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Project properties |
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| Title | Can fishes disperse the seeds of aquatic macrophytes? An experimental study |
| Group | Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Dr. Bart Pollux (EZO), Dr. Casper van Leeuwen & Dr. Bart Nolet (NIOO) |
| Examiner(s) | Prof. Johan van Leeuwen (EZO) |
| Contact info | Edwin Peeters: edwin.peeters@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2013/04/15 |
| End date | 2013/12/31 |
| Description | Field studies have shown that fish play an important role in the dispersal of seeds of aquatic macrophytes. Many fishes consume seeds, transport them internally (i.e. within their digestive tract) to new locations and excrete them intact during defecation. Experimental studies revealed that seed retrieval patterns follow a leptokurtic curve and modeling studies suggest that fish-mediated dispersal can occur over distances in excess of 20 km.
However, to date, all experimental studies have been done with inactive individuals kept in aquaria. In reality, only active, mobile (migrating) fishes will contribute to seed dispersal in the field. Considering that the metabolism of active fish is very different from inactive ones this project aims to examine, for the first time, how different activity levels (induced by letting fishes swim in a flow tunnel at different current velocities) affect: (1) the survival probability of seeds during gut passage and (2) the seed retention time in the fish’s gut. These two parameters will largely determine the dispersal distance and the probability of seed dispersal in the field. |
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