Native European eels as a potential biological control for invasive crayfish

Musseau, Camille; Boulenger, Clarisse; Crivellì, Alain J.; Lebel, Isabelle; Pascal, M.; Boulêtreau, Stéphanie; Santoul, Frédéric

doi:10.1111/fwb.12510

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The invasive crayfish can be considered to be forming a significant portion of the tigerfish diet due to its increasing frequency in the diet of tigerfish, as identified by stable isotopes. This is similar to a study by Aquiloni et al (2010) and Musseau et al (2015) who found that invasive crayfish was the most important prey of the European eel Anguilla anguilla. With the current study highlighting that every size-class of crayfish is being preyed upon, this might be used as a complement to the traditional trapping or eradication methods of invasive crayfish (see Aquiloni et al, 2010;Musseau et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…This is similar to a study by Aquiloni et al (2010) and Musseau et al (2015) who found that invasive crayfish was the most important prey of the European eel Anguilla anguilla. With the current study highlighting that every size-class of crayfish is being preyed upon, this might be used as a complement to the traditional trapping or eradication methods of invasive crayfish (see Aquiloni et al, 2010;Musseau et al, 2015). Similar to our study, tigerfish can also be useful in controlling the population numbers of the redclaw crayfish.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Diet composition changes in tigerfish of Lake Kariba following an invasion by redclaw crayfish

Marufu

Dalu

Phiri

et al. 2017

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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The present study used a combination of stable isotope techniques and stomach content analyses to examine the diet and ontogenetic diet shifts of tigerfish, Hydrocynus vittatus, in the Sanyati basin of Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. We compared tigerfish diet shifts in the presence of an invasive crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, with previous studies before invasion. Here, we assessed whether tigerfish now had a preference for C. quadricarinatus leading to a shift in its main dietary food sources from cichlids to crayfish. The dominance of cichlids has remained generally high when compared with historical assessments. Stable isotope analyses showed that tigerfish fed on a variety of food sources including those that may be temporarily unavailable. Results of stable isotope analyses also highlighted that C. quadricarinatus was now becoming an important food source across all tigerfish size classes. In conclusion, tigerfish in Lake Kariba showed remarkable dietary plasticity and ontogenetic shifts, identified by both stomach content and stable isotope analyses.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Diet composition changes in tigerfish of Lake Kariba following an invasion by redclaw crayfish

Marufu

Dalu

Phiri

et al. 2017

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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“…Musseau et al . ). However, there are no reported large‐scale programmes of biocontrol that have successfully utilized piscivorous fish to suppress the invasion of a non‐native fish (Britton, Gozlan & Copp ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Assessing the efficacy and ecology of biocontrol and biomanipulation for managing invasive pest fish

Davies

Britton

2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Management of non‐native species aims to prevent biological invasions using actions including control and containment of the potential invader. Biocontrol and biomanipulation strategies are used frequently to reduce population sizes of non‐native species and reduce their ecological impacts and dispersal rates. Assessments of the efficacy of biocontrol and biomanipulation actions for managing non‐native pest fish, and the ecological mechanisms involved, were studied here using lentic populations of the invasive fish Pseudorasbora parva. Biocontrol was through release of the indigenous piscivorous fish Perca fluviatilis and biomanipulation through intensive fish removals. A combined biocontrol and removal programme was completed in an invaded pond over two reproductive seasons. Almost 10 000 P. parva were removed, with cumulative removal numbers significantly related to their decreased abundance (>60 to <0·1 m−2). Ten adult P. fluviatilis were also released initially and reproduced each season. Analyses revealed P. parva contribution to P. fluviatilis diet was high initially, but decreased as P. parva abundance reduced. Individual contributions of the management actions to declined P. parva abundance were difficult to isolate. The individual effects of biocontrol and removals on P. parva populations were then tested using a field trial in replicated pond mesocosms over three reproductive seasons. Replicates started with 1500 P. parva. The control (no interventions) revealed no significant temporal changes in P. parva abundances. In the removal treatment, where over 17 000 P. parva were removed per replicate over the trial, abundance declined initially, but increased significantly after each reproductive season as remaining fish compensated through increased reproductive output. In the biocontrol, abundance declined and remained low; analyses revealed P. parva were an important dietary component of larger P. fluviatilis, with predation suppressing compensatory responses. Synthesis and applications. Biocontrol and removals can significantly reduce abundances of lentic populations of small invasive fishes. Removals provide short‐term population suppression, but high effort is needed to overcome compensatory responses. Biocontrol can provide longer‐term suppression but could invoke unintended ecological consequences via ‘stocking‐up’ food webs. Application of these results to decision‐making frameworks should enable managers to make more objective decisions on risk‐commensurate methodologies for controlling small invasive fishes.

