TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of planktivorous fish (golden shiners) on the ciliate community of a mesotrophic lake
AU - Müller-Solger, Anke
AU - Brett, Michael T.
AU - Luecke, Chris
AU - Elser, James
AU - Goldman, Charles R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (grant number BSR 9006623). We thank Shaun Ayers, Bradley Cavallo, Rich Miller, Dean Dobberfuhl and John Ossowski for their assistance in the field, and Hunter Carrick, John Reuter and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.
PY - 1997/12
Y1 - 1997/12
N2 - A whole-lake food web manipulation suggested that planktivorous fish can play an important role in regulating the pelagic food web structure of mesotrophic lakes. In this study, we examined the impact of golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) on zooplankton, ciliates, phytoplankton and nutrients. We conducted a mesocosm experiment using treatments with and without golden shiners with three replicates per treatment in summer. We monitored plankton and nutrient dynamics in these mesocosms for 6 weeks. Total macrozooplankton biomass and the proportion of large crustaceans decreased dramatically in the golden shiner treatment, while rotifier biomass decreased only in the second half of the experiment. In the mesocosms with golden shiners, total ciliate biovolume increased. However, the impact of golden shiners on ciliates was species specific. Chlorophyll a concentrations increased and dissolved nutrients (inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus) were statistically unaffected in the golden shiner treatment. This experiment showed that golden shiners had a strong negative impact on macrozooplankton, a variable impact on rotifers, weak positive impacts on ciliates and phytoplankton, and no discernible impact on dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations. The results of this study help integrate aspects of previous research in mesotrophic lakes and provide evidence for cascading trophic interactions from fish to protozoans in a mesotrophic lake.
AB - A whole-lake food web manipulation suggested that planktivorous fish can play an important role in regulating the pelagic food web structure of mesotrophic lakes. In this study, we examined the impact of golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) on zooplankton, ciliates, phytoplankton and nutrients. We conducted a mesocosm experiment using treatments with and without golden shiners with three replicates per treatment in summer. We monitored plankton and nutrient dynamics in these mesocosms for 6 weeks. Total macrozooplankton biomass and the proportion of large crustaceans decreased dramatically in the golden shiner treatment, while rotifier biomass decreased only in the second half of the experiment. In the mesocosms with golden shiners, total ciliate biovolume increased. However, the impact of golden shiners on ciliates was species specific. Chlorophyll a concentrations increased and dissolved nutrients (inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus) were statistically unaffected in the golden shiner treatment. This experiment showed that golden shiners had a strong negative impact on macrozooplankton, a variable impact on rotifers, weak positive impacts on ciliates and phytoplankton, and no discernible impact on dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations. The results of this study help integrate aspects of previous research in mesotrophic lakes and provide evidence for cascading trophic interactions from fish to protozoans in a mesotrophic lake.
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U2 - 10.1093/plankt/19.12.1815
DO - 10.1093/plankt/19.12.1815
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:2642616216
SN - 0142-7873
VL - 19
SP - 1815
EP - 1828
JO - Journal of Plankton Research
JF - Journal of Plankton Research
IS - 12
ER -