D. Polymorpha (d + polymorpha)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Assessing the potential for fish predation to impact zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha): insight from bioenergetics models

ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 2 2004
M. A. Eggleton
Abstract,,, Rates of annual food consumption and biomass were modeled for several fish species across representative rivers and lakes in eastern North America. Results were combined to assess the relative potential of fish predation to impact zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). Predicted annual food consumption by fishes in southern waters was over 100% greater than that in northern systems because of warmer annual water temperatures and presumed increases in metabolic demand. Although generally increasing with latitude, biomasses of several key zebra mussel fish predators did not change significantly across latitudes. Biomasses of some less abundant fish predators did increase significantly with latitude, but increases were not of the magnitude to offset predicted decreases in food consumption. Our results generally support the premise that fishes in rivers and lakes of the southern United States (U.S.) have inherently greater potential to impact zebra mussels by predation. Our simulations may provide a partial explanation of why zebra mussel invasions have not been as rapid and widespread in southern U.S. waters compared to the Great Lakes region. Resumen 1Modelamos la tasa de consumo anual de alimento y biomasa para varias especies de peces en una muestra representativa de ríos y lagos del este de Norte América. Combinamos los resultados para evaluar el potencial relativo que estas especies de peces pueden ejercer sobre la abundancia del mejillón asiático Dreissena polymorpha. Las predicciones sobre consumo para peces en lagos y ríos del sur fueron más del 100% comparadas con sistemas septentrionales. Esto se puede deber a las temperaturas anuales más altas y aumentos en la demanda metabólica de peces en ríos y lagos del sur de Norte América. 2La biomasa de varias especies claves de peces que consumen D. polymorpha no cambió apreciablemente con latitud. La biomasa de algunos peces que consumen D. polymorpha aumentó significativamente con latitud, pero este aumento no era de una magnitud suficiente para compensar la disminución en el consumo de alimento. 3Nuestros resultados apoyan generalmente la premisa de que los peces en ríos y lagos del sur de los Estados Unidos (EE.UU.) tienen un potencial inherente mayor para poder controlar D. polymorpha. Nuestras simulaciones proporcionan una explicación parcial de por qué las invasiones de D. polymorpha no han sido tan rápidas y ampliamente distribuidas en aguas sureñas comparado con la región de los Grandes Lagos. [source]


ABDOMINAL PIGMENTATION VARIATION IN DROSOPHILA POLYMORPHA: GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN THE TRAIT, AND UNDERLYING PHYLOGEOGRAPHY

EVOLUTION, Issue 5 2005
Jennifer A. Brisson
AbstractDrosophila polymorpha is a widespread species that exhibits abdominal pigmentation variation throughout its range. To gain insight into this variation we combined phenotypic and genotypic data to test a series of nested hypotheses. First, we tested the null hypothesis that geographic variation in pigmentation is due to neutral factors. We used nested clade analysis to examine the distribution of haplotypes from a nuclear and a mitochrondrial locus. Restricted gene flow via isolation by distance, the primary inference of this phylogeographic analysis, was then used to generate and test the hypothesis of increasing average abdominal pigmentation difference with increasing geographic distance. We found no correlation between geographic distance and phenotypic distance. We then tested the hypothesis that pigmentation is affected by environmental differences among localities. We found a significant effect of habitat type on the average abdominal pigmentation phenotype of different localities. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that pigmentation in D. polymorpha is associated with desiccation resistance. We found that dark individuals of both sexes survived significantly longer in a desiccating environment than light individuals. These patterns combined lead us to hypothesize that abdominal pigmentation variation in D. polymorpha is important in mediating the organism's interactions with local ecological factors. [source]


Transformation of the offshore benthic community in Lake Michigan: recent shift from the native amphipod Diporeia spp. to the invasive mussel Dreissena rostriformis bugensis

