Fish community assemblages changed but biomass remained similar after lake restoration by biomanipulation in a Chinese tropical eutrophic lake

Gao, Jian; Liu, Zhengwen

doi:10.1007/s10750-013-1729-9

Cited by 46 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Reduced consumption of vegetable food [15] leads to dominance of omnivores and a high degree of herbivory in warm lakes [16]. Besides feeding on periphyton, some omnivorous fish such as tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and crucian carp also include macrophytes in their diet [17][18][19], not least at elevated temperatures [16], and can attain high biomasses when macrophytes are plentiful [20]. High abundance of fish in warm macrophyte-dominated lakes, perhaps facilitated by a high degree of omnivory, yields a high predation pressure on both zooplankton and macrophytes, possibly preventing the establishment of a stable macrophyte state in eutrophic lakes following restoration [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The share of potential piscivores is low, while the biomasses of zooplanktivorous and benthivorous fish are high [9,20,[23][24][25]. Small cladocerans and cyclopoids dominate the zooplankton community [9,26,27], leading to weak grazer control of phytoplankton by zooplankton [28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, when the lakes are clear, the fish community structure differs significantly. The relative contribution of piscivores to the fish community is higher in clear temperate lakes than in clear tropical lakes [20,31,36]. Moreover, zooplankton (cladocerans and copepods) abundance and biomass are low in the warm lakes [37], whereas in temperate lakes the biomass of zooplankton relative to phytoplankton is low only in nutrient rich shallow lakes in a turbid state [9,38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Herbivory of Omnivorous Fish Shapes the Food Web Structure of a Chinese Tropical Eutrophic Lake: Evidence from Stable Isotope and Fish Gut Content Analyses

Gao

Zhong

Ning

et al. 2017

Water

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Studies suggest that, unlike the situation in temperate lakes, high biomasses of omnivorous fish are maintained in subtropical and tropical lakes when they shift from a turbid phytoplankton-dominated state to a clear water macrophyte-dominated state, and the predation pressure on large-bodied zooplankton therefore remains high. Whether this reflects a higher degree of herbivory in warm lakes than in temperate lakes is debatable. We combined food web studies using stable isotopes with gut content analyses of the most dominant fish species to elucidate similarities and differences in food web structure between a clear water macrophyte-dominated basin (MDB) and a turbid phytoplankton-dominated basin (PDB) of Huizhou West Lake, a shallow tropical Chinese lake. The δ 13 C-δ 15 N biplot of fish and invertebrates revealed community-wide differences in isotope-based metrics of the food webs between MDB and PDB. The range of consumer δ 15 N (NR) was lower in MDB than in PDB, indicating shorter food web length in MDB. The mean nearest neighbor distance (MNND) and standard deviation around MNND (SDNND) were higher in MDB than in PDB, showing a markedly low fish trophic overlap and a more uneven packing of species in niches in MDB than in PDB. The range of fish δ 13 C (CR) of consumers was more extensive in MDB than in PDB, indicating a wider feeding range for fish in MDB. Mixing model results showed that macrophytes and associated periphyton constituted a large fraction of basal production sources for the fish in MDB, while particulate organic matter (POM) contributed a large fraction in PDB. In MDB, the diet of the dominant fish species, crucian carp (Carassius carassius), consisted mainly of vegetal matter (macrophytes and periphyton) and zooplankton, while detritus was the most important food item in PDB. Our results suggest that carbon from macrophytes with associated periphyton may constitute an important food resource for omnivorous fish, and this may strongly affect the feeding niche and the strength of the top-down trophic cascade between fish and zooplankton in the restored, macrophyte-dominated basin of the lake. This dual effect (consumption of macrophytes and zooplankton) may reduce the chances of maintaining the clear water state at the prevailing nutrient levels in the lake, and regular removal of large crucian carp may therefore be needed to maintain a healthy ecosystem state.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Herbivory of Omnivorous Fish Shapes the Food Web Structure of a Chinese Tropical Eutrophic Lake: Evidence from Stable Isotope and Fish Gut Content Analyses

