Changes in zooplankton and the phenology of the spiny water flea, <i>Bythotrephes</i>, following its invasion of Harp Lake, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The crustacean zooplankton community of Harp Lake, Ontario, Canada, has changed appreciably since the invasion by the spiny water flea, Bythotrephes. Crustacean species richness has declined, large-bodied Cladocera have replaced small-bodied ones, and there has been a downward trend in the total abundance of zooplankton because copepod abundance has remained stable while Cladoceran abundance has declined. Although the zooplankton community has now been stable for 4 years (1995–1998), the biology of the invader has changed dramatically. In particular, there have been 10-fold differences in the mean annual abundance of Bythotrephes in this 5-year period and substantial changes in the timing of population maxima. We attribute these changes to two factors: (i) transition from a summer to a fall switch from parthenogenesis to gametogenesis and (ii) interannual differences in the thickness of a warm, dark stratum in the lake. We hypothesize that this stratum provides a refuge for Bythotrephes from predation by lake herring, Coregonus artedii.