Rainbow smelt population responses to species invasions and change in environmental condition |
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| Authors: | Rosalie Bruel J. Ellen Marsden Bernie Pientka Nick Staats Timothy Mihuc Jason D. Stockwell |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA;2. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Essex Junction, VT, USA;3. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Essex Junction, VT, USA;4. SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, USA;1. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, 116 Barrie St., Queen’s University, Kingston K7L 3J9, Ontario, Canada;2. St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences, 2 St. Lawrence Drive, Cornwall K6H 4Z1, Ontario, Canada;1. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA;2. Department of Environmental Science, University of Toledo, 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, OH 43606, USA;3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, MN, USA;4. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada;2. Carleton University, Carleton Technology and Training Centre, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada;3. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada;4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marquette Biological Station, 3090 Wright Street, Marquette, MI 49855, USA;5. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sea Lamprey Control Centre, 1219 Queen Street East, Sault Ste., Marie, ON P6A 2E5, Canada;6. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Hammond Bay Biological Station, 11188 Ray Road, Millersburg, MI 49759, USA;1. Environmental Research Center, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, United States;2. U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Oswego, NY 13126, United States;3. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, ON L7S 1A1, Canada;4. Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13126, United States;5. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Panama City, FL 32405, United States |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Invasive species can cause major disruptions in native food webs, yet the impact of species introductions and whether they will become invasive appears to be context-dependent. Rainbow smelt and alewife co-exist as invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and as native species on the Atlantic coast of North America, but in Lake Champlain rainbow smelt is the dominant native forage fish and alewife are invasive. Alewife became abundant by 2007, providing an opportunity to explore the dynamics of these two species in a system where only one is invasive. We used data from a 28-year forage fish survey to compare demographics of rainbow smelt populations in three basins of Lake Champlain with different volumes, nutrient levels, and predator abundances. Rainbow smelt catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) remained constant in the large, deep Main Lake before and after alewife invaded, but decreased in the two smaller basins. Declines were primarily a result of increased age-0 and age-1 mortality. Predation by top piscivores, system productivity, and competition for resources alone could not explain the patterns in CPUE across the basins. The mechanisms that allow alewife and rainbow smelt to co-exist could be related to system volume and oxythermal habitat availability, and may explain why the two species do not negatively affect each other in the Great Lakes. Summer hypoxia in the smaller basins could force individuals into smaller habitat volumes with higher densities of competitors and cannibalistic adult rainbow smelt. Habitat availability may mediate the impact of invasive alewife on native rainbow smelt. |
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| Keywords: | Alewife Demographics Resource competition Oxythermal habitat availability Predation |
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