Influence of Turbidity on Foraging Behaviour in Three-Spined Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Lasse Lange Jensen, Thomas Bjørn, Andreas Hein Korsgaard, Cino Pertoldi, Niels Madsen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Anthropogenic activities increase turbidity in coastal marine environments globally, and turbidity is particularly caused by eutrophication. Turbidity is a measurement of the scattering and absorption of light by suspended matter in water. An increase in turbidity influences visual predators and affects community structures and whole ecosystems. The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a widespread species in the northern hemispheric Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It is a visual predator and, therefore, a very well-suited species for studying the effects of increasing turbidity on foraging behaviour and activity. Sticklebacks used for this study were from an aquarium in the North Sea Oceanarium. They have been in the aquarium for around two months and were originally collected in a highly eutrophicated marine fjord system. They were individually placed in an observation aquarium, fed with krill, given 10 min to forage, and observed by video cameras. The video films were analysed to study stickleback predation behaviour. Experiments were repeated with four different turbidity treatments, ranging from a mean of 0.034 up to 10 NTU (nephelometric turbidity unit). Bentonite clay was used as a turbidity-increasing substance. A statistically significant difference in foraging behaviour and activity between the turbidity treatments was observed. The test subjects were found to lunge less for prey and had a higher feeding latency with increasing turbidity. Additionally, they were less active with increasing turbidity. The behavioural instability estimated as a variation in feeding latency increased with increasing turbidity but decreased at the highest turbidity value. Our study indicates an effect of turbidity-increasing events on the behaviour of the three-spined stickleback and potentially also other similar visual predators.
Original languageEnglish
Article number609
JournalFishes
Volume8
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

Keywords

  • eutrophication
  • behavioural instability
  • coastal environments
  • feeding latency
  • fish behaviour
  • foraging behaviour
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus
  • three-spined stickleback

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