COMPOSICIÓN DE LA DIETA DE Asplanchna girodi (PLOIMA, ASPLANCHNIDAE) EN UN EMBALSE ALTOANDINO ECUATORIAL EN COLOMBIA BASADO EN OBSERVACIONES DE CAMPO

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4257/oeco.2020.2404.18

Keywords:

diet, feeding selectivity, gut contents, rotifer

Abstract

Asplanchna girodi (de Guerne, 1888) es un rotífero depredador de amplia distribución en ecosistemas dulceacuícolas templados y tropicales. De esta especie en particular, se conoce poco acerca de su dieta y sus preferencias alimenticias en condiciones naturales, ya que la mayoría de trabajos relacionados con este aspecto se han desarrollado en condiciones de laboratorio. Durante un corto programa de monitoreo en el Embalse La García, un embalse alto andino ecuatorial localizado en la región central del departamento de Antioquia (Colombia), en el que esta especie alcanzó una densidad total de 2296,2 ind.L-1, se estudió la composición de la dieta de A. girodi con base solamente en la observación directa, bajo el microscopio, de los organismos contenidos en los estómagos de todos los individuos presentes en las muestras. Entre junio y septiembre de 2014, se tomaron, mensualmente, en tres estaciones de monitoreo, muestras integradas de cinco profundidades en toda la columna de agua, con una botella muestreadora de 10 L de capacidad. El material recogido fue filtrado a través de una red de plancton de 30 µm de ojo de malla. Se encontró que A. girodi, presentó una preferencia trófica amplia que incluyó el forrajeo de un dinoflagelado (Ceratium, Schrank), cinco especies de rotíferos y un cladócero.  Estos resultados llevan a concluir que posiblemente A. girodi sea una especie oportunista, toda vez que el consumo está dirigido a las especies de mayor disponibilidad (en este caso Ceratium), con el mayor ahorro de energía, puesto que no se invierte en la búsqueda de presas específicas y a su vez se constituiría en un importante factor de control de poblaciones de fitoplancton.


THE DIET COMPOSITION OF Asplanchna girodi (PLOIMA, ASPANCHNIDAE) IN AN EQUATORIAL HIGH ANDEAN RESERVOIR IN COLOMBIA BASED ON FIELD OBSERVATIONS:  Asplanchna girodi (de Guerne, 1888) is a predatory rotifer of wide distribution in temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems. Of this species, little is known about its diet and its food preferences under natural conditions, since most of the work related to this aspect has been carried out under laboratory conditions. During a short monitoring program at La García Reservoir, a high Andean equatorial reservoir located in the central region of the department of Antioquia (Colombia), in which this species reached a total density of 2.296,2 ind.L-1, studied the composition of the A. girodi diet based only on the direct observation, under the microscope, of the organisms contained in the stomachs of all the individuals present in the simples. Between June and September 2014, integrated samples composed of five depths were taken monthly at three monitoring stations in the entire water column, with a sampling bottle of 10 L capacity. The collected material was filtered through a 30µm plankton net of mesh eye. It was found that A. girodi, presented a wide trophic preference that included the foraging of a dinoflagellate (Ceratium, Schrank), five species of rotifers and a cladoceran. These results lead to the conclusion that A. girodi is possibly an opportunistic species, since consumption is directed at the species with the highest availability (in this case Ceratium) and with the greatest energy savings, since no investment is made in the search for specific prey and in turn would become an important factor in controlling phytoplankton populations.

References

Chang, K. H., Doi, H., Nishibe, Y., & Nakano, S. I. 2010. Feeding habits of omnivorous Asplanchna: comparison of diet composition among A. priodonta and A. girodi in pond ecosystems. Journal of Limnology, 69(2), 209–216. DOI: 10.3274/JL10-69-2-03

Commins, M. L., & Salt, G. W. 1988. Some patterns of predation and prey selection by the rotifer Asplanchna girodi in replicated outdoor tanks. Verhandlungen des Internationalen Verein Limnologie, 23(4), 2028–2032. DOI: 10.1080/03680770.1987.11899839

Conde-Porcuna, J. M., & Sarma, S. S. S. 1995. Prey selection by Asplanchna girodi (Rotifera): the importance of prey defense mechanisms. Freshwater Biology, 33(3), 341–348. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1995.tb00396.x

Estrada-Posada, A. L., & Giraldo-Moy, M. A. 2018. Dinámica de la dieta de Asplanchna girodi (de Guerne, 1888) en un embalse tropical, Colombia. Orinoquia, 22(2),189–203. DOI: 10.22579/20112629.527

Fernando, C. H., Tudorancea, C., & Mengestou, S. 1990. Invertebrate zooplankton predator composition and diversity in tropical lentic waters. Hydrobiologia, 198(1), 13–31. DOI: 10.1007/BF00048619

Gifford, S. M., Rollwagen-Bollens, G., & Bollens, S. M. 2007. Mesozooplankton omnivory in the upper San Francisco Estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 348, 33–46. DOI: 0.3354/meps07003.

