Food selection of Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus (Koehler) : laboratory experiments with food quality and size

• Autorzy: Kidawa A.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

According to Optimal Foraging Theory a consumer should select its diet in order to maximise net energy intake per unit of foraging time. Therefore, the Antarctic scavenging sea star Odontaster validus can be expected to choose food items of high profitability and ignore those of low profitability. Laboratory experiments with agar models of food items were performed to investigate the foraging behaviour and food selectivity of O. validus. Freshly caught sea stars were first fed with fish meat to minimize differences in their feeding status and then starved for 2 and 4 weeks. Sea stars were divided into three size groups (small - radius 1-3 cm, medium - radius 3-4 cm, large - radius 4-5.5 cm). Agar food items of different quality (low - 1.2 kJ, medium - 2.5 kJ, high - 4.1 kJ) and size (small - 8 cm[^3] and large - 64 cm[^3]) were utilized in the experiments. Sea stars were individually presented with food items placed on the aquarium bottom, and their behaviour (number and type of ivestigated food items, time needed for final choice) was observed for 30 minutes. Starved individuals preferentially selected more profitable food items as is predicted by Optimal Foraging Theory. Choice of food item was probably mediated by contact chemoreception. Starvation time and sea star size had significant impact on selectivity. Mean number of food items of different quality investigated by sea stars starved for 2 weeks was higher then in sea stars starved for 4 weeks. Low quality food items were mostly chosen by small sea stars, and never by large individuals starved for 2 weeks. Sea stars O. validus were also capable of distinguishing between small and large food items. Final choice made by sea stars presented with food items of differing size depended on their size with large and medium individuals choosing mostly large food items. Sea stars starved for 2 weeks chose higher proportion of large food items than individuals starved for 4 weeks. Such strategy in accordance with Optimal Foraging Theory allows for flexibility in O. validus feeding behaviour and enables this species to survive in harsh marine environment, where food resources accessible during the Antarctic winter are scarce and unpredictable in space and time.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Antarctic; food quality; Odontaster validus; Optimal Foraging Theory; scavengers; sea stars

PL

Antarktyda; jakość żywności; Odontaster validus; rozgwiazda; teoria optymalnego odżywiania; zmiatacz

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2009
• Tom: Vol. 57, nr 1
• Strony: 139--147
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 39 poz.,

Twórcy

autor

Kidawa A.

• Department of Antarctic Biology Polish Academy of Sciences, Ustrzycka 10/12, 02-141 Warsaw, Poland,

