Consumption of macroinvertebrates by invasive and native gammarids: a comparison

By H. Krisp, G. Maier. 2005

117 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The Ponto-Caspian gammarids Dikerogammarus villosus SOVINSKIJ and Echinogammarus ischnus STEBBING have invaded Central-European streams in the early 1990s. Declines in macroinvertebrates have been observed since the arrival of invasive species. To elucidate the predatory impact of gammarids on the macroinvertebrate community, we conducted laboratory experiments with macroinvertebrate prey taxa and native and invasive gammarids as predators. Dikerogammarus villosus, which is known to be a strong predator, consumed more and a broader range of prey than E. ischnus or the native gammarids, Gammarus pulex L. and Gammarus roeseli GERVAIS. Echinogammarus ischnus consumed a somewhat higher amount of prey organisms than G. pulex and a higher number and a broader range than G. roeseli. Adult D. villosus consumed up to 25 mg macroinvertebrate biomass (wet weight) per day which corresponds to approximately 1/3 of their own biomass. Chironomid larvae were preferred by all gammarids tested. Taking into account that gammarids density may surpass 1000 ind m-2, our results suggest that the predatory behaviour of invasive gammarids, in particular of D. villosus, may have contributed to the decline of some macroinvertebrate taxa in some European streams.

Subfields: Ecology, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f747466764d7fceca5a8ebca526e2d94b2346b83

How researchers see this paper

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In Ecology

1. A. Konopacka
2. M. Grabowski
3. K. Bącela
4. C. Macneil
5. K. Bącela‐Spychalska
6. G. Velde
7. V. Panov
8. J. Weis

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. A. Konopacka
2. K. Bącela‐Spychalska
3. G. Velde
4. V. Panov
5. J. Weis
6. T. Rewicz
7. C. Macneil
8. M. Grabowski

Citations in the corpus

• How to be an invasive gammarid (Amphipoda: Gammaroidea)–comparison of life history traits (2007, background): “Also, in the Netherlands and in Germany, Dikerogammarus villosus has been found to be a voracious predator responsible for the extermination of other macroinvertebrate species (Dick & Platvoet, 2000; Krisp & Maier, 2005).”
• Assessment of biocontamination of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in European inland waterways (2008, background): “In experiments, Krisp and Maier (2005) have showed that D. villosus and C. ischnus effectively consume the larvae of Ephemeroptera that form the main indicator group for estimation of ecological water quality.”
• The role of behavior in the success of invasive crustaceans (2010, background): “Adults consumed about one-third of their body weight per day (Krisp and Maier 2005), suggesting that they may contribute to the decline of these invertebrates in some European streams.”
• The profile of a 'perfect' invader - the case of killer shrimp, Dikerogammarus villosus (2014, background): “…benthic macroinvertebrates, such as chironomid, mayfly and dragonfly larvae, aquatic bugs, leeches, isopods, juvenile crayfish and other amphipods (Dick et al. 2002; Krisp and Maier 2005; MacNeil and Platvoet 2005; Buric et al. 2009; Platvoet et al. 2009a; Boets et al. 2010; Hanfling et al. 2011).”
• Alien Crustacea in Polish waters - Amphipoda (2007, background): “2006) or as a very effective predator preying upon other macroinvertebrates (MacNeil and Platvoet 2005; Krisp and Maier 2005; Kley and Maier 2003; Devin et al. 2003; Dick and Platvoet 2000, Van Riel et al. 2006) and hunting for fish eggs or juveniles (Casellato et al.”