Linking Landscapes, Aquatic Productivity, and Fisheries: An Example in Lake Erie

Linking land use and management to upper trophic-level aquatic effects generally requires a complex chain of inferences in which knowledge gaps in any step can impede robust conclusions.  Recent research on Lake Erie (Canada, USA) has linked social, landscape, limnological, and fisheries scientists to explore the effects of watershed practices and climate change on aquatic trophic state, fish, and recreational fisheries valuation as an ecosystem service.   Results indicate that recent changes in both weather patterns and land management have contributed to increased reactive phosphorous loading to the lake, algal biomass (including expansion of toxic harmful algal blooms; HABs), and areas with summer oxygen depletion.   Impacts on fish included reduced habitat quality and altered movement and foraging behavior.  Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) condition was negatively affected by hypoxia, whereas Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides) was less sensitive. From the perspective of ecosystem service valuation, species-specific responses in prey and sport fishes are particularly interesting because different species have different values as fishing targets.  Effects of hypoxia and HABs on fish populations, however, remain difficult to quantify and more work is needed to complete the land to fisheries inference chain.  

See more of: Ecosystem Services: Bridging Natural and Social Sciences Toward Sustainable Policies, Part 2
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