Invasive Neogobius melanostomus in the Lithuanian Baltic Sea coast: Trophic role and impact on the diet of piscivorous fish |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Nature Research Centre, Akademijos Str. 2, LT-08412 Vilnius, Lithuania;2. Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio Ave 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania;3. Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio Ave 9, LT-10222 Vilnius, Lithuania;1. V.S. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), 3 Akad. Koptyug Pr., Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;2. Northern Water Problems Institute of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 50 Alexander Nevsky Pr., Petrozavodsk 185030, Russia;3. Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, 48 Moika Emb., Saint-Petersburg 191186, Russia;4. The Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of the Ural Branch (UB) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), 15 Akad. Vonsovskoy str., Ekaterinburg 620016, Russia;1. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Alpena Fisheries Research Station, United States;2. U.S. Geological Survey, Hammond Bay Biological Station, United States;3. Michigan State University, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, United States;1. Geology Department, Cairo University, Egypt;2. Department of Geography, University College, London, UK;3. Cultural Heritage Program, French University, Cairo, Egypt;4. Geology Department, Beni Suef University, Egypt;1. Department of Economics, Wesleyan University, 238 Church Street, Middletown, CT 06459, United States;2. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 427 Lorch St., Madison, WI 53706, United States;1. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Marquette Fisheries Research Station, 484 Cherry Creek Rd., Marquette, MI 49855, United States;2. University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, School of Freshwater Sciences, 600 East Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204, United States;3. University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, Box 355020, Seattle, WA 98195-5020, United States;4. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ashland Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office, 2800 Lake Shore Drive East, Ashland, WI 54806, United States;1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada;2. Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Toronto, Ontario M9P 3V6, Canada |
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| Abstract: | The partitioning of trophic niches is central for understanding the ecosystem processes associated with biological invasions. The recent successful establishment of Neogobius melanostomus in the Baltic Sea posed questions whether this invader found its own trophic niche, to what extent it competes with native benthivores, and if commercially important fish could be affected. In this study conducted along the Lithuanian Baltic coast, we used the stable isotope approach to identify potential trophic competitors of N. melanostomus. We also employed gut content analysis to quantify the incorporation of N. melanostomus into the diet of native piscivores. Furthermore, pre-invasion gut content data enabled us to check if there were any changes in the piscivorous fish diet after the invasion. We found N. melanostomus to be a subdominant benthivorous fish during the warm season of 2012–2013. It occupied a higher trophic position in spring (3.9) than in autumn (2.9), but spring specimens were also larger. The invader exploited a narrow (standard ellipse area 0.3–0.5‰2) and distinct core isotopic niche, but total niche area overlaps indicated potential trophic competition with Pleuronectes platessa, Platichthys flesus, Pomatoschistus minutus and Gasterosteus aculeatus in spring, and with P. minutus in autumn. The invader dominated the warm season (spring–autumn) diet of piscivorous fish (Gadus morhua, Myoxocephalus scorpius, Perca fluviatilis, Scophthalmus maximus) and its invasion was generally associated with decreased crustacean and increased fish-prey content. Therefore, it is plausible that N. melanostomus has created novel trophic links within the food web. |
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| Keywords: | Baltic Sea invasions Round goby Seasonal data Trophic overlaps Stomach content Diet change |
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