Effects of Crucian Carp (Carassius auratus) on Water Quality in Aquatic Ecosystems: An Experimental Mesocosm Study

Water

Xueying Mei¹  WilliamD. Taylor²  Erik Jeppesen³  Zhengwen Liu⁴  Yehui Huang⁴  Xiufeng Zhang⁴  LarsG. Rudstam⁵  Jotaro Urabe⁶ 

[1] College of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China;Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada;Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark;Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China;Department of Natural Resources, Cornell Biological Field Station, Cornell University, New York, NY 13030, USA;Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan;

关键词: crucian carp;    nutrient;    phytoplankton;    periphyton;    sediment;    water quality;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w12051444

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The presence of omnivorous fish is known to affect aquatic ecosystems, including water quality. The effect, however, depends on the species in question, and our knowledge is limited on the effect of omnivorous crucian carp (Carassius auratus), a common and often the most numerous fish species in eutrophic shallow lakes in China. We conducted a 70-day outdoor experiment in mesocosms with and without crucian carp to examine whether this species adversely affects water quality by increasing the levels of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), thereby stimulating the biomass of phytoplankton and increasing water turbidity. Compared with carp-free controls, the presence of crucian carp resulted in higher TN and TP in the water column, greater phytoplankton biomass and lower periphyton biomass, measured as chlorophyll a. Total suspended solids (TSS) also increased in the presence of fish. We conclude that crucian carp can increase TN and TP, enhance phytoplankton biomass, and increase water turbidity, thereby contributing significantly to the deterioration of the water quality. In addition to controlling external nutrient loading, the removal of crucian carp may help to improve water quality in warm shallow eutrophic lakes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown