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A mesocosm experiment investigating the effects of substratum quality and wave exposure on the survival of fish eggs

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Abstract

In a mesocosm experiment, the attachment of bream (Abramis brama) eggs to spawning substrata with and without periphytic biofilm coverage and their subsequent survival with and without low-intensity wave exposure were investigated. Egg attachment was reduced by 73% on spawning substrata with a natural periphytic biofilm, compared to clean substrata. Overall, this initial difference in egg numbers persisted until hatching. The difference in egg numbers was even increased in the wave treatment, while it was reduced in the no-wave control treatment. Exposure to a low-intensity wave regime affected egg development between the two biofilm treatments differently. Waves enhanced egg survival on substrata without a biofilm but reduced the survival of eggs on substrata with biofilm coverage. In the treatment combining biofilm-covered substrata and waves, no attached eggs survived until hatching. In all treatments, more than 75% of the eggs became detached from the spawning substrata during the egg incubation period, and <1% of these detached eggs survived within the substratum interstices. Hence, detached eggs contributed little to the reproductive success we observed. The implications of these results on the spawning success of fish species that use freshly inundated spawning substrata in shallow waters are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank P. Mahler, M. Wolf, J. Böhler and M. Schmid for help during the experiment. K. Rinke and B. Ferebee provided valuable help with statistical analyses. This study was conducted within the Collaborative Research Center 454 ‘Littoral Zone of Lake Constance’, which was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and a personal grant to S.S. by the German National Academic Foundation.

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Author notes

  1. Stefan Stoll

    Present address: Department of Limnology and Conservation, Research Institute Senckenberg, 63571, Gelnhausen, Germany

  2. Wolfgang Nikolaus Probst

    Present address: Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Alter Hafen Süd 2, 18069, Rostock, Germany

  3. Philipp Fischer

    Present address: Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Kurpromenade 201, 27498, Helgoland, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany

    Stefan Stoll, Wolfgang Nikolaus Probst, Reiner Eckmann & Philipp Fischer

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  1. Stefan Stoll
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  2. Wolfgang Nikolaus Probst
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Correspondence to Stefan Stoll.

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Stoll, S., Probst, W.N., Eckmann, R. et al. A mesocosm experiment investigating the effects of substratum quality and wave exposure on the survival of fish eggs. Aquat. Sci. 72, 509–517 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-010-0152-9

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