Experimental evidence of dispersal of invasive cyprinid eggs inside migratory waterfowl

Author:

Lovas-Kiss ÁdámORCID,Vincze Orsolya,Löki Viktor,Pallér-Kapusi Felícia,Halasi-Kovács Béla,Kovács Gyula,Green Andy J.ORCID,Lukács Balázs AndrásORCID

Abstract

Fish have somehow colonized isolated water bodies all over the world without human assistance. It has long been speculated that these colonization events are assisted by waterbirds, transporting fish eggs attached to their feet and feathers, yet empirical support for this is lacking. Recently, it was suggested that endozoochory (i.e., internal transport within the gut) might play a more important role, but only highly resistant diapause eggs of killifish have been found to survive passage through waterbird guts. Here, we performed a controlled feeding experiment, where developing eggs of two cosmopolitan, invasive cyprinids (common carp, Prussian carp) were fed to captive mallards. Live embryos of both species were retrieved from fresh feces and survived beyond hatching. Our study identifies an overlooked dispersal mechanism in fish, providing evidence for bird-mediated dispersal ability of soft-membraned eggs undergoing active development. Only 0.2% of ingested eggs survived gut passage, yet, given the abundance, diet, and movements of ducks in nature, our results have major implications for biodiversity conservation and invasion dynamics in freshwater ecosystems.

Funder

Országos Tudományos Kutatási Alapprogramok

OTKA

Janos Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

New National Excellence Programme of the Hungarian Ministry of Innovation and Technology

Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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