Early Survival and Growth of the Ninespine Stickleback, Pungitius pungitius

Griswold, Bernard L.; Smith, Larry

doi:10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<350:esagot>2.0.co;2

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Ab Ghani, Herczeg, Leinonen, & Merilä, ; Ab Ghani et al., ; Herczeg et al., ; Kuusela, ; Mobley et al., ), but the possible role of cannibalism and parasitism in explaining its occurrence have not been explicitly considered. The lack of focus on the possible role of cannibalism is understandable as, aside from occasional egg or larval cannibalism, there are no reports of cannibalism directed towards larger conspecifics in the nine‐spined stickleback (Griswold & Smith, ; Hynes, ; Smith & Reay, ). To this end, our results provide novel evidence for the occurrence of juvenile cannibalism in nine‐spined sticklebacks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cannibalism facilitates gigantism in a nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) population

Merilä

Eloranta

2016

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Cannibalism is a taxonomically widespread phenomenon that can fundamentally affect the structure and stability of aquatic communities, including the emergence of a bimodal size distribution ("dwarfs" and "giants") in fish populations. Emergence of giants could also be driven or facilitated by parasites that divert host resources from reproduction to growth. We studied the trophic ecology of giant nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) in a Finnish pond to evaluate the hypotheses that gigantism in this population would be facilitated by cannibalism and/or parasitic infections by Schistocephalus pungitii cestode. Stomach content analyses revealed an initial ontogenetic dietary shift from small to large benthic invertebrates, followed by cannibalism on 10-20-mm-long conspecifics by giant individuals. However, stable nitrogen isotopes (δ 15 N) indicated a concave relationship between fish size and trophic position, with relatively low trophic position estimates suggesting only facultative cannibalism among giants. The unexpectedly high trophic position of the intermediate-sized fish may reflect substantial, but temporary, predation on eggs or young-of-the-year conspecifics, but may also partly result from starvation caused by S. pungitii infection.However, it seems implausible that parasitic infections (i.e. castration) would explain gigantism among nine-spined sticklebacks because all >100-mm giants were unparasitised. Hence, the present results suggest that an ontogenetic niche shift from an invertebrate diet to intercohort cannibalism may facilitate the occurrence of gigantism in nine-spined sticklebacks. K E Y W O R D Sindividual specialisation, parasitism, Schistocephalus pungitii, stable isotope analysis, stomach content analysis

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cannibalism facilitates gigantism in a nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) population

Merilä

Eloranta

2016

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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“…However, utilization of these two species as forage within any of the Great Lakes remains largely unknown. In contrast, Pungitiusinhabiting open water areas of rivers and bays in | Lake Superior is frequently consumed by pelagic | predators such as Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) | (Scott and Crossman 1973), Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) (Griswold and Smith 1973) and several introduced salmonids (e.g., Johnson et al 1995). Studies of the food habits of fish from river mouths of Thunder Bay harbour in 1987 did not reveal any utilization of Gasterosteus or Apeltes (Stephenson and Momot 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threespine, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and Fourspine, Apeltis quadracus, sticklebacks in the Lake Superior Basin

Stephenson,

Momot

2000

The Canadian Field-Naturalist

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The Threespine (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and Fourspine (Apeltes quadracus) sticklebacks are unintentionally introduced species to Lake Superior with initial populations established near Thunder Bay, Ontario. An examination of annual seining and trawling records show that native sticklebacks have declined in abundance in their native habitats as a result of these introductions. Assuming a single colonization event for Lake Superior, the distribution of Gasterosteus has been extended to the Black River, Ontario, in the east as well as both the Minnesota and Michigan coasts of Lake Superior. Apeltes quadracus is not known from Great Lakes populations outside of Lake Superior. However, specimens have been collected in Lake Superior waters distant from Thunder Bay. Gasterosteus has spread rapidly while Apeltes has not spread as quickly. Apeltes, due to its preference for nearshore areas, has the greatest potential to affect the native fish community negatively. This may occur through competition for habitat and food resources which can ultimately change the food web structure.

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A contribution to the identification of representative vulnerable fish species for pesticide risk assessment in Europe—A comparison of population resilience using matrix models

Ibrahim

Preuß

Schäffer

et al. 2014

Ecological Modelling

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Early Survival and Growth of the Ninespine Stickleback, Pungitius pungitius

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Cannibalism facilitates gigantism in a nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) population

Cannibalism facilitates gigantism in a nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) population

Threespine, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and Fourspine, Apeltis quadracus, sticklebacks in the Lake Superior Basin

A contribution to the identification of representative vulnerable fish species for pesticide risk assessment in Europe—A comparison of population resilience using matrix models

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