Journal article
Predation risk triggers copepod small-scale behavior in the Baltic Sea
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon1
National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark2
Section for Marine Living Resources, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark3
University of Hamburg4
Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences5
German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research6
Johann Heinrich von Thunen Institute7
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea8
Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel9
Predators not only have direct impact on biomass but also indirect, non-consumptive effects on the behavior their prey organisms. A characteristic response of zooplankton in aquatic ecosystems is predator avoidance by diel vertical migration (DVM), a behavior which is well studied on the population level.
A wide range of behavioral diversity and plasticity has been observed both between- as well as within-species and, hence, investigating predator–prey interactions at the individual level seems therefore essential for a better understanding of zooplankton dynamics. Here we applied an underwater imaging instrument, the video plankton recorder (VPR), which allows the non-invasive investigation of individual, diel adaptive behavior of zooplankton in response to predators in the natural oceanic environment, providing a finely resolved and continuous documentation of the organisms’ vertical distribution.
Combing observations of copepod individuals observed with the VPR and hydroacoustic estimates of predatory fish biomass, we here show (i) a small-scale DVM of ovigerous Pseudocalanus acuspes females in response to its main predators, (ii) in-situ observations of a direct short-term reaction of the prey to the arrival of the predator and (iii) in-situ evidence of pronounced individual variation in this adaptive behavior with potentially strong effects on individual performance and ecosystem functioning.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Year: | 2020 |
Pages: | 702-713 |
ISSN: | 01427873 and 14643774 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1093/plankt/fbaa044 |
ORCIDs: | St. John, Michael |