Integration of an invasive consumer into an estuarine food web: direct and indirect effects of the New Zealand mud snail.

ABSTRACT: Introduced species interact both directly and indirectly with native species. We examine interactions between the introduced New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) and native estuarine invertebrates and predators through experiments and field studies. A widely held management concern is that when P. antipodarum, which has low nutritional value, becomes abundant, it replaces nutritious prey in fish diets. We tested two key components of this view: (1) that fish consume, but get little direct nutritional value from P. antipodarum; and (2) that P. antipodarum has an indirect negative effect on fish by reducing the energy derived from native prey. We also examined predation by the native signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus. Laboratory feeding trials showed that both crayfish an

SUBMITTER: Brenneis VE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3155678 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature