Isotopic Overlap of Invasive and Native Consumers in the Food Web of Lake Trasimeno (Central Italy)

Davide Cicala; Maria Teresa Guerra; Roberta Bardelli; Cristina Di Muri; Alessandro Ludovisi; Salvatrice Vizzini; Giorgio Mancinelli

doi:10.3390/biology12091270

Isotopic Overlap of Invasive and Native Consumers in the Food Web of Lake Trasimeno (Central Italy)

Biology (Basel). 2023 Sep 21;12(9):1270. doi: 10.3390/biology12091270.

Authors

Davide Cicala¹, Maria Teresa Guerra², Roberta Bardelli³, Cristina Di Muri⁴, Alessandro Ludovisi⁵, Salvatrice Vizzini^{3

6}, Giorgio Mancinelli^{2

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
² Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies-DiSTeBA, University of Salento, SP Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
³ Department of Earth and Marine Sciences-DiSTeM, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90133 Palermo, Italy.
⁴ Italian National Research Council, Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems-CNR-IRET, University of Salento, SP Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
⁶ Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare-CoNISMa, Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00196 Rome, Italy.
⁷ Italian National Research Council, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies-CNR-IRBIM, Via Pola 4, 71010 Lesina, Italy.

Abstract

An advanced characterization of the trophic niche of non-indigenous species (NIS) may provide useful information on their ecological impact on invaded communities. Here, we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to estimate pairwise niche overlaps between non-indigenous and native consumers in the winter food web of Lake Trasimeno (central Italy). Overall, a relatively low pairwise overlap of isotopic niches was observed between NIS and native species. The only exception was the Louisiana crayfish Procambarus clarkii, which showed a relatively high and diffuse overlap with other native invertebrates. Our findings highlighted a high niche divergence between non-indigenous and native species in Lake Trasimeno, suggesting a potentially low degree of interspecific competition that may facilitate coexistence and, in turn, limit the strength of impacts. The divergent results obtained for the Louisiana crayfish indicate that additional control measures for this invasive species are needed to mitigate its impact on the Lake Trasimeno system.

Keywords: Procambarus clarkii; ecological impact; invasive species; isotopic niche; non-indigenous species; δ13C and δ15N.

Grants and funding

Funding from the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University, and Research (Law n. 232 11 December 2016) to G.M. and from the project “Tratti bio-ecologici chiave in una specie invasiva: Procambarus clarkii” (Fundamental Research Funding), Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Biotechnology, University of Perugia to A.L. are acknowledged.