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Phosphorus-mediated changes in life history traits of the invasive New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)

  • Physiological ecology
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Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms that species use to succeed in new environments is vital to predicting the extent of invasive species impacts. Food quality is potentially important because it can affect population dynamics by affecting life history traits. The New Zealand mudsnail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, is a worldwide invader. We examined how mudsnail growth rate and fecundity responded to the C:P ratio of algal food in laboratory conditions. Mudsnails fed low-P algae (C:P 1,119) grew more slowly, matured later, produced smaller offspring, and grew to a smaller adult size than snails reared on algae with high levels of P. A relatively small increase in algal C:P (203–270) significantly increased mudsnail age at maturity. We suggest that the relatively high body P requirements of mudsnails make them susceptible to allocation trade-offs between growth and reproduction under P-limited conditions. The elemental composition of algae varies greatly in nature, and over half of the rock biofilms in streams surveyed within the introduced range of mudsnails in the Greater Yellowstone Area had C:P ratios above which could potentially pose P limitation of life history traits. High growth rate and fecundity are common traits of many species that become invasive and are also associated with high-P demands. Therefore, fast-growing consumers with high P demands, such as mudsnails, are potentially more sensitive to P limitation suggesting that limitation of growth and reproduction by food quality is an important factor in understanding the resource demands of invasive species.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through grants to T. M. T. (DBI 0512075) and A. C. K. (to the University of Wyoming: EPS 0447681). We thank J. Bobbitt, R. Carroll, C. Charles, W. Cross, S. Devries, B. Donovan, P. Frost, L. Henry, M. Kyle, and C. F. Fisher for field and laboratory assistance, C. A. Buerkle and K. Gerow for statistical advice, and J. Jokela for unpublished data. D. Doak, J. Trexler and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on the manuscript. The experiment described herein complies with the current laws of the USA.

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  1. Leslie A. Riley

    Present address: Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, 45810, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Teresa M. Tibbets, Amy C. Krist & Robert O. Hall Jr.

  2. 720 Sweetwater Street, Lander, WY 82520, USA

    Teresa M. Tibbets

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA

    Leslie A. Riley

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  1. Teresa M. Tibbets
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Correspondence to Teresa M. Tibbets.

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Communicated by Joel Trexler.

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Tibbets, T.M., Krist, A.C., Hall, R.O. et al. Phosphorus-mediated changes in life history traits of the invasive New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum). Oecologia 163, 549–559 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1522-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1522-7

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