Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels
Fish introduction into fishless high-altitude lakes has detrimental effects on biodiversity. Removal of alien fish through intensive fishing is cost-intensive and difficult to achieve in productive lakes. Lake Sulzkarsee is the only lake in the National Park Gesäuse, Austria, and was an important br...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/7/1332 |
| _version_ | 1797606913491337216 |
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| author | Robert Schabetsberger Christian D. Jersabek Alexander Maringer Daniel Kreiner Magdalena Kaltenbrunner Pavlína Blažková Petr Pokorný Mathieu Denoël Heimo Emmerstorfer Cvetka Lipovnik Herbert Wölger |
| author_facet | Robert Schabetsberger Christian D. Jersabek Alexander Maringer Daniel Kreiner Magdalena Kaltenbrunner Pavlína Blažková Petr Pokorný Mathieu Denoël Heimo Emmerstorfer Cvetka Lipovnik Herbert Wölger |
| author_sort | Robert Schabetsberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fish introduction into fishless high-altitude lakes has detrimental effects on biodiversity. Removal of alien fish through intensive fishing is cost-intensive and difficult to achieve in productive lakes. Lake Sulzkarsee is the only lake in the National Park Gesäuse, Austria, and was an important breeding site for amphibians until the lake was stocked with fish in the late 1970s. Salmonids were eradicated in 2005, but the lake remained degraded by the introduced minnows (<i>Phoxinus</i> sp.). In 2018, the lake was drained through a siphon pipe and then by pumping out water with dirt water pumps. The deepest part was treated with slaked lime, but several hundred adult minnows survived in sediment crevices and reproduced in the following season. After drainage, the phytoplankton biomass increased. Indicator species, such as <i>Daphnia longispina</i> and amphibians, showed signs of recovery, but they went back to an impacted state when minnows recovered after the failed eradication attempt. Purse seines proved to be the most efficient gear to catch minnows. These results indicate that deep mountain lakes are difficult to drain efficiently. Sediment treatment is required to eliminate all fish. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:21:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2452ea42230a481b81340b1181b90d1e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:21:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-2452ea42230a481b81340b1181b90d1e2023-11-17T17:49:59ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-03-01157133210.3390/w15071332Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic LevelsRobert Schabetsberger0Christian D. Jersabek1Alexander Maringer2Daniel Kreiner3Magdalena Kaltenbrunner4Pavlína Blažková5Petr Pokorný6Mathieu Denoël7Heimo Emmerstorfer8Cvetka Lipovnik9Herbert Wölger10Department of Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaNational Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, AustriaDistrict Authority Liezen, Hauptstraße 43, 8940 Liezen, AustriaNational Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, AustriaPOKORNÝ-SÍTĚ s.r.o., Brloh 117, 382 06 Brloh, Czech RepublicPOKORNÝ-SÍTĚ s.r.o., Brloh 117, 382 06 Brloh, Czech RepublicLaboratory of Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians (LECA), University of Liège, 22 Quai van Beneden, 4020 Liège, BelgiumNational Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, AustriaDepartment of Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaNational Park Gesäuse GmbH, Weng 2, 8913 Admont, AustriaFish introduction into fishless high-altitude lakes has detrimental effects on biodiversity. Removal of alien fish through intensive fishing is cost-intensive and difficult to achieve in productive lakes. Lake Sulzkarsee is the only lake in the National Park Gesäuse, Austria, and was an important breeding site for amphibians until the lake was stocked with fish in the late 1970s. Salmonids were eradicated in 2005, but the lake remained degraded by the introduced minnows (<i>Phoxinus</i> sp.). In 2018, the lake was drained through a siphon pipe and then by pumping out water with dirt water pumps. The deepest part was treated with slaked lime, but several hundred adult minnows survived in sediment crevices and reproduced in the following season. After drainage, the phytoplankton biomass increased. Indicator species, such as <i>Daphnia longispina</i> and amphibians, showed signs of recovery, but they went back to an impacted state when minnows recovered after the failed eradication attempt. Purse seines proved to be the most efficient gear to catch minnows. These results indicate that deep mountain lakes are difficult to drain efficiently. Sediment treatment is required to eliminate all fish.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/7/1332alien speciesalpine lakedrainagefish removallake drainageplankton |
| spellingShingle | Robert Schabetsberger Christian D. Jersabek Alexander Maringer Daniel Kreiner Magdalena Kaltenbrunner Pavlína Blažková Petr Pokorný Mathieu Denoël Heimo Emmerstorfer Cvetka Lipovnik Herbert Wölger Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels Water alien species alpine lake drainage fish removal lake drainage plankton |
| title | Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels |
| title_full | Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels |
| title_fullStr | Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels |
| title_short | Pulling the Plug—Draining an Alpine Lake Failed to Eradicate Alien Minnows and Impacted Lower Trophic Levels |
| title_sort | pulling the plug draining an alpine lake failed to eradicate alien minnows and impacted lower trophic levels |
| topic | alien species alpine lake drainage fish removal lake drainage plankton |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/7/1332 |
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