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Differences in stress tolerance and brood size between a non-indigenous and an indigenous gammarid in the northern Baltic Sea

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Abstract

Differences in stress tolerance and reproductive traits may drive the competitive hierarchy between non-indigenous and indigenous species and turn the former ones into successful invaders. In the northern Baltic Sea, the non-indigenous Gammarus tigrinus is a recent invader of littoral ecosystems and now occupies comparable ecological niches as the indigenous G. zaddachi. In laboratory experiments on specimens collected between June and August 2009 around Tvärminne in southern Finland (59°50′N/23°15′E), the tolerances towards heat stress and hypoxia were determined for the two species using lethal time, LT50, as response variable. The brood size of the two species was also studied and some observations were made on maturation of juveniles. Gammarus tigrinus was more resistant to hypoxia and survived at higher temperatures than G. zaddachi. Brood size was also greater in G. tigrinus than in G. zaddachi and G. tigrinus matured at a smaller size and earlier than G. zaddachi. Hence, there are clear competitive advantages for the non-indigenous G. tigrinus compared to the indigenous G. zaddachi, and these may be further strengthened through ongoing environmental changes related to increased eutrophication and a warming climate in the Baltic Sea region.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of the international research and training programme GAME VII (Global Approach by Modular Experiments) which is generously funded by the Mercator Foundation (Essen, Germany) and the Foundation of Kiel University. Financial support was also received from the Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation (JS) and from Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica (PK). We are grateful to the staff at Tvärminne Zoological Station for providing excellent working facilities for the project and for kind hospitality to JS. Three anonymous reviewers provided many insightful comments that greatly improved the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitäts-strasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany

    Jörg Sareyka & Ralph Tollrian

  2. Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Artillerigatan 6, 20520, Turku/Åbo, Finland

    Jörg Sareyka & Patrik Kraufvelin

  3. ARONIA, Coastal Zone Research Team, Åbo Akademi University and Novia University of Applied Sciences, Raseborgsvägen 9, 10600, Ekenäs, Finland

    Patrik Kraufvelin

  4. IFM-GEOMAR, Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

    Mark Lenz & Martin Wahl

  5. Tvärminne Zoological Station, J.A. Palméns väg 260, 10900, Hangö, Finland

    Magnus Lindström

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  1. Jörg Sareyka
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  2. Patrik Kraufvelin
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Correspondence to Patrik Kraufvelin.

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Communicated by J. P. Grassle.

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Sareyka, J., Kraufvelin, P., Lenz, M. et al. Differences in stress tolerance and brood size between a non-indigenous and an indigenous gammarid in the northern Baltic Sea. Mar Biol 158, 2001–2008 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1708-5

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