2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
6/06/2017 | 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM | FISH, MACROINVERTEBRATE, AND MACROPHYTE COMMUNITY COMPOSITION WITHIN LITTORAL ZONES INVADED BY EURASIAN WATERMILFOIL IN THE KEWEENAW WATERWAY OF LAKE SUPERIOR | 305A
FISH, MACROINVERTEBRATE, AND MACROPHYTE COMMUNITY COMPOSITION WITHIN LITTORAL ZONES INVADED BY EURASIAN WATERMILFOIL IN THE KEWEENAW WATERWAY OF LAKE SUPERIOR
The invasion of Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and its hybrids with native Northern watermilfoil (M. spicatum x sibericum) can alter lake littoral zone communities via direct and indirect effects on fish diets, macroinvertebrate assemblages, fish community structure, and native plant abundance. However, relatively little is known about the ecological effects of this invader in colder waters of the upper Great Lakes region. We sampled macroinvertebrates, fish, and macrophytes at sites that represented a gradient of Eurasian watermilfoil and native vegetation abundance in the Keweenaw Waterway of Lake Superior. We hypothesized that sites dominated by Eurasian watermilfoil would support less taxa richness, abundance, as well as smaller size classes of fish, and that macroinvertebrate abundance would be highest in areas of dense vegetation. Fish taxa richness did not significantly differ between sites of native or invasive vegetation. On average, sites with low abundance of Eurasian watermilfoil supported approximately 24% more fish biomass relative to highly invaded habitats. Our results suggest that the spread of Eurasian watermilfoil could alter the size structure of littoral fish communities.
- C11 Community Ecology
- C02 Fish and Other Aquatic Vertebrates
- C26 Invasive Species
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Presenters/Authors
Carmen Leguizamon
(), Michigan Technological University, cmleguiz@mtu.edu;
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