Context-dependent effects of bluegill in experimental mesocosm communities

Most knowledge of direct and indirect effects of zooplanktivorous fish has come from studies in which a treatment with a zooplanktivore is compared to a fishless control. However, effects of a zooplanktivore may be different in the presence of other fish species because the other fish have direct and indirect effects that may alter the effects of the zooplanktivore in question. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a tank mesocosm experiment of 2x2 factorial design in which the presence and absence of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) were cross-classified with the presence and absence of a fish assemblage composed of western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). The presence of bluegill decreased Daphnia, Ceriodaphnia, cyclopoid copepodids, calanoid copepodids, copepod nauplii, amphipods, gastropods, and notonectids. Daphnia, Ceriodaphnia, cyclopoid copepodids, copepod naupli, gastropods, notonectids, Najas, and Cham were decreased and herbivorous rotifers, turbidity, chlorophyll a, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were increased in the presence of the fish assemblage. Significant bluegill x fish assemblage interaction effects were detected for Daphnia, Ceriodaphnia, cyclopoid copepodids, copepod nauplii, gastropods, and notonectids. Analysis of simple effects for these response variables revealed that all significant bluegill effects in the absence of the fish assemblage were not significant in the presence of the fish assemblage. Our results indicate that the effects of bluegill may be context dependent, or dependent upon the presence of other trophically similar fish species.