Different hosts in different lakes: prevalence and population genetic structure of plerocercoids of Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda) in Czech water bodies.

Ligula intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) is a tapeworm parasite with a worldwide distribution that uses a wide variety of fish species as its second intermediate host. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence and population genetic structure of plerocercoids of L. intestinalis in five common cyprinoid species, roach Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus), freshwater bream Abramis brama (Linnaeus), white bream Blicca bjoerkna (Linnaeus), bleak Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus), and rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus), collected in six water bodies of the Czech Republic (Milada, Most, Medard, Jordán, Rímov and Lipno). Of the six study sites, the highest frequency of parasitism was recorded in Lake Medard (15%). The overall prevalence rate among the species was as follows: roach > rudd ≥ freshwater bream > bleak > white bream. Two mitochondrial genes (cytb and COI) were used to compare the population genetic structure of parasite populations using selected samples from the five fish species. The results of the phylogenetic analysis indicated that all populations of L. intestinalis were placed in Clade A, previously identified as the most common in Europe. At a finer scale, haplotype network and PCoA analyses indicated the possible emergence of host specificity of several mtDNA haplotypes to the freshwater bream. Moreover, pairwise Fixation indices (FST) revealed a significant genetic structure between the parasite population in freshwater bream and other host species. Parasite populations in roach not only showed the highest rate of prevalence but also depicted a maximum number of shared haplotypes with populations from bleak and rudd. Our results suggest that recent ecological differentiation might have influenced tapeworm populations at a fine evolutionary scale. Thus, the differences in prevalence between fish host species in different lakes might be influenced not only by the parasite's ecology, but also by its genetic diversity.

Diel changes in vertical and horizontal distribution of cladocerans in two deep lakes during early and late summer.

Temporal and spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of cladocerans in lakes could be caused by abiotic (wind, water currents) and biotic factors (reproduction, food resources, predation). Diel horizontal and vertical distribution of cladoceran assemblages was studied in two deep lakes (Milada and Most Lakes, Czech Republic) in early (June) and late (September) summer. The objective was to study diel vertical migration (DVM) and diel horizontal migration (DHM) of cladocerans under conditions of different macrophyte cover in littoral areas (rich in Milada Lake, poor in Most Lake) and fish assemblages (non-specialised planktivorous species in Milada Lake, and abundant planktivorous fish - maraena whitefish, Coregonus maraena - in open water habitats in Most Lake). Temporal variations in cladoceran assemblages were reported in both lakes in the two sampling periods. DVM was observed in the two lakes, performed by the most vulnerable species to fish predation (the larger Daphnia spp.), but with different patterns (direct and reverse) probably linked with the local fish community and other biotic and abiotic factors in each lake. Horizontal movements were only observed in Most Lake: D. longispina increase its abundance in open waters at night compared to the littoral points; while Ceriodaphnia spp. showed the inverse pattern. In both lakes, higher densities were often found at night in surface layers, producing a great "diurnal deficit": cladocerans remain undetected in some zones during the day (especially in the littoral areas) moving to surface layers at night.

Invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus has sex-dependent locomotor activity and is under-represented in catches from passive fishing gear compared with seine catches.

The higher proportion of males of the invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus in samples from two activity selective passive fishing gears compared with one activity non-selective fishing gear in three Dutch lakes is related to higher male locomotory activity and is a sex-dependent trait. This difference in activity reflects the different ecology of male and female N. melanostomus.

Real-time distribution of pelagic fish: combining hydroacoustics, GIS and spatial modelling at a fine spatial scale.

Understanding spatial distribution of organisms in heterogeneous environment remains one of the chief issues in ecology. Spatial organization of freshwater fish was investigated predominantly on large-scale, neglecting important local conditions and ecological processes. However, small-scale processes are of an essential importance for individual habitat preferences and hence structuring trophic cascades and species coexistence. In this work, we analysed the real-time spatial distribution of pelagic freshwater fish in the Rímov Reservoir (Czechia) observed by hydroacoustics in relation to important environmental predictors during 48 hours at 3-h interval. Effect of diurnal cycle was revealed of highest significance in all spatial models with inverse trends between fish distribution and predictors in day and night in general. Our findings highlighted daytime pelagic fish distribution as highly aggregated, with general fish preferences for central, deep and highly illuminated areas, whereas nighttime distribution was more disperse and fish preferred nearshore steep sloped areas with higher depth. This turnover suggests prominent movements of significant part of fish assemblage between pelagic and nearshore areas on a diel basis. In conclusion, hydroacoustics, GIS and spatial modelling proved as valuable tool for predicting local fish distribution and elucidate its drivers, which has far reaching implications for understanding freshwater ecosystem functioning.

A novel upward-looking hydroacoustic method for improving pelagic fish surveys.

