Long-term changes of Copepoda community (1957-1996) in a subtropical Chinese lake stocked densely with planktivorous filter-feeding silver and bighead carp

In contrast to the relatively well documented impact of particulate-feedingfish on zooplankton communities, little attention has been devotedto the impact of filter-feeding fish. Filter-feeding silverand bighead carp are the most intensively cultured fish speciesin Asia and comprise much of the production of Chinese aquaculture.However, little information is known about the impact of eitherfish on the zooplankton community. Long-term changes in theCopepoda community (1957–1996) were studied at two samplingstations of a subtropical Chinese lake (Lake Donghu) dominatedby silver and bighead carp. For both calanoids and cyclopoids,the littoral station (I) was much more resource profitable thanthe pelagic station (II). There has been a tremendous increasein the annual fish catch over the past 30 years due to the increasedstocking with fingerlings of the two carp species. There wasa notably higher fish density at Station I than at Station II.Cyclopoid abundance was notably higher at Station I than atStation II during the 1950s to the 1980s, while the reversebecame true in the 1990s. This is probably because when fishabundance increased to an extremely high level, the impact offish predation on the cyclopoids became more important thanthat of food resources at the littoral station. At both stations,cyclopoid abundance was relatively low in spite of the presenceof abundant prey. Similarly, calanoid density did not differsignificantly between the two stations in the 1950s and 1960s,but was significantly lower at Station I than at Station IIduring the 1980s and 1990s. Such changes are attributed to thegradient of fish predation between the stations and an increasingpredation pressure by the fish. The increased fish predationalso correlated with a shift in summer-dominant calanoids fromlarger species to smaller ones. In conclusion, the predaceouscyclopoids are affected by fish predation to a much lesser extentthan the herbivorous calanoids, and therefore increased predationby filter-feeding fish results in a definite increase in thecyclopoid/calanoid ratio. Predation by filter-feeding fish hasbeen a driving force in shaping the copepod community structureof Lake Donghu during the past decades.