Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management
Invasive predatory lake trout <i>Salvelinus namaycush</i> were discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994 and caused a precipitous decrease in abundance of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout <i>Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri.</i> Suppression efforts (primarily gillnetting) initiat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Fishes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/5/2/18 |
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| author | Todd M. Koel Jeffery L. Arnold Patricia E. Bigelow Travis O. Brenden Jeffery D. Davis Colleen R. Detjens Philip D. Doepke Brian D. Ertel Hayley C. Glassic Robert E. Gresswell Christopher S. Guy Drew J. MacDonald Michael E. Ruhl Todd J. Stuth David P. Sweet John M. Syslo Nathan A. Thomas Lusha M. Tronstad Patrick J. White Alexander V. Zale |
| author_facet | Todd M. Koel Jeffery L. Arnold Patricia E. Bigelow Travis O. Brenden Jeffery D. Davis Colleen R. Detjens Philip D. Doepke Brian D. Ertel Hayley C. Glassic Robert E. Gresswell Christopher S. Guy Drew J. MacDonald Michael E. Ruhl Todd J. Stuth David P. Sweet John M. Syslo Nathan A. Thomas Lusha M. Tronstad Patrick J. White Alexander V. Zale |
| author_sort | Todd M. Koel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Invasive predatory lake trout <i>Salvelinus namaycush</i> were discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994 and caused a precipitous decrease in abundance of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout <i>Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri.</i> Suppression efforts (primarily gillnetting) initiated in 1995 did not curtail lake trout population growth or lakewide expansion. An adaptive management strategy was developed in 2010 that specified desired conditions indicative of ecosystem recovery. Population modeling was used to estimate effects of suppression efforts on the lake trout and establish effort benchmarks to achieve negative population growth (λ < 1). Partnerships enhanced funding support, and a scientific review panel provided guidance to increase suppression gillnetting effort to >46,800 100-m net nights; this effort level was achieved in 2012 and led to a reduction in lake trout biomass. Total lake trout biomass declined from 432,017 kg in 2012 to 196,675 kg in 2019, primarily because of a 79% reduction in adults. Total abundance declined from 925,208 in 2012 to 673,983 in 2019 but was highly variable because of recruitment of age-2 fish. Overall, 3.35 million lake trout were killed by suppression efforts from 1995 to 2019. Cutthroat trout abundance remained below target levels, but relative condition increased, large individuals (> 400 mm) became more abundant, and individual weights doubled, probably because of reduced density. Continued actions to suppress lake trout will facilitate further recovery of the cutthroat trout population and integrity of the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:14:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e9b088fbddd4c83acd981a8a19d000e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2410-3888 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:14:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fishes |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e9b088fbddd4c83acd981a8a19d000e2023-11-20T03:34:35ZengMDPI AGFishes2410-38882020-06-015218010.3390/fishes5020018Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish ManagementTodd M. Koel0Jeffery L. Arnold1Patricia E. Bigelow2Travis O. Brenden3Jeffery D. Davis4Colleen R. Detjens5Philip D. Doepke6Brian D. Ertel7Hayley C. Glassic8Robert E. Gresswell9Christopher S. Guy10Drew J. MacDonald11Michael E. Ruhl12Todd J. Stuth13David P. Sweet14John M. Syslo15Nathan A. Thomas16Lusha M. Tronstad17Patrick J. White18Alexander V. Zale19U.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAQuantitative Fisheries Center, Michigan State University, 375 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAYellowstone Forever, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAMontana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, 2327 University Way, Bozeman, MT 59715, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, MSU–P.O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717-3460, USAMontana Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, MSU–P.O. Box 173490, Bozeman, MT 59717-3490, USAMontana Institute on Ecosystems, Montana State University, MSU–P.O. Box 173490, Bozeman, MT 59717-3490, USAHickey Brothers Research, LLC, 4083 Glidden Drive, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, USAWyoming Council of Trout Unlimited, P.O. Box 3008, Cody, WY 82414, USAMontana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAWyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Department 3381, Laramie, WY 82071, USAU.S. National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, Native Fish Conservation Program, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USAU.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Department of Ecology, Montana State University, MSU–P.O. Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717-3460, USAInvasive predatory lake trout <i>Salvelinus namaycush</i> were discovered in Yellowstone Lake in 1994 and caused a precipitous decrease in abundance of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout <i>Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri.</i> Suppression efforts (primarily gillnetting) initiated in 1995 did not curtail lake trout population growth or lakewide expansion. An adaptive management strategy was developed in 2010 that specified desired conditions indicative of ecosystem recovery. Population modeling was used to estimate effects of suppression efforts on the lake trout and establish effort benchmarks to achieve negative population growth (λ < 1). Partnerships enhanced funding support, and a scientific review panel provided guidance to increase suppression gillnetting effort to >46,800 100-m net nights; this effort level was achieved in 2012 and led to a reduction in lake trout biomass. Total lake trout biomass declined from 432,017 kg in 2012 to 196,675 kg in 2019, primarily because of a 79% reduction in adults. Total abundance declined from 925,208 in 2012 to 673,983 in 2019 but was highly variable because of recruitment of age-2 fish. Overall, 3.35 million lake trout were killed by suppression efforts from 1995 to 2019. Cutthroat trout abundance remained below target levels, but relative condition increased, large individuals (> 400 mm) became more abundant, and individual weights doubled, probably because of reduced density. Continued actions to suppress lake trout will facilitate further recovery of the cutthroat trout population and integrity of the Yellowstone Lake ecosystem.https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/5/2/18adaptive managementcutthroat troutecosystem restorationnonnative fish suppressionnational parklake trout |
| spellingShingle | Todd M. Koel Jeffery L. Arnold Patricia E. Bigelow Travis O. Brenden Jeffery D. Davis Colleen R. Detjens Philip D. Doepke Brian D. Ertel Hayley C. Glassic Robert E. Gresswell Christopher S. Guy Drew J. MacDonald Michael E. Ruhl Todd J. Stuth David P. Sweet John M. Syslo Nathan A. Thomas Lusha M. Tronstad Patrick J. White Alexander V. Zale Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management Fishes adaptive management cutthroat trout ecosystem restoration nonnative fish suppression national park lake trout |
| title | Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management |
| title_full | Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management |
| title_fullStr | Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management |
| title_short | Yellowstone Lake Ecosystem Restoration: A Case Study for Invasive Fish Management |
| title_sort | yellowstone lake ecosystem restoration a case study for invasive fish management |
| topic | adaptive management cutthroat trout ecosystem restoration nonnative fish suppression national park lake trout |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/5/2/18 |
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