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Stable isotopes show food web changes after invasion by the predatory cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi in a Baltic Sea bay

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Abstract

Cercopagis pengoi, a recent invader to the Baltic Sea and the Laurentian Great Lakes, is a potential competitor with fish for zooplankton prey. We used stable C and N isotope ratios to elucidate trophic relationships between C. pengoi, zooplankton (microzooplankton, 90–200 μm, mostly copepod nauplii and rotifers; mesozooplankton, >200 μm, mostly copepods), and zooplanktivorous fish (herring, size range 5–15 cm and sprat, 9–11 cm) in a coastal area of the northern Baltic Sea. The isotope ratios in C. pengoi and fish were much higher than those of zooplankton, showing general trends of enrichment with trophic level. Young-of-the-year (YOY) herring had a significantly higher 15N/14N ratio than C. pengoi, suggesting of a trophic linkage between the two species. To evaluate the possible relative importance of different food sources for C. pengoi and YOY herring, two-source isotope-mixing models for N were used, with micro- and mesozooplankton as prey for C. pengoi and mesozooplankton and C. pengoi as prey for YOY herring. These models indicate that mesozooplankton was the major food source of both species. However, microzooplankton may be important prey for young stages of C. pengoi. Comparative analyses of the herring trophic position before and after the invasion by C. pengoi showed a trophic level shift from 2.6 to 3.4, indicating substantial alterations in the food web structure. Our findings contribute to a growing body of evidence, showing that C. pengoi can modify food webs and trophic interactions in invaded ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council for the Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas) and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. We are grateful to our colleagues U. Larsson and R. Elmgren (Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, Stockholm) for support in organizing the study and for comments on the earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank B. Larsson for his invaluable help in collecting fish, as well as M. Petersson (Ar Research Station, Gotland University, Gotland), L. Lundgren, B. Abrahamsson and T. Fagerberg (Systems Ecology, Stockholm University), David Harris (University of California at Davis Stable Isotope Facility, California), and Karolina Eriksson-Gonzales (Linköping University, Linköping) for technical assistance.

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  1. Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden

    Elena Gorokhova, Sture Hansson, Helena Höglander & Christian Marc Andersen

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  1. Elena Gorokhova
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  2. Sture Hansson
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Correspondence to Elena Gorokhova.

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Gorokhova, E., Hansson, S., Höglander, H. et al. Stable isotopes show food web changes after invasion by the predatory cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi in a Baltic Sea bay. Oecologia 143, 251–259 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1791-0

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