Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator
Abstract Structural complexity is known to influence prey behaviour, mortality and population structure, but the effects on predators have received less attention. We tested whether contrasting structural complexity in two newly colonised lakes (low structural complexity lake—LSC; high structural co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96908-1 |
| _version_ | 1818843142245318656 |
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| author | Milan Říha Karl Ø. Gjelland Vilém Děd Antti P. Eloranta Ruben Rabaneda-Bueno Henrik Baktoft Lukáš Vejřík Ivana Vejříková Vladislav Draštík Marek Šmejkal Michaela Holubová Tomas Jůza Carolyn Rosten Zuzana Sajdlová Finn Økland Jiří Peterka |
| author_facet | Milan Říha Karl Ø. Gjelland Vilém Děd Antti P. Eloranta Ruben Rabaneda-Bueno Henrik Baktoft Lukáš Vejřík Ivana Vejříková Vladislav Draštík Marek Šmejkal Michaela Holubová Tomas Jůza Carolyn Rosten Zuzana Sajdlová Finn Økland Jiří Peterka |
| author_sort | Milan Říha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Structural complexity is known to influence prey behaviour, mortality and population structure, but the effects on predators have received less attention. We tested whether contrasting structural complexity in two newly colonised lakes (low structural complexity lake—LSC; high structural complexity—HSC) was associated with contrasting behaviour in an aquatic apex predator, Northern pike (Esox lucius; hereafter pike) present in the lakes. Behaviour of pike was studied with whole-lake acoustic telemetry tracking, supplemented by stable isotope analysis of pike prey utilization and survey fishing data on the prey fish community. Pike displayed increased activity, space use, individual growth as well as behavioural differentiation and spent more time in open waters in the LSC lake. Despite observed differences between lakes, stable isotopes analyses indicated a high dependency on littoral food sources in both lakes. We concluded that pike in the HSC lake displayed a behaviour consistent with a prevalent ambush predation behaviour, whereas the higher activity and larger space use in the LSC lake indicated a transition to more active search behaviour. It could lead to increased prey encounter and cause better growth in the LSC lake. Our study demonstrated how differences in structural complexity mediated prominent changes in the foraging behaviour of an apex predator, which in turn may have effects on the prey community. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:53:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b62f7524caa346dab7e15ff4a7e4b180 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T04:53:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-b62f7524caa346dab7e15ff4a7e4b1802022-12-21T20:35:19ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-09-0111112010.1038/s41598-021-96908-1Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predatorMilan Říha0Karl Ø. Gjelland1Vilém Děd2Antti P. Eloranta3Ruben Rabaneda-Bueno4Henrik Baktoft5Lukáš Vejřík6Ivana Vejříková7Vladislav Draštík8Marek Šmejkal9Michaela Holubová10Tomas Jůza11Carolyn Rosten12Zuzana Sajdlová13Finn Økland14Jiří Peterka15Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyNorwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyDepartment of Biological and Environmental Science, University of JyväskyläBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyNational Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Aqua)Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyBiology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyNorwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyNorwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of HydrobiologyAbstract Structural complexity is known to influence prey behaviour, mortality and population structure, but the effects on predators have received less attention. We tested whether contrasting structural complexity in two newly colonised lakes (low structural complexity lake—LSC; high structural complexity—HSC) was associated with contrasting behaviour in an aquatic apex predator, Northern pike (Esox lucius; hereafter pike) present in the lakes. Behaviour of pike was studied with whole-lake acoustic telemetry tracking, supplemented by stable isotope analysis of pike prey utilization and survey fishing data on the prey fish community. Pike displayed increased activity, space use, individual growth as well as behavioural differentiation and spent more time in open waters in the LSC lake. Despite observed differences between lakes, stable isotopes analyses indicated a high dependency on littoral food sources in both lakes. We concluded that pike in the HSC lake displayed a behaviour consistent with a prevalent ambush predation behaviour, whereas the higher activity and larger space use in the LSC lake indicated a transition to more active search behaviour. It could lead to increased prey encounter and cause better growth in the LSC lake. Our study demonstrated how differences in structural complexity mediated prominent changes in the foraging behaviour of an apex predator, which in turn may have effects on the prey community.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96908-1 |
| spellingShingle | Milan Říha Karl Ø. Gjelland Vilém Děd Antti P. Eloranta Ruben Rabaneda-Bueno Henrik Baktoft Lukáš Vejřík Ivana Vejříková Vladislav Draštík Marek Šmejkal Michaela Holubová Tomas Jůza Carolyn Rosten Zuzana Sajdlová Finn Økland Jiří Peterka Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator Scientific Reports |
| title | Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| title_full | Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| title_fullStr | Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| title_short | Contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| title_sort | contrasting structural complexity differentiate hunting strategy in an ambush apex predator |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96908-1 |
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