Contribution of temperature and nutrient loading to growth rate variation of three cyprinid fishes in a lowland river

Abstract

Scales collected during a maximum of seven fish population surveys over a 25-year period (1983–2008) in the River Wensum, a lowland river in Eastern England, enabled temporal analysis of the growth rates of roach Rutilus rutilus, dace Leuciscus leuciscus and chub Leuciscus cephalus. Across the study period, all species showed temporal variability in their growth patterns. Roach showed a significant temporal decrease in their growth, where rates recorded in surveys in 2005 and 2008 were significantly slower those recorded in surveys between 1983 and 1994. This change in growth rate was significantly associated with the implementation of phosphate stripping in the catchment’s sewage treatment works that reduced nutrient inputs (specifically orthophosphate). Prior to the implementation, temperature patterns explained most of the annual growth variability; following implementation and a consequent shift to the less eutrophic conditions, this relationship was lost, with changes in annual phosphate loadings now explaining most of the annual growth variation. This suggests that the changes in roach growth rates were related to shifts in river productivity resulting from water quality improvements.