Abstract
The incidence and dispersal of invasive alien fish species (IAFS) have ecological impacts on biodiversity and environmental health at regional to global scales. We identified links between the presence of largemouth bass (Lb) and bluegill (Bg), and selected indicators of environmental water quality, trophic and tolerance guilds, ecological health factors, and stream order. We used the data collected from national biomonitoring study sites in four major rivers of South Korea. IAFS occurred in eutrophic waters (Lb = total phosphorus: 140 ± 170 µg/L, chlorophyll a: 16.7 ± 27.5 µg/L; Bg = total phosphorus: 160 ± 190 µg/L, chlorophyll a: 19.43 ± 28.05 µg/L) and dominated at higher ambient ratios of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP). At TN:TP ≤ 100, the relative abundance of Lb and Bg was highest (95.3% and 96.0%, respectively). Concerning tolerance guilds, Lb (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.0001) and Bg (R2 = 0.59, p < 0.0001) had positive relationships with tolerant species in all four river watersheds and negative relationships with the percentages of insectivores and omnivores. This indicates the harmful impacts of IAFS on the aquatic food web. These invasive fish species also influenced stream health, particularly in the Nakdong and Yeongsan/Seomjin rivers. Our findings suggest that assessing chemical water quality can help identify the optimal and suboptimal survival and spread ranges of IAFS (Lb and Bg), as they directly influence tolerance and trophic guilds in the aquatic food web. In conclusion, these IAFS could be a major factor in the deteriorating ecosystem health, which had negative relationships with the abundance and occurrence of IAFS. Therefore, approaches that use appropriate water chemistry factors and species tolerance may provide critical insights into the efficient management of river health that has been perturbed by the presence of IAFS.
Highlights
Biological invasions are causing losses of biodiversity at regional to global scales [1,2].The extent of the invasion influences the structure and size of the native community and its dynamics because of several factors, which are not limited to population responses to large-scale threats
We investigated the relationships between invasive alien fish species (IAFS) and ambient water quality factors, and the results indicated that tolerance ranges and water quality parameters (TP, TN, NO-N3, NH4 -N, electrical conductivity (EC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS)) had a broad range of interactions (Table 2)
This study provides detailed insights into the potential links between two ecosystemdisturbing IAFS and the relationships of their presence and abundance with the water chemistry and biotic communities of four major river watersheds in South Korea
Summary
The extent of the invasion influences the structure and size of the native community and its dynamics because of several factors, which are not limited to population responses to large-scale threats Such factors, including climate change, environmental variations, habitat change, and ecological processes, are strongly interconnected [3,4,5,6]. An indepth study of successful fish invasions that considers the persistent ecological impacts of invasive alien fish species (IAFS) in lentic and lotic ecosystems is essential to achieving management priorities [8,9,10,11] It is critical in terms of environmental water quality, establishment, and expansion of these species to the recipient ecosystems
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
