Predator-dependent diel migration by Halocaridina rubra shrimp (Malacostraca: Atyidae) in Hawaiian anchialine pools

• Published in: Aquatic ecology 2011-03, Vol.45 (1), p.35-41
• Main Authors: Carey, Cayelan C, Ching, Moana P, Collins, Sarah M, Early, Angela M, Fetzer, William W, Chai, David, Hairston, Nelson G. Jr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal migration; Atyidae; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body size; Ecosystems; Endemic species; Freshwater; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Gambusia affinis; Halocaridina rubra; Introduced species; Invasive fish; Life Sciences; Macrobrachium lar; Malacostraca; Marine; Mosquito fish; Opae‘ula; Predation; Predator avoidance; Predators; Relative abundance; Shellfish; Swimming; Tropical pools; Water column
• ISSN: 1386-2588; 1573-5125
• DOI: 10.1007/s10452-010-9321-0

Diel migration is a common predator avoidance mechanism commonly found in temperate water bodies and increasingly in tropical systems. Previous research with only single day and night samples suggested that the endemic shrimp, Halocaridina rubra, may exhibit diel migration in Hawaiian anchialine pools to avoid predation by introduced mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, and perhaps reverse migration to avoid the predatory invasive Tahitian prawn, Macrobrachium lar. To examine this phenomenon in greater detail, we conducted a diel study of H. rubra relative abundance and size at 2-h intervals in three anchialine pools that varied in predation regime on the Kona-Kohala Coast of Hawai‘i Island. We found two distinct patterns of diel migration. In two pools dominated by visually feeding G. affinis, the abundance of H. rubra present on the pool bottom or swimming in the water column was very low during the day, increased markedly at sunset and remained high until dawn. In contrast, in a pool dominated by the nocturnal predator M. lar, H. rubra density was significantly lower during the night than during the day (i.e., a pattern opposite to that of shrimp in pools containing fish). In addition, we observed that the mean body size of the shrimp populations varied among pools depending upon predator type and abundance, but did not vary between day and night in any pools. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that H. rubra diel migratory behavior and size distributions are influenced by predation regime and suggest that diel migration may be a flexible strategy for predator avoidance in tropical pools where it may be a significant adaptive response of endemic species to introduced predators.