TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term changes in fish community structure in relation to the establishment of Asian carps in a large floodplain river
AU - Solomon, Levi E.
AU - Pendleton, Richard
AU - Chick, John H.
AU - Casper, Andrew Fowler
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - The Upper Mississippi River System, including the Illinois River, has been invaded by a number of nonnative species including silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitirx and bighead carp H. nobilis, collectively referred to here as Asian carps. Silver carp densities in the Illinois River have increased dramatically and now represent some of the highest densities of wild silver carp anywhere in the world. Asian carps have the potential to alter existing ecosystems by consuming planktonic resources and therefore, could have the ability to alter existing fish communities as most fishes are dependent on planktonic resources during early development. However, identifying the relationship of fish community structure to the establishment of Asian carps has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Using long-term fish community data collected by the Upper Mississippi River Restoration’s Long Term Resource Monitoring element, we investigate changes in fish community structure pre- and post-establishment of Asian carps. Significant differences in the pre- and post-establishment communities were observed for the majority of gears and habitats. Species contributing to changes between establishment periods included most sportfish species and catostomids, which were less abundant post-establishment of Asian carps, while shortnose gar, grass carp, and emerald shiner were more abundant. While our analyses show Asian carps are likely contributing to major differences in fish community structure, future research and long-term monitoring should investigate the mechanisms and interactions responsible for community changes as well as identifying any potential concurrent or confounding factors such as changes in river hydrology or sedimentation.
AB - The Upper Mississippi River System, including the Illinois River, has been invaded by a number of nonnative species including silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitirx and bighead carp H. nobilis, collectively referred to here as Asian carps. Silver carp densities in the Illinois River have increased dramatically and now represent some of the highest densities of wild silver carp anywhere in the world. Asian carps have the potential to alter existing ecosystems by consuming planktonic resources and therefore, could have the ability to alter existing fish communities as most fishes are dependent on planktonic resources during early development. However, identifying the relationship of fish community structure to the establishment of Asian carps has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Using long-term fish community data collected by the Upper Mississippi River Restoration’s Long Term Resource Monitoring element, we investigate changes in fish community structure pre- and post-establishment of Asian carps. Significant differences in the pre- and post-establishment communities were observed for the majority of gears and habitats. Species contributing to changes between establishment periods included most sportfish species and catostomids, which were less abundant post-establishment of Asian carps, while shortnose gar, grass carp, and emerald shiner were more abundant. While our analyses show Asian carps are likely contributing to major differences in fish community structure, future research and long-term monitoring should investigate the mechanisms and interactions responsible for community changes as well as identifying any potential concurrent or confounding factors such as changes in river hydrology or sedimentation.
KW - Asian carps
KW - Fish community structure
KW - Illinois River
KW - Long Term Resource Monitoring element
KW - Long-term monitoring
KW - Upper Mississippi River Restoration
KW - Upper Mississippi River System
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U2 - 10.1007/s10530-016-1180-8
DO - 10.1007/s10530-016-1180-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84973130064
SN - 1387-3547
VL - 18
SP - 2883
EP - 2895
JO - Biological Invasions
JF - Biological Invasions
IS - 10
ER -