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The effect of top‐predator presence and phenotype on aquatic microbial communities

  • Sullam, Karen E. Department of Surface Waters—Research and Management, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland - Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland
  • Matthews, Blake Eawag, Aquatic Ecology Department, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
  • Aebischer, Thierry Eawag, Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland - Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland - Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Seehausen, Ole Eawag, Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland - Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland
  • Bürgmann, Helmut Department of Surface Waters—Research and Management, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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    01.03.2017
Published in:
  • Ecology and Evolution. - 2017, vol. 7, no. 5, p. 1572–1582
bacterial community composition
ecosystem effects
Gasterosteus aculeatus
mesocosms
stickleback
English The presence of predators can impact a variety of organisms within the ecosystem, including microorganisms. Because the effects of fish predators and their phenotypic differences on microbial communities have not received much attention, we tested how the presence/absence, genotype, and plasticity of the predatory three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) influence aquatic microbes in outdoor mesocosms. We reared lake and stream stickleback genotypes on contrasting food resources to adulthood, and then added them to aquatic mesocosm ecosystems to assess their impact on the planktonic bacterial community. We also investigated whether the effects of fish persisted following the removal of adults, and the subsequent addition of a homogenous juvenile fish population. The presence of adult stickleback increased the number of bacterial OTUs and altered the size structure of the microbial community, whereas their phenotype affected bacterial community composition. Some of these effects were detectable after adult fish were removed from the mesocosms, and after juvenile fish were placed in the tanks, most of these effects disappeared. Our results suggest that fish can have strong short-term effects on microbial communities that are partially mediated by phenotypic variation of fish.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Ecology and biodeversity
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/305298
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