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
THOMAS F. NALEPA
Summary 1. The native amphipod Diporeia spp. was once the dominant benthic organism in Lake Michigan and served as an important pathway of energy flow from lower to upper trophic levels. Lake-wide surveys were conducted in 1994/1995, 2000 and 2005, and abundances of Diporeia and the invasive bivalves Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis (quagga mussel) were assessed. In addition, more frequent surveys were conducted in the southern region of the lake between 1980 and 2007 to augment trend interpretation. 2. Between 1994/1995 and 2005, lake-wide density of Diporeia declined from 5365 to 329 m,2, and biomass (dry weight, DW) declined from 3.9 to 0.4 g DW m,2. The percentage of all sites with no Diporeia increased over time: 1.1% in 1994/1995, 21.7% in 2000 and 66.9% in 2005. On the other hand, total dreissenid density increased from 173 to 8816 m,2, and total biomass increased from 0.4 to 28.6 g DW m,2. Over this 10-year time period, D. r. bugensis displaced D. polymorpha as the dominant dreissenid, comprising 97.7% of the total population in 2005. In 2007, Diporeia was rarely found at depths shallower than 90 m and continued to decline at greater depths, whereas densities of D. r. bugensis continued to increase at depths greater than 50 m. 3. The decline in Diporeia occurred progressively from shallow to deep regions, and was temporally coincident with the expansion of D. polymorpha in nearshore waters followed by the expansion of D. r. bugensis in offshore waters. In addition, Diporeia density was negatively related to dreissenid density within and across depth intervals; the latter result indicated that dreissenids in shallow waters remotely influenced Diporeia in deep waters. 4. With the loss of Diporeia and increase in D. r. bugensis, the benthic community has become a major energy sink rather that a pathway to upper trophic levels. With this replacement of dominant taxa, we estimate that the relative benthic energy pool increased from 17 to 109 kcal m,2 between 1994/1995 and 2005, and to 342 kcal m,2 by 2007. We project that previously observed impacts on fish populations will continue and become more pronounced as the D. r. bugensis population continues to expand in deeper waters. [source]


Feeding rates, assimilation efficiencies and growth of two amphipod species on biodeposited material from zebra mussels

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2008
RENÉ GERGS
Summary 1. Accumulation of organic material by the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is assumed to be the source of a biodeposition-based food web. However, only little is known about the importance of the biodeposited material as a food source and its contribution to increased abundances of macroinvertebrates in the presence of D. polymorpha. 2. Feeding, assimilation and growth of the amphipods Gammarus roeselii and Dikerogammarus villosus on food sources directly and indirectly associated with D. polymorpha (biodeposited material and chironomids) and on conditioned alder leaves were measured. The stoichiometry of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus of the diets was measured as an important determining factor of food quality. 3. Chironomids had the highest nitrogen and phosphorus contents, alder leaves were depleted in nitrogen and phosphorus, and the stoichiometry of biodeposited material was intermediate. 4. Both amphipod species had highest feeding rates and assimilation efficiencies on chironomids. Gammarus roeselii fed more on biodeposited material than on alder leaves, but assimilation efficiencies were similar; D. villosus also had similar feeding rates and assimilation efficiencies on the two diets. 5. Both amphipod species had highest growth rates on chironomids and lowest growth rates on alder leaves. Both grew at intermediate rates on biodeposited material of D. polymorpha. The growth rates of the amphipod species were related to food stoichiometry. Overall, the invasive D. villosus grew faster than the indigenous G. roeselii. 6. Food resources directly and indirectly associated with D. polymorpha are potential diets for amphipods, providing further evidence for a D. polymorpha biodeposition-based food web. [source]


Molecular ecology of zebra mussel invasions

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
GEMMA E. MAY
Abstract The invasion of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, into North American waters has resulted in profound ecological disturbances and large monetary losses. This study examined the invasion history and patterns of genetic diversity among endemic and invading populations of zebra mussels using DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Patterns of haplotype frequency indicate that all invasive populations of zebra mussels from North America and Europe originated from the Ponto-Caspian Sea region. The distribution of haplotypes was consistent with invasive populations arising from the Black Sea drainage, but could not exclude the possibility of an origin from the Caspian Sea drainage. Similar haplotype frequencies among North American populations of D. polymorpha suggest colonization by a single founding population. There was no evidence of invasive populations arising from tectonic lakes in Turkey, while lakes in Greece and Macedonia contained only Dreissena stankovici. Populations in Turkey might be members of a sibling species complex of D. polymorpha. Ponto-Caspian derived populations of D. polymorpha (, = 0.0011) and Dreissena bugensis (one haplotype) exhibited low levels of genetic diversity at the COI gene, perhaps as a result of repeated population bottlenecks. In contrast, geographically isolated tectonic lake populations exhibited relatively high levels of genetic diversity (, = 0.0032 to 0.0134). It is possible that the fluctuating environment of the Ponto-Caspian basin facilitated the colonizing habit of invasive populations of D. polymorpha and D. bugensis. Our findings were concordant with the general trend of destructive freshwater invaders in the Great Lakes arising from the Ponto-Caspian Sea basin. [source]