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“…For example, sunfishes Lepomis spp. have been documented to regulate invasive rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus in Wisconsin lakes (Roth et al 2007;Tetzlaff et al 2010), and European Eels Anguilla anguilla have similarly been successful at controlling invasive red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii in the Netherlands (Aquiloni et al 2010;Musseau et al 2015). Despite the prolific use of biological control agents, vertebrate species represent a small portion of all biological control targets (Saunders et al 2010;USDA 2013b).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Earning their Stripes: The Potential of Tiger Trout and Other Salmonids as Biological Controls of Forage Fishes in a Western Reservoir

Winters

Budy

Thiede

2017

N American J Fish Manag

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Maintaining a balance between predator and prey populations can be an ongoing challenge for fisheries managers, especially in managing artificial ecosystems such as reservoirs. In a high‐elevation Utah reservoir, the unintentional introduction of the Utah Chub Gila atraria and its subsequent population expansion prompted managers to experimentally shift from exclusively stocking Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss to also stocking tiger trout (female Brown Trout Salmo trutta × male Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis) and Bonneville Cutthroat Trout O. clarkii utah (hereafter, Cutthroat Trout) as potential biological control agents. We measured a combination of diet, growth, temperature, and abundance and used bioenergetic simulations to quantify predator demand versus prey supply. Utah Chub were the predominant prey type for tiger trout, contributing up to 80% of the diet depending on the season. Utah Chub represented up to 70% of the total diet consumed by Cutthroat Trout. Although Utah Chub dominated the fish biomass in the reservoir, we still estimated abundances of 238,000 tiger trout, 214,000 Cutthroat Trout, and 55,000 Rainbow Trout. Consequently, when expanded to the population level of each predator, tiger trout and Cutthroat Trout consumed large quantities of Utah Chub on an annual basis: tiger trout consumed 508,000 kg (2,660 g/predator) of the standing prey population, and Cutthroat Trout consumed an estimated 322,000 kg (1,820 g/predator). The estimated combined consumption by Cutthroat Trout and tiger trout exceeded the estimate of Utah Chub annual production. As such, our results suggest that the high rates of piscivory exhibited by Cutthroat Trout and tiger trout in artificial lentic ecosystems are likely sufficient to effectively reduce the overall abundance of forage fishes and to prevent forage fishes from dominating fish assemblages. Collectively, this research provides the first documented findings on tiger trout ecology and performance, which will aid managers in designing and implementing the best stocking strategy to optimize sport fish performance, control undesirable forage fish, and enhance and maintain angler satisfaction. Received April 1, 2016; accepted November 8, 2016 Published online March 8, 2017

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Native European eels as a potential biological control for invasive crayfish

Cited by 22 publications

References 44 publications

Diet composition changes in tigerfish of Lake Kariba following an invasion by redclaw crayfish

Diet composition changes in tigerfish of Lake Kariba following an invasion by redclaw crayfish

Assessing the efficacy and ecology of biocontrol and biomanipulation for managing invasive pest fish

Earning their Stripes: The Potential of Tiger Trout and Other Salmonids as Biological Controls of Forage Fishes in a Western Reservoir

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