Evol Ecol Res 10: 373-390 (2008)     Full PDF if your library subscribes.

Co-existence of a pair of pelagic planktivorous coregonid fishes

Ingeborg Palm Helland,¹* Chris Harrod,^2,3 Jörg Freyhof ¹ and Thomas Mehner¹

¹Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany,  ²Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Plön, Germany and ³School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK

Address all correspondence to I.P. Helland, Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, PO Box 850 119, D-12561 Berlin, Germany.

ABSTRACT

Hypothesis: Ecological specialization facilitates co-existence of Coregonus spp. in Lake Stechlin. A difference in trophic ecology is the dominant means by which the species are ecologically segregated.

Background: Sympatric fish species pairs in post-glacial lakes often feed on different resources, segregating available trophic resources.

Organisms: Sympatric European winter-spawning Coregonus albula and the local endemic dwarf-sized spring-spawning Coregonus fontanae.

Time and place: March–December 2005, Lake Stechlin, North Germany.

Methods: By combining stomach content analyses and stable isotope analyses we compared consumption patterns of the two species at different depths over a 10-month period.

Results: Stable isotope analyses and stomach content analyses both showed little trophic difference between the two species, but a significant effect of capture depth and body size on individual diet.

Conclusions: The sympatric species pair in Lake Stechlin does not follow the expected pattern of niche segregation. Trophic divergence is not the dominant grounds for co-existence.

Keywords: δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, niche overlap, reproductive isolation, resource competition, stable isotope analysis, stomach content analysis, sympatric species.

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