Top-down effects of underyearling fish on a phytoplankton community

1. The influence of underyearling (0+) fish on planktonic algal biomass and composition was examined during June–August in eight large enclosures (40 m³). Averaged for the entire period, Daphnia densities, transparency and phosphate concentrations were significantly higher ( P < 0.05) and chlorophyll a values significantly lower in fishless controls than in enclosures with fish (bleak ( Alburnus alburnus ), roach ( Rutilus rutilus ) or perch ( Perca fluviatilis )).
2. Enclosures without fish demonstrated a more heterogeneous algal community structure than enclosures with fish. Desmidiales and dinoflagellates were more abundant in controls, whereas green algae dominated the phytoplankton community in enclosures with fish. Larger grazing-resistant algae occurred most frequently in enclosures without fish.
3. The importance of cascading trophic interactions was demonstrated even under strong eutrophic conditions. The strongest effects on Daphnia densities, phytoplankton biomass and nutrients were observed in enclosures with perch, with weaker effects in enclosures with cyprinids. Differences in initial fish size and species accounted for the top-down effects observed. The results of this study emphasize the importance of 0+ perch as a key predator in structuring the plankton community in lakes.     

The impact of planktivorous flsh on the structure of a plankton community

SUMMARY. 1. The abundance of pianktivorous juvenile yellow perch, Perca flavescens , was manipulated in three 750 m³ enclosures in a eutrophic lake.
2. There was a significant negative relationship between fish and zoopiankton biomasses. At high fish densities the zooplankton community was dominated by small filter-feeding cladocera. primarily bosmi- nids. At low fish densities the zooplankton community was dominated by large filter-feeding cladocera, primarily daphnids.
3. There was no significant relationship between zooplankton and phytoplankton biomasses when considered over the whole experiment but there was a trend towards lower phytoplankton biomass in the enclosure dominated by daphnids during mid-summer.
4. We conclude that although planktivorous fish have a strong negative impact on zooplankton community biomass and size structure, the relationship at the next lower trophic level, zooplankton and phytoplankton, is much weaker. Therefore, the biomanipulation of planktivorous fish populations as a management technique to control phytoplankton abundance is largely ineffective.     

Effects of a filter-feeding fish [silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.)] on phyto- and zooplankton in a mesotrophic reservoir: results from an enclosure experiment

SUMMARY 1. Silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.), feeds on both phyto- and zooplankton and has been used in lake biomanipulation studies to suppress algal biomass. Because reports on the effects of silver carp on lake food webs have been contradictory, we conducted an enclosure experiment to test how a moderate biomass of the fish (10 g wet weight m⁻³) affects phytoplankton and crustacean zooplankton in a mesotrophic temperate reservoir.
2. Phytoplankton biomass <30 μm and particulate organic carbon (POC) <30 μm were significantly higher in enclosures with silver carp than in enclosures without fish, whereas Secchi depth was lower. Total copepod biomass declined strongly in both treatments during the experiment, but it was significantly higher in fish-free enclosures. Daphnid biomass was also consistently higher in enclosures without fish, although this effect was not significant. However, the presence of fish led to a fast and significant decrease in the size at maturity of Daphnia galeata Sars. Thus, the moderate biomass of silver carp had a stronger negative effect on cladoceran zooplankton than on phytoplankton.
3. Based on these results and those of previous studies, we conclude that silver carp should be used for biomanipulation only if the primary aim is to reduce nuisance blooms of large phytoplankton species (e.g. cyanobacteria) that cannot be effectively controlled by large herbivorous zooplankton. Therefore, stocking of silver carp appears to be most appropriate in tropical lakes that are highly productive and naturally lack large cladoceran zooplankton.     

鲢放养和施肥对盐碱池塘围隔生态系统浮游生物群落的影响

报道了单养链（Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)和施肥对盐碱池塘围隔生态系统浮游生物群落的影响,链的放养使浮游植物丰度,叶绿素a 含量和和初组生产力增大,浮游植物小型化,生物量以小型硅藻和绿藻占优势,裸藻和金藻占有相当比重;浮游动物生物量减少,特别是枝角类的生物量无鱼围隔大于有鱼围隔,且多是较大型的种类,施肥特别是施无机肥能显著地提高浮游植物丰度和初级生产力,浮游动物生物量也增大,施有机肥围隔浮游植物和浮游动物生物量虽高于有鱼对照围隔,但其浮游植物初级生产力,叶绿素a含量,浮游生物多样性指数,P／R系数均较低,链鱼的生长最差,文中讨论了滤食性鱼类和施肥对浮游生物的影响。     

