Abstract
Sculpin and stonefly predators fed selectively on the larvae of the chironomids Paratendipes over Cricotopus in laboratory stream microcosms. In these experiments, Cricotopus were usually tube-dwelling, whereas Paratendipes were usually free-living. Paratendipes were also bright red, which may have influenced selectivity by visual feeding sculpin, but tactile feeding stoneflies were most likely influenced only by the difference in tube-dwelling behavior of the two prey types. Both chironomids were abundant in the field, but exhibited discrete microhabitat distributions. Field collected sculpin ate mostly Cricotopus, probably because Cricotopus occurred in a more accessible microhabitat.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allan, J. D., 1982. Feeding habits and prey consumption of three septipalpian stoneflies (Plecoptera) in a mountain stream. Ecology 63: 26–34.
Brocksen, R. W., G. E. Davis & C. E. Warren, 1968. Competition, food consumption, and the production of sculpins and trout in laboratory stream communities. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 32: 51–75.
Craig, P. C. & J. Wells, 1976. Life history notes for a population of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) in an Alaskan arctic stream. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 33: 1639–1642.
Crowder, L. B. & W. E. Cooper, 1982. Habitat structural complexity and the interaction between bluegills and their prey. Ecology 63: 1802–1813.
Cuker, B. E., 1981. Control of epilithic community structure in an arctic lake by vertebrate predation and invertebrate grazing. Ph.D. thesis, N.C. St. Univ., Raleigh.
Davis, G. E. & C. E. Warren, 1965. Trophic relations of a sculpin in laboratory stream communities. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 29: 846–871.
Devonport, B. F. & M. J. Winterbourne, 1976. The feeding relationships of two invertebrate predators in a New Zealand river. Freshwat. Biol. 6: 167- 176.
Dodson, S. I., 1975. Predation rates of zooplankton in arctic ponds. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20: 426–433.
Fuller, R. L. & K. W. Stewart, 1979. Stonefly (Plecoptera) food habits and prey preference in the Dolores River, Colorado. Am. Midl. Nat. 101: 170–181.
Gilinsky, E., 1984. The role offish predation and spatial heterogeneity in determining benthic community structure. Ecology 65: 455–468.
Herhsey, A. E., 1985. Experimental effects of predatory sculpin on the chironomid communities of two arctic littoral zone habitats. Ecology 66 (4) (in press).
Hildrew, A. G. & C. R. Townsend, 1976. The distribution of two predators and their prey in an iron rich stream. J. An. Ecol. 45: 41–57.
Otto, C. & P. Sjostrom, 1983. Cerci as antipredatory attributes in stonefly nymphs. Oikos 41: 200–204.
Peckarsky, B. L., 1980. Predatory-prey interactions between stoneflies and mayflies. Behavioral observations. Ecology 61: 932–943.
Pidgeon, R. W. J., 1981. Diet and growth of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, in two streams on the New England Tableland, New South Wales. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 967–974.
Siegfried, C. A. & A. W. Knight, 1976. Prey selection by a Septipalpian stonefly nymph, Acroneuria (Calineuria) californica Banks (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in a Sierra foothill stream. Ecology 57: 603–608.
Sokal, R. R. & F. J. Rohlf, 1969. Biometry, W. H. Freeman & Co., S. Francisco, 776 pp.
Van Vliet, W. H., 1964. An ecological study of Cottus cognatus Richardson in northern Saskatchewan, M.Sci. Thesis, Univ. Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 155 pp.
Walde, S. J. & R. W. Davies, 1984. Invertebrate predation and lotic prey communities: Evaluation of in situ enclosure/exclosure experiments. Ecology 65: 1206–1213.
Walshe, B. M., 1950. The function of haemoglobin in Chironomus plumosus under natural conditions. J. Ex. Biol. 27: 73–95.
Walshe, B. M., 1951. The feeding habits of certain chironomid larvae (subfamily Tendipedinae). Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 121: 63–79.
Werner, E. E., G. G. Mittelbach, D. J. Hall & J. F. Gilliam, 1983. Experimental tests of optimal habitat use in fish: The role of relative habitat profitability. Ecology 64: 1525–1539.
Wiley, M. J., 1981. Interacting influences of density and preference on the emigration rates of some lotic chironomid larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae). Ecology 62: 426–438.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hershey, A.E., Dodson, S.I. Selective predation by a sculpin and a stonefly on two chironomids in laboratory feeding trials. Hydrobiologia 124, 269–273 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00015244
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00015244