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Parasite-induced changes in the diet of a freshwater amphipod: field and laboratory evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2011

V. MÉDOC ,
C. PISCART ,
C. MAAZOUZI ,
L. SIMON  and
J.-N. BEISEL
V. MÉDOC*
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 7146 Laboratoire des Interactions Écotoxicologie, Biodiversité, Écosystèmes (LIEBE), Université Paul Verlaine, Metz – Campus Bridoux, Av du gal Delestraint 57070 Metz – Borny, France
C. PISCART
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 5023 Laboratoire Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux, Université de Lyon 1 – Campus de La Doua, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
C. MAAZOUZI
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 5023 Laboratoire Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux, Université de Lyon 1 – Campus de La Doua, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
L. SIMON
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 5023 Laboratoire Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux, Université de Lyon 1 – Campus de La Doua, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
J.-N. BEISEL
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 7146 Laboratoire des Interactions Écotoxicologie, Biodiversité, Écosystèmes (LIEBE), Université Paul Verlaine, Metz – Campus Bridoux, Av du gal Delestraint 57070 Metz – Borny, France
*
*Corresponding author (present address): Université Pierre et Marie Curie, UMR 7625 Ecologie & Evolution, 7 Quai Saint Bernard, Bât. A, 7ème étage, Case 237, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 27 25 69. E-mail: vincent.medoc@snv.jussieu.fr
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Summary

Trophically transmitted parasites are likely to strongly influence food web-structure. The extent to which they change the trophic ecology of their host remains nevertheless poorly investigated and field evidence is lacking. This is particularly true for acanthocephalan parasites whose invertebrate hosts can prey on other invertebrates and contribute to leaf-litter breakdown. We used a multiple approach combining feeding experiments, neutral lipids and stable isotopes to investigate the trophic ecology of the freshwater amphipod Gammarus roeseli parasitized by the bird acanthocephalan Polymorphus minutus. Infected compared to uninfected amphipods consumed as many dead isopods, but fewer live isopods and less leaf material. Infection had no influence on the total concentration of neutral lipids. Contrary to what we expected based on laboratory findings, the nitrogen isotope signature, which allows for the estimation of consumer's trophic position, was not influenced by infection status. Conversely, the carbon isotope signature, which is used to identify food sources, changed with infection and suggested that the diet of infected G. roeseli includes less perilithon (i.e. fixed algae on rocks, stones) but more terrestrial inputs (e.g. leaf material) than that of uninfected conspecifics. This study shows evidence of changes in the trophic ecology of P. minutus-infected G. roeseli and we stress the need to complement feeding experiments with field data when investigating top-down effects of infection in an opportunistic feeder which adapts its diet to the available food sources.

Keywords

Gammarus roeselimanipulative parasiteneutral lipid contentsPolymorphus minutusstable isotopestrophic ecology
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 4 , April 2011 , pp. 537 - 546
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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