Food-niche relationships of sympatric mallards and green-winged teals

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petri Nummi
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Anas Crecca ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Invertebrate Prey ◽  
Plant Matter ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Food Niche ◽  
Benthic Animals

Diets of juvenile green-winged teals (Anas crecca) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos) in August and September were studied with respect to (i) the proportion of animal and plant matter. (ii) prey size. (iii) prey diversity, and (iv) the vertical distribution of invertebrate prey in the water column. The size distribution of prey in the diets of the ducks was also compared with that in the environment. Teal diets contained a larger and more variable fraction of invertebrates than did mallard diets. Teals used more small food items than did mallards; however, both used a wide spectrum of sizes. Teals ate more invertebrates that live in the water column or above the water surface, whereas mallards ate more benthic animals. These results contradict earlier studies that had classified teals, on the basis of digestive tract morphology, as more herbivorous than mallards. Therefore, inferences about differences in diet based on morphology alone should be made with some caution. I also suggest, contrary to some earlier studies, that both teals and mallards are generalist foragers, the teal being probably even more plastic when different modes of aquatic feeding are considered.

Effect of extremely severe winters on under-ice phytoplankton development in a mesotrophic lake (Eastern Poland)

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Władysława Wojciechowska ◽  
Tomasz Lenard
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Biomass Concentration ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Cyanobacteria And Algae ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

AbstractThe research was carried out in a mesotrophic and dimictic lake during winters with ice cover. In the last forty years, the development of phytoplankton was analyzed in five extreme winter seasons. The studies of phytoplankton characteristics in the water column took into account values of biomass, concentration of chlorophyll-a and species composition, including dominant species. Differences in the vertical distribution of flagellate and non-flagellate species belonging to cyanobacteria and algae were analyzed in the gradient of light and thermal conditions. The phytoplankton biomass was low and vertically differentiated, with the lowest values at the deeper part of the water column. Flagellate species from the group of Cryptophyceae, Chrysophyceae and Dinophyceae were most abundant. Species biodiversity was low but every winter the dominant species represented different taxonomic groups. In some periods, larger non-motile phytoplankton species from green or blue-green algae dominated. The research proved that the development of phytoplankton under the ice cover was limited mainly by light and, to a lesser extent, by temperature.

Trophic ecology and diet of Hydra vulgaris (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa)

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
María I. Deserti ◽  
Karina S. Esquius ◽  
Alicia H. Escalante ◽  
Fabián H. Acuña
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Hydra Vulgaris ◽  
Natural Diet ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Invertebrate Prey

Hydra is a genus of common, sessile, solitary freshwater cnidarians, which are defined as carnivorous and efficient predators. The purpose of this study was to obtain information on the feeding habits and diet of Hydra vulgaris collected from its natural habitat in Nahuel Rucá Lake (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). We found three categories of food items in the coelenteron: algae, fungi, and small invertebrates. Algae dominated the diet in terms of abundance and frequency of occurrence, but their volumetric contribution was almost negligible, as was their possible nutritional value. Invertebrate prey captured, using active predation, represented the major volumetric contribution, with four different taxa found. The detection of phytoplankton in the gastral cavities reveals the input of some organisms present in the surrounding waters in addition to the invertebrates. This information is novel, since studies on the natural diet of Hydra are very scarce.

Life cycle and diet of Zygonyx iris insignis (Insecta: Odonata: Anisoptera) in Hong Kong running waters

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Dudgeon ◽  
Christina Y. M. Wat
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Generalist Predator ◽  
Running Waters ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Chironomid Larvae ◽  
Tropical Asia ◽  
Larval Recruitment ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACTZygonix iris is widespread in tropical Asia, and larvae are sprawlers/clingers on rock surfaces in fast-flowing streams and rivers. In the Lam Tsuen River, Hong Kong, this species is univoltine; emergence occurs prior to the summer monsoon and larval recruitment during the wet season. Studies on larval dietary composition in four habitats indicated that Z. iris is a generalist predator, consuming epibenthic prey taxa in proportion to their abundance in the environment. Larval Chironomidae (Diptera) and Baetis (Ephemeroptera) were the commonest food items at all sites and there was little consistent evidence of preference for individual taxa. Larger Z. iris larvae tended to consume more prey taxa than did smaller larvae, and Baetis prey size was positively correlated with predator size. No size selection of chironomid larvae was apparent. Despite its unusual larval habit, Z. iris is a generalist feeder resembling lotic and lentic temperate-zone Odonata.

scholarly journals Optimal estimation of catch by the continuous underway fish egg sampler based on a model of the vertical distribution of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) eggs