Resuspension of algal cells by benthivorous fish boosts phytoplankton biomass and alters community structure in shallow lakes

1. Positive effects of fish on algal biomass have variously been attributed to cascading top‐down effects and to nutrient enrichment by fish excretion. 2. Here, we used a combination of field and laboratory approaches to test an additional hypothesis, namely that the physical resuspension of settled algal cells by fish enhances algal biomass and alters community composition. 3. A multi‐lake survey showed that phytoplankton biomass and the fraction of motile algae increased with the concentration of inorganic suspended solids. This correlation could not be explained by wind‐induced resuspension because of the small size of the lakes. 4. In an enclosure experiment, chlorophyll‐a concentration, phytoplankton abundance and inorganic suspended solids increased significantly in the presence of Cyprinus carpio (common carp), but only if the fish had access to the sediment. No such effects were seen when a net prevented carp reaching the sediment. 5. The effects of enhanced nutrients and reduced zooplankton grazing as a result of fish feeding could not (fully) explain these observations, suggesting that the resuspension by carp of settled algae from a surface film on the sediment was the major factor in the outcome of the experiment. 6. An increase in diatoms and green algae (organisms with a relatively large sedimentation velocity) only in enclosures where carp could reach the sediment supported this view. 7. Several lines of evidence indicate that fish‐induced resuspension of algal cells from the sediment is an important mechanism that affects phytoplankton biomass and community composition in shallow lakes.     

Fish-zooplankton interactions and their effects on water quality of a tropical Brazilian reservoir

The influence of zooplanktivorous fishes on the plankton community and water quality of Americana Reservoir, Brazil was studied experimentally in 4 floating enclosures during the dry seasons (July–September) of 1982 and 1983. Two enclosures were stocked with adult fish (Astyanax bimaculatus in 1982;A. fasciatus in 1983) at near maximal densities measured in the reservoir upper surface waters (35 m^–2) and two were fish-free during each experiment lasting about one month. Marked differences were evident between the fish and fish-free enclosures after a 2–3 week period in each experiment, particularly with respect to water transparency, phytoplankton biomass, and zooplankton abundance as well as species and size composition. By the end of each experiment water transparencies were lower and phytoplankton biomass higher in the fish enclosures compared to those without fish. Also at that time Rotifera were the prominent zooplankters in the fish enclosures and Cladocera in the fish-free ones. Larger or more conspicuous species of Cladocera asDaphnia gessneri, D. ambigua, andMoina micrura were present in the fish-free enclosures but not in the fish enclosures. The interactions between fish predation, zooplankton grazing, phytoplankton biomass and water quality conditions are discussed in relation to eutrophication of a tropical aquatic ecosystem.     

Trophic interactions in rockpool food webs: regulation of zooplankton and phytoplankton by Notonecta and Daphnia

We studied trophic interactions in experimental rockpools with three different food web structures: phytoplankton and small-bodied zooplankton; phytoplankton, small-bodied zooplankton and Daphnia ; and phytoplankton, small-bodied zooplankton, Daphnia and Notonecta . Nutrients, primary productivity, chlorophyll a and zooplankton species composition and biomass were measured over eight weeks.
2. Daphnia had a negative impact on other zooplankton and reduced the phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity. In the absence of Daphnia , small-bodied zooplankton species were abundant, in particular cyclopoid copepods. Concentrations of dissolved nutrients were lower and the standing crop of primary producers was higher when Daphnia was absent.
3. The presence of the invertebrate predator Notonecta produced a top-down effect which was similar to that reported for planktivorous fish, i.e. a selective reduction of daphnids followed by an increase of small-bodied zooplankton species and phytoplankton biomass.
4. The study showed that consumer regulation of Daphnia by Notonecta and of algae by Daphnia are important, but also demonstrated that trophic level biomasses were controlled by a combination of predation and resource limitation.     

