Andersson, Matilda
- Institutionen för vatten och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Sammanfattning
The browning of freshwater ecosystems is increasingly evident in temperate and northern regions, with widespread ramifications for lake physics, chemistry, and biology. Contrasting results on how freshwater browning may impact fish have been reported, but there has been no comprehensive examination of how browning may cause cascading effects on individual- to population- to community-level traits of freshwater fishes. We addressed this knowledge gap by summarizing the existing literature and conducting a series of original analyses to: (i) explore the effects of a brown water gradient on populations of eight economically important species of fish across 871 lakes; and (ii) examine how a brown water gradient may influence community trait compositions across 303 lakes. From our literature synthesis, we found that fish growth is often negatively associated with browner waters, despite browning generally showing no effect on fish foraging. We also demonstrated that browner waters had greater abundances of northern pike (Esox lucius) and walleye (Sander vitreus), but lower numbers of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (M. dolomieu), and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). Moreover, we showed that fish communities were significantly more likely to contain species with larger eyes in browner lakes. Lastly, we examined relationships between various metrics of browning (i.e. dissolved organic carbon, Secchi transparency, water colour) and present a framework for how the effects of freshwater browning on fish may scale from individuals to populations to communities.
Nyckelord
freshwater browning; fish; dissolved organic carbon; Secchi transparency; water colour; individual-level traits; population-level traits; community-level traits
Publicerad i
Biological Reviews
2025
Utgivare: WILEY
SLU författare
Van Dorst, Renee
- Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)
- Institutionen för vilt, fisk och miljö, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Huss, Magnus
- Institutionen för akvatiska resurser (SLU Aqua), Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
- Institutionen för akvatiska resurser (SLU Aqua), Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
UKÄ forskningsämne
Fisk- och akvakulturforskning
Publikationens identifierare
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70074
Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/143890