Yoshinori Taniguchi

FLOOD DISTURBANCE REGIMES INFLUENCE RAINBOW TROUT INVASION SUCCESS AMONG FIVE HOLARCTIC REGIONS

There is growing awareness that predicting biological invasions will require the development of conceptual models for specific taxa at appropriate scales. Salmonids are ideal taxa for testing factors that influence invasions, because large numbers have been introduced worldwide for long periods and their ecology is well known. We evaluated the hypothesis that, among regions with suitable water temperatures, environmental resistance from flood disturbances that wash away trout fry strongly influence invasion success of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), the most widely introduced fish species. We predicted that flow regimes in regions where rainbow trout invasions are successful would match those in their native range and would differ from those in regions where invasions are moderately successful or failed. We tested six specific predictions about how timing, predictability, frequency, duration, and annual variability of floods, as well as timing of low flows, will differ relative to timing of rainbow t...

CONDITION-SPECIFIC COMPETITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ALTITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION OF STREAM FISHES

The occupation of adjacent, nonoverlapping positions along environmental gradients by closely related and ecologically similar species has drawn considerable attention from many ecologists over the past decades. Condition-specific competition, wherein competitive superiority varies with the abiotic environmental gradient, has been proposed as the major structuring force behind such distributions. However, few studies have elucidated the underlying mechanisms, such as behavioral and demographic processes. We conducted laboratory experiments to examine the effects of temperature on interspecific competition between two stream salmonid fishes, Salvelinus malma and S. leucomaenis. The two species have a largely allopatric altitudinal distribution on Hokkaido Island, Japan, proposed to be the result of temperature-mediated competition. We tested predictions that at a higher temperature (12°C), S. leucomaenis would dominate over S. malma in aggressive interactions, foraging performance, growth, and survival, but become subordinate at a lower temperature (6°C). Indeed, S. leucomaenis initiated a greater number of aggressive acts, attained greater food intake and greater growth, and finally excluded S. malma at the higher temperature. Although the two species initiated a similar number of aggressive acts and foraged equally well at the lower temperature, S. leucomaenis achieved a higher growth rate than S. malma; however, the latter eventually became numerically dominant. Clear competitive release in allopatry occurred for S. malma only at the higher temperature, providing direct evidence of condition-specific asymmetric competition. The lower distribution boundary of S. malma in Hokkaido streams may therefore be determined by temperature-mediated condition-specific competition. However, mechanisms determining the upper distribution boundary of S. leucomaenis could not be fully explained by the competitive results at lower temperature, but required an understanding of how effects of competition interacted with species-specific physiological traits. Thus, species distributions along an environmental gradient cannot be solely explained by a simple model of condition-specific competition without considering mechanistic linkages among behavioral and physiological responses to the environment, resource use, and demographic processes.

TERRESTRIAL INVERTEBRATE INPUTS DETERMINE THE LOCAL ABUNDANCE OF STREAM FISHES IN A FORESTED STREAM

Transfer of energy from more productive donor habitats is frequently significant for the maintenance of consumers in the recipient habitats. Nevertheless, the connection between the distribution of consumers and allochthonous inputs has not been directly examined by field experiment. We present experimental evidence that terrestrial invertebrate inputs directly influence the distribution of stream fishes in a forested headwater stream. When terrestrial invertebrate input to the stream was experimentally reduced by using greenhouse covers, fish biomass also decreased dramatically. Despite the greater amounts of input in the control than in the reduced treatments, terrestrial invertebrates made up ∼90% of stomach contents in both treatments during the study period. Moreover, no difference in fish growth rates was evident between the treatments. These results provide experimental evidence that the flow of such allochthonous resources in the donor-controlled system can explain the distribution and dynamics of...