放养鲢鱼(Hypophthalmichys molitrix C et V)对水库围隔浮游生物群落的影响

本文研究在水库围隔实验生态系统中鲢鱼对浮游生物群落的影响。结果表明,放养鲢鱼后,浮游动物生物量、浮游植物生物量、叶绿素a和浮游植物毛产量分别下降了58.7％、63.6％、52.5％和65.0％;透明度、浮游植物群落多样性指数分别提高了18.2％、32.5％;铜绿微囊藻数量减少了90.6％“水华”得到明显抑制。但小型绿藻(<20μm)数量未出现显著变化,因而其在藻类生物量中所占比例反而提高了82.3％。围隔内可被鲢鱼滤食的大型藻类(硅藻、甲藻、隐藻和绿藻(>20μm))占藻类生物量的85.8％,因此鲢鱼的存在能明显限制浮游植物的生物量。此外,放养鲢鱼还显著降低了水体中的COD,TP,DO和pH值,这表明鲢鱼对水质有净化作用。     

Changes in the plankton community following introduction of filter-feeding planktivorous fish

1. We conducted enclosure experiments in a shallow eutrophic lake, in which a biomass gradient of the filter-feeding planktivore, silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Valenciennes, was created, and subsequent community changes in both zooplankton and phytoplankton were examined.
2. During a summer experiment, a bloom of Anabaena flos-aquae developed (≈ 8000 cells mL⁻¹) solely in an enclosure without silver carp. Concurrent with, or slightly preceding the Anabaena bloom, the number of rotifer species and their abundance increased from seven to twelve species (1700–14 400 organisms L⁻¹) after the bloom in this fish-free enclosure. Protozoans and bacteria were generally insensitive to the gradient of silver carp biomass.
3. During an autumn experiment, on the other hand, large herbivorous crustaceans were more efficient than silver carp in suppressing the algae, partly because the lower water temperature (≈ 24 °C) inhibited active feeding of this warm-water fish and also formation of algal colonies. Heterotrophic nanoflagellate and bacterial densities were also influenced negatively by the crustaceans.
4. Correspondence analysis (CA) was applied to the weekly community data of zooplankton and phytoplankton. A major effect detected in the zooplankton community was the presence/absence of silver carp rather than the biomass of silver carp, whereas that in the phytoplankton community was the fish biomass before the Anabaena bloom, but shifted to the presence/absence of the fish after the bloom.     

Effects of different fish species and biomass on plankton interactions in a shallow lake

Thirty-six enclosures, surface area 4 m², were placed in Little Mere, a shallow fertile lake in Cheshire, U.K. The effects of different fish species (common carp, common bream, tench and roach) of zooplanktivorous size, and their biomass (0, 200 and 700 kg ha^–1) on water chemistry, zooplankton and phytoplankton communities were investigated. Fish biomass had a strong effect on mean zooplankton size and abundance. When fish biomass rose, larger zooplankters were replaced by more numerous smaller zooplankters. Consequently phytoplankton abundance rose in the presence of higher densities of zooplanktivorous fish, as zooplankton grazing was reduced. Fish species were also significant in determining zooplankton community size structure. In enclosures with bream there were significantly greater densities of small zooplankters than in enclosures stocked with either carp, tench and, in part, roach. When carp or roach were present, the phytoplankton had a greater abundance of Cyanophyta than when bream or tench were present. Whilst top-down effects of fish predation controlled the size partitioning of the zooplankton community, this, in turn apparently controlled the bottom-up regeneration of nutrients for the phytoplankton community. At the zooplankton–phytoplankton interface, both top-down and bottom-up processes were entwined in a reciprocal feedback mechanism with the extent and direction of that relationship altered by changes in fish species. This has consequences for the way that top-down and bottom-up processes are generalised.     

Effects of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and nutrients on the plankton community of a deep,tropical reservoir: an enclosure experiment

1. An in situ enclosure experiment was conducted in a deep reservoir of southern China to examine (i) the effects of a low biomass (4 g wet weight m^?3) of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and nutrients on the plankton community and (ii) the response of Daphnia to eutrophication. 2. In the absence of fish, Daphnia galeata dominated the zooplankton community, whereas calanoids were dominant in the fish treatments, followed by D. galeata. Silver carp stocking significantly reduced total zooplankton biomass, and that of D. galeata and Leptodorarichardi, but markedly increased the biomass of smaller cladocerans, copepod nauplii and rotifers. In contrast, nutrient enrichment had no significant effect on the plankton community except for cyclopoids. 3. Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta and Bacillariophyta were dominant phytoplankton groups during the experiment. Chlorophyta with high growth rates (mainly Chlorella vulgaris in the fish enclosures and Ankyra sp. in the fishless enclosures) eventually dominated the phytoplankton community. Total phytoplankton biomass and the biomass of edible phytoplankton [greatest axial linear dimension (GALD) < 30 μm], Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta, Bacillariophyta and Cyanobacteria showed positive responses to fish stocking, while inedible phytoplankton (GALD ≥ 30 μm) was significantly reduced in the fish enclosures. However, there was no significant effect on the plankton community from the interaction of fish and nutrients. 4. Overall, the impact of fish on the plankton community was much greater than that of nutrients. High total phosphorus concentrations in the control treatment and relatively low temperatures may reduce the importance of nutrient enrichment. These results suggest it is not appropriate to use a low biomass of silver carp to control phytoplankton biomass in warmer, eutrophic fresh waters containing large herbivorous cladocerans.     

