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- Title
Density-dependent effects of exotic brook trout on aquatic communities in mountain lakes revealed by environmental DNA and morphological taxonomy.
- Authors
Trépanier-Leroux, Daphné; Yates, Matthew C.; Astorg, Louis; Fraser, Dylan J.; Humphries, Shelley; Cristescu, Melania E.; Derry, Alison M.
- Abstract
Invasion of non-native fishes threatens freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Yet, detailed estimates of population demography for invasive species, such as population size and body size, are rarely integrated in evaluating aquatic community responses. Our study capitalised on detailed brook trout population demographic data collected for a replicated whole lake ecosystem experiment involving experimental harvesting of exotic brook trout in nine mountain lakes. We applied environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and morphological taxonomy to examine the response of crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities to gradients in brook trout effective density and lake elevation. Density-dependent effects of brook trout on crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities were detected even decades after their first introductions (between 1926 & 1980). However, they were moderated by environmental factors such as elevation, lake maximum depth and dissolved organic carbon. Elevation was important in structuring crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate community composition. While there were differences in explanatory variables when describing communities characterized by eDNA metabarcoding and morphological taxonomy, the principal environmental factors that structured the communities were similar. Our paper highlights persisting density-dependent impacts of exotic trout on invertebrate communities even decades after first introduction, and it considers the conservation implications for lake restoration.
- Subjects
BIOLOGICAL classification; FRESHWATER fishes; LAKE restoration; LAKES; INVERTEBRATE communities; BROOK trout; CALANOIDA; FRESHWATER biodiversity; AQUATIC biodiversity
- Publication
Hydrobiologia, 2024, Vol 851, Issue 6, p1489
- ISSN
0018-8158
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10750-023-05398-x