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Inducible defenses as factor determining trophic pathways in a food web

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Abstract

Understanding functional roles of prey defense in biological interactions remains a major task in food web ecology. We investigated the role of an inducible defense as a factor that influences the trophic pathway in an aquatic food web. Quantitative information on food web structure in Lake Suwa (a eutrophic lake in Japan) was provided by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses using samples taken during summer and a structural equation model applied to annual monitoring data. As predicted, there was none or only a weak link detected between the prey with induced defenses (Bosmina fatalis) and its invertebrate predator (Leptodora kindtii). The effects of an inducible defense on the trophic links are based mainly on the mortality or population growth rate of organisms using predation, population (or community) level experiments, field data, and model estimates. However, there was no research linking these different data using stable isotope analyses. Our research provides new evidence supporting previous studies by suggesting the importance of the inducible defense in determining food web structure and function.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. H. D. Park for his helpful comments on this study. This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid to M. Sakamoto (No. 23510031) and to S. Kashiwada (No. 23310026) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama, 939-0398, Japan

    Masaki Sakamoto & Jin-Yong Ha

  2. Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute, 5-34 Yanagasaki, Otsu, 520-0022, Shiga, Japan

    Takamaru Nagata

  3. Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University, Kogandori 5-2-4, Suwa, Nagano, 392-0027, Japan

    Sho Kimijima & Takayuki Hanazato

  4. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-Si, 446-701, Korea

    Kwang-Hyeon Chang

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  1. Masaki Sakamoto
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  2. Takamaru Nagata
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  4. Sho Kimijima
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  5. Takayuki Hanazato
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  6. Kwang-Hyeon Chang
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Correspondence to Masaki Sakamoto.

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Sakamoto, M., Nagata, T., Ha, JY. et al. Inducible defenses as factor determining trophic pathways in a food web. Hydrobiologia 743, 15–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1999-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1999-x

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