Abstract
The commenter’s key argument is that Diamond Lake’s problem is strictly one of biomass, i.e., introduction of the invasive Tui Chub fish. There are a few things to note in that respect. The Tui Chub is a bait fish. It is a lower-order prey fish for higher-order trout/salmonid species. Tui Chub is zooplanktivorous. Since the Tui Chub feed on zooplankton, if they themselves are prey for other species (or are being “culled” by artificial means), and there is no other entity to feed on the plankton and algae, the result would be a mass of plankton/algae bloom (i.e., harmful algal blooms (HABs)). This would lead to anoxic conditions in the euphotic zone, which puts even more stress on the higher-order trout/salmonid species. Our work found that the biological community (i.e., invertebrates and fish) are lagging indicators (i.e., response indicators).
Highlights
These observations indicate that the Diamond Lake ecosystem was stressed earlier, allowing the Tui Chub population to explode, because there were not enough fish to feed on the Tui Chub, resulting in a biomass imbalance, as noted in the commenter’s argument
The director of the Pyramid Lake Fisheries Department notes that, in Pyramid Lake, the Tui Chub can reach 10–12 inches, and are they predators which compete with smaller rainbow trout for the same food
The Tui Chub are under control because they are the primary food source for the Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) over 19 inches in length [1]
Summary
These observations indicate that the Diamond Lake ecosystem was stressed earlier, allowing the Tui Chub population to explode, because there were not enough (trout/salmonid) fish to feed on the Tui Chub, resulting in a biomass imbalance, as noted in the commenter’s argument. The director of the Pyramid Lake Fisheries Department notes that, in Pyramid Lake, the Tui Chub can reach 10–12 inches, and are they predators which compete with smaller rainbow trout for the same food. The Tui Chub are under control because they are the primary food source for the Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) over 19 inches in length [1]. The LCT are definitely keeping the Tui Chub population under control. In Diamond Lake, for the Tui Chub population to increase and dominate the biomass of the lake, the trout (i.e., higher-order prey) had to undergo a massive reduction, or a continuous reduction over a long period of time (approximately 30 years as per the commenter’s response), which would mean a long-term/chronic loss of stream spawning habitat for the trout
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