Effects of experimentally induced cyanobacterial blooms on crustacean zooplankton communities

SUMMARY 1. Large in situ enclosures were used to study the effects of experimentally induced cyanobacterial blooms on zooplankton communities. A combination of N and P was added to shallow (2 m) and deep enclosures (5 m) with the goal of reducing the TN : TP ratio to a low level (∼5 : 1) to promote cyanobacterial growth. After nutrient additions, high biomass of cyanobacteria developed rapidly in shallow enclosures reaching levels only observed during bloom events in eutrophic lakes.
2. In the shallow enclosures, particulate phosphorus (PP) was on average 35% higher in comparison with deep enclosures, suggesting that depth plays a key role in P uptake by algae. Phytoplankton communities in both deep and shallow enclosures were dominated by three cyanobacteria species – Aphanizomenon flos-aquae , Anabaena flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa – which accounted for up to 70% of total phytoplankton biomass. However, the absolute biomass of the three species was much higher in shallow enclosures, especially Aphanizomenon flos-aquae . The three cyanobacteria species responded in contrasting ways to nutrient manipulation because of their different physiology.
3. Standardised concentrations of the hepatotoxic microcystin-LR increased as a result of nutrient manipulations by a factor of four in the treated enclosures. Increased biomass of inedible and toxin producing cyanobacteria was associated with a decline in Daphnia pulicaria biomass caused by a reduction in the number of individuals with a body length of >1 mm. Zooplankton biomass did not decline at moderate cyanobacteria biomass, but when cyanobacteria reached high biomass large cladocerans were reduced.
4. Our results demonstrate that zooplankton communities can be negatively affected by cyanobacterial blooms and therefore the potential to use herbivory to reduce algal blooms in such eutrophic lakes appears limited.     

The role of light for fish–zooplankton–phytoplankton interactions during winter in shallow lakes – a climate change perspective

1. Variations in the light regime can affect the availability and quality of food for zooplankton grazers as well as their exposure to fish predation. In northern lakes light is particularly low in winter and, with increasing warming, the northern limit of some present-day plankton communities may move further north and the plankton will thus receive less winter light.
2. We followed the changes in the biomass and community structure of zooplankton and phytoplankton in a clear and a turbid shallow lake during winter (November–March) in enclosures both with and without fish and with four different light treatments (100%, 55%, 7% and <1% of incoming light).
3. In both lakes total zooplankton biomass and chlorophyll- a were influenced by light availability and the presence of fish. Presence of fish irrespective of the light level led to low crustacean biomass, high rotifer biomass and changes in the life history of copepods. The strength of the fish effect on zooplankton biomass diminished with declining light and the effect of light was strongest in the presence of fish.
4. When fish were present, reduced light led to a shift from rotifers to calanoid copepods in the clear lake and from rotifers to cyclopoid copepods in the turbid lake. Light affected the phytoplankton biomass and, to a lesser extent, the phytoplankton community composition and size. However, the fish effect on phytoplankton was overall weak.
5. Our results from typical Danish shallow eutrophic lakes suggest that major changes in winter light conditions are needed in order to have a significant effect on the plankton community. The change in light occurring when such plankton communities move northwards in response to global warming will mostly be of modest importance for this lake type, at least for the rest of this century in an IPCC A2 scenario, while stronger effects may be observed in deep lakes.     

OPINION Manipulating lake community structure: where do we go from here?

SUMMARY. 1 More than 10 years experience with whole lake pelagic manipulation has suggested some general trends applicable to all freshwater pelagic communities and some specific trends related to lake depth.
2 Among the general trends is the observation that the trophic cascade is strongly damped. This means that changes in phytoplankton biomass can be assured only when the fish community is strongly manipulated.
3 Among the depth related trends is the observation that in shallow lakes, changes in fish community structure are more likely to have cascading impacts on phytoplankton than are changes in deep lakes.
4 In shallow lakes, fish removal frequently results in decreased turbidity which is associated with the development of dense macrophyte populations and significant reductions of algal standing stocks. The mechanisms involve: increased grazing by zooplankton, the removal of fish induced bioturbation and nutrient recycling, and direct and indirect macrophyte effects (shading, zooplankton refuges and competition for nutrients).
5 In shallow lakes, where planktivore biomass can be regulated and macrophyte development is acceptable, fish biomanipulalions are likely to result in reduced algal populations and improved water quality.
6 In deep lakes, where macrophytes are not as important, long-term effects of fish manipulations are strongly dependent upon the probability of non-grazable algal bloom development. This is determined by many factors (chemical, physical and grazer related) which modify the impact that grazers have on phytoplankton biomass.
7 In deep lakes, successful fish biomanipulations may only be effective when chemical and physical factors are altered to produce algal species compositions that permit strong top-down control of prey by predators.     

