Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:21:08.060Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Resource use within the crab-eating guild of the upper Kairezi River, Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

James R. A. Butler  and
Brian E. Marshall
James R. A. Butler
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P. O. Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Brian E. Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P. O. Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cape clawless otters Aonyx capensis and African mottled eels Anguilla bengalensis were suspected of reducing numbers of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in the upper Kairezi River, Zimbabwe, by preying on them and competing for the river crab Potamon perlatus. The analysis of otter, eel and trout diets showed that this is unlikely. Trout was an unimportant prey item for otters, none were found in the stomachs of 13 large eels, and any predation was probably minimised by the low densities of these predators. Some competition was probably present because crabs occurred in the diets of otters (relative occurrence 41.9%), eels (63.2%) and trout (7.4%), but it was impossible to quantify. Since these predators shared the crab food resource, the guild concept provided the basis for an analysis of their potential competitive relationships. Comparisons between the sizes of crabs selected and those available suggested that resource partitioning was occurring. Trout selected small crabs from the invertebrate drift, and because they were restricted by their mouth gapes. Otters and large eels ate larger, more abundant crab sizes; it is proposed that they instead partition resources spatially by feeding in separate micro-habitats. Intraguild predation by otters on eels may benefit trout by reducing competition for aquatic insects. Competition within the guild probably recedes in the dry season, when eels become inactive.