For ethical reasons and animal welfare, it is becoming increasingly more important to carry out ecological surveys with a non-invasive approach. Information about fish distribution and abundance in the upper water column is often fundamental. However, this information is extremely hard to obtain using classical hydroacoustic methods. We developed a rigid frame system for pushing upward looking transducers of the scientific echo sounder (38 and 120 kHz) in front of the research vessel. The efficiency of the new approach for monitoring juvenile fish at night was investigated by comparing the results with a quantitative fry trawl in the Rímov Reservoir in the Czech Republic. The experimental setup enabled comparisons for the 0-3 m and 3-6 m depth layers, which are utilized by almost all juvenile fish in summer. No statistically significant differences in the estimated abundance of juveniles were found between the two sampling methods. The comparison of abundance estimates gathered by the two frequencies were also not significantly different. The predicted mean lengths from acoustic sampling and the trawl catches differed by less than 10 mm in all comparisons. Results suggest that mobile hydroacoustic upward-looking systems can fill the methodological gap in non-invasive surveying of surface fishes.

Macrophytes shape trophic niche variation among generalist fishes.

Generalist species commonly have a fundamental role in ecosystems as they can integrate spatially distinct habitats and food-web compartments, as well as control the composition, abundance and behavior of organisms at different trophic levels. Generalist populations typically consist of specialized individuals, but the potential for and hence degree of individual niche variation can be largely determined by habitat complexity. We compared individual niche variation within three generalist fishes between two comparable lakes in the Czech Republic differing in macrophyte cover, i.e. macrophyte-rich Milada and macrophyte-poor Most. We tested the hypothesis that large individual niche variation among generalist fishes is facilitated by the presence of macrophytes, which provides niches and predation shelter for fish and their prey items. Based on results from stable nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic mixing models, perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus (L.)) showed larger individual variation (i.e., variance) in trophic position in Milada as compared to Most, whereas no significant between-lake differences were observed for roach (Rutilus rutilus (L.)). Contrary to our hypothesis, all the three species showed significantly lower individual variation in the relative reliance on littoral food resources in Milada than in Most. Rudd relied significantly more whereas perch and roach relied less on littoral food resources in Milada than in Most, likely due to prevalent herbivory by rudd and prevalent zooplanktivory by perch and roach in the macrophyte-rich Milada as compared to macrophyte-poor Most. Our study demonstrates how the succession of macrophyte vegetation, via its effects on the physical and biological complexity of the littoral zone and on the availability of small prey fish and zooplankton, can strongly influence individual niche variation among generalist fishes with different ontogenetic trajectories, and hence the overall food-web structures in lake ecosystems.

Distribution of Herbivorous Fish Is Frozen by Low Temperature.

The number of herbivores in populations of ectothermic vertebrates decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes, fish consuming plant matter are exclusively omnivorous. We assess whether omnivorous fish readily shift to herbivory or whether animal prey is typically preferred. We address temperature as the key factor causing their absence at higher latitudes and discuss the potential poleward dispersion caused by climate changes. A controlled experiment illustrates that rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) readily utilize plant matter at water temperatures above 20 °C and avoid its consumption below 20 °C. Field data support these results, showing that plant matter dominates rudd diets during the summer and is absent during the spring. Utilizing cellulose requires the enzyme cellulase, which is produced by microorganisms growing at temperatures of 15-42 °C. Water temperatures at higher latitudes do not reach 15 °C year-round; at our latitude of 50°N~150 days/year. Hence, the species richness of omnivorous fish decreases dramatically above 55° latitude. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that strict herbivorous specialists have developed only in the tropics. Temperatures below 15 °C, even for a short time period, inactivate cellulase and cause diet limitations for omnivorous fish. However, we may expect increases in herbivory at higher latitudes caused by climate change.

Who Is Who: An Anomalous Predator-Prey Role Exchange between Cyprinids and Perch.

Piscivory in cyprinids (Cyprinidae) is extremely rare. Specifically, common bream (Abramis brama) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) are zooplanktivorous fish in deep lentic waters. Nevertheless, we observed predation by these two cyprinids under natural conditions in the Vír Reservoir, Czech Republic. We conducted diet analysis for cyprinids caught by trawling and gillnets and the large amount of young-of-the-year (YOY) perch (Perca fluviatilis), with sizes of 37-52 mm standard length, were found in their digestive tracts. In 2010, a large amount of YOY perch caused a significant decrease in Daphnia spp. size and abundance in the reservoir. Hence, a food deficit was induced for the cyprinids, apparent also from the poor nutritional condition of common bream which was much worse than the condition of those in similar reservoirs. Common carp and common bream shifted to forced piscivory, and they utilized the YOY perch as an alternative food source. In contrast, smaller species, such as roach (Rutilus rutilus) and bleak (Alburnus alburnus), widely utilized planktonic cyanobacteria. In the following year, YOY perch occurred in significantly lower numbers and conversely, Daphnia spp. size and abundance were significantly higher. The forced piscivory was not observed. Our results indicate a switch to forced piscivory by cyprinids, which was caused by a shortage of their natural food source. Moreover, this phenomenon presents an effective mechanism for reduction in the numbers of YOY perch, ensuring the stability of the ecosystem.