Interaction effects of fish, nutrients, mixing and sediments on autotrophic picoplankton and algal composition

1. We examined the effects of nutrients, turbulent mixing, mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis Baird and Girard and sediments on algal composition, algal biomass and autotrophic picoplankton (APP) abundance in a 6-week experiment of factorial design in twenty-four 5-m³ outdoor mesocosms during late autumn 1995.
2. Turbulent mixing decreased surface temperature and increased turbidity, which also was increased by the addition of sediments. Total algal biomass was significantly enhanced by nutrients and mixing, and decreased by the sediment treatment. In the mixing × nutrient treatment, algal biomass increased more than expected from the individual effects, while the fish × mixing and mixing × sediment treatments increased algal biomass less than expected.
3.  Cryptomonas (cryptomonad) blooms were observed in the unmixed, high nutrient treatment; Synedra (diatom) blooms were observed in the high nutrient, high sediment treatment; Ulothrix (green algae) blooms were observed in the mixed, high nutrient, low sediment treatment.
4. Eukaryotic APP abundances were increased by sediment addition and by turbulent mixing, and increased synergistically by mixing × sediment and mixing × nutrient interactions. Prokaryotic APP abundances were decreased by nutrient enhancement and by a mixing × nutrient interaction. There were no main effects of fish on APP abundance, but fish were involved in some of the two–way interactions.
5. The large number of significant interaction effects indicates that APP and other phytoplankton are regulated by a complex set of interdependent factors which should be considered simultaneously in studies of phytoplankton population dynamics and community composition.     

Predation by underyearling perch (Perca fluviatilis) on a Daphnia galeata population in a short-term enclosure experiment

1. The predation impact of underyearling perch (20 mm total length) on the dynamics of Daphnia galeata was studied in three 6.5-m³ enclosures during a 17-day experiment in June 1995. These data were compared with zooplankton succession in three fish-free control enclosures and in the pelagic zone of Bautzen reservoir, Germany. 2. Due to individual growth during the experiment, fish biomass in the enclosures increased from 210 mg wet body mass (w.b.m.) m^–3 to 830 mg w.b.m. m^–3, equivalent to an increase from 20 kg ha^–1 to 75 kg ha^–1. 3. In the enclosures with fish, biomass of daphnids decreased steadily to values below 1 mg wet weight (w.w.) l^–1 within 17 days, whereas in the fish-free controls and in Bautzen reservoir the Daphnia biomass fluctuated around 8 mg w.w. l^–1. Other zooplankton species exhibited little or no change. Approximately 60 kg ha^–1 was calculated as the critical underyearling perch biomass which may induce a drastic decline of the Daphnia galeata population in Bautzen reservoir. Comparison with values from other lakes is difficult due to differences in water depths and Daphnia biomasses. 4. Mean individual biomass of daphnids, egg ratio and proportion of adult daphnids were significantly lower in the enclosures with fish compared with the control enclosures at the end of the experiment. This may be explained partly by preferential predation of the large, egg-carrying daphnids by fish. However, no difference was found in clutch size and size at first reproduction, possibly due to the short duration of the experiment. 5. It must be assumed that the ‘summer depression’ of daphnids observed in many waters is not the exclusive effect of direct reduction of daphnids by fish predation. Even the high biomass of underyearling perch stocked in the enclosures did not completely account for Daphnia mortality. Instead, the selective loss of large size classes, combined with low food resources and reduced reproduction rates, may induce the marked declines in daphnids.     

