Impact of the fish Garra on the ecology of reservoirs and the occurrence of Microcystis blooms in semi-arid tropical highlands: an experimental assessment using enclosures

TY - JOUR

T1 - Impact of the fish Garra on the ecology of reservoirs and the occurrence of Microcystis blooms in semi-arid tropical highlands: an experimental assessment using enclosures

AU - Dejenie, T.

AU - Asmelash, T.

AU - Rousseaux, S.

AU - Gebregiorgis, T.

AU - Gebrekidan, A.

AU - Teferi, M.

AU - Nyssen, J.

AU - Deckers, J.

AU - van der Gucht, K.

AU - Vyverman, W.

AU - De Meester, Luc

AU - Declerck, S. A. J.

N1 - WOS:000267831300002 ISI Document Delivery No.: 468PK Times Cited: 11 Cited Reference Count: 24 Dejenie, Tadesse Asmelash, Tsehaye Rousseaux, Sarah Gebregiorgis, Teklit Gebrekidan, Abreha Teferi, Mekonen Nyssen, Jan Deckers, Jozef Van Der Gucht, Katleen Vyverman, Wim De Meester, Luc Declerck, Steven A. J. De Meester, Luc/F-3832-2015; Dasseville, Renaat/B-3561-2010; Nyssen, Jan/B-8280-2009; Declerck, Steven/E-4338-2010 De Meester, Luc/0000-0001-5433-6843; Nyssen, Jan/0000-0002-2666-3860; Declerck, Steven/0000-0001-6179-667X Flemish Institutional University Cooperation (VLIR) This study was financially supported by the Flemish Institutional University Cooperation (VLIR), through the VLIR inter-institutional cooperation between Mekelle University and Flemish universities. We thank Dr Nurhusen Teha and Dr Mulu Bayray, the program leader and program manager at Mekelle University, and the MU- IUC staff for their continuous support to this study. We especially thank villagers of the Gereb Awso and Tsinkanet areas, as well as local authorities for their support. During the fieldwork period, J. N. was at K. U. Leuven (Belgium) with working place Mekelle University, Ethiopia. S. A. J. D. is a postdoctoral researcher with the National Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen). 11 3 26 Wiley-blackwell Hoboken 1365-2427 34

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - 1. Many man-made reservoirs in the semi-arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Tigray) are characterised by the occurrence of intensive blooms of cyanobacteria and a dominance of small riverine fishes belonging to the genus Garra. 2. We carried out enclosure experiments to test for the effect of these small fish on abiotic characteristics, phytoplankton biomass and zooplankton community structure in the pelagic of two reservoirs (Gereb Awso and Tsinkanet). Two experiments were carried out in each of the reservoirs, one at the end of the rainy season (highest water level) and one at the end of the dry season (lowest water level). 3. The presence of Garra in general increased the amount of suspended matter, nutrient concentrations (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), phytoplankton and Microcystis biomass (including the proportion of Microcystis in the phytoplankton community), and reduced water transparency. The positive effect of the presence of Garra on nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton productivity indicate that Garra has the potential to affect food web functioning indirectly through bottom-up effects, by enhancing nutrient concentrations through sediment resuspension and excretion of nutrients. Indeed, population densities of the cladoceran zooplankton taxa Ceriodaphnia and Diaphanosoma also showed an overall increase in enclosures with Garra. 4. However, our data also provide some evidence for a potential of Garra to exert top-down control on large bodied daphnids (Daphnia carinata, D. barbata), although such effect varied among experiments. The limited capability of Garra to control zooplankton communities mainly reflects the low efficiency of these small, riverine and benthos-oriented fish in foraging on zooplankton and suggests the existence of an unoccupied niche for zooplanktivorous fish in the majority of the reservoirs. 5. Although the main effects of Garra on the pelagic food web seemed to be mediated by bottom-up mechanisms, our results also indicate that one of the key variables, the relative abundance of Microcystis, was impacted by Daphnia-mediated trophic cascade effects.

AB - 1. Many man-made reservoirs in the semi-arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Tigray) are characterised by the occurrence of intensive blooms of cyanobacteria and a dominance of small riverine fishes belonging to the genus Garra. 2. We carried out enclosure experiments to test for the effect of these small fish on abiotic characteristics, phytoplankton biomass and zooplankton community structure in the pelagic of two reservoirs (Gereb Awso and Tsinkanet). Two experiments were carried out in each of the reservoirs, one at the end of the rainy season (highest water level) and one at the end of the dry season (lowest water level). 3. The presence of Garra in general increased the amount of suspended matter, nutrient concentrations (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), phytoplankton and Microcystis biomass (including the proportion of Microcystis in the phytoplankton community), and reduced water transparency. The positive effect of the presence of Garra on nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton productivity indicate that Garra has the potential to affect food web functioning indirectly through bottom-up effects, by enhancing nutrient concentrations through sediment resuspension and excretion of nutrients. Indeed, population densities of the cladoceran zooplankton taxa Ceriodaphnia and Diaphanosoma also showed an overall increase in enclosures with Garra. 4. However, our data also provide some evidence for a potential of Garra to exert top-down control on large bodied daphnids (Daphnia carinata, D. barbata), although such effect varied among experiments. The limited capability of Garra to control zooplankton communities mainly reflects the low efficiency of these small, riverine and benthos-oriented fish in foraging on zooplankton and suggests the existence of an unoccupied niche for zooplanktivorous fish in the majority of the reservoirs. 5. Although the main effects of Garra on the pelagic food web seemed to be mediated by bottom-up mechanisms, our results also indicate that one of the key variables, the relative abundance of Microcystis, was impacted by Daphnia-mediated trophic cascade effects.

KW - Daphnia enclosure experiment Ethiopia foodweb interactions Garra Microcystis reservoir Tigray lakes dynamics plankton daphnia food Environmental Sciences & Ecology Marine & Freshwater Biology

U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02209.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02209.x

M3 - Article

SN - 0046-5070

VL - 54

SP - 1605

EP - 1615

JO - Freshwater Biology

JF - Freshwater Biology

IS - 8

ER -