Data from: Global warming confers performance advantages to a non-native predator

Anthropogenic impacts manifest in rising temperatures worldwide, with
drastic consequences for communities and ecosystems. Ectotherms tend to
reach a smaller size at maturity in warmer environments; however, whether
these responses elicit performance advantages between native and invasive
species remains poorly understood. Here, we compared foraging efficiency
and growth of aquatic predators (invasive racer goby, Babka
gymnotrachelus; native European bullhead, Cottus gobio) in current and
predicted future water temperatures (15^ °C; 23 °^C) facing two types of
prey: live and frozen gammarids (Gammarus jadzewskii). We show that the
growth rate of both predators was negatively affected by a temperature
increase, but was consistently higher for the invasive species compared to
the native. This was driven by changes in predators’ foraging efficiency,
increased in the invasive, and decreased in the native species. Fish
foraging was also shaped by prey motility, with active prey consumed more
often than inactive ones. The results indicate that a temperature increase
may shift the competitive balance between invasive and native species,
with the former being more robust to temperature increase under a limited
food supply than native comparators. This could further modify the impact
of invaders on the local communities, with implications for ecosystem
stability.