Selective foraging on terrestrial invertebrates by rainbow trout in a forested headwater stream in northern Japan

The important contribution of terrestrial invertebrates to the energy budget of drift-foraging fishes has been well documented in many forested headwater streams. However, relatively little attention has been focused on the behavioral mechanisms behind such intensive exploitation. We tested for the hypothesis that active prey selection by fishes would be an important determinant of terrestrial invertebrates contribution to fish diets in a forested headwater stream in northern Japan. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, were estimated to consume 57.12 mg m−2 day−1 (dry mass) terrestrial invertebrates, 77% of their total input (73.89 mg m−2 day−1), there being high selectivity for the former from stream drift. Both the falling input and drift of terrestrial invertebrates peaked at around dusk, decreasing dramatically toward midnight. In contrast, both aquatic insect adults and benthic invertebrates showed pronounced nocturnal drift. Because the prey consumption rates of rainbow trout were high at dawn and dusk, decreasing around midnight, the greater contribution of terrestrial invertebrates to trout diet was regarded as being partly influenced by the difference in diel periodicity of availability among prey categories. In addition, selectivity also depended upon differences in individual prey size among aquatic insect adults, and benthic and terrestrial invertebrates, the last category being largest in both the stream drift and the trout diets. We concluded that differences in both the timing of supplies and prey size among the three prey categories were the primary factors behind the selective foraging on terrestrial invertebrates by rainbow trout.

Managing Aquatic Species of Conservation Concern in the Face of Climate Change and Invasive Species

The difficult task of managing species of conservation concern is likely to become even more challenging due to the interaction of climate change and invasive species. In addition to direct effects on habitat quality, climate change will foster the expansion of invasive species into new areas and magnify the effects of invasive species already present by altering competitive dominance, increasing predation rates, and enhancing the virulence of diseases. In some cases parapatric species may expand into new habitats and have detrimental effects that are similar to those of invading non-native species. The traditional strategy of isolating imperiled species in reserves may not be adequate if habitat conditions change beyond historic ranges or in ways that favor invasive species. The consequences of climate change will require a more active management paradigm that includes implementing habitat improvements that reduce the effects of climate change and creating migration barriers that prevent an influx of invasive species. Other management actions that should be considered include providing dispersal corridors that allow species to track environmental changes, translocating species to newly suitable habitats where migration is not possible, and developing action plans for the early detection and eradication of new invasive species.

Size-structured Interactions between Native and Introduced Species: Can Intraguild Predation Facilitate Invasion by Stream Salmonids?

Dynamics of biological invasions may be complicated in size-structured animal populations. Differences in timing of life history events such as juvenile emergence create complex interaction webs where different life stages of native and non-native species act as predators, competitors, and prey. Stream salmonids are an ideal group for studying these phenomena because they display competition and predation in size-structured populations and have been introduced worldwide. For example, introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are invading streams of Hokkaido Island, Japan and have caused declines in native masu salmon (O. masou) populations. However, age-0 rainbow trout emerge later than age-0 masu salmon and are smaller, which raises the question of why they are able to recruit and therefore invade in the face of a larger competitor. We conducted experiments in laboratory stream channels to test effects of increasing density of age-0 and age-1 rainbow trout on age-0 masu salmon. Age-1 rainbow trout dominated age-0 masu salmon by aggressive interference, relegating them to less favorable foraging positions downstream and reducing their foraging frequency and growth. The age-1 trout also reduced masu salmon survival by predation of about 40% of the individuals overall. In contrast, age-0 rainbow trout had little effect on age-0 masu salmon. Instead, the salmon dominated the age-0 trout by interference competition and reduced their survival by predation of 60% of the individuals. In each case, biotic interactions by the larger species on the smaller were strongly negative due to a combination of interspecific competition and intraguild predation. We predict that together these produce a positive indirect effect in the interaction chain that will allow the recruitment of rainbow trout in the face of competition and predation from age-0 masu salmon, and thereby facilitate their invasion in northern Japan.

