The Importance of Prey Size and Density in an Endemic Predator-Prey Couple (Leech Erpobdella montezuma-Amphipod Hyalella montezuma)
Blinn DW, Dehdashti B, Runck C, Davies RW. 1990. The Importance of Prey Size and Density in an Endemic Predator-Prey Couple (Leech Erpobdella montezuma-Amphipod Hyalella montezuma). Journal of Animal Ecology. 59(1):187-192
(1) The feeding ecology of a highly specialized endemic predator-prey couple (the leech Erpobdella montezuma feeding on the pelagic amphipod Hyalella montezuma) in Montezuma Well, Arizona, U.S.A., was examined in laboratory experiments. (2) The rate with which E. montezuma captured H. montezuma was significantly influenced by both prey size and prey density with highest capture rates by E. montezuma on juvenile H. montezuma at high prey densities. (3) E. montezuma captured thirty times more energy (joules h-1 as juvenile H. montezuma prey) at high prey densities (80 animals l-1) compared to low prey densities (10 animals l-1), and captured nearly seven times more energy (joules h-1) as juvenile prey compared to adult prey at high density regimes. (4) E. montezuma showed a significantly higher capture rate for the pelagic H. montezuma than it did for the sedentary Hyalella azteca, also found in Montezuma Well. The highly predictable nightly accumulations of H. montezuma in the surface 1.0 m of Montezuma Well may have provided the stimulus for the synchronized nightly migrations by E. montezuma and the development of its very specialized diet.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Blinn, Dean; Dehdashti, B; Runck, Clay; Davies, Ronald
- Units
- MOCA
- Keywords
- 3, Animals, Invertebrates, Nice, NRCA