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Trophic status may influence top–down effects of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus (Actinopterygii, Clupeidae) in lakes

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Abstract

We investigated the seasonal influence of an effective size-selective planktivore, the anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus Wilson), on summer zooplankton and phytoplankton communities in a series of lakes in Maine, USA (4 with and 4 without alewife) that ranged from oligotrophic to eutrophic to determine the role of lake trophic state in influencing the relative strength of top–down forces on phytoplankton biomass. Predation by young of the year alewife reduced the mean body length of cladoceran and copepod biomass from spring to summer in alewife lakes, while mean body length remained unchanged in nonalewife lakes. Cladoceran biomass decreased substantially from spring to summer in 3 of 4 alewife lakes, increasing only in the most eutrophic lake. Conversely, cladoceran biomass increased from spring to summer in 3 of 4 nonalewife lakes. Predation by alewife on zooplankton did not have consistent cascading effects on phytoplankton biomass. Analysis of planktonic biomass ratios (phytoplankton biomass: zooplankton biomass) suggests that cascading effects were stronger in oligotrophic systems and weakened with increasing trophic status, as ratios in alewife and nonalewife lakes converged at higher total phosphorous levels. Our results suggest that lake trophic status may influence the relative importance of top–down control of both zooplankton and phytoplankton biomass. The mechanisms that explain this pattern remain elusive and likely require additional efforts to estimate alewife densities, rates of zooplankton and phytoplankton production relative to consumption, and the influence of other physical lake features.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds from the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES), the Department of the Interior US Geological Survey, and the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine, under Grant No. 2007ME152B. This is contribution 3270 to the MAFES. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US Government. We thank Kristin Ditzler and Lauren Kolb for their hard work and patience in field and laboratory. We also appreciate the constructive comments from 2 anonymous reviewers and Karl E. Havens, which improved this manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Lee M. Demi

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Box 870206, 2099 Bevill Bldg, 201 7th Ave., Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

  2. Kevin S. Simon

    Present address: School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Lee M. Demi, Kevin S. Simon & Dennis Anderson

  2. Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Stephen M. Coghlan

  3. Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Jasmine E. Saros

  4. National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Maine Field Station, Orono, ME, 04473, USA

    Rory Saunders

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  1. Lee M. Demi
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Correspondence to Lee M. Demi.

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Demi, L.M., Simon, K.S., Anderson, D. et al. Trophic status may influence top–down effects of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus (Actinopterygii, Clupeidae) in lakes. Hydrobiologia 758, 47–59 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2264-7

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