Bibliografia

• 1. Arnaud P.M. 1970 – Frequency and ecological significance of necrophagy among the benthic species of Antarctic coastal waters (In: Antarctic Ecology, Ed. M.W. Holdgate) – Academic Press, London, vol. 1, pp. 259–267.
• 2. Barbeau M.A., Scheibling R.E. 1944 – Behavioural mechanisms of prey size selection by sea stars (Asterias vulagaris Verrill) and crabs (Cancer irroratus Say) preying on juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus Gmelin) – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 180: 103–136.
• 3. Beddingfield S.D., McClintock J.B. 1993 – Feeding behavior of the sea star Astropecten articulatus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea): an evaluation of energy-efficient foraging in a soft-bottom predator – Mar. Biol. 115: 669–676.
• 4. Brosseau D.J., Filipowicz A., Baglivo J.A. 2001 – Laboratory investigations of the effects of predator sex and size on prey selection by the Asian crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 262: 199–210.
• 5. Buck T.L., Breed G.A., Pennings S.C., Chase M.E., Zimmer M., Carefoot T.H. 2003 – Diet choise in an omnivorous salt-marsh crab: different foot types, body size, and habitat complexity – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 292: 103–116.
• 6. Clarke A. 1983 – Life in cold water: the physiological ecology of polar marine ectotherms – Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. A. Rev. 21: 341–353.
• 7. Clarke A. 1988 – Seasonality in the Antarctic marine environment – Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B, 90: 461–473.
• 8. Clarke A., Leakey R.J.G. 1996 – The seasonal cycle of phytoplanton, macronutrients and the microbial community in a nearshore Antarctic marine ecosystems – Limnol. Oceanogr. 41: 1281–1294.
• 9. Dayton P.K., Robilliard G.A., Paine R.T., Dayton L.B. 1974 – Biological accomodation in the benthic community at Mc-Murdo Sound, Antarctica – Ecol. Monogr. 44: 105–128.
• 10. Dearborn J.H. 1977 – Food and feeding characteristics of antarctic asteroids and ophiuroids (In: Adaptation within Antarctic Ecosystems, Ed. Llano G. A.) – Publ. Co. Houston, pp. 293–326.
• 11. Doering P.H. 1981 – Observations on the behaviour of Asterias forbesi feeding on Mercenaria mercenaria – Ophelia, 20: 169–178.
• 12. Elner R.W., Hughes R.N. 1978 – Energy maximization in the diet of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas – J. Anim Ecol. 47: 103–116.
• 13. Gaymer C.F., Dutil C., Himmelman J.H. 2004 – Prey selection and predatory impact of four major sea stars on a soft bottom subtidal community – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 313: 353–374.
• 14. Gaymer C.F., Himmelman J.H., Johnson L.E. 2001 – Use of prey resources by thr sea stars Leptasterias polaris and Asterias vulgaris: a comparison between field observations and laboratory experiments – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 262: 13–30.
• 15. Hughes R.N. 1980 – Optimal foraging theory in the marine context – Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 18: 423–481.
• 16. Juanes F. 1992 – Why do decapod crustaceans prefer small-sized molluscan prey? – Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 87: 239–249.
• 17. Jubb C.A., Hughes R.N., Rheinallt T. 1983 – Behavioural mechanisms of size selection by crabs, Carcinus maenas (L.), feeding on mussels, Mytilus edulis L. – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 66: 81–87.
• 18. Kamler E. 2003. Antarctic fishes: the chemical composition of muscle, liver and food of two notothenioids – Arch. Pol. Fish. 11: 197–206.
• 19. Kelaher B.P., Levinton J.S., Hoch J.M. 2003 – Foraging by the mud snail, Ilyanassa obsolete (Say), modulates spatial variation in benthic community structure – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 292: 139–157.
• 20. Kidawa A. 2005 – Behavioural and metabolic responses of the Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus to food stimuli of different concentration – Polar Biol. 28: 449–455.
• 21. McClintock J.B., Lawrence J.M. 1981 – An optimisation study on the feeding behaviour of Luidia clathrata (Say) (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) – Mar. Behav. Physiol. 7: 263–275.
• 22. McClintock J.B., Lawrence J.M. 1985 – Characteristics of foraging in the soft-bottom benthic starfish Luidia clathrata (Echinodermata: Asteroidea): prey selectivity, switching behavior, functional responses and movement pattern – Oecol. 66: 291–298.
• 23. McClintock J.B. 1994 – The trophic biology of antarctic echinoderms – Mar Ecol Prog Ser 111: 191–2.
• 24. McClintock J.B., Pearse J.S., Bosch I. 1988 – Population structure and energetics of the shallow-water antarctic sea star Odontaster validus in contrasting habitats – Mar. Biol. 99: 235–246.
• 25. Micheli F. 1995 – Behavioural plasticity in prey-size selectivity of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus feeding on bivalve prey – J. Anim. Ecol. 64: 63–74.
• 26. Moore P.G., Wong Y.M. 1995 – Orchomene nanus (Krøyer) (Amphipoda: Lysianssoidea), a selective scavenger of dead crabs: feeding preferences in the field – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 192: 35–45.
• 27. Murdoch W.W. 1969 – Switching in general predators: experiments on predator specificity and stability of prey populations – Ecol. Monogr. 9: 335–354.
• 28. Perry G., Pianka E.R. 1997 – Animal foraging: past, present and future – Trends Ecol. Evol. 12: 360–364.
• 29. Pyke G.H. 1984 – Optimal foraging theory – a critical review – Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 15: 523–575.
• 30. Rilov G., Gasith A., Benayahu Y. 2002 – Effect of an exotic prey on the feeding pattern of a predatory snail – Mar. Environ. Research, 54: 85–98.
• 31. Saier B. 2001 – Direct and indirect effects of seastars Asterias rubens on mussel beds (Asterias rubens) in the Wadden Sea – J. Sea res. 46: 29–42.
• 32. Saito H., Imabayashi H., Kawai K., Cole V. 2004 – Time and energetic costs of feeding on different sized prey by the predatory polychaete Halla okudai (Imajima) – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 311: 223–232.
• 33. Seed R., Hughes R.N. 1995 – Criteria for prey size-selection in molluscivorous crabs with contrasting claw morphologies – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 193: 177–195.
• 34. Sommer U., Meusel B., Stielau C. 1999 – An experimental analysis of the importance of body-size in the seastar-mussel predator-prey relationship – Acta Oecol. 20: 81–86.
• 35. Stanwell-Smith D., Clarke A. 1998 – Seasonality of reproduction in the cushion star Odonaster validus at Signy Island, Antarctica – Mar. Biol. 131: 479–487.
• 36. Steele C., Skinner C., Steele C., Alberstadt P., Mathewson P. 1999 – Organization of chemically activated food search behaviour in Procambarus clarkii Girard and Orconectes rusticus Girard crayfish – Biol. Bull. 196: 295–302.
• 37. Tokeshi M., Estrella C., Paredes C. 1989 – Feeding ecology of size-structured predator population, the South America sun-star Heliaster helianthus – Mar. Biol. 100: 495–505.
• 38. Wong M.C., Barbeau M.A. 2005 – Prey selection and the functional response of sea stars (Asterias vulgaris Verrill) and rock crabs (Cancer irroratus Say) preying on juvenile sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus (Gmelin)) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis Linnaeus) – J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 327: 1–21.
• 39. Zimmer-Faust R.K. 1987 – Crustacean chemical perception: towards a theory on optimal chemoreception – Biol. Bull. 172: 10–29.