continental Aquatic Environments (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais—PEA), and CNPq/PELD for financial support and infrastructure to develop the study; the Nupélia statistical fisheries team, led by Edson K. Okada; Jayme L. L. Pereira for drawing the figures; and CAPES for the scholarship granted to Lívia Helena Tonella and Oscar Barrosos Vitorino Junior. Angelo A. Agostinho is a researcher in Scientific Productivity at the CNPq and acknowledges this agency for long-term provision of funds.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil

    Lívia Helena Tonella, Rosemara Fugi, Oscar Barroso Vitorino Jr., Harumi Irene Suzuki, Luiz Carlos Gomes & Angelo Antonio Agostinho

  2. Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil

    Rosemara Fugi, Harumi Irene Suzuki, Luiz Carlos Gomes & Angelo Antonio Agostinho

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  1. Lívia Helena Tonella
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  2. Rosemara Fugi
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  3. Oscar Barroso Vitorino Jr.
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  4. Harumi Irene Suzuki
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  5. Luiz Carlos Gomes
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  6. Angelo Antonio Agostinho
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Correspondence to Lívia Helena Tonella.

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Guest editors: John E. Havel, Sidinei M. Thomaz, Lee B. Kats, Katya E. Kovalenko & Luciano N. Santos / Aquatic Invasive Species II

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Tonella, L.H., Fugi, R., Vitorino, O.B. et al. Importance of feeding strategies on the long-term success of fish invasions. Hydrobiologia 817, 239–252 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3404-z

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