SUMMARY 1. We examined whether a large stock of tilapia (>750 kg ha−1, in littoral areas >1300 kg ha−1), mostly Oreochromis niloticus (L.) and Tilapia rendalli (Boulenger), could contribute to the eutrophication of a tropical reservoir (Lago Paranoá, Brasília, Brazil) by enhancing P‐loading.
2. We took advantage of an extensive fish kill (>150 tons removed) during May–August 1997 in a hypereutrophic branch of the reservoir to compare water quality characteristics 1 year before and after this event by means of BACI statistics. We also measured P‐excretion rates in laboratory trials to assess the P‐loading of the reservoir by the tilapia relative to tributary inputs and loading from a sewage treatment plant.
3. Concentrations of chlorophyll a (decline from 84 to 56 μg L−1, P=0.018) and total P (decline from 100 to 66 μg L−1, P < 0.001) decreased significantly in the branch of the reservoir affected by the fish kill, compared with a similar but unaffected branch that served as a control. Because P‐loading by both a sewage treatment plant and tributaries remained high after the incidence, the fish kill was likely to contribute to the observed water quality improvement.
4. Removing 150 tons of dead tilapia corresponded to 20 days of external total phosphorus load (TP‐load) to the branch, and resulted in a reduction of 5.1 kg P day−1 in internal recycling via tilapia excretion, which is equivalent to 12% of the external TP‐load.
5. Implementing professional tilapia cast‐net fisheries could be an efficient biomanipulation approach to improve water quality and limit the occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms and fish kills in hypereutrophic branches of Lago Paranoá and similar tropical lakes.
Built in 1959, Lake Paranoá, in Brasilia, Brazil, has been undergoing an accelerated process of nutrient enrichment, due to inputs of inadequately treated raw sewage, generated by a population of 600,000 inhabitants. Consequently, it shows high nutrient content (40 µg/L of total phosphorus and 1800 µg/L of total nitrogen), low transparency (0.65 m) and high levels of chlorophyll a (65 µg/L), represented mainly by Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and sporadic bloom of Microcystis aeruginosa, which is being combatted with copper sulphate. With the absence of seasonality and a vertical distribution which is not very evident, the horizontal pattern assumes great importance in this reservoir, in which five compartments stand out. Based on this segmentation and on the identification of the total phosphorus parameter as the limiting factor for algal growth, mathematical models were developed which demonstrate the need for advanced treatment of all the sewage produced in its drainage basin. With this, it is expected that a process of restoration will be initiated, with a decline in total phosphorus concentration to readings below 25 µg/L. Additional measures are proposed to accelerate this process.
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