Harvesting an Invasive Bivalve in a Large Natural Lake: Species Recovery and Impacts on Native Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Structure in Lake Tahoe, USA
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AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 22: 588–597 (2012) Published online 6 June 2012 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2251 Harvesting an invasive bivalve in a large natural lake: species recovery and impacts on native benthic macroinvertebrate community structure in Lake Tahoe, USA MARION E. WITTMANNa,*, SUDEEP CHANDRAb, JOHN E. REUTERc, ANDREA CAIRESb, S. GEOFFREY SCHLADOWa and MARIANNE DENTONb aTahoe Environmental Research Center, University of California Davis, Incline Village, NV 89451, USA bDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89512, USA cDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy and Tahoe Environmental Research Center, University of California Davis, CA 95616, USA ABSTRACT 1. The increasing dispersal and establishment of aquatic invasive species in natural freshwater ecosystems has led to efforts to remove non-native taxa and/or restore native species. An invasive bivalve, Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), recently (2002) became established in a large, natural subalpine lake (Lake Tahoe, USA). In 2009, experimental efforts were undertaken to harvest C. fluminea from Lake Tahoe sediments using a manually operated suction dredge apparatus. 2. Treatment and control plots were monitored for a 450 day period after dredging to observe target species (C. fluminea) and non-target macroinvertebrate recovery rates. A paired Before-After-Control Impact analysis was used to assess the short- and long-term impacts of suction dredging. 3. Physical harvest resulted in short-term reductions of C. fluminea (1500 individuals m-2 before treatment to 60 individuals m-2 14 days after treatment) with significant disruption to benthic macroinvertebrate community structure. The impact to the target invasive species (C. fluminea) was present 450 days after treatment and community diversity (as represented by Simpson diversity index) did not recover after 1 year (365 days) in dredged sites. Certain non-target macroinvertebrate taxa (Chironomidae and native clam (Pisidium spp.)) increased in suction dredge plots to levels greater than before treatment or in control plot conditions at the end of the study period. 4. Harvesting C. fluminea significantly reduced population densities for a period of 450 days after the removal. Recolonization rates of C. fluminea and non-target species over multiple reproductive seasons will determine the feasibility for this method as a long-term control strategy. Copyright # 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 04 December 2011; Revised 20 February 2012; Accepted 01 April 2012 KEY WORDS: lake; littoral; biological control; recolonization; monitoring; benthos; invertebrates; alien species; dredging INTRODUCTION present costly challenges to natural resource managers. While prevention of invasive species The establishment of aquatic invasive species introductions is considered to be the most effective continues to affect freshwater ecosystems and means to reduce invasive species impacts (Leung *Correspondence to: Marion E. Wittmann, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556. E-mail: [email protected] Copyright # 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. HARVESTING INVASIVE CLAMS: IMPACT TO THE MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY 589 et al., 2002; Finnoff et al., 2007; Keller et al., 2008), it Corbicula fluminea is a sediment-dwelling bivalve, is a complex and resource-intensive endeavour that is introduced and invasive to North America and often complicated by undetected propagules, native to temperate and tropical regions of Asia, illegal releases, or accidental introductions that can Africa, and Australia (Counts, 1986). The impacts confound prevention goals. As a result, natural of C. fluminea both on natural and on man-made resource managers are often tasked with controlling systems are known (Isom, 1986) and have been or removing an introduced species after it has observed to affect native invertebrate communities become established. (Karatayev et al., 2003), phytoplankton assemblages Harvesting invasive species has promise as a (Lopez et al., 2006), benthic habitats (Hakenkamp non-chemical means to reduce negative economic and Palmer, 1999) and nutrient cycling (Lauritsen and ecological impacts and increase water quality and Mozley, 1989). This species is considered an and commercial and recreational use of ecosystems economic nuisance because of its ability to biofoul (Simberloff, 1999; Mack et al., 2000). Efforts to water intakes (Eng, 1979), particularly in nuclear physically remove invasive species have been and hydropower production (Isom et al., 1986; attempted for a number of taxa including rusty Williams and McMahon, 1986) where damage crayfish (Hein et al., 2007), dreissenid mussels caused by C. fluminea has been estimated at $1 (Wimbush et al., 2009), aquatic macrophytes billion annually (Pimentel, 2005). fl fi (Tobiessen et al., 1992; Eichler et al., 1993), and Established populations of C. uminea were rst smallmouth bass (Weidel et al., 2007) with varied observed in Lake Tahoe, CA-NV in 2002 and in -2 levels of success. Unintended effects of invasive 2008 high density populations (up to 6000 clams m ) species removal include shifts to native community were observed in nearshore habitats by scientists, structure (Rinella et al., 2009) or increases in natural resource managers, and community population growth rates of the management stakeholders who responded by creating a target (Zipkin et al., 2009). Although rare, science-based rapid response management invasive species management goals have been programme. To explore the feasibility of reducing fl accomplished through long-term programmes of C. uminea abundance with physical harvesting, physical removal (Wimbush et al., 2009) or a dredging experiment was carried out on C. fluminea combining physical removal with other treatment sub-populations of . Benthic substrate removal through diver assisted suction dredging methods (Madsen, 1997). was applied to treatment plots with established Many methods exist to remove species from populations of C. fluminea and monitored for aquatic systems such as hydraulic dredging, hand 450 days. The objectives of this study were to removal, trapping, or electroshocking and each assess the recolonization rates of C. fluminea and has impacts on the surrounding environments co-occurring benthic macroinvertebrate taxa after and biological communities. Dredging or suction suction removal to understand community recovery. removal is a widely used method of species extraction from sediments, and has been used for the removal both of desirable (i.e. commercial) speciessuchastherazorclam(Ensis spp.) and METHODS nuisance benthic macrophytes (Nichols and Cottam, 1972; Tobiessen et al., 1992; Eichler Study site et al., 1993; Hauton et al., 2007). In general, Lake Tahoe (Figure 1) is a large, deep (surface area: dredging in aquatic environments is considered a 495 km2, maximum depth: 501 m) oligotrophic lake major disturbance to benthic systems as it located at a subalpine elevation of 1898 m in the reduces benthic macroinvertebrate populations Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The Tahoe (Kenny and Rees 1996; Pranovi et al., 1998; Basin’s largely granitic geology, the lake’s large Lewis et al., 2001) and disrupts the population volume (150 km3) and relatively small drainage structure of native communities (Grassle and (800 km2) basin explain its low nutrient Sanders 1973; McCall, 1977; Dernie et al., 2003). concentrations and primary productivity rates These types of disturbances have also been (Goldman, 1988). Annual water temperature observed with dredging activities specifically ranges from 5 to 28 C in the littoral zone, with targeted towards biotic removal (Tuck et al., upper and lower temperature extremes occurring 2000; Morello et al., 2005). in marina locations. The lake is oligomictic, Copyright # 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 22: 588–597 (2012) 590 M. E. WITTMANN ET AL. net power output, 196 cm3 displacement, 12.4 Nm @2500 rpm net torque) was used to remove treatment plot sediments to a depth of 13 cm at Marla Bay (9.5 m3 removed) and a depth of 8 cm (depth of sediments above a clay hard pan boundary) at Lakeside (8.5 m3 removed). To collect benthic macroinvertebrates, sediment grab samples (N = 3) were collected in each of the treatment and control plots using a petite Ponar grab sampler (2.4 L volume, 231 cm2 sample area, Wildlife Supply Company, Yulee, FL, USA) at 7 days before and 14, 90, 240, 365, and 450 days after dredging. Upon collection all samples were screened (500 mm mesh) and the retained sediment was then placed in a super-saturated sugar solution to float invertebrates (Anderson, 1959). Samples were then picked manually to remove all macroinvertebrates. All organisms were preserved fi Figure 1. Location of C. fluminea treatment plots in Lake Tahoe, CA-NV. in 70% ethanol until identi cation (Merritt and Two treatment plots (surface area: 36 m2)atMarlaBay,NV(A)andthree Cummins, 1996; Thorp and Covich, 2001) Average at Lakeside, CA (B) were dredged to remove C. fluminea containing sediments in April 2009. Both plot locations were at 5 m water depth particle size distribution of Marla Bay and in the south-eastern portion of Lake Tahoe where C. fluminea populations Lakeside sediment types was determined using a have been established since 2002. wet sieve method (Gordon et al., 1992) and described using a Wentworth scale.