alpine lake; drainage; fish removal; lake drainage; plankton; resilience; top-down effects; alpine newt; Ichthyosaura alpestris; management; minnows; Bufo bufo; population size; natonal park; Alps; Austria; phytoplankton
Abstract :
[en] Fish introduction into fishless high-altitude lakes has detrimental effects on biodiversity. Removal of alien fish through intensive fishing is cost-intensive and difficult to achieve in productive lakes. Lake Sulzkarsee is the only lake in the National Park Gesäuse, Austria, and was an important breeding site for amphibians until the lake was stocked with fish in the late 1970s. Salmonids were eradicated in 2005, but the lake remained degraded by the introduced minnows (Phoxinus sp.). In 2018, the lake was drained through a siphon pipe and then by pumping out water with dirt water pumps. The deepest part was treated with slaked lime, but several hundred adult minnows survived in sediment crevices and reproduced in the following season. After drainage, the phytoplankton biomass increased. Indicator species, such as Daphnia longispina and amphibians, showed signs of recovery, but they went back to an impacted state when minnows recovered after the failed eradication attempt. Purse seines proved to be the most efficient gear to catch minnows. These results indicate that deep mountain lakes are difficult to drain efficiently. Sediment treatment is required to eliminate all fish.
Research center :
FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège
Denoël, Mathieu ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch (FOCUS) ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Laboratoire d'Écologie et de Conservation des Amphibiens (LECA)
Emmerstorfer, Heimo; National Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, Austria
Lipovnik, Cvetka; Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland ; Department of Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Austria
Wölger, Herbert; National Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, Austria
Language :
English
Title :
Pulling the plug—Draining an alpine lake failed to eradicate alien minnows and impacted lower trophic levels
Austrian Academy of Sciences [AT] Gesäuse National Park [AT] EC - European Commission [BE] University of Salzburg [AT] F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
Funding text :
This research was funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Earth System Sciences, and National Park Gesäuse, with the support of the Province of Styria and the European Community, Development of Rural Areas, LE14-20, Projects No. 761A/2018/43 and 761A-2021-36. Open Access Funding by the University of Salzburg.
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