TY - JOUR
T1 - Metal Toxicity Can Affect Dragonfly Nymphs and Ostracods Predation Rates and Food Selectivity
T2 - Ecological Implications on Food Webs
AU - dos Santos Lima, Júlio César
AU - Moreira, Raquel Aparecida
AU - Neto, Antonio José Gazonato
AU - de Pádua Andrade, Douglas
AU - Freitas, Emanuela Cristina
AU - Daam, Michiel Adriaan
AU - Rocha, Odete
N1 - Funding Information:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/5876/147274/PT#
The authors are indebted to the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq, Process: 140400/2015-0) and CAPES for scholarships to the first author in different periods, and to Dr. Norma Luiza Würdig from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil, for the taxonomic identification of the Ostracoda species. R.A.M. has a postdoctoral fellowship from FAPESP (grant no. 2017/24126-4). This work was also supported by the Portuguese government (FCT) through a postdoc grant for M. Daam (SFRH/BPD/109199/ 2015)). The work was also partially supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES), Finance Code 001.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Predation is known to play a prominent role in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning. Despite metals being known to potentially affect predation in aquatic ecosystems, few studies have been conducted, so far, with the aim of evaluating this interplay. In the present study, the effects of four metal salts (copper, cadmium, mercury, and manganese) on the feeding rates and food preference of the dragonfly Tramea cophisa and of the ostracod Chlamydotheca sp. were studied by performing laboratory ecotoxicity tests. Food preference was evaluated by offering four prey species to dragonfly nymphs and three to adult large ostracods. In general, the food preference of both predator species after being exposed to metal salts was not altered, compared with controls, but the feeding rate of T. cophisa decreased in comparison with controls, after exposure to each metal salt, except manganese. Contrastingly, predation rates of Chlamydotheca sp. increased after metal salt exposure. This difference in response can be explained by differences in life-history traits of these two organisms. Both species individuals preferred soft-bodied prey (Oligochaeta, Chironomidae) over water-dwelling crustaceans that are likely to be more difficult to prey upon. Tests evaluating the effects of metals and other chemicals on predation behavior may lead to a better understanding of biotic interactions that can be restricted by chemical stress, improving our understanding of possible food web disruptions underlying chemical stress.
AB - Predation is known to play a prominent role in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning. Despite metals being known to potentially affect predation in aquatic ecosystems, few studies have been conducted, so far, with the aim of evaluating this interplay. In the present study, the effects of four metal salts (copper, cadmium, mercury, and manganese) on the feeding rates and food preference of the dragonfly Tramea cophisa and of the ostracod Chlamydotheca sp. were studied by performing laboratory ecotoxicity tests. Food preference was evaluated by offering four prey species to dragonfly nymphs and three to adult large ostracods. In general, the food preference of both predator species after being exposed to metal salts was not altered, compared with controls, but the feeding rate of T. cophisa decreased in comparison with controls, after exposure to each metal salt, except manganese. Contrastingly, predation rates of Chlamydotheca sp. increased after metal salt exposure. This difference in response can be explained by differences in life-history traits of these two organisms. Both species individuals preferred soft-bodied prey (Oligochaeta, Chironomidae) over water-dwelling crustaceans that are likely to be more difficult to prey upon. Tests evaluating the effects of metals and other chemicals on predation behavior may lead to a better understanding of biotic interactions that can be restricted by chemical stress, improving our understanding of possible food web disruptions underlying chemical stress.
KW - Benthic invertebrates
KW - Food selection
KW - Metal toxicity
KW - Predation behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110925852&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11270-021-05248-3
DO - 10.1007/s11270-021-05248-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85110925852
SN - 0049-6979
VL - 232
JO - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
JF - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
IS - 7
M1 - 288
ER -