Nutrient cycling by fish supports relatively more primary production as lake productivity increases.

Animals can be important in nutrient cycling in particular ecosystems, but few studies have examined how this importance varies along environmental gradients. In this study we quantified the nutrient cycling role of an abundant detritivorous fish species, the gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), in reservoir ecosystems along a gradient of ecosystem productivity. Gizzard shad feed mostly on sediment detritus and excrete sediment-derived nutrients into the water column, thereby mediating a cross-habitat translocation of nutrients to phytoplankton. We quantified nitrogen and phosphorus cycling (excretion) rates of gizzard shad, as well as nutrient demand by phytoplankton, in seven lakes over a four-year period (16 lake-years). The lakes span a gradient of watershed land use (the relative amounts of land used for agriculture vs. forest) and productivity. As the watersheds of these lakes became increasingly dominated by agricultural land, primary production rates, lake trophic state indicators (total phosphorus and chlorophyll concentrations), and nutrient flux through gizzard shad populations all increased. Nutrient cycling by gizzard shad supported a substantial proportion of primary production in these ecosystems, and this proportion increased as watershed agriculture (and ecosystem productivity) increased. In the four productive lakes with agricultural watersheds (>78% agricultural land), gizzard shad supported on average 51% of phytoplankton primary production (range 27-67%). In contrast, in the three relatively unproductive lakes in forested or mixed-land-use watersheds (>47% forest, <52% agricultural land), gizzard shad supported 18% of primary production (range 14-23%). Thus, along a gradient of forested to agricultural landscapes, both watershed nutrient inputs and nutrient translocation by gizzard shad increase, but our data indicate that the importance of nutrient translocation by gizzard shad increases more rapidly. Our results therefore support the hypothesis that watersheds and gizzard shad jointly regulate primary production in reservoir ecosystems.

Differential tolerance of native and nonnative fish exposed to ultraviolet radiation and fluoranthene in Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada), USA.

Within Lake Tahoe (CA/NV), USA, multiple environmental stressors are present that can affect both native and nonnative fish species. Stressors include natural ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many PAHs, such as fluoranthene (FLU) are phototoxic to aquatic organisms in the presence of UVR. Decreasing levels of UVR due to eutrophication and increasing levels of PAHs due to recreational activities may combine to affect the relative ability of native versus nonnative fish species to survive in the lake. The objective of the present study was to examine the differential effects of exposure to different levels of UVR and phototoxic FLU in native and nonnative fish species. Responses to these changes in the native Lahontan redside minnow (Richardsonius egregius) and the nonnative warm-water bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) were compared during toxicity tests, which were conducted in controlled outdoor exposures. Physiological defenses were also investigated in an attempt to elucidate ways each species may tolerate UVR and UVR + FLU exposures. It was determined that the native redside minnow is more tolerant to UVR and UVR + FLU exposure when compared to the nonnative bluegill. In addition, a natural UVR coping mechanism, increased pigmentation, is exhibited to a greater extent in the native redside. The present study will help determine the potential for a future successful invasion of the bluegill and similar species in Lake Tahoe and other oligotrophic, montane lakes that are susceptible to habitat alteration, nutrient inputs, and recreational activity.

Necrophagy by a benthic omnivore influences biomagnification of methylmercury in fish.

Omnivory has an important role in the movement of energy, nutrients, and contaminants between benthic and pelagic food webs. While top-predator fish are known to supplement a mostly piscivorous diet with benthic organisms, a more obscure benthic-pelagic coupling occurs when benthic invertebrates forage on fish carcasses, referred to as necrophagy. The combination of these two benthic-pelagic links, top-predator fish feeding on benthic organisms that have fed on dead fish, can generate a trophic feedback cycle that conserves energy and nutrients and may have implications for biomagnification of methylmercury (MeHg) in fish. We investigated the role of necrophagy by crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), via a trophic feedback cycle, on the biomagnification of MeHg in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), a cosmopolitan top predator fish known to feed on crayfish. Controlled laboratory tests quantified the uptake of MeHg by both organisms from artificial and natural food (whole crayfish or bass tissue). Assimilation efficiency (AE) of MeHg was greater for bass fed crayfish (79±0.5%) than those fed artificial food (60±3%). Furthermore, AE of MeHg was greatest for largemouth bass fed crayfish that fed on MeHg-dosed dead fish (i.e., trophic feedback cycle; 94±17%). A model, parameterized with results of the laboratory experiments, was used to make steady-state projections of MeHg biomagnification factors. Model projections also indicate that MeHg biomagnification would be greatest for largemouth bass from a trophic feedback cycle. These results suggest that food web ecology has an important role in determining MeHg levels in predatory fish and underscore the need for further investigation into the magnitude that necrophagy may affect MeHg biomagnification in aquatic systems.