Colonization under threat of predation: avoidance of fish by an aquatic beetle, Tropisternus lateralis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)
Colonization under threat of predation: avoidance of fish by an aquatic beetle, Tropisternus lateralis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)
Documenting the role of past interactions in the assembly of present communities has proven problematic. Colonization is a key process in community assembly that is both potentially driven by past interactions and amenable to experimental approaches. Colonization and oviposition by an aquatic beetle (Tropisternus lateralis) was assayed in the presence and absence of both 'harmless' and tactilely/visually isolated predatory fish (Lepomis gibbosus and L. macrochirus). Beetles avoided each treatment with fish when compared to fish-free experimental pools. Activity levels after colonization also differed significantly between adults in fish and fish-free tanks. Predator effects on species composition are typically ascribed to contemporary predation events; the presence of a strong avoidance response demonstrates that past species interactions affect present distributions and may play an important role in the ongoing assembly of contemporary communities. Documentation of such avoidance behavior in a growing number of species fundamentally alters our view of the processes affecting species distributions and the process of community assembly.
oviposition site choice, habitat selection, predation risk, aquatic systems, community assembly
155-160
Resetarits, William J.
73532e80-93e6-49a5-8b1b-1b3f0843aa6b
September 2001
Resetarits, William J.
73532e80-93e6-49a5-8b1b-1b3f0843aa6b
Resetarits, William J.
(2001)
Colonization under threat of predation: avoidance of fish by an aquatic beetle, Tropisternus lateralis (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae).
Oecologia, 129 (1), .
(doi:10.1007/s004420100704).
Abstract
Documenting the role of past interactions in the assembly of present communities has proven problematic. Colonization is a key process in community assembly that is both potentially driven by past interactions and amenable to experimental approaches. Colonization and oviposition by an aquatic beetle (Tropisternus lateralis) was assayed in the presence and absence of both 'harmless' and tactilely/visually isolated predatory fish (Lepomis gibbosus and L. macrochirus). Beetles avoided each treatment with fish when compared to fish-free experimental pools. Activity levels after colonization also differed significantly between adults in fish and fish-free tanks. Predator effects on species composition are typically ascribed to contemporary predation events; the presence of a strong avoidance response demonstrates that past species interactions affect present distributions and may play an important role in the ongoing assembly of contemporary communities. Documentation of such avoidance behavior in a growing number of species fundamentally alters our view of the processes affecting species distributions and the process of community assembly.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: September 2001
Keywords:
oviposition site choice, habitat selection, predation risk, aquatic systems, community assembly
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 56472
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/56472
ISSN: 0029-8549
PURE UUID: 7717bfc1-c372-4af6-a286-0074839e277b
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 08 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:01
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
William J. Resetarits
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics