A predictive model for water clarity following dreissenid invasion
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Date
2016-04-22
Authors
Geisler, Marianne
Rennie, Michael
Gillis, Darren
Higgins, Scott
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
Abstract
Optical transparency, or water clarity, is a
fundamental property of lake ecosystems which
influences a wide range of physical, chemical and
biological variables and processes. The establishment
of non-native dreissenid mussels in lake and river
ecosystems across North America and Europe has
been associated with often dramatic, but highly
variable, increases in water clarity. The objective of
this study was to develop a predictive model for water
clarity (Secchi depth, m) in lakes following the
establishment of dreissenids. We compiled water
clarity data before and after dreissenid invasion from
North American lakes that varied in size and nutrient
status. An AIC model averaging approach was used to
generate post-invasion water clarity predictions based
on pre-invasion water clarity and lake morphometric
characteristics from a 53 lake dataset. The accuracy of
the model was verified using cross-validation. We then
extended this model to existing empirical models of
lake mixing depth and Walleye (Sander vitreus) yield,
to demonstrate that increased water clarity associated
with dreissenid invasion may have far-reaching physical
and ecological consequences in lakes, including
deeper thermoclines and context-dependent changes
in fish yields.
Description
Keywords
Dreissena, Mussel, Transparency, Thermal stratification, Sander vitreus, Ecological
Citation
Geisler, M. E., Rennie, M. D., Gillis, D. M., & Higgins, S. N. (2016). A predictive model for water clarity following dreissenid invasion. Biological Invasions, 1-18.