2024-03-29T07:50:44Zhttp://digital.csic.es/dspace-oai/requestoai:digital.csic.es:10261/470472017-02-23T08:53:01Zcom_10261_88com_10261_8col_10261_341
Predation by introduced fish constrains the thermal distribution of aquatic Coleoptera in mountain lakes
de Mendoza, Guillermo
Rico, Eugenio
Catalán, Jordi
Population fragmentation
Salmonidae
Alien species
Climate warming
Dytiscidae
12 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablas.
1. Most high mountain lakes were free of fish until humans stocked them. This provides the
opportunity to study the extent to which predation constrains the thermal distribution of large
macroinvertebrates, among lakes of a suitable temperature for them.
2. We analysed the distribution of aquatic beetles (Coleoptera, Dytisicidae, including the genera
Agabus, Platambus, Hydroporus and Boreonectes) in a set of 82 lakes in the Pyrenees. Temperature
was the most important variable explaining the overall distribution of dytiscids (out of 29
environmental variables considered). The presence of fish (i.e. salmonids) and macrophyte cover
(plants provide refuge from predators) was also important. Indeed, either salmonids or
macrophytes as single factors explained more of the variance in dytiscid distribution than
temperature.
3. Further analysis showed that the presence of salmonids was particularly important for the
medium-sized dytiscid Agabus bipustulatus. This species is generally eurythermic, although in the
Pyrenees it is found mainly in cold lakes. This is attributed to predation pressure from fish, since
the latter are more likely to be present in warm lakes. As a consequence, salmonids increase
fragmentation of A. bipustulatus with respect to populations occupying lowland habitats.
4. Predation can therefore constrain the distribution of species to a fraction of habitats that appear
suitable based on simple thermal responses. As humans also facilitate the dispersal of non-native
fish, the consequent modification of distribution patterns in fresh waters could make it difficult to
predict how distributions might change in relation to climate warming.
This study was supported by the EU projects EMERGE
(EVK1-CT-1999-00032) and EURO-LIMPACS (GOCE-CT-
2003-505540), and by the projectGRACCIE (CSD2007-00067)
from the Consolider programme of the Spanish Government.
Peer reviewed
2012-03-14T12:32:16Z
2012-03-14T12:32:16Z
2012
artículo
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Freshwater Biology 57 : 803–814 (2012)
0046-5070
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/47047
10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02746.x
en
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02746.x
none
Blackwell Publishing