Phytoplankton Control and Water Quality Improvement through Manipulation of Animal Communities

摘要

This was a pilot study to demonstrate the feasibility of improving water quality in surface waters by enhancing natural zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton through manipulation of fish communities. Piscivorous northern pike (Esox lucius) were introduced to two eutrophic farm ponds in eastern Nebraska containing large populations of planktivorous black crappie in an effort to evaluate the effects of controlled planktivore predation on zooplankton and phytoplankton communities. The stocking of piscivorous northern pike in the study ponds resulted in a marked decline in the immature black crappie densities of both ponds.