Summary
Males of three sunfish species (Centrarchidae) construct nests for spawning and often share them sequentially in the littoral zone of a 4-hectare lake in New York State. To determine spatial and temporal effects of this reproductive behavior on zoobenthos in “patches,” I sampled bottom assemblages from inside nests and from adjacent (<1 m from nest perimeter), relatively undisturbed sites during the reproductive season of 1986 and immediately prior to nest-building in 1987. The reproductive behaviors of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), and pumpkinseeds (L. gibbosus) altered relative abundances and significantly decreased benthic invertebrate diversity and density. These effects were extremely pronounced during the reproductive season and were partially detectable the following year. Community changes were probably the result of both bioturbation (modification of sediment size and organic content) and predation. The ecosystem-wide effects of nest-building are evaluated in terms of the number, distribution, and longevity of patches.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carlander KD (1977) Handbook of freshwater fishery biology, vol 2. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa
Carpenter SR, McCreary NJ (1985) Effects of fish nests on pattern and zonation of submersed macrophytes in a softwater lake. Aq Bot 22:21–32
Colgan PW, Nowell WA, Stokes NW (1981) Spatial aspects of nest defence by pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus): stimulus features and an application of catastrophe theory. Anim Behav 29:433–442
Connell JH, Keough MJ (1985) Disturbance and patch dynamics of subtidal marine animals on hard substrata. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, New York, pp 125–151
Cowell BC (1984) Benthic invertebrate recolonization of small-scale disturbances in the littoral zone of a subtropical Florida lake. Hydrobiologia 109:193–205
Dayton PK (1971) Competition, disturbance, and community organization: the provision and subsequent utilization of space in a rocky intertidal community. Ecol Monogr 4:351–389
Fuller A, Cowell BC (1985) Seasonal variation in benthic invertebrate recolonization of small-scale disturbances in a subtropical Florida lake. Hydrobiologia 124:211–221
Gross MR (1982) Sneakers, satellites and parentals: polymorphic mating strategies in North American sunfishes. Z Tierpsychol 60:1–26
Hershey A (1985) Effects of predatory sculpin on the chironomid communities in an Arctic lake. Ecology 66:1131–1138
Hildebrand SG (1971) The effect of coho spawning on the benthic invertebrates of the Platte River, Benzie County, Michigan. Trans Amer Fish Soc 1971:61–68
Iwan GR (1977) Population density, age class composition and productivity of the largemouth black bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede), in an unexploited northeastern lake. Ph.D. Dissertation, Fordham University, Bronx, New York
Maraldo DC, MacCrimmon HR (1981) Reproduction, distribution, and population size of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, in an oligotrophic precambrian shield lake. Can Field-Naturalist 95:298–306
Paine RT (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Amer Natur 100:65–75
Paine RT (1969) The Pisaster-Tegula interaction: prey patches, predator food preference, and intertidal community structure. Ecology 50:950–961
Peckarsky BL (1984) Predator-prey interactions among aquatic insects. In: Resh VH and Rosenberg DM (eds) The ecology of aquatic insects. Praeger, New York, pp 196–254
Pickett STA, White PS (eds) (1985) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, New York
Pierce CL, Musgrove KA, Ritterpusch J, Carl NE (1987) Littoral invertebrate abundance in bluegill spawning colonies and undisturbed areas of a small pond. Can J Zool 65:2066–2071
Rubenstein S, Norby J, Mitchell D (1986) Sigma-Plot, version 3.0. Jandel Scientific Inc., Sausalito, California
Salamon KJ (1979) Physiological, anatomical, and ecological aspects of overwintering in largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides Lacepede. Ph.D. Dissertation, Fordham University, Bronx, New York
Sousa WP (1985) Disturbance and patch dynamics on rocky intertidal shores. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, New York, pp 101–124
Thorp JH (1986) Two distinct roles for predators in freshwater assemblages. Oikos 47:75–82
Thorp JH, Bergey EA (1981a) Field experiments on interactions between vertebrate predators and larval midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the littoral zone of a reservoir. Oecologia 50:285–290
Thorp JH, Bergey EA (1981b) Field experiments on responses of a freshwater, benthic macroinvertebrate community to vertebrate predators. Ecology 62:365–375
White PS, Pickett STA (1985) Natural disturbance and patch dynamics: an introduction. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, New York, pp 3–13
Wilkinson L (1987) SYSTAT: the system for statistics. SYSTAT Inc., Evanston, Illinois
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thorp, J.H. Patches and the responses of lake benthos to sunfish nest-building. Oecologia 76, 168–174 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379949
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379949