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Living at the edge of the front; reduced predation risk to invasive round goby in a Great Lakes tributary

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Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine if the highly invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) experiences lower predation risk during early stages of invasion. We compared round goby predation rates between a recently invaded area (occupied for ≈1 year) and a longer established area (≈7 years) of the Trent River, Ontario, Canada. Tethering trials were conducted in three habitat types, and comparable habitats in the two areas were similar in water temperature, velocity and depth. Predation rates of tethered round gobies were on average 27% lower in the recently invaded area. Reduced predation in the recently invaded area may be due to the short duration of round goby occupancy and/or differences in predator communities between the two study areas. Data before the round goby invasion suggest that predator communities were similar between the two range areas, but differences in predator abundance cannot be ruled out as a potential mechanism. Other possible mechanisms include a numerical or learned response by predators over time to a novel prey item. Reduced predation rate during the initial stages of invasion may contribute to the fitness of individuals that migrate into areas not previously occupied, and thus facilitate successful range expansion.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by a National Science and Engineering Council Discovery Grant to MGF. Thanks to E. Fobert, A. Rooke, and G. Meisner for assistance with field work, and to D. Beresford, D. MacKay and two anonymous reviewers for helpful editorial comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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  1. Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8, Canada

    Jacob W. Brownscombe

  2. Environmental and Resource Studies Program and Department of Biology, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9J 7B8, Canada

    Michael G. Fox

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  1. Jacob W. Brownscombe
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Correspondence to Michael G. Fox.

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Brownscombe, J.W., Fox, M.G. Living at the edge of the front; reduced predation risk to invasive round goby in a Great Lakes tributary. Hydrobiologia 707, 199–208 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1427-z

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