Abstract
Food web interactions between native larval bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), exotic invasive zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), and zooplankton were examined with a mesocosm experiment. Hatchling larval bluegill collected from nests were reared in the presence of size-structured populations of zebra mussels in 1500-L limnocorrals suspended in an artificial pond for 2 weeks. Chlorophyll a, other limnological variables, and zooplankton abundance and biomass (including copepod nauplii and rotifers) were monitored over time. During their first 2 weeks of life, larval fish reared in the presence of mussels grew 24% more slowly than fish reared alone. Differential growth rates can be explained by competition between mussels and bluegill for food in the form of microzooplankton. Also likely was an indirect competition via starvation of the zooplankton community as zebra mussels consumed phytoplankton. Either direct or indirect trophic competition between zebra mussels and obligate planktivores may result in ecological harm as zebra mussels spread throughout inland lakes of North America.
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