Gilbert, J. J. 1980. Observations on the susceptibility of some protists and rotifers to predation by Asplanchna girodi. Hydrobiologia, 73(1-3), 87–91. DOI: 10.1007/BF00019431

Gilbert, J. J. 2014. Morphological and behavioral responses of a rotifer to the predator Asplanchna. Journal of Plankton Research, 36(6), 1576–1584. DOI: 10.1093/plankt/fbu075

Gilbert, J. J., & Confer, J. L. 1986. Gigantism and the potential for interference competition in the rotifer genus Asplanchna. Oecologia, 70(4), 549–554. DOI: 10.1007/BF00379902

Gilbert, J. J., & Williamson, C. E. 1978. Predator-prey behavior and its effect on rotifer survival in associations of Mesocyclops edax, Asplanchna girodi, Polyarthra vulgaris and Keratella cochlearis. Oecologia (Berlin), 37(1), 13–22. DOI: 10.1007/BF00349987

Hofmann, W. 1983. Interactions between Asplanchna and Keratella cochlearis in the PluBsee (north Germany). Hydrobiologia, 104(1), 363–365. DOI: 10.1007/BF00045992

Jaramillo-Londoño, J. C. 2018. Ceratium furcoides (Dinophyceae): un dinoflagelado invasor en un embalse alto andino ecuatorial en Colombia. Revista U.D.C.A. Actualidad & Divulgación Científica, 21(1), 265–269. DOI: 10.31910/rudca.v21.n1.2018.686

Koste, W. 1978. Rotatoria. Die Rädertiere Mitteleuropas. Überordnung Monogononta. Gebruder Borntrager. Berlin, Ale¬mania. p. 673.

Koste, W., & Shield, R. J. 1987. Rotifera from Australian Inland. Waters II. Epipha¬nidae and Brachionidae (Rotifera: Monogonta). Invertebrate Taxonomy, 1(7), 949–1021.

Lauzanne, L. 1975. Régime alimentaire d´Hidrocyon forskali (Pisces: Cha¬racidae) dans le lac Tchad et ses tributaires. Cah. ORSTOM. Sér. Hydrobiol., 9(2), 105–121.

Lazzaro, X., Bouvy, M., Ribeiro-Filho, R. A., Oliviera, V. S., Sales, L. T., Vasconcelos, A. R., & Mata, M. R. 2003. Do fish regulate phytoplankton in shallow eutrophic Northeast Brazilian reservoirs? Freshwater Biology, 48, 649–668. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01037.x

Pavón-Meza, E. L., Sarma, S. S. S., & Nandini, S. 2007. Combined effects of temperature, food (Chlorella vulgaris) concentration and predation (Asplanchna girodi) on the morphology of Brachionus havanaensis (Rotifera). Hydrobiologia, 593(1), 95–101. DOI:10.1007/s10750-007-9068-3

Pociecha, A., & Wilk-Woźniak, E. 2008. Comments on the diet of Asplanchna priodonta (Gosse, 1850) in the Dobczycki dam reservoir on the basis of field sample observations. Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, 37(3), 63–69. DOI: 10.2478/v10009-008-0004-2

Salt, G. W. 1989. Comparisons of the diets and reproductive performances of two sympatric rotifers, Asplanchna girodi and Asplanchna priodonta. Freshwater Biology, 22(3), 417–430. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1989.tb01115.x

Sarma, S., Nandini, S., & Gulati, R. D. 2005. Life history strategies of cladocerans: comparisons of tropical and temperate taxa. Hydrobiologia 542, 315–333. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-004-3247-2

Sarma, S., Pavón-Meza, E. L., & Nandini, S. 2003. Comparative population growth and life table demography of the rotifer Asplanchna girodi at different prey (Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus havanaensis) (Rotifera) densities. Hydrobiologia, 491(1-3), 309–320. DOI: 10.1023/A:1024440610204

Shield, R. J., & Koste, W. 1993. Rotifera from Australian inland waters. IX. Gas¬tropodidae, Synchaetidae, Asplanchnidae (Rotifera: Monogo¬nonta). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 117(3),111–139.

Von Rückert, G., & Giani, G. 2008. Biological interactions in the plankton community of a tropical eutrophic reservoir: is the phytoplankton controlled by zooplankton? Journal of Plankton Research, 30(10),1157–1168. DOI: 10.1093/plankt/fbn065

Williamson, C. E. 1983. Invertebrate predation on planktonic rotifers. Hydrobiologia, 104(1), 385–396. DOI: 10.1007/BF00045996

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2020-12-14

Issue

Section

Short communication