Evidence for predatory control of the invasive round goby

Abstract

We coupled bioenergetics modeling with bottom trawl survey results to evaluate the capacity of piscivorous fish in eastern Lake Erie to exert predatory control of the invading population of round goby Neogobius melanostomus. In the offshore ([20 m deep) waters of eastern Lake Erie, burbot Lota lota is a native top predator, feeding on a suite of prey fishes. The round goby invaded eastern Lake Erie during the late 1990s, and round goby population size increased dramatically during 1999-2004. According to annual bottom trawl survey results, round goby abundance in offshore waters peaked in 2004, but then declined during 2004-2008. Coincidentally, round goby became an important component of burbot diet beginning in 2003. Using bottom trawling and gill netting, we estimated adult burbot abundance and age structure in eastern Lake Erie during 2007. Diet composition and energy density of eastern Lake Erie burbot were also determined during 2007. This information, along with estimates of burbot growth, burbot mortality, burbot water temperature regime, and energy densities of prey fish from the literature, were incorporated into a bioenergetics model application to estimate annual consumption of round goby by the adult burbot population. Results indicated that the adult burbot population in eastern Lake Erie annually consumed 1,361 metric tons of round goby. Based on the results of bottom trawling, we estimated the biomass of yearling and older round goby in offshore waters eastern Lake Erie during 2007-2008 to be 2,232 metric tons. Thus, the adult burbot population was feeding on round goby at an annual rate equal to 61% of the estimated round goby standing stock. We concluded that the burbot population had high potential to exert predatory control on round goby in offshore waters of eastern Lake Erie.

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) chick bioenergetics following round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) invasion and implementation of cormorant population control

“…Round goby energy density along with potential piscivorous competitors such as fish (i.e. burbot (Lota lota), walleye (Sander vitreus), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), and northern pike (Esox lucius; Madenjian et al, 2011;Reyjol et al, 2010;Weber et al, 2011)) and other waterbirds (i.e. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) Bur et al, 2008) could allow for less invasive control of DCCO populations.…”

Is There Such Thing as a Parasite Free Lunch? The Direct and Indirect Consequences of Eating Invasive Prey

“…One inevitable consequence of biological invasions is the alteration of predator-prey interactions. Hyper-successful non-indigenous species (hereafter referred to as invasive species) are a ubiquitous component of the diet of native predators (e.g., King et al 2006;Johnson et al 2010a, b;Madenjian et al 2011) and it is clear that native predators can rapidly shift their diet to feed on invasive prey (Carlsson et al 2009). Despite the growing tendency of native predators to forage on invasive species, the population response of native predators to changes in prey base remains largely unknown (Carlsson et al 2009).…”

Diet analysis of burbot (Lota lota) from eastern Lake Michigan: 1996–2012

“…Combined, these studies suggested the diet shift that we have documented in this study and support the predominance of round goby in the current diet of Lake Michigan burbot. Madenjian et al (2011) showed a similar diet shift to round goby in Lake Erie and were able to demonstrate predatory control of the species by predators, including burbot, though this has not yet been shown in Lake Michigan. Several of these studies also reported the importance of rainbow smelt and other small species in burbot diet, which we did not observe in our study although a decrease in smelt populations is coincident with the beginning of our study period (Fratt et al, 1997;Jacobs et al, 2010).…”