TY - JOUR
T1 - The host mussel sinanodonta woodiana alleviates negative effects of a small omnivorous fish (Acheilognathus macropterus) on water quality
T2 - A mesocosm experiment
AU - Yu, Jinlei
AU - Xia, Manli
AU - He, Hu
AU - Jeppesen, Erik
AU - Guan, Baohua
AU - Ren, Ze
AU - Elser, James J.
AU - Liu, Zhengwen
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Xiumei Zhang and Ruijie Shen for field and laboratory support and Anne Mette Poulsen for language assistance. The paper was improved with suggestions by Carla Atkinson and 2 anonymous reviewers. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41877415); the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Science 135 Project (NIGLAS2018GH01); and the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (2017ZX07203-004). JY was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Scholarship for a 1-y research visit to the Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Montana, USA. EJ was supported by the Centre for Water Technology (watec.au.dk), Aarhus University; Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems, Denmark (www.anaee.dk); and the Tübitak program 2232 for Outstanding Researchers.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by The Society for Freshwater Science.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Omnivorous fishes are prevalent in warm waters and may have strong impacts on water quality by excreting nutrients and reducing periphyton biomass. However, most studies have focused on large-sized species and overlooked the role of small omnivores. Filter-feeding mussels may modulate the negative effects of small omnivorous fishes on water quality, and stocking of mussels has been frequently used in shallow eutrophic freshwaters in China to improve the water clarity. However, the mechanisms behind such management practices are poorly studied. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to examine the ecosystem effects of the bitterling Acheilognathus macropterus as modulated by the mussel Sinanodonta woodiana, one of the mussels upon which it relies for breeding. We hypothesized that bitterling would exert negative effects on the lake environment, specifically higher phytoplankton biomass and lower water clarity, but that these effects might be alleviated by the filter-feeding activities of S. woodiana. In a 56-d mesocosm experiment with and without bitterling in the presence and absence of mussels, we found interactive effects of bitterling and mussels. In mesocosms with bitterling, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, and total suspended solids (TSS) increased, but there were no changes in periphyton biomass in the mussel-free treatments. In contrast to the effects of large-sized omnivorous fishes reported from the literature, bitterling mainly affected TSS levels by increasing organic suspended solids rather than inorganic solids, indicating weak effects on sediment resuspension. However, the presence of mussels alleviated the negative effects of bitterling by decreasing nutrient levels, phytoplankton biomass, and TSS concentrations. Mussels alone had no effects on periphyton biomass, but the mussel–bitterling interactions boosted the growth of periphyton. Our study suggests that the negative effects of bitterling on water quality (e.g., increased nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton biomass) are alleviated by the presence of filter-feeding mussels, but the stimulatory interactive effects of mussels and bitterling on periphyton may impair the recovery of submerged macrophytes.
AB - Omnivorous fishes are prevalent in warm waters and may have strong impacts on water quality by excreting nutrients and reducing periphyton biomass. However, most studies have focused on large-sized species and overlooked the role of small omnivores. Filter-feeding mussels may modulate the negative effects of small omnivorous fishes on water quality, and stocking of mussels has been frequently used in shallow eutrophic freshwaters in China to improve the water clarity. However, the mechanisms behind such management practices are poorly studied. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to examine the ecosystem effects of the bitterling Acheilognathus macropterus as modulated by the mussel Sinanodonta woodiana, one of the mussels upon which it relies for breeding. We hypothesized that bitterling would exert negative effects on the lake environment, specifically higher phytoplankton biomass and lower water clarity, but that these effects might be alleviated by the filter-feeding activities of S. woodiana. In a 56-d mesocosm experiment with and without bitterling in the presence and absence of mussels, we found interactive effects of bitterling and mussels. In mesocosms with bitterling, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, and total suspended solids (TSS) increased, but there were no changes in periphyton biomass in the mussel-free treatments. In contrast to the effects of large-sized omnivorous fishes reported from the literature, bitterling mainly affected TSS levels by increasing organic suspended solids rather than inorganic solids, indicating weak effects on sediment resuspension. However, the presence of mussels alleviated the negative effects of bitterling by decreasing nutrient levels, phytoplankton biomass, and TSS concentrations. Mussels alone had no effects on periphyton biomass, but the mussel–bitterling interactions boosted the growth of periphyton. Our study suggests that the negative effects of bitterling on water quality (e.g., increased nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton biomass) are alleviated by the presence of filter-feeding mussels, but the stimulatory interactive effects of mussels and bitterling on periphyton may impair the recovery of submerged macrophytes.
KW - Lake restoration
KW - Mussel stocking
KW - Omnivore
KW - Pelagic–benthic coupling
KW - Periphyton
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092787600&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85092787600&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/711295
DO - 10.1086/711295
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092787600
SN - 2161-9549
VL - 39
SP - 752
EP - 761
JO - Freshwater Science
JF - Freshwater Science
IS - 4
ER -