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Quantifying the top-down and bottom-up effects of a non-native grazer in freshwaters

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Abstract

Quantifying the effects of grazing and nutrient remineralization by grazers on algal biomass and productivity is important to estimate the net effects of grazing species on ecosystem structure and function. These effects may be especially important in ecosystems threatened by the invasion of non-native grazing species, as grazers can regulate the quantity of algae through both top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (remineralization) processes. In this study, we coupled mesocosm and in situ experimental manipulations to quantify the impacts of a non-native, grazing fish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) on algal biomass and primary productivity in stream ecosystems. While loricariid grazing depressed algal biomass and rates of primary production in mesocosm and in situ experiments, loricariid-mediated nutrient remineralization enhanced algal biomass and primary production in mesocosms relative to control treatments without loricariids. In sum, even when nutrient limitation was alleviated, intensive grazing by high-densities of loricariids had a negative net-effect on algal biomass and primary productivity. Examined together, our results demonstrate the need to quantify both consumptive and remineralization effects of invasive grazers in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of how non-native organisms influence ecosystem structure and function.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Program Grant (183-8371); Integrated Graduate Education and Research in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Biocomplexity (0221658) Small Grant Program), the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program, Sigma Xi, the Tinker Field Research Grant, the Andrew and Margaret Paul Graduate Fellowship in the Life Sciences, and the American Cichlid Association Paul V. Loiselle Conservation Fund. Organisms were harvested in Mexico using Mexican collection permit number DGOPA.07525.25706.3233 and fishes were handled using methods outlined in the IACUC protocol 2006-0169 from Cornell University. We thank Rocío Rodiles-Hernández, Sebastian Heilpern, Jessica Strickland, and Daniel Rodríguez for help with fieldwork in Mexico. We would like to thank the personnel of the Hotel Nututun for their support in Mexico. Finally, we would like to thank the editor and the three anonymous reviewers who provided insightful comments to early versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Krista A. Capps & Alexander S. Flecker

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Krista A. Capps

  3. Program in Ecology, Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA

    Amber Ulseth

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  1. Krista A. Capps
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Correspondence to Krista A. Capps.

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Capps, K.A., Ulseth, A. & Flecker, A.S. Quantifying the top-down and bottom-up effects of a non-native grazer in freshwaters. Biol Invasions 17, 1253–1266 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0793-z

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