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pepin ◽  
K. A. Curtis ◽  
P. V. R. Snelgrove ◽  
B. de Young ◽  
J. A. Helbig
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Vertical Profile ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Error Structure ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Hippoglossoides Platessoides

Abstract Pepin, P., Curtis, K.A., Snelgrove, P.V.R., de Young, B., and Helbig, J.A. 2007. Optimal estimation of catch by the continous underway fish egg sampler based on a model of the vertical distribution of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides) eggs – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64, 18–30. We investigate how the vertical stratification of the water column (specifically density) affects predictions of the catch of American plaice eggs (Hipploglossoides platessoides) from a fixed-depth sampler [the continuous underway fish egg sampler (CUFES)] relative to the integrated abundance in the water column measured in bongo tows. A steady-state model of the vertical distribution of fish eggs coupled with a simple model of the vertical profile of eddy diffusivity (i.e. mixing) is applied. Key model parameters are estimated through optimization of a one-to-one relationship between predicted and observed catches fit, using a generalized linear model with a Poisson, negative binomial, or gamma error structure. The incorporation of data on the vertical structure of the water column significantly improved the ability to forecast CUFES catches when using Poisson or negative binomial error structure, but not using a gamma distribution. Optimal maximum likelihood parameter estimates for eddy diffusivity and egg buoyancy fell within the range of expected values. The degree of uncertainty in the parameterization of eddy diffusivity suggests, however, that greater understanding of the forces that determine the vertical profile of mixing is critical to achieving strong predictive capabilities. The inverse problem of predicting integrated abundance from CUFES catches did not benefit from the environmental-driven model because of the high uncertainty in the catches from the CUFES.

Colonization by lake benthos of hard substrata in the water column versus on the bottom

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Quinn ◽  
P. S. Lake ◽  
E. S. G. Schreiber
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Benthic Animals ◽  
Hard Substrata

Little work has been done on colonization by lake benthos, particularly onto hard substrata. This study experimentally compared the rates of colonization of hard substrata (bricks) in a lake by benthic macroinvertebrates from two sources — the water column and the bottom. Colonization onto bricks (as mimics of stones) placed on the bottom of the lake was compared with colonization onto bricks suspended in the water column, where they could not be reached by crawling fauna. Almost all taxa colonizing bottom bricks also colonized suspended bricks, including taxa usually considered benthic (e.g. gastropods, mites, oligochaetes and planarians). Water-column samples confirmed the presence of these taxa in open water. These results suggest that many benthic animals in lakes may move through the water column more readily than previously considered; constant movement by lake benthos may be in response to shortage of resources.

scholarly journals Modelling the vertical distribution of bromoform in the upper water column of the tropical Atlantic Ocean

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 535-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Hense ◽  
B. Quack
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Tropical Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Subsurface Maximum ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Production Layer ◽  
Inverse Proportionality

Abstract. The relative importance of potential source and sink terms for bromoform (CHBr3) in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is investigated with a coupled physical-biogeochemical water column model. Bromoform production is either assumed to be linked to primary production or to phytoplankton losses; bromoform decay is treated as light dependent (photolysis), and in addition either vertically uniform, proportional to remineralisation or to nitrification. All experiments lead to the observed subsurface maximum of bromoform, corresponding to the subsurface phytoplankton biomass maximum. In the surface mixed layer, the concentration is set by entrainment from below, photolysis in the upper few meters and the outgassing to the atmosphere. The assumed bromoform production mechanism has only minor effects on the solution, but the various loss terms lead to significantly different bromoform concentrations below 200 m depth. The best agreement with observations is obtained when the bromoform decay is coupled to nitrification (parameterised by an inverse proportionality to the light field). Our model results reveal a pronounced seasonal cycle of bromoform outgassing, with a minimum in summer and a maximum in early winter, when the deepening surface mixed layer reaches down into the bromoform production layer.

Feeding habits of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus (Holocephali: Callorhynchidae), in Patagonian waters (Argentina)

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
EE Di Giacomo ◽  
MR Perier
Keyword(s):  
Prey Size ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Bivalve Molluscs ◽  
Invertebrate Prey ◽  
Selective Foraging ◽  
Predator Size ◽  
Two Factors

Morphology of the main digestive features of cockfish, Callorhinchus callorhynchus, is described and linked to feeding habits. Composition of the diet and size-selective foraging of this species on scallops was studied in northern Patagonian waters and analysed in relation to depth, sex and size. Three species of bivalve molluscs (Pitar rostratus, Aequipecten tehuelchus and Ennucula puelcha) and flabelligerid polychaetes were predominant in the diet of males. The scallop Zygochlamys patagonica dominated the diet of females. The diet of juveniles consisted of small gastropods (Olivella sp.), bivalves with fragile shells (e.g. Pandora cistula), amphipods and polychaetes. Differences in food composition between sexes and between juveniles and adults are attributed to two factors: extrinsic (concerning prey availability) and intrinsic (concerning the morphology and behaviour of the predator). Size-selective foraging on two species of scallops, Aequipecten tehuelchus (subject to commercial fishing) and Zygochlamys patagonica, was found in adults; it is argued that maximum scallop prey size is constrained by the strength of the crushing apparatus of the cockfish. The diet of the cockfish is compared with that of other holocephalans. It is concluded that species of Callorhinchus can be generally characterized as benthic foragers that specialize in crushing shelled invertebrate prey.

