Sponsor
Funding was provided by Portland State University’s Faculty Enhancement Grant program to CED and ALL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Published In
Aquatic Invasions
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2025
Subjects
Estuaries -- research, Salinization -- Environmental aspects
Abstract
The nature and strength of biotic interactions change along stress gradients, but the importance of these interactions across estuarine gradients is under studied. Here, we examined how consumption varies across estuarine salinity gradients by deploying standardized baits (‘squidpops’) to measure consumption pressure along the gradients of five estuaries in Oregon, USA. The relationship between consumption and stress was nonlinear: consumption pressure peaked slightly at mid salinity and decreased at low salinity, especially as temperature increased, in the five estuaries studied. This finding does not support either of two existing models for consumption across gradients, including the Consumer Stress Model and a consumer extension of the Salinity Range Model. The pattern of consumption aligns better with the Prey Stress Model or the Invasion Stress Model, and the latter predicts that successful invasion by stress-tolerant predators extends consumption pressure further upstream along estuarine stress gradients than the Consumer Stress Model. Although these estuaries have been invaded by the crab Carcinus maenas, our catch data did not support the expected greater numbers of these invasive, stress-tolerant predators mid estuary or an expected relationship with native predators, as C. maenas was trapped in low abundance throughout each estuary. While our catch data did not directly support the Invasion Stress Model, we found that individual C. maenas ate more squid in lab experiments when at intermediate salinities than fresher salinities. Overall, our field and lab results suggest consumption peaked at mid estuary, at intermediate to high stress, in these temperate estuaries. The Invasion-Stress Model needs more testing to evaluate whether it, the Prey Stress Model, or a new model is best supported and can predict ecological impacts from changes in precipitation patterns and biological invasions, as well as other environmental stressors for estuarine food webs.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2025 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.3391/ai.2025.20.1.151447
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43618
Citation Details
de Rivera, C. E., Larson, A. A., Rubinoff, B. G., Soto, L. R., Wright, S. L., Grosholz, E. D., Ruiz, G. M., & Chang, A. L. (2025). Consumption pressure in estuaries peaks at intermediate salinities. Aquatic Invasions, 20(1), 153–173.
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Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Water Resource Management Commons