1. Scavenging by threatened turtles regulates freshwater ecosystem health during fish kills.
- Author
-
Santori C, Spencer RJ, Thompson MB, Whittington CM, Burd TH, Currie SB, Finter TJ, and Van Dyke JU
- Subjects
- Animal Distribution, Animals, Body Remains, Carps, Male, New South Wales, Rivers, Wetlands, Ecosystem, Feeding Behavior, Fresh Water, Turtles physiology, Water Quality
- Abstract
Humans are increasing the frequency of fish kills by degrading freshwater ecosystems. Simultaneously, scavengers like freshwater turtles are declining globally, including in the Australian Murray-Darling Basin. Reduced scavenging may cause water quality problems impacting both ecosystems and humans. We used field and mesocosm experiments to test whether scavenging by turtles regulates water quality during simulated fish kills. In the field, we found that turtles were important scavengers of fish carrion. In mesocosms, turtles rapidly consumed carrion, and water quality in mesocosms with turtles returned to pre-fish kill levels faster than in turtle-free controls. Our experiments have important ecological implications, as they suggest that turtles are critical scavengers that regulate water quality in freshwater ecosystems. Recovery of turtle populations may be necessary to avoid the worsening of ecosystem health, particularly after fish kills, which would have devastating consequences for many freshwater species.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF