New parasites and predators follow the introduction of two fish species to a subarctic lake: implications for food-web structure and functioning.

ABSTRACT: Introduced species can alter the topology of food webs. For instance, an introduction can aid the arrival of free-living consumers using the new species as a resource, while new parasites may also arrive with the introduced species. Food-web responses to species additions can thus be far more complex than anticipated. In a subarctic pelagic food web with free-living and parasitic species, two fish species (arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus and three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus) have known histories as deliberate introductions. The effects of these introductions on the food web were explored by comparing the current pelagic web with a heuristic reconstruction of the pre-introduction web. Extinctions caused by these introductions could not be evaluated by this approach. The intro

SUBMITTER: Amundsen PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3612402 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature