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Ecological Impacts of an Exotic Benthivorous Fish in Large Experimental Wetlands, Delta Marsh, Canada

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Abstract

The Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) is an exotic benthivorous fish that can have negative impacts in aquatic ecosystems. This study examines the direct and indirect ecological impacts of Common Carp on water column nutrient concentrations, suspended solids, sedimentation, and submersed macrophytes in large (5–7 ha) experimental wetlands in Delta Marsh, Manitoba, Canada. In general, the effects of Common Carp on water quality were similar to those encountered in systems undergoing cultural eutrophication. With increasing densities of Common Carp, water column nutrient concentrations, suspended solids, and chlorophyll a increased while dissolved oxygen concentrations, submersed macrophyte density, and photic depth decreased. The wetlands did not become noticeably more turbid, contrary to our expectation, probably due to the mitigating effects of dense submersed macrophyte beds, and to high water color that likely prevented phytoplankton from flourishing.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported financially by Ducks Unlimited Canada and a Discovery Grant to Gordon Goldsborough from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and logistically by the Delta Marsh Field Station (University of Manitoba). We thank Dan Leitch, Andrea Patenaude, and Birte Gerdes for help in the field, Llwellyn Armstrong for statistical advice, and Vania Nunes-Halldorson for her assistance in assembling this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Box 1160, Stonewall, Manitoba, ROC 2ZO, Canada

    Pascal H. J. Badiou

  2. Delta Marsh Field Station & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada

    L. Gordon Goldsborough

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  1. Pascal H. J. Badiou
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  2. L. Gordon Goldsborough
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Correspondence to Pascal H. J. Badiou.

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Badiou, P.H.J., Goldsborough, L.G. Ecological Impacts of an Exotic Benthivorous Fish in Large Experimental Wetlands, Delta Marsh, Canada. Wetlands 30, 657–667 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0071-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0071-5

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