Preferences of juveniles and adults of the invasive Ponto-Caspian amphipod Pontogammarus robustoides for various species of macrophytes and artificial substrata

We studied preferences of invasive Ponto-Caspian amphipod P. robustoides for various macrophyte species (Myriophyllum spicatum, Ceratophyllum demersum, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Elodea canadensis) and artificial plant-like objects (artificial Christmas tree branches) in laboratory pairwise-choice tests. Juvenile (< 7 mm) and adult gammarids exhibited different habitat preferences. Adults did not discriminate between artificial and natural substrata, or among most of the tested species of plants. In contrast, juveniles clearly preferred all tested macrophytes over artificial substrata. Moreover, they particularly preferred plants with the finest leaf elements: M. spicatum and C. demersum over the others and E. canadensis over P. perfoliatus. We found no influence of chironomid larvae, a potential food source for adult gammarids, on their distribution, nor any effect of adults on the habitat choice by juveniles. The habitat partitioning between juvenile and adult P. robustoides may help them survive in a new environment and increase their invasive potential by reducing the intraspecific competition and cannibalism.