Species Composition and Distribution of Sibling Species of the Genus Chironomus Meigen (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons, Baltic Sea

Markiyanova, M. F.

doi:10.1134/s0001437018050065

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Its larvae belong to the dominant group of the zoobenthos of the lagoons located in the south Baltic region (Ezhova et al 2005;Wolnomiejski and Witek 2013;Kornijów and Pawlikowski 2015). Karyological studies showed that in the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons, the genus is represented by two closely related pelophilous species: Chironomus balatonicus Dévai, Wülker et Scholl, 1983 andChironomus plumosus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Markiyanova 2009(Markiyanova , 2018. The distribution of the two species, which differ in their osmoregulatory capabilities, is affected by the salinity gradient (Markiyanova and Ezhova 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feeding by two closely related species of Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in south Baltic lagoons, with implications for competitive interactions and resource partitioning

2019

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Four major categories of food items were determined in the gut content of chironomid larvae collected in the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons in the spring-summer period of 2009-2011. These were detritus (range from 88 to 92% of the gut content, by volume), matter of plant (2-7%) and animal origin (0.2-0.5%), and mineral particles (3-7%). Plant matter comprised pine pollen, conidia of fungi, cyanobacteria, green algae and diatoms. Matter of animal origin consisted of remnants of oligochaetes and rotifers. Food content was more diverse in the larvae inhabiting the Curonian Lagoon. The size of mineral particles in gut contents was significantly higher in C. balatonicus, although the distance between the bases of the maxillas, as a predictor of the size of the particles being eaten, was larger in C. plumosus. The gut content analysis suggested lack of clear food selectivity which potentially may lead to interspecific competition for food. However, the strength of interaction can be substantially weakened by several factors: (1) exceptionally favourable food conditions for benthic chironomids in both highly eutrophic lagoons, (2) the ability to occupy areas differing in salinity, (3) different feeding behaviour and (4) the ability to swallow particles of different size spectra.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Vistula Lagoon the opposite is true. Their ranges only overlap in small areas of either lagoon, such as in the least saline northern part of the Curonian Lagoon, and the mouths of the biggest rivers flowing into the Vistula Lagoon (Markiyanova 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding by two closely related species of Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in south Baltic lagoons, with implications for competitive interactions and resource partitioning

2019

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Co-occurrence and potential resource partitioning between oligochaetes and chironomid larvae in a sediment depth gradient

et al. 2021

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Although detritivorous Tubificinae and chironomid larvae are important groups in functioning of both, fresh and brackish water ecosystem, their co-occurrence patterns in sediment is weakly known. We carried out two-year-long research in the brackish Vistula Lagoon (southern Baltic Sea), where both Tubificinae (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Potamothrix hammoniensis) and larvae of Chironomus balatonicus occur in high densities. Because of different source of their food, we hypothesized that the ecological interactions between those two groups of detritivores are not antagonistic, thus allowing for their co-occurrence along the depth of sediment profile with lack of competition for space. Here we show that maximum burrowing depth, occasionally reaching 25 cm was significantly affected by the total density of the each group in the entire core. Tubificinae and C. balatonicus showed the highest density at 0–10 cm depth, where they co-occurred most frequently, with significant co-occurrence in the layers of 0–2 cm and 2–5 cm. We propose a hypothetical model of interactions between apparently the same functional groups and the complementary role they play in sediment reworking. It points to their coexistence in the shared microhabitat, but using space and food resources differently. Also, the consequences of their activity and habitat structuring are opposite—Chironomus larvae mostly affect the deeper layers of the sediments, while Oligochaeta both the deeper and surface layers. Thus, their requirements and ecological roles seem not to overlap, preventing competitive exclusion and allowing for co-occurrence.

show abstract

Species Composition and Distribution of Sibling Species of the Genus Chironomus Meigen (Diptera: Chironomidae) in the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons, Baltic Sea

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Feeding by two closely related species of Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in south Baltic lagoons, with implications for competitive interactions and resource partitioning

Feeding by two closely related species of Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in south Baltic lagoons, with implications for competitive interactions and resource partitioning

Co-occurrence and potential resource partitioning between oligochaetes and chironomid larvae in a sediment depth gradient

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