Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river
The widely invasive North American pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus, is currently established in desert rivers in Morocco. The success of pumpkinseed in novel ecosystems has been associated with its generalist diet, but this trait remains unevaluated in arid regions. Desert rivers are harsh env...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.kmae-journal.org/articles/kmae/full_html/2021/01/kmae210068/kmae210068.html |
| _version_ | 1819027790940340224 |
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| author | Gkenas Christos Magalhães Maria Filomena Campos-Martin Nazaret Ribeiro Filipe Clavero Miguel |
| author_facet | Gkenas Christos Magalhães Maria Filomena Campos-Martin Nazaret Ribeiro Filipe Clavero Miguel |
| author_sort | Gkenas Christos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The widely invasive North American pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus, is currently established in desert rivers in Morocco. The success of pumpkinseed in novel ecosystems has been associated with its generalist diet, but this trait remains unevaluated in arid regions. Desert rivers are harsh environments with limited water and prey availability which may adversely constrain the diet of fish. Here we studied the diet of pumpkinseed across 4 sites in the Draa River, embracing a 450 m elevational gradient covering from extremely dry lowlands to relatively humid highlands. We described pumpkinseed diet through the analysis of stomach contents of 82 individuals, collected in the fall of 2013. Pumpkinseed diet was dominated by Chironomidae in dry lowlands, while Ephemeroptera, Heteroptera, Trichoptera and Odonata were relevant prey in more humid highlands. Population diet breadth expanded with elevation, but individual specialization in diet was low among all sites. Our results highlight considerable changes in diet composition and breadth with aridity, suggesting that feeding plasticity and use of exclusive, locally abundant prey rather than generalized feeding may be associated with the success of pumpkinseed in most arid areas in desert rivers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:48:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd0120e6f5434b17a5ef7121509b8a63 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1961-9502 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:48:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd0120e6f5434b17a5ef7121509b8a632022-12-21T19:14:04ZengEDP SciencesKnowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems1961-95022021-01-0104223410.1051/kmae/2021033kmae210068Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan riverGkenas Christos0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9863-2289Magalhães Maria Filomena1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7308-2279Campos-Martin Nazaret2Ribeiro Filipe3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3531-5072Clavero Miguel4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5186-0153MARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo GrandecE3c, Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de LisboaMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo GrandeMARE, Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo GrandeDepartamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana − CSICThe widely invasive North American pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus, is currently established in desert rivers in Morocco. The success of pumpkinseed in novel ecosystems has been associated with its generalist diet, but this trait remains unevaluated in arid regions. Desert rivers are harsh environments with limited water and prey availability which may adversely constrain the diet of fish. Here we studied the diet of pumpkinseed across 4 sites in the Draa River, embracing a 450 m elevational gradient covering from extremely dry lowlands to relatively humid highlands. We described pumpkinseed diet through the analysis of stomach contents of 82 individuals, collected in the fall of 2013. Pumpkinseed diet was dominated by Chironomidae in dry lowlands, while Ephemeroptera, Heteroptera, Trichoptera and Odonata were relevant prey in more humid highlands. Population diet breadth expanded with elevation, but individual specialization in diet was low among all sites. Our results highlight considerable changes in diet composition and breadth with aridity, suggesting that feeding plasticity and use of exclusive, locally abundant prey rather than generalized feeding may be associated with the success of pumpkinseed in most arid areas in desert rivers.https://www.kmae-journal.org/articles/kmae/full_html/2021/01/kmae210068/kmae210068.htmlinvasive specieslepomis gibbosusaridityelevationfeeding ecology |
| spellingShingle | Gkenas Christos Magalhães Maria Filomena Campos-Martin Nazaret Ribeiro Filipe Clavero Miguel Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems invasive species lepomis gibbosus aridity elevation feeding ecology |
| title | Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river |
| title_full | Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river |
| title_fullStr | Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river |
| title_full_unstemmed | Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river |
| title_short | Desert pumpkinseed: diet composition and breadth in a Moroccan river |
| title_sort | desert pumpkinseed diet composition and breadth in a moroccan river |
| topic | invasive species lepomis gibbosus aridity elevation feeding ecology |
| url | https://www.kmae-journal.org/articles/kmae/full_html/2021/01/kmae210068/kmae210068.html |
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