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Salmonid predator–prey dynamics in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, USA

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Abstract

Our objective was to evaluate the long-term sustainability of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss populations subjected to a range of fishing mortality (F) in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, USA, while providing for bull trout Salvelinus confluentus and kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka recovery. In order to achieve our objective, we developed a density-dependent stochastic predator–prey simulation model for the three major predators (lake trout, rainbow trout, and bull trout) on kokanee in Lake Pend Oreille. As F increased from 0.0 to 1.0, lake trout numbers in 2015 declined 90% for gillnetting, 76% for angling, and 48% for trap netting. At fishing mortality rates observed in Lake Pend Oreille during 2006, all methods combined and angling alone suppressed the lake trout population, but not gillnetting or trap netting alone. As F increased from 0.0 to 0.3, rainbow trout numbers in 2015 declined by 38%. Abundance of adult bull trout increased by 5.8% per year during 1996–2006, after implementation of no-kill regulations, which met the Federal Recovery Plan criterion of a stable or increasing trend in abundance. By 2010, total consumption of kokanee by lake trout, rainbow trout, and bull trout would increase by 20% if fishing mortality on lake trout and rainbow trout declined by 30% from 1996 levels, and would decrease by 14% if fishing mortality on lake trout and rainbow trout increased by 30% from 1996 levels. At rates of fishing mortality exerted on lake trout and rainbow trout in 2006, the likelihood of kokanee collapse was 65% within the next decade. Therefore, fishing mortality would need to be at least 6% higher on both lake trout and rainbow trout to reduce the likelihood of kokanee collapse to 50%. We conclude that kokanee biomass is presently out of balance with predation in Lake Pend Oreille, because kokanee production cannot compensate for all predation loss. Our findings suggest that a combination of unusually high kokanee production and unusually low predation are likely needed for kokanee to survive the next decade in Lake Pend Oreille.

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Acknowledgments

Ned Horner, Chip Corsi, Melo Maiolie, Bill Harryman, Seth Cameron, Mark Liter, Chris Downs, Jake Miller, Greg Schoby, Bill Ament, and Mark Duclos provided data and intellectual support. Nancy Nate provided data management support. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute under grants from the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Project Number R/LR-95) and Avista Utilities provided funding for the senior author’s salary during sabbatical, during which this experimental study was completed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens, 800 Reserve Street, Stevens Point, WI, 54481, USA

    Michael J. Hansen

  2. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 600 Walnut Street, Boise, ID, 83707, USA

    Dan Schill

  3. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 2885 West Kathleen Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83815, USA

    Jim Fredericks & Andy Dux

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  1. Michael J. Hansen
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  2. Dan Schill
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  3. Jim Fredericks
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  4. Andy Dux
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Correspondence to Michael J. Hansen.

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Guest editors: C. Adams, E. Brännas, B. Dempson, R. Knudsen, I. McCarthy, M. Power, I. Winfield / Developments in the Biology, Ecology and Evolution of Charr

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Hansen, M.J., Schill, D., Fredericks, J. et al. Salmonid predator–prey dynamics in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, USA. Hydrobiologia 650, 85–100 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0299-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0299-3

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