Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.

Winter processes such as overwinter survival and growth of individuals can have wide-ranging consequences for population dynamics and communities within and across seasons. In freshwater organisms winter processes have been mainly studied in fish despite that invertebrates also have substantial impa...

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Main Author: Arne Schröder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3790810?pdf=render
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author Arne Schröder
author_facet Arne Schröder
author_sort Arne Schröder
collection DOAJ
description Winter processes such as overwinter survival and growth of individuals can have wide-ranging consequences for population dynamics and communities within and across seasons. In freshwater organisms winter processes have been mainly studied in fish despite that invertebrates also have substantial impacts on lake and pond food webs. One of the major invertebrate consumers in lake and ponds is the planktonic larvae of the dipteran insect Chaoborus spec. However, while much is known about Chaoborus feeding ecology, behaviour and structuring role in food webs, its winter ecology and how it affects its populations are poorly understood. Here size- and density-dependent winter mortality and body growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae were quantified over naturally occurring size and density ranges in autumn and under natural winter conditions using two field enclosure experiments. Winter mortality increased with autumn density but decreased with autumn body size while winter growth rates decreased with autumn density and body sizes. There was also a density- and size-independent background mortality component. The proportion of pupae found in spring decreased strongly and exponentially with autumn density. These results may explain the commonly observed univoltine life cycle and multi-annual density fluctuations in northern Chaoborus populations. They further demonstrate the relevance of winter processes and conditions for freshwater invertebrates and ecosystems.
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spelling doaj.art-ac49616e7b9e416cb2a476f6f7e9d2462022-12-21T18:47:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01810e7583910.1371/journal.pone.0075839Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.Arne SchröderWinter processes such as overwinter survival and growth of individuals can have wide-ranging consequences for population dynamics and communities within and across seasons. In freshwater organisms winter processes have been mainly studied in fish despite that invertebrates also have substantial impacts on lake and pond food webs. One of the major invertebrate consumers in lake and ponds is the planktonic larvae of the dipteran insect Chaoborus spec. However, while much is known about Chaoborus feeding ecology, behaviour and structuring role in food webs, its winter ecology and how it affects its populations are poorly understood. Here size- and density-dependent winter mortality and body growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae were quantified over naturally occurring size and density ranges in autumn and under natural winter conditions using two field enclosure experiments. Winter mortality increased with autumn density but decreased with autumn body size while winter growth rates decreased with autumn density and body sizes. There was also a density- and size-independent background mortality component. The proportion of pupae found in spring decreased strongly and exponentially with autumn density. These results may explain the commonly observed univoltine life cycle and multi-annual density fluctuations in northern Chaoborus populations. They further demonstrate the relevance of winter processes and conditions for freshwater invertebrates and ecosystems.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3790810?pdf=render
spellingShingle Arne Schröder
Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
PLoS ONE
title Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
title_full Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
title_fullStr Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
title_full_unstemmed Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
title_short Density- and size-dependent winter mortality and growth of late Chaoborus flavicans larvae.
title_sort density and size dependent winter mortality and growth of late chaoborus flavicans larvae
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3790810?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT arneschroder densityandsizedependentwintermortalityandgrowthoflatechaoborusflavicanslarvae