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Trophic niche divergence is considered to be a major process by which species coexistence is facilitated. When studying niche segregation in lake ecosystems, we tend to view the niche on a one-dimensional pelagic-littoral axis. In reality, however, the niche use may be more complex and individual fidelity to a niche may be variable both between and within populations. In order to study this complexity, relative simple systems with few species are needed. In this paper, we study how competitor presence affects the resource use of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in 11 species-poor Faroese lakes by comparing relative abundance, stable isotope ratios and diet in multiple habitats. In the presence of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a higher proportion of the trout population was found in the pelagic habitat, and trout in general relied on a more pelagic diet base as compared to trout living in allopatry or in sympatry with Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Diet analyses revealed, however, that niche-segregation may be more complex than described on a one-dimensional pelagic-littoral axis. Trout from both littoral and offshore benthic habitats had in the presence of sticklebacks a less benthic diet as compared to trout living in allopatry or in sympatry with charr. Furthermore, we found individual habitat specialization between littoral/benthic and pelagic trout in deep lakes. Hence, our findings indicate that for trout populations interspecific competition can drive shifts in both habitat and niche use, but at the same time they illustrate the complexity of the ecological niche in freshwater ecosystems

Space-for-time substitution studies (SFTS, e.g. latitudinal gradient analyses) are often used to unravel climate effects on lake biota, and have shown a reduction in size, changes in diet and more frequent reproduction of fish in warmer climates, with cascading effects such as lower zooplankton and higher phytoplankton biomasses. SFTS results from continental lakes are, however, potentially confounded by biogeographical and evolutionary differences leading to often higher species richness in warm lakes. To somehow reduce these confounding effects, we studied species-poor lakes located in two remote island groups with contrasting climates but similar seasonality: The Faroe Islands (cold; 6.5±2.8°C) and the Azores (warm; 17.3±2.9°C). We analysed community and food web structure using a stable isotopes approach investigating fish, macro-invertebrates, and zooplankton in 20 lakes. We found a smaller mean body size of fish in the Azorean lakes even if standardised by maximum length of the fish species present, suggesting a higher predation pressure on zooplankton and consequently higher phytoplankton abundance at the same nutrient levels. A triangular shape of the food web, with wider carbon range for basal organisms and for the whole food web appeared in the colder lakes. In contrast to previous works, though, Layman metrics of the fish food web were similar between the two climatic regions despite differences in basal organisms. Our results from insular systems showed a reduced fish body size structure in the warmer region and suggest that temperature differences may drive the changes in fish size structure.

Organised by Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Science, Tihany, and Institute of Biology, university of Veszprém

Organised by Balaton Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Science, Tihany, and Institute of Biology, university of Veszprém