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- Title
Do Predators Condition the Distribution of Prey within Micro Habitats? An Experiment with Stoneflies Plecoptera.
- Authors
Bo, Tiziano; Fenoglio, Stefano; LópezRodríguez, Manuel Jesús; Tierno de Figueroa, José Manuel; Grenna, Marco; Cucco, Marco
- Abstract
The selection of habitat by macroinvertebrates living in running waters may be influenced by the physical characteristics of the substratum, as well as by the presence of other species. In this study, an artificial river with three different substrata pebbles, detritus, and leaves was utilized to analyze the microhabitat preference of two Plecoptera prey species Amphinemura sulcicollisand Brachyptera risi, both in absence and in presence of a Plecoptera predator species Perla marginata. In the absence of predators, both prey species showed a clear preference for the leaf microhabitat. When the predators were present, only Brachyptera risishowed a change of microhabitat selection, with a decrease of leaves and an increase of pebbles and detritus utilization. Amphinemura sulcicollisdid not change their substratum utilization. This study demonstrates that the presence of a predator may affect microhabitat selection through a switch from the preferred to the less preferred substrata, although not all species change their habitat utilization in response to predator presence. © 2010 WILEYVCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
- Subjects
ECOLOGY of predatory animals; PREDATION; HABITATS; STONEFLIES; INVERTEBRATE ecology; PEBBLES; DETRITUS; ANIMAL ecology; RIVERS
- Publication
International Review of Hydrobiology, 2010, Vol 95, Issue 3, p285
- ISSN
1434-2944
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/iroh.200911228