Keywords

Anguilla bengalensisAonyx capensiscrab-eating guildintraguild predationOncorhynchus mykissresource partitioning
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , July 1996 , pp. 475 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Arkell, G. B. F. 1979. Aspects of the feeding and breeding biology of the giant kingfisher. Ostrich 50:176–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashmole, N. P. 1968. Body size, prey size and ecological segregation in five sympatric tropical terns. Systematic Zoology 17:292–304.Google Scholar
Balon, E. K. – 1975. The eels of Lake Kariba: distribution, taxonomic status, age, growth and density. Journal of Fish Biology 7:797–815.Google Scholar
Bell-Cross, G. & Minshull, J. L. 1988. The fishes of Zimbabwe. National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Harare. 294 pp.Google Scholar
Butler, J. R. A. 1993. A comparative study of resource use within the crab-eating guild of the upper Kairezi River, Nyanga, Zimbabwe. MSc. University of Zimbabwe.Google Scholar
Butler, J. R. A. 1994. Clawless otter conservation and a trout river: a case study. Oryx 28:276–282.Google Scholar
Butler, J. R. A. & Du Toit, J. T. 1994. Diet and conservation status of clawless otters in eastern Zimbabwe. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 24:41–47.Google Scholar
Crossman, E. J. 1959. A predator-prey interaction in freshwater fish. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 16:269–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denoncourt, C. E. & Stauffer, J. R. 1993. Feeding selectivity of the American eel Anguilla rostrata (Le Seur) in the Upper Delaware River. American Midland Naturalist 129:301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, J. M. 1973. The food of brown and rainbow trout (Salmo trutta and S. gairdneri) in relation to the abundance of drifting invertebrates in a mountain stream. Oecologia 12:329–347.Google Scholar
Erlinge, S. 1968. Food studies on captive otters, Lutra lutra L. Oikos 19:259–270.Google Scholar
Erlinge, S. 1969. Food habits of the otter Lutra lutra L. and the mink Mustela visom Schreber in a trout water in southern Sweden. Oikos 20:1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerking, S. D. 1974. Biological systems. (2nd edition). W. D. Saunders and Co. 506 pp.Google Scholar
Glova, G. J. & Sagar, P. M. 1991. Dietary and spatial overlap between stream populations of a native and two introduced fish species in New Zealand. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42:423–433.Google Scholar
Hill, M. P. & O'Keeffe, J. H. 1992. Some aspects of the ecology of the freshwater crab (Potamonautes perlatus Milne Edwards) in the upper reaches of the Buffalo River, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. South Africa Journal of Aquatic Science 18:42–50.Google Scholar
Hyslop, E. J. 1980. Stomach contents analysis: a review of methods and their application. Journal of Fish Biology 17:411–429.Google Scholar
Johannes, R. E. & Larkin, P. A. 1961. Competition for food between redside shiners (Richardsonius balteatus) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in two British Columbian lakes. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 18:203–220.Google Scholar
Kruuk, H. 1972. The spotted hyaena: a study of predator and social behaviour. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. 335 pp.Google Scholar
Kruuk, H., Kanchanasaka, B., O'Sullivan, S. & Wanghongsa, S. 1994. Niche separation in three sympatric otters Lutra perspicillata, L. lutra and Aonyx cinerea in Huai Kha Khaeng, Thailand. Biological Conservation 69:115–120.Google Scholar
Louw, C. J. & Nel, J. A. J. 1986. Diets of coastal and inland-dwelling water mongoose. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 16:153–156.Google Scholar
Mathooko, J. M. 1993. Availability and selection of mayfly, Caenis kungu Kimm. (Ephemeeroptera: Caenidae) as a natural source of food by rainbow trout, Oncorkynchus mykiss Walb., in a tropical river in Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 31:58–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, M. G. L. 1990 Kalahari hyaenas; comparative behavioural ecology of two species. Unwin Hyman. 304 pp.Google Scholar
Persson, L. 1986. Effects of reduced competition on resource utilisation in perch (Perca fluviatilis). Ecology 67:355–364.Google Scholar
Pielou, E. C. 1977. Mathematical ecology. John Wiley and Sons. 385 pp.Google Scholar
Polis, G. A. & Holt, R. D. 1992. Intraguild predation: the dynamics of complex trophic interactions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7:151–154.Google Scholar
Purves, M. G., Kruuk, H. & Nel, J. A. J. 1994. Crabs Potamonautes perlatus in the diet of otter Aonyx capensis and water mongoose Atilax paludinosus in a freshwater habitat in South Africa. Zeitschrift für Saugetierkunde 59:332–341.Google Scholar
Root, R. B. 1967. The niche exploitation of the blue-gray gnatcatcher. Ecological Monographs 37:317–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe-Rowe, D. T. 1977a. Food ecology of otters in Natal, South Africa. Oikos 28:210–219.Google Scholar
Rowe-Rowe, D. T. 1977b. Variations in the predatory behaviour of the clawless otter. Lammergeyer 23:22–27.Google Scholar
Rowe-Rowe, D. T. 1992. Survey of South African otters in a freshwater habitat, using sign. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 22:49–55.Google Scholar
Schaller, G. B. 1972. The Serengeti lion: a study of predator-prey relations. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. 480 pp.Google Scholar
Schoener, T. W. 1983. Field experiments on interspecific competition. American Naturalist 122:240–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinha, V. R. P. & Jones, J. W. 1967. On the food of freshwater eels and their relationships with the salmonids. Journal of Zoology 153:119–137.Google Scholar
Skaife, S. H. 1953. African insect life. Longmans Green, London. 387 pp.Google Scholar
Skinner, J. D. & Smithers, R. H. N. 1990. The mammals of the southern African sub-region. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.Google Scholar
Terborgh, J. & Robinson, S. 1986 Guilds and their utility in ecology. Pp. 65–90 in Kikkawa, J. & Anderson, D. J. (eds.) Community ecology: pattern and process. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 432 pp.Google Scholar
Tesch, F. W. 1977. The eel: biology and management of anguillid eels. Chapman and Hall, London. 434 pp.Google Scholar
Thomas, J. D. 1962. The food and growth of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) and its feeding relationships with the salmon parr (Salmo solar L.) and the eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) in the River Teify, west Wales. Journal of Animal Ecology 31:175–205.Google Scholar
Turnbull-Kemp, P. St. J. 1958. Eels in Rhodesian trout streams. Piscator 41:210–212.Google Scholar
Turbull-Kemp, P. St. J. 1960. Quantitative estimations of populations of the river crab, Potamon (Potamonautes) perlatus (M. Edw.), in Rhodesian trout streams. Nature (Lond.) 185:481.Google Scholar
Turnbull-Kemp, P. St. J. 1970a. Trout in Rhodesia: wildlife of the trout streams; invertebrates Part 1. Rhodesia Agricultural Journal 67:124–130.Google Scholar
Turnbull-Kemp, P. St. J. 1970b. Trout in Rhodesia: wildlife of the trout streams; invertebrates Part 2. Rhodesia Agricultural Journal 67:144–149.Google Scholar
Van Der Zee, D. 1981. Prey of the Cape clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) in the Tsitsikama Coastal National Park, South Africa. Journal of Zoology 194:467–483.Google Scholar