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On non-Eltonian methods of hunting Cladocera, or impacts of the introduction of planktivorous fish on zooplankton composition and clear-water phase occurrence in a Mediterranean reservoir

  • SANTA ROSALIA 50 YEARS ON
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Abstract

Among the topics covered by Hutchinson’s Santa Rosalia article, the question of the shortening and lengthening of food webs occupies a central role. As Hutchinson realized, at the time scales of ecological studies, the impact of invader species on established food webs is the fastest shortcut to the shortening or lengthening of the food webs. The construction of thousands of dams in Spain during the last century has offered ecologists a good opportunity to test the effects of invader fish species on the plankton dynamics of these systems. In this article, a series of data related to the food web structure of Sau Reservoir is analyzed for the period 1997–2005. Parameters such as Secchi depth and chlorophyll concentration, as well as abundance and size structure of zooplankton, have been matched to the zooplankton dynamics in the reservoir. Most of the changes detected within this period are attributed to the introduction of zooplanktivorous fish in the reservoir. The Secchi depth measurements have showed a progressive diminution in the clear-water phase during recent years. These changes have been related to the decrease in the abundance of Daphnia and to the reduction of the size of zooplankton, which help to explain concomitant increases in the chlorophyll concentration in the same period. Other observed changes in the composition of the zooplankton community have been the substitution of Daphnia by Bosmina and the increase in the abundance of rotifers. Thus, the annual average abundance of Bosmina in 1997 was 70% of cladocerans, while in 2005 it reached 98%. In parallel, the percentage occurrence of individual rotifers was 40% of total zooplankton numbers but had risen to 85% at the end of the period. All these changes are attributed to the artificial expansion of the food web through stocking of the reservoir with zooplanktivorous fish (Rutilus rutilus and Alburnus alburnus). This study improves our understanding of the trophic relationships in the food web prior to the introduction of the fish.

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Acknowledgments

The Spanish Government (projects CGL2004-05503-C02-01 and CGL2008-06377-C02-01) provided financial support for this study. We thank everyone involved in field work of Sau Reservoir and ATLL Water Supply Company for funding the long-term monitoring program. We thank comments from two anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fluvial Dynamics and Hydrological Engineering (FLUMEN), Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Jaime Ordóñez, Joan Armengol, Luciano Caputo & Rafael Marcé

  2. Department of Ecology and Geology, University of Málaga, Campus Universitario Teatinos, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    Enrique Moreno-Ostos

  3. Aigües Ter-Llobregat. Ctra. Martorell a Olesa, km 4.6. 08630-Abrera, Barcelona, Spain

    Juan Carlos García

  4. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, 17003, Girona, Spain

    Rafael Marcé

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  1. Jaime Ordóñez
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  2. Joan Armengol
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  4. Luciano Caputo
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  5. Juan Carlos García
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Correspondence to Jaime Ordóñez.

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Guest editors: L. Naselli-Flores & G. Rossetti / Fifty years after the “Homage to Santa Rosalia”: Old and new paradigms on biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems

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Ordóñez, J., Armengol, J., Moreno-Ostos, E. et al. On non-Eltonian methods of hunting Cladocera, or impacts of the introduction of planktivorous fish on zooplankton composition and clear-water phase occurrence in a Mediterranean reservoir. Hydrobiologia 653, 119–129 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0348-y

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