Predator community and resource use jointly modulate the inducible defense response in body height of crucian carp

Back to summary metadata
dc.contributor.affiliationInland Norway University of Applied Sciences - de Meo, Ilaria
dc.contributor.affiliationInland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Østbye, Kjartan
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki - Kahilainen, Kimmo
dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of New Brunswick - Hayden, Brian
dc.contributor.affiliationInland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Fagertun, Christian
dc.contributor.affiliationInland Norway University of Applied Sciences - Poléo, Antonio
dc.contributor.authorde Meo, Ilaria
dc.contributor.authorØstbye, Kjartan
dc.contributor.authorKahilainen, Kimmo
dc.contributor.authorHayden, Brian
dc.contributor.authorFagertun, Christian
dc.contributor.authorPoléo, Antonio
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-24T15:21:11Z
dc.date.issued2021-12-22
dc.date.issued2021-12-22
dc.descriptionPhenotypic plasticity can be expressed as changes in body shape in response to environmental variability. Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), a widespread cyprinid, displays remarkable plasticity in body morphology and increases body depth when exposed to cues from predators, suggesting the triggering of an anti-predator defense mechanism. However, these morphological changes could also be related to resource use and foraging behavior, as an indirect effect of predator presence. In order to determine whether phenotypic plasticity in crucian carp is driven by a direct or indirect response to predation threat, we compared twelve fish communities inhabiting small lakes in southeast Norway grouped by four categories of predation regimes: no predator fish, or brown trout (Salmo trutta), perch (Perca fluviatilis) or pike (Esox lucius) as main piscivores. We predicted the body shape of crucian carp to be associated with the species composition of predator communities, and that the presence of efficient piscivores results in a deeper body shape. We use stable isotope analyses to test if this variation in body shape was related to a shift in individual resource use – i.e., littoral rather than pelagic resource use would favor the development of a specific body shape - or other environmental characteristics. The results showed that increasingly efficient predator communities induced progressively deeper body shape, larger body size and lower population densities. Predator maximum gape size and individual trophic position were the best variables explaining crucian carp variation in body depth among predation categories, while littoral resource use did not have a clear effect. The gradient in predation pressure also corresponded to a shift in lake productivity. These results indicate that crucian carp have a fine-tuned morphological defense mechanism against predation risk, triggered by the combined effect of predator presence and resource availability.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.d2547d825
dc.identifier.urihttps://hydatakatalogi-test-24.it.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/10764
dc.rightsOpen
dc.rights.licensecc-zero
dc.subjectgeometric morphometric analysis
dc.subjectstable isotope analysis
dc.subjectcrucian carp
dc.subjectpredation risk
dc.titlePredator community and resource use jointly modulate the inducible defense response in body height of crucian carp
dc.typedataset
dc.typedataset

Files

Repositories

Zenodo