Effects of the invasive fish Poecilia reticulata on the behavioral response of Daphnia pulex to the exotic submerged macrophyte Egeria densa

The high-elevation plateaus of the inter-Andean valleys are home to shallow lakes that have become eutrophic. These lakes share similarities with shallow lakes in temperate and subtropical areas. Because native species diversity is low, invasive species dominate the fish and macrophytes communities. The study aimed to investigate the behavioral response of the local Daphnia pulex from the Andean shallow Lake Yahuarcocha to the exotic submerged macrophyte Egeria densa and the exotic fish Poecilia reticulata. Laboratory habitat choice experiments revealed that D. pulex from Lake Yahuarcocha strongly avoid E. densa, irrespective of the presence of the fish P. reticulata or chemical cues indicating fish predation on D. pulex. This observation could be explained by the fact that P. reticulata displayed a strong attraction to E. densa during the daytime, probably to avoid bird predation. D. pulex from the nearby Lake San Pablo where P. reticulata is absent but where the fish community is dominated by Oncorhynchus mykiss displayed the same avoidance behavior to submerged macrophytes as D. pulex from Lake Yahuarcocha. These results indicate that macrophytes in these high-elevation shallow lakes may not facilitate top-down control of phytoplankton, since plants do not offer refuge to D. pulex from fish predation.

Automated summary

This study investigated the behavioral response of the local Daphnia pulex in the high-elevation shallow Lake Yahuarcocha in Peru to an exotic submerged macrophyte and an exotic fish. The results showed that Daphnia pulex strongly avoided the macrophyte, indicating that it does not provide refuge from fish predation.