Intra-annual variation of zooplankton community structure and dynamics in response to the changing strength of bio-manipulation with two planktivorous fishes

Abstract Zooplankton is widely used in indicating environmental changes and energy flow efficiency in aquatic ecosystems. Species composition and body size spectrum of zooplankton assemblage are sensitive to the changes of physico-chemical variability and fish feeding stress, and thus have in turn a prime bearing on water quality and cultured fishes. To study the response of zooplankton community to the introduction of planktivorous carps, monthly surveys were conducted in 2015 at six traditionally monitored locations in Miyun Reservoir, the unique surface drinking water of Beijing. There was a decrease in species richness, diversity, density and biomass, suggesting simplification of the community structure. Species diversity, density, and biomass declined significantly through the growth season, illustrating the great pressure imposed on the zooplankton. Regression and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed low relationships between community traits and environmental variables. Zooplankton biomass had a significantly negative relationship with the stocking intensity of the filter-feeding carp. The different responses of the subgroups of Protozoa, Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda indicated that they responded differently to environmental stress. Seasonal variations in the density and biomass of the four subgroups and biomass size spectrum (BSS) indicated that planktons with medium and large body sizes were more sensitive and suffered more stress from the filter-feeding carp. The filter feeding by the silver and bighead carp disrupted the natural equilibrium of the zooplankton community, decreased diversity and stocks, altered the seasonal dynamics of all quantitative traits and suppressed the dominance of medium- and large-sized species or functional groups. The impacts of the fishery mode and the responses of different functional groups of zooplankton must be considered in ecological assessments and biomanipulation studies based on the zooplankton community structure and dynamics.