Effects of fish density and river fertilization on algal standing stocks, invertebrate communities, and fish production in an arctic river

Abstract: This study examined the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down controls of an arctic stream food web by simultaneous manipulation of the top predator and nutrient availability. We created a two-step trophic system (algae to insects ) by removal of the top predator (Arctic grayling, Thymallus arcticus ) in fertilized and control stream reaches. Fish abundance was also increased 10 times to examine the effect of high fish density on stream ecosystem dynamics and fish. We measured the response of epilithic algae, benthic and drifting insects, and fish to nutrient enrichment and to changes in fish density. Insect grazers had little effect on algae and fish had little effect on insects. In both the control and fertilized reaches, fish grow th, energy storage, and reproductive response of females declined with increased fish density. Fish growth and energy storage were more closely correlated with per capita insect availability than with per capita algal standing stock.Resume : La presente etude porte sur l’importance relative des controles ascendants et descendants dans un reseau alimentaire d’un cours d’eau de l’arctique par la manipulation simultanee du predateur supreme et de la disponibilite des elements nutritif s. Nous avons cree un systeme trophique a deux etages (algues a insectes) en eliminant le predateur supreme (ombre de l’Arctique, Thymallus arcticus ) dans des troncons fertilises et temoins du cours d’eau. L’abondance des poissons a egalement ete multipliee par un facteur de 10 pour examiner l’effet d’une forte densite de poissons sur les caracteristiques dynamiques de l’ecosysteme du cours d’eau et sur le poisson. Nous avons mesure la reponse des algues epilithiques, des insectes benthiques et derivants, et d es poissons a la fertilisation du cours d’eau et aux variations de la densite du poisson. Les brouteurs d’insectes avaient peu d’e ffets sur les algues et le poisson avait peu d’effet sur les insectes. Chez les poissons presents dans les deux troncons, fertilise e t temoin, la croissance et le stockage d’energie ainsi que la reponse reproductive des femelles ont diminue avec l’augmentation de la densite de poissons. La croissance et le stockage d’energie chez les poissons etaient correles plus etroitement avec la disponibilite des insectes par tete qu’avec la biomasse d’algues par tete.[Traduit par la Redaction]

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