Vertical distribution of pelagial zooplankton in a middle-sized dimictic valley reservoir

Biologia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Hudcovicová ◽  
Marian Vranovsky
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Thermal Gradient ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Zooplankton Abundance ◽  
Invertebrate Predation ◽  
Chaoborus Flavicans ◽  
Daphnia Cucullata ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

AbstractOur observations indicate the vertical distribution of zooplankton and its seasonal changes in Dubník II reservoir (Slovakia) are determined mainly by the thermal regime of the reservoir, by transparency, and by fish and invertebrate predation. During periods of circulation, zooplankton vertical distribution in the whole water column was more homogeneous, whilst during summer temperature stratification zooplankton concentrated in the epilimnion — rotifers in higher layers than crustaceans. During summer stagnation a steep thermal gradient occurred at the boundary of the epi-and hypolimnion and low temperature and low dissolved oxygen in hypolimnion offered a refuge for Chaoborus flavicans larvae against fish, enabling coexistence of vertebrate and invertebrate predation. This evidence supports our previous findings concerning dominance of rotifers in zooplankton and representation of crustaceans by small-bodied species in the study reservoir. Steep thermal gradient and the presence of Chaoborus larvae caused very low zooplankton abundance in the lower part of the water column and a reduction of cladocerans refuges against fish to layers of thermocline or closely under thermocline where Daphnia cucullata and Daphnia parvula were found. Our previous assumptions about the high density of zooplanktivorous fish in Dubník II reservoir are supported by the fact that these small cladocerans are represented by smaller individuals in the upper layers and bigger individuals in deeper layers.

Vertical Distribution of Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) Larvae in the Gulf of St Lawrence; Implications for Trophic Interactions and Transport

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ouellet ◽  
Denis Lefaivre
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Suspended Particle ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
Pandalus Borealis ◽  
Northern Shrimp ◽  
Residual Transport ◽  
Larval Emergence ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

In the northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence in spring 1987 and 1988, stage I and II northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) larvae were concentrated in the upper (<30 m) layers above the permanent pycnocline and coincident with subsurface chlorophyll a and suspended particle concentration maxima; this was above other macrozooplankton taxa in the daytime. Shrimp larvae maintained their vertical position relative to the maximum density gradient in the water column in daytime but moved towards the surface at night. Estimation of larval residual transport (~66 km) during the first developmental stage (12 d) corresponded to the horizontal scale of patches of stage I shrimp larvae in the northwest sector of the Gulf. The result is consistent with the suggestion of localized and short-duration larval emergence in the sector. The direction of mass transport and current speed were similar throughout the upper layers of the water column; consequently, the direction and magnitude of larval shrimp transport were not dependent on their vertical position. We suggest that the vertical distribution maintained by shrimp larvae is a mechanism to ensure maximum food availability and to optimize development time in the stratified water of the northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

scholarly journals Sinking microplastics in the water column: simulations in the Mediterranean Sea

Ocean Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-453
Author(s):  
Rebeca de la Fuente ◽  
Gábor Drótos ◽  
Emilio Hernández-García ◽  
Cristóbal López ◽  
Erik van Sebille
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Scale Turbulence ◽  
Non Gaussian ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

Abstract. We study the vertical dispersion and distribution of negatively buoyant rigid microplastics within a realistic circulation model of the Mediterranean sea. We first propose an equation describing their idealized dynamics. In that framework, we evaluate the importance of some relevant physical effects (inertia, Coriolis force, small-scale turbulence and variable seawater density), and we bound the relative error of simplifying the dynamics to a constant sinking velocity added to a large-scale velocity field. We then calculate the amount and vertical distribution of microplastic particles on the water column of the open ocean if their release from the sea surface is continuous at rates compatible with observations in the Mediterranean. The vertical distribution is found to be almost uniform with depth for the majority of our parameter range. Transient distributions from flash releases reveal a non-Gaussian character of the dispersion and various diffusion laws, both normal and anomalous. The origin of these behaviors is explored in terms of horizontal and vertical flow organization.

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