Data from: The role of fish predators and their foraging traits in shaping zooplankton community structure
Cite this dataset
Moosmann, Marvin; Greenway, Ryan; Oester, Rebecca; Matthews, Blake (2024). Data from: The role of fish predators and their foraging traits in shaping zooplankton community structure [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg01
Abstract
Differentiation of foraging traits among predator populations may help explain observed variation in the structure of prey communities. However, few studies have investigated the phenotypic effects of predators on their prey in natural communities. Here, we use a comparative analysis of 78 Greenlandic lakes to examine how foraging trait variation among threespine stickleback populations can help explain variation in zooplankton community composition among lakes. We find that landscape-scale variation in zooplankton composition was jointly explained by lake properties, such as size and water chemistry, and the presence and absence of both stickleback and arctic char. Additional variation in zooplankton community structure can be explained by stickleback jaw protrusion, a trait with known utility for foraging on zooplankton, but only in lakes where stickleback co-occur with arctic char. Overall, our results illustrate how trait variation of consumers, alongside other ecosystem properties, can influence the composition of prey communities in nature.
README: Data from: The role of fish predators and their foraging traits in shaping zooplankton community structure
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg01
The dataset "ELE_00721_2023_Lake_data.csv" contains the data of 78 Greenlandic lakes, including their coordinate positions, lake morphometry measurements, fish community composition, physio-chemical chemical parameters obtained with EXO multiparameter sonde, stickelback denisty, the abundance of zooplankton speices and the mean phenotypic traits of the stickelback populations. This dataset was analysed with the R-script "ELE_00721_2023_Lake_data_Lake_analysis.R"
Description of the data and file structure
The file "ELE_00721_2023_Lake_data.csv" contains the follwing collumns:
| Lake ID: | A unique identifier for the lake |
|---|---|
| Sampling_Year: | The year, in which the lakes were sampled. |
| Sampling_Area: | The three major sampling regions in Greenland: A = Akia, T = Tuttutoq, M = Mainland (Qassiarsuk) |
| Latitude: | Latitude of the lake’s location |
| Longitude: | Longitude of the lakes’s location |
| Fish_community: | Fish community configuration: 1_NF = No Fish, 2_C = Char only, 3_SBC = Stickleback and Char, 4_SB = Stickleback only |
| SB_presence | The presence of stickleback: 1 = present, 0 = absent. |
| Char_presence | The presence of arctic char: 1 = present, 0 = absent. |
| Area_ha: | Lake surface area in hectare. |
| Perimeter_m: | Lake perimeter in meters. |
| Max_Depth_m: | Maximal depth of the lake measured in meters |
| EXO_Chlorophyll: | Chlorophyll-a in relative fluorescence units (RFU) obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean value between 0-3m depth. |
| EXO_BGA: | Blue-Green-Algae measure in relative fluorescence units (RFU) obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean value between 0-3m depth. |
| EXO_Conductivity: | Water conductivity measured in μS × cm−1, obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean value between 0-3m depth. |
| EXO_ODO | Oxygen concentration in mg/L, obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean value between 0-3m depth. |
| EXO_fDOM | Fluorescent Dissolved Organic Matter (fDOM) in relative fluorescence units (RFU) obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean between 0-3m depth. |
| EXO_Temp | Water temperature in °C, obtained using the EXO2 modular sensor platform [YSI-WTW]; mean between 0-3m depth. |
| CPUE | Catch per unit effort (CPUE) of the stickleback populations in individuals caught/hours of trapping. NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
| ab_Calanoida | The abundance in individuals per liter of the calanoid copepod Leptodiaptomus minutus. |
| ab_Cyclopoida | The abundance in individuals per liter of the cyclopoid copepods. |
| ab_Polyphemus | The abundance in individuals per liter of the Polyphemus sp. |
| ab_Macrothrix | The abundance in individuals per liter of Macrothrix sp. |
| ab_Holopedium | The abundance in individuals per liter of Holopedium sp. |
| ab_Bosmina | The abundance in individuals per liter of Bosmina sp. |
| Ab_Daphnia_long | The abundance in individuals per liter of Daphnia longispina. |
| Ab_Daphnia_pul | The abundance in individuals per liter of Daphnia pulex |
| Ab Ceriodaphnia | The abundance in individuals per liter of Ceriodaphnia sp. |
| Ab_Chydoridae_sum | The abundance of individuals per liter of the family chydoridae (the sum of Acropercus, Alona, Chydorus, Eurycercus, and undefined chydoridae) |
| ab_Acroperus | The abundance in individuals per liter of Acropercus sp. |
| Ab_Alona | The abundance in individuals per liter of Alona sp. |
| ab_Chydorus | The abundance in individuals per liter of Chydorus sp. |
| ab_Eurycercus | The abundance in individuals per liter of Eurycercus sp. |
| Ab_Chydoridae | The abundance in individuals per liter of chydoridae that where not identified beyond family level. |
| SL | Mean standard length of stickleback population in the respective lake in millimeter. NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
| KT | Mean kinematic transmission of the opercular four-bar linkage of the stickleback in the respective lake (KT; unitless). NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
| SI | Mean suction index of the stickleback population in the respective lake (SI; unitless). NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
| DA | Mean displacement advantage of the lower jaw lever ratio of the stickleback population in the respective lake (DA: unitless). NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
| JP | Mean jaw protrusion of the stickleback population in the respective lake (JP; in millimeter). NA (not applicable) for lakes that did not contain stickleback populations. |
Code/Software
The data lake data in the file "ELE_00721_2023_Lake_data.csv" where analysed using the R-script "ELE_00721_2023_Lake_data_Lake_analysis.R" in R studio which is available under https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10055831.
Funding
Swiss National Science Foundation