The relative importance of algae and bacteria as food for Daphnia longispina (Cladocera) in a polyhumic lake

SUMMARY. 1. Grazing on algae and bacteria by the planktonic cladoceran, Daphnia longispina , was studied in a small polyhumic lake with low phytoplankton primary production in southern Finland.
2. D. longispina filtered algae at average rates of 0.09-0.82 ml ind⁻¹ h⁻¹. The filtering rates on bacteria were 26-92% of those on algae in parallel experiments.
3. From June to August algae, including mixotrophic and heterotrophic forms, comprised 56-93% of the food ingested by D. longispina. In mid-September and early October, when the Daphnia population was declining and the algal biomass was low, bacteria comprised 73% and 55% respectively of the food of Daphnia.
4. For D. longispina , an energy pathway via bacteria and bactivorous flagellates is probably a more important link to allochthonous organic matter than direct utilization of epilimnetic bacteria.     

Salamander predation and vertical distributions of zooplankton

SUMMARY. 1. The impact of different predation regimes of zooplanktivorous larval tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum , on the vertical temporal distributions of Daphnia pulex, Diaptomus nudus and larval Chaoborus flavicans was studied in limnetic enclosures in a pond in east-central Arizona. Zooplankton densities were monitored 1-2 h before sunset, at sunset, and 1-2 h after sunset at three depths (0-0.4, 1.0 and 2.0 m) in four salamander treatments (0, 20, 40 salamanders per enclosure, and unenclosed limnetic areas).
2. Densities and body size of Daphnia pulex were consistently greater in salamander-free enclosures than in other treatments. More Daphnia were generally nearer the surface (0-1.0 m) than along the bottom before and at sunset than after sunset in enclosures without salamanders. After sunset, Daphnia was by far most dense along the bottom. Densities were uniform among depths and sample times in treatments with salamanders. Salamanders moved throughout the water column. Frequencies of D. pulex spined morphs (with prominent dorsal crest) did not differ among salamander treatments.
3. Chaoborus densities were positively correlated with D. pulex distributions among depths and sample times in treatments. Spatio-temporal distributions of Chaoborus were influenced more by their daphnid prey than by risk of predation from larval salamanders.
4. Densities of Diaptomus nudus were highest in open water controls and lowest in enclosures without salamanders. Diaptomus was generally more dense between 0 and 1 m than at 2.0 m depths in all treatments, and vertical distributions were not dependent on salamander density.     

Top-down control of natural phyto- and bacterioplankton prey communities by Daphnia magna and by the natural zooplankton community of the hypertrophic Lake Blankaart

Biomanipulation, through the reduction of fish abundance resulting in an increase of large filter feeders and a stronger top-down control on algae, is commonly used as a lake restoration tool in eutrophic lakes. However, cyanobacteria, often found in eutrophic ponds, can influence the grazing capacity of filter feeding zooplankton. We performed grazing experiments in hypertrophic Lake Blankaart during two consecutive summers (1998, with and 1999, without cyanobacteria) to elucidate the influence of cyanobacteria on the grazing pressure of zooplankton communities. We compared the grazing pressure of the natural macrozooplankton community (mainly small to medium-sized cladocerans and copepods) with that of large Daphnia magna on the natural bacterioplankton and phytoplankton prey communities. Our results showed that in the absence of cyanobacteria, Daphnia magna grazing pressure on bacteria was higher compared to the grazing pressure of the natural zooplankton community. However, Daphnia grazing rates on phytoplankton were not significantly different compared to the grazing rates of the natural zooplankton community. When cyanobacteria were abundant, grazing pressure of Daphnia magnaseemed to be inhibited, and the grazing pressure on bacteria and phytoplankton was similar to that of the natural macrozooplankton community. Our results suggest that biomanipulation may not always result in a more effective top-down control of the algal biomass.     

Effects of planktivorous and benthivorous fish on organisms and water chemistry in eutrophic lakes

The effects of planktivorous and benthivorous fish on benthic fauna, zooplankton, phytoplankton and water chemistry were studied experimentally in two eutrophic Swedish lakes using cylindrical enclosures. In enclosures in both lakes, dense fish populations resulted in low numbers of benthic fauna and planktonic cladocerans, high concentration of chlorophyll, blooms of blue-green, algae, high pH and low transparency. In the soft-water Lake Trummen, total phosporus increased in the enclosure with fish, but in the hard-water Lake Bysjön total phosphorus decreased simultaneously with precipitation of calcium carbonate. Enclosures without fish had a higher abundance of benthic fauna and large planktonic cladocerans, lower phytoplankton biomass, lower pH and higher transparency.The changes in enclosures with fish can be described as eutrophication, and those in enclosures without fish as oligotrophication. The possibility of regulation of fish populations as a lake restoration method is discussed.This paper was presented at the XXth SIL Congress in Copenhagen in 1977.