Dataset Information

First report of vampyrellid predator-prey dynamics in a marine system.

ABSTRACT: We report for the first time the in situ dynamics of a vampyrellid in a marine system. A high sampling frequency (twice-weekly) was applied in a tropical eutrophic lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for 5 years (2012-2016). The vampyrellid Hyalodiscus sp. specifically fed on the diatom Chaetoceros minimus during a short time window (~3 months), although the prey was intermittently detected as the dominant phytoplanktonic species over a longer period (~1 year). A classic Lotka-Volterra predator-prey dynamic was observed between the two partners, with a significant modification of the short-term oscillations of the prey. Specific abiotic preferences (i.e., relatively low temperature, intermediate salinity, and stratified conditions) associated with prey availability seemed to define this narrow temporal window of occurrence. Our results suggest that vampyrellids can be ecologically relevant in marine pelagic systems, with their impact on planktonic dynamics strongly depending on complex interactions between both biotic and abiotic factors.

SUBMITTER: Alves-de-Souza C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6461935 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First report of vampyrellid predator-prey dynamics in a marine system.

Alves-de-Souza Catharina C Benevides Tatiane S TS Menezes Mariângela M Jeanthon Christian C Guillou Laure L

The ISME journal 20181206 4

We report for the first time the in situ dynamics of a vampyrellid in a marine system. A high sampling frequency (twice-weekly) was applied in a tropical eutrophic lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for 5 years (2012-2016). The vampyrellid Hyalodiscus sp. specifically fed on the diatom Chaetoceros minimus during a short time window (~3 months), although the prey was intermittently detected as the dominant phytoplanktonic species over a longer period (~1 year). A classic Lotka-Volterra predator-prey ...[more]

PMID: 30523275

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Project description:Specialist predators with oscillating dynamics are often strongly affected by the population dynamics of their prey, yet they are not always the cause of prey cycling. Only those that exert strong (delayed) regulation of their prey can be. Inferring predator-prey coupling from time series therefore requires contrasting models with top-down versus bottom-up predator-prey dynamics. We study here the joint dynamics of population densities of the Icelandic gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus, and its prey, the rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta. The dynamics of both species are likely not only linked to each other but also to stochastic weather variables acting as confounding factors. We infer the degree of coupling between populations, as well as forcing by abiotic variables, using multivariate autoregressive models MAR(p), with p = 1 and 2 time lags. MAR(2) models, allowing for species to cycle independently from each other, further suggest alternative scenarios where a cyclic prey influences its predator but not the other way around (i.e., bottom-up scenarios). The classical MAR(1) model predicts that the time series exhibit predator-prey feedback (i.e., reciprocal dynamic influence between prey and predator), and that weather effects are weak and only affecting the gyrfalcon population. Bottom-up MAR(2) models produced a better fit but less realistic cross-correlation patterns. Simulations of MAR(1) and MAR(2) models further demonstrate that the top-down MAR(1) models are more likely to be misidentified as bottom-up dynamics than vice versa. We therefore conclude that predator-prey feedback in the gyrfalcon-ptarmigan system is likely the main cause of observed oscillations, though bottom-up dynamics cannot yet be excluded with certainty. Overall, we showed how to make more out of ecological time series by using simulations to gauge the quality of model identification, and paved the way for more mechanistic modeling of this system by narrowing the set of important biotic and abiotic drivers.

Dataset Information

First report of vampyrellid predator-prey dynamics in a marine system.

Publications

First report of vampyrellid predator-prey dynamics in a marine system.

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