Origin and dispersal of bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus , in Japan and Korea

The bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus, is a notorious exotic species in many freshwater ecosystems, currently expanding its distribution worldwide. In 1960, a small group of bluegills captured in the Mississippi River at Guttenberg in Iowa were imported to Japan as a gift from the mayor of Chicago to the Japanese government. The offspring of these fish were released into the wild in Japan and also in Korea. Over 40 years after this first introduction, L. macrochirus now occupies all the freshwater ecosystems of both countries. We compared invading populations of L. macrochirus in Japan and Korea with native populations in the USA, using PCR–RFLP (polymerase chain reaction–restricted fragment length polymorphism) analyses of mitochondrial DNA, to estimate the origin and dispersal of L. macrochirus in Japan and Korea. Five haplotypes of mitochondrial DNA detected in Japanese and Korean populations completely coincided with the haplotypes of the Guttenberg population. Haplotype diversity of invading populations was shown to be highest in populations established in the 1960s, while genetic variability was lower in more recently established populations. Our results suggest that all L. macrochirus in Japan and Korea have originated from the 15 fish first introduced in 1960. Low haplotype diversity in newly established populations is probably due to genetic drift arising from repeated population bottlenecks, while the high similarity of haplotypes among neighbouring populations is considered to reflect the history of transplantation by humans.

Redd superimposition by introduced rainbow trout,oncorhynchus mykiss, on native charrs in a japanese stream

Spawning redd superimposition of introduced, spring-spawning rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss, on native, fall-spawning Dolly varden,Salvelinus malma, and white-spotted charr,S. leucomaenis, were examined in a small stream in Hokkaido, Japan. The stream reaches in which Dolly Varden and white-sported charr redds were observed in fall 1997 greatly overlapped with the reaches in which rainbow trout redds were recorded in spring 1998. Spawning microhabitats were also similar between trout and the two charr species. Thirteen and 3% of Dolly Varden and white-spotted charr redds, respectively, were superimposed by rainbow trout redds. The eggs or alevins in the disturbed charr redds were potentially damaged because charrs were not likely to have emerged from the redds before the superimposition occurred. In sufficiently great abundance, introduced rainbow trout may negatively impact native charr populations by dislodging the latter’s spawning redds.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) invasion in Hokkaido streams, northern Japan, in relation to flow variability and biotic interactions

Factors controlling invasion success of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and interactions with native masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) were examined by field investigations. The results suggested that flow regime has a major role in controlling rainbow trout invasion success. Although competitive relationships were found between the two species, masu salmon were not likely to prevent trout invasion. Analyses on the distributions and abundances of the two species indicated that the occurrence of rainbow trout was limited to streams with stable flows, and the density of each species was negatively related with that of the other. Habitat use and diet analyses revealed a pattern of their resource partitioning; rainbow trout occupy positions near the bottom or cover, foraging benthic prey, while masu salmon feed drifting prey at the middle layers of the water column. This resource partitioning was suggested to reflect a diet shift by rainbow trout. Our results also have a management implication that dams, w...

Fish reintroductions reveal smooth transitions between lake community states

Whether communities respond smoothly or discontinuously to changing environmental conditions has important consequences for the preservation and restoration of ecosystems. Theory shows that communities may exhibit a variety of responses to environmental change, including abrupt transitions due to the existence of alternate states. However, there have been few opportunities to look for such transitions in nature. Here, we examine the impact of a two-orders-of-magnitude decrease and then increase in planktivore abundance in Wintergreen lake (Michigan, USA), caused by the extinction and reintroduction of two dominant fish species (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus). Over a 16 + yr period of slow change from high planktivory to low planktivory back to high planktivory, the zooplankton community changed smoothly and predictably between states. In years of low planktivory, the zooplankton assemblage was dominated by a single, large, cladoceran species, Daphnia pulicaria, whereas in years of high planktivory, D. pulicaria disappeared and was replaced by a suite of small-bodied cladocerans. We quantified the multivariate change in zooplankton community dissimilarity and found that community state smoothly tracked changes in planktivore density in both a forward and backward direction. Thus, there was little evidence of discontinuity in this system where transitions are strongly driven by planktivory.