Salinity and fish effects on Salton Sea microecosystems: zooplankton and nekton

The Salton Sea is the largest inland lake in California. Currently (1997) the salinity of the lake is about 44 g l-1 and is increasing gradually as a result of continued agricultural wastewater inflows, high evaporation rates, and lack of an outlet. A microcosm experiment was carried out to determine the effects of salinity (30, 39, 48, 57, and 65 g l-1) on Salton Sea algae and invertebrates in outdoor aquatic microcosms. The experiment was also designed to assess the effects of tilapia ( Oreochromis mossambicus) on this community at two of these salinities (39 and 57 g l-1). Fiberglass tanks containing Salton Sea water were adjusted to the appropriate salinity by the addition of salts, identically inoculated with organisms from the Salton Sea and other saline water bodies in the region, and monitored for 15 months. Planktonic and nektonic invertebrates were sampled monthly at night from the upper part of the water column. The dominant invertebrates present were Gammarus mucronatus, Artemia franciscana, Trichocorixa reticulata, and an assemblage of ciliate protozoans. Gammarus decreased and Trichocorixa increased with increasing salinity. Artemia was present only at the two highest salinities. Rotifers, harpacticoid and cyclopoid copepods, barnacle larvae, and protozoans all showed marked and varied responses. During the latter half of the experiment, the invertebrate assemblage was dominated by Gammarus at 30 and 39 g l-1, by protozoans at 48 g l-1, and by protozoans and Trichocorixa at 57 and 65 g l-1. The presence of tilapia caused a 99 percent reduction in Gammarus at 39 g l-1 and a 70–90 percent decrease in Trichocorixa at 57 g l-1. These were accompanied by substantial increases in rotifers, copepods, and certain protozoans, and decreases in other protozoans. As the salinity of the Salton Sea continues to increase, large changes in the invertebrate populations are expected. This study suggests that the principal change would be an increase in Trichocorixa densities, the loss of Gammarus, and the appearance of Artemia at about 60–70 g l-1, when both fish and invertebrate predators are likely to be scarce or absent. Protozooplankton abundance is likely to increase when tilapia declines and later decrease when and if large Artemia populations develop. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.