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Aktivita raka mramorovaného v závislosti na reprodukčním cyklu
MARKOVÁ, Kateřina
The aim of this thesis was to elaborate a literature review on the topic of crayfish activity, in particular their feeding activity and the use of shelters, including an emphasis on the role of sex and the reproductive cycle. I also focused on the characteristics of the marbled crayfish, Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017 and its usability as a model organism. The experimental part of the thesis focused on comparing three groups of female marbled crayfish (with ovulum, with glair glands and without ovulum). Experiments have been carried out using a method for ecological assessment of feeding behavior and predator-prey relationship in various prey densities in the form of larvae of buzzer midge Chironomus plumosus (Linnaeus, 1758) by functional response analysis and subsequently tested for the effect of shelter presence at uniform prey densities levels. In our experiment, all three groups of tested females showed a type II functional response typical of predators. The results indicate that females without ovulum have been the most active in terms of food collection in all cases, with a generally positive effect of the presence of shelter. Females with employed ovulum are generally less active in terms of consumption, processing and overall aktivity due to hormonal, physiological and consequently behavioural changes. Females with glair glands behaved similarly to females with ovulum in our experiments, being more cautious and less active than females without ovulum. This was probably due to their increased gonadosomatic index (GSI) and, conversely, their decreased hepatopankreas to total body weight ratio, which renders these females unable to physiologically ingest large amounts of submitted food. Female GSI decreases again after ovulation, nevertheless, even females with already employed ovulum did not consume more food, as females prefer safety at this stage of the reproductive cycle. They are less active, move more slowly, spend more time in a shelter, tend to their eggs, and thus cannot devote themselves fully to hunting and prey processing. Regarding its life strategy, the marbled crayfish is a generally suitable model organism for use in various areas of research, however, it is important to take into account its rapid life and reproductive cycle and adapt the conditions of the given experiments to this fact, as the parallel use of female marbled crayfish at various stages of the reproductive cycle can modulate results in terms of their activity. Certain differences in the presented results may also be due to the origin of the experimental animals, as with very few exceptions all performed experiments with marbled crayfish have been carried out using laboratory individuals. A number of conditions that change seasonally in nature have been kept constant in the laboratory. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that in wild, crayfish are also exposed to both biotic (predation pressure of various species of fish, birds or mammals) and abiotic (changes in temperature and water chemistry) factors that can influence food activity. Nevertheless, we assume that the patterns observed here will also be valid for female crayfish living in the wild nature. However, the lack of similar experiments leading to the elucidation of female activity depending on the stage of the reproductive cycle provides a room to investigate other, not just crayfish species.
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Potravní chování nepůvodních druhů hlaváčovitých ryb
GEBAUER, Radek
Global homogenisation of biota is observed at an ever-increasing rate, causing environmental and economic losses as well as emerging health risks. Ecological and economic consequences of biological invasions fuel the need for an urgent targeted and cost-effective management given the amount of invaders, vectors and pathways. We examined the effects of environmental and human-related factors on distribution of alien animal species richness in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). We compiled a set of maps showing the level of invasion of six categories of alien animal species in each of 628 grid cells (ca. 12.0 × 11.1 km) covering the Czech Republic. Relationships between alien species richness and 12 variables characterizing climatic conditions, topography, land cover, and human population size were calculated using the generalized least squares method. Species richness of all aliens, of invertebrates, and of terrestrial species showed the strongest positive relationship with mean annual temperature, while the number of black and grey (proposed prominent invaders) and aquatic species was most closely related to the presence of large rivers. Alien vertebrates showed a strong negative relationship with annual precipitation. The highest alien animal species richness was found in and near large population centres and in agricultural landscapes in warm and dry lowlands. The gateways for alien aquatic species are rather large rivers over sport fishing and aquaculture import. Two benthic fish species, round goby Neogobius melanostomus and western tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris have recently expanded beyond their native ranges. Both species exert a detrimental effect on fish communities' structure directly via predation on fish eggs and indirectly via alterations of food webs. We quantified and compared the foraging behavior and efficiency of invasive N. melanostomus and alien P. semilunaris upon common carp Cyprinus carpio larvae at two temperature levels (20 and 25 °C) and in three different habitat structures (sand, cobbles, cobbles with artificial plant) using the functional response approach. Both alien predators showed type II FR in all temperature and habitat treatments. Intra-specific comparison showed no significant temperature dependency on assessed FR parameters, attack rate and handling time, suggesting broad temperature tolerance of both tested predators. The handling time did not differ between predators suggesting similar per capita ecological impact at high prey densities. Proterorhinus semilunaris showed a lower maximum feeding rate at 25 °C compared to the rest of treatments suggesting a lower temperature optima compared to N. melanostomus. Interspecific comparison showed similar values of handling time in cobble substrate and cobbles with artificial plant suggesting similar per capita ecological impacts of both aliens. Intraspecific comparison showed significantly lower values of handling time in both predators in habitat with cobbles reflecting higher maximum feeding rate. Therefore, impact of both invaders in such environment could elevate. Neogobius melanostomus showed higher attack rate in sandy habitat compared to P. semilunaris, while no significant differences were observed in other habitat treatments.
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