TY - JOUR
T1 - Invasive bighead and silver carp effects on zooplankton communities in the Illinois River, Illinois, USA
AU - Sass, Greg G.
AU - Hinz, Collin
AU - Erickson, Anthony C.
AU - McClelland, Nerissa N.
AU - McClelland, Michael A.
AU - Epifanio, John M.
N1 - We thank all of the current and former employees of the Illinois River Biological Station that aided in the field collections of zooplankton. Kenny Lookingbill, James Stoeckel, Lori Soeken-Gittinger, John Chick, and Steve Tyszko deserve special recognition for the technical, field, and laboratory support they provided for this project. Funding for this project was provided by the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center to GGS and ACE and by Cooperative Agreement No. 30181AJ071 between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to GGS and JME.
PY - 2014/12/1
Y1 - 2014/12/1
N2 - Aquatic invasive species introductions are a global environmental concern. Negative effects of invasive species are often manifested in alterations of food web structure and through competition with and predation upon native species. The Illinois River, Illinois, USA harbors invasive, planktivorous bighead, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, and silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, and can be a model ecosystem to test for their effects on zooplankton communities. We tested for bighead and silver carp effects on zooplankton communities pre- and post-establishment within one reach of the Illinois River and among river reaches that varied in abundances of these invasive fishes. The establishment of bighead and silver carp was associated with increased rotifer abundances, while cladoceran and copepod abundances were reduced relative to pre-establishment. Cladoceran and copepod abundance and biomass were negatively associated with bighead and silver carp abundances among reaches. Total zooplankton and rotifer abundance and biomass were positively associated with bighead and silver carp abundances. Our results suggest that bighead and silver carp have changed the zooplankton community of the Illinois River which may have implications for the food web, native species, and other ecosystems poised to be invaded, such as the Laurentian Great Lakes.
AB - Aquatic invasive species introductions are a global environmental concern. Negative effects of invasive species are often manifested in alterations of food web structure and through competition with and predation upon native species. The Illinois River, Illinois, USA harbors invasive, planktivorous bighead, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, and silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, and can be a model ecosystem to test for their effects on zooplankton communities. We tested for bighead and silver carp effects on zooplankton communities pre- and post-establishment within one reach of the Illinois River and among river reaches that varied in abundances of these invasive fishes. The establishment of bighead and silver carp was associated with increased rotifer abundances, while cladoceran and copepod abundances were reduced relative to pre-establishment. Cladoceran and copepod abundance and biomass were negatively associated with bighead and silver carp abundances among reaches. Total zooplankton and rotifer abundance and biomass were positively associated with bighead and silver carp abundances. Our results suggest that bighead and silver carp have changed the zooplankton community of the Illinois River which may have implications for the food web, native species, and other ecosystems poised to be invaded, such as the Laurentian Great Lakes.
KW - Bighead carp
KW - Illinois River
KW - Invasive species
KW - Silver carp
KW - Zooplankton
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84918575042&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84918575042&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jglr.2014.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jglr.2014.08.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84918575042
SN - 0380-1330
VL - 40
SP - 911
EP - 921
JO - Journal of Great Lakes Research
JF - Journal of Great Lakes Research
IS - 4
ER -