Gao

Zhong

Ning

et al. 2017

Water

Self Cite

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“…However, in temperate lakes, repeated fish removal is suggested to obtain a longer-lasting clear water state [3,50], and such repeated removal may also be recommended for warm shallow lakes. The warm lakes are dominated by omnivorous fish in both the turbid and the clear water states [32], and it has been shown that adult omnivores feed mainly on submerged macrophytes in the restored part of Huizhou West Lake [37] as well as in Lake Wuli [38], and high abundances of these species could lead to a return of the turbid state.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of Shallow Lakes in Subtropical and Tropical China: Response of Nutrients and Water Clarity to Biomanipulation by Fish Removal and Submerged Plant Transplantation

Liu

et al. 2016

Water

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Fish removal has been used to restore temperate lakes, and positive effects on ecological state and water clarity have frequently been recorded in many lakes. Recently, a supplementary measure, transplantation of submerged macrophytes after fish removal, has been applied to restore warm Chinese shallow lakes in order to compensate for the expected lack of increasing grazing control of phytoplankton after the biomanipulation. These measures have successfully shifted turbid warm lakes to a clear water state, but little is known about the responses to restoration of key physico-chemical variables. We analyzed the seasonal variation in nutrient concentrations in two subtropical and one tropical biomanipulated shallow Chinese lakes subjected to restoration. In all three lakes, a marked decline occurred in the concentrations of lake total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total suspended solids (TSS), and chlorophyll a (Chl a), while the transparency (SD:WD ratio, Secchi depth to water depth ratio) increased. A clear water state was established, lasting so far for 7 to 23 months, and TN, TP, Chl a, and TSS levels in the three restored lakes decreased to, on average, 49%, 58%, 41%, and 18% of the level prior to restoration and/or the level in a reference lake, respectively, while the annual mean SD:WD ratio exhibited a 1.5-4 fold increase. In conclusion, lake restoration by transplantation of submerged macrophytes after fish removal had major positive effects on the physico-chemical variables in our study lakes. However, continuous control of omnivorous and herbivorous fish biomass is recommended as the fish typically present in warm, shallow lakes to some extent feed on submerged macrophytes, when available.

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“…One concern about the use of fish as a control method is that nutrients are added by their excrement [37] [104]. Fish can be harvested so that the nutrients they have consumed are removed permanently from the ecosystem [57] [65].…”

Section: Biological Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Management of Eutrophic Lakes and Reservoirs

Wagner¹,

Erickson²

2017

JEP

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Eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs is a major water quality problem that poses significant environmental, economic and social threats around the world. Monitoring and managing lakes and reservoirs to prevent or limit eutrophication, therefore, has significant value. The literature has been reviewed to study ecological engineering and management methods that have been and can be applied to improve water quality. Ecological engineering has the potential to be utilized to improve the design and operation of lakes and reservoirs through monitoring and active management of biological, chemical and physical components. Phosphorus concentrations can be reduced by effective and sustainable management practices to improve water quality.

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Fish community assemblages changed but biomass remained similar after lake restoration by biomanipulation in a Chinese tropical eutrophic lake

Cited by 46 publications

References 64 publications

Herbivory of Omnivorous Fish Shapes the Food Web Structure of a Chinese Tropical Eutrophic Lake: Evidence from Stable Isotope and Fish Gut Content Analyses

Herbivory of Omnivorous Fish Shapes the Food Web Structure of a Chinese Tropical Eutrophic Lake: Evidence from Stable Isotope and Fish Gut Content Analyses

Restoration of Shallow Lakes in Subtropical and Tropical China: Response of Nutrients and Water Clarity to Biomanipulation by Fish Removal and Submerged Plant Transplantation

Sustainable Management of Eutrophic Lakes and Reservoirs

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