Increased mortality of growth-enhanced transgenic common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) under short-term predation risk

There is strong evidence that genetic capacity for growth evolves toward an optimum rather than an absolute maximum. This implies that fast growth has a cost and that trade-offs occur between growth and other life-history traits. In this study, we conducted a series of predation trials with a paired-contrast design to test the differences in anti-predator ability between growth-enhanced transgenic and non-transgenic common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). We showed that young transgenic fish suffered higher predation mortality than control carp in both small-bodied and large-bodied size-matched trials, and thus possessed lower anti-predator ability. Our results suggest that a trade-off exists between growth rate and survival such that rapid growth entails a cost in terms of mortality.