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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(12)

Effects of acid rainfall on juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) antipredator behaviour: loss of chemical alarm function and potential survival consequences during predation

Antoine O. H. C. Leduc A C , Ellie Roh A and Grant E. Brown B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.

B Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada.

C Corresponding author. Email: a.leduc@fisheries.ubc.ca

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(12) 1223-1230 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08323
Submitted: 26 November 2008  Accepted: 30 March 2009   Published: 17 December 2009

Abstract

Many organisms rely on chemosensory cues to mediate predation risks. Recent studies have demonstrated impaired chemosensory detection ability under weak acidification. Because rainfall may lead to episodic acidification of surface water, we assessed the effects of acid rain on chemosensory alarm functions. Under natural conditions, we quantified alarm behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) exposed to conspecific chemical alarm cues before and following rainfall. Before rainfall, salmon were capable of an alarm response in the study streams. After rainfall, salmon from Devil’s Brook did not respond to the alarm cues whereas the detection of salmon from Catamaran Brook (a comparable stream having higher acid neutralising capacity) was maintained. To relate these findings to predator–prey encounters, we performed a second experiment where we staged encounters between prey (rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) and predator (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides) exposed to acidified and unacidified rainbow trout chemical alarm cues. Trout exposed to acidified alarm cues survived for a significantly shorter amount of time than trout exposed to unacidified alarm cues, whereas no difference in overall predator behaviour was observed. Our results suggest that episodic acidification in small nursery streams may disrupt the chemical information mediated by the chemical alarm cues that can translate into higher survival costs for prey.

Additional keywords: acid rain precipitation, chemical messengers, predator–prey interaction, risk assessment, salmonid ecology, stream ecology.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Catamaran Brook Habitat Research Project for valuable technical and logistic assistance, and Jordan Rosenfeld, James W. Grant and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. All work reported herein has been conducted in accordance with Concordia University Animal Care Protocol No. AC-2005-BROW. Financial support was provided by Concordia University and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to G. E. B. and an NSERC PGS D2 Scholarship to A. O. H. C. L. This paper is Contribution No. 94 to the Catamaran Brook Habitat Research Project.


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