Effects of filter-feeding planktivorous fish and cyanobacteria on structuring the zooplankton community in the eastern plain lakes of China

•100 eastern plain lakes were surveyed to explore the effects of planktivorous fish and cyanobacteria on the zooplankton community.•Cyanobacteria had positive effects on Rotifera and small cladocera which led to the change of zooplankton community composition.•Filter-feeding planktivorous fish had positive effects on Rotifera and negative effects on Calanoida.•With the combined effects of planktivorous fish culture and eutrophication, r-strategy and good escape ability zooplankton dominated.

To explore the changes of the zooplankton community in response to excessive interferences of anthropogenic eutrophication and aquaculture on aquatic ecosystem, we performed a survey to determine the variations in these communities in 100 eastern plain lakes of China in summer. Our results showed that when filter-feeding planktivorous fishes were in high yield, Rotifera and medium cladocera accounted for a large proportion of the community; when they were in low yield, small cladocera increased with the increased nutrient level. The detrended correspondence analysis demonstrated that planktivorous fish and cyanobacteria were important factors influencing the zooplankton community. The linear regression analysis showed that the fraction of Rotifera increased and Calanoida decreased with the increasing fish yield; the fraction of small cladocera increased with the increasing cyanobacteria. The results implied that zooplankton community succession was strengthened by the combined effects of planktivorous fish and cyanobacteria. The effects of filter-feeding planktivorous fish on zooplankton depend on the survival ability of different zooplankton species as well as the size. With the combined effects of planktivorous fish culture and eutrophication, the zooplankton community tend to be dominated by r-strategy species and good escape ability species.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (175KB)Download full-size image