Effect of experimental lake acidification on crayfish Orconectes virilis population recruitment and age composition in north-western Ontario, Canada

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(93)90073-A

Biological Conservation

Volume 63, Issue 1, 1993, Pages 53-59

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90073-A Get rights and content

Abstract

The experimental acidification of a Canadian Shield lake to pH 5·6-5·1 caused a 36% reduction in crayfish Orconectes virilis egg production due to incomplete hardening of encasing capsules and direct embryo mortality. Laboratory studies suggested that such pH concentrations could also produce a mortality of 45% for two-week-old hatchlings. Together these factors exerted an additive mortality effect which superseded the compensatory ability of the population to adapt. This impaired recruitment produced an unbalanced age composition structure in comparison to those characterizing three populations inhabiting reference circumneutral lakes. To ensure the long-term survival of O. virilis populations it is necessary to maintain the annual average pH above 5·8. The ubiquitous distribution, polytrophic functional role, and notable sensitivity of O. virilis to low pH, suggests that this species could serve as a biomonitor of aquatic damage to anthropogenic acidification.

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Does natural acidity mediate interactions between introduced brown trout, native fish, crayfish and other invertebrates in West Coast New Zealand streams?
2006, Biological Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
Some crayfish species potentially have negative effects on the distribution of small benthic fishes through predation, competition for food and shelter (Guan and Wiles, 1997; Dorn and Mittelbach, 1999), but in the West Coast streams P. planifrons appeared to have few if any negative effects on the abundance of galaxiids. Tolerance to low pH varies a great deal among crayfish species within the Cambaridae (France, 1993; Seiler and Turner, 2004), whereas species of Astacidae are usually considered to be intolerant of acid water with pH < 5.5 (Nyström, 2002) and low calcium concentrations <2.0 mg/l (Naura and Robinson, 1998). However, in Tasmania Parastacoides tasmanicus and other species of Parastacidae live in highly acidic water (Williams, 1974; Newcombe, 1975).
The presence of introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) on the distribution of native crayfish (Paranephrops planifrons), native galaxiid fishes (Galaxias spp.) and invertebrate fauna was investigated in 18 West Coast New Zealand streams (8 with trout and 10 without trout) differing in chemical characteristics. Gut contents of trout, crayfish and eels were also examined to evaluate whether competition or predation could be linked to the patterns found. Abundances of crayfish and galaxiids were significantly lower in streams with trout, but in streams without trout, substrate size was one of the most important factors determining crayfish abundance. In contrast to crayfish, other macroinvertebrates were more abundant in trout streams than streams without trout and significantly more taxa were found in streams with trout. Macroinvertebrate abundance was related to environmental factors, such as pH, substrate, depth and total nitrogen. Gut content analysis showed an overlap in diet (mostly invertebrates) between trout and eels. Crayfish, however, had a more omnivorous diet where detritus was the most frequently occurring food material. Differences in chemical characteristics marked the streams with and without trout. Thus, trout were not present in streams with pH < 6.0. Crayfish and galaxiids were present in streams with pH ranging from 4.1 to 7.9, and those with pH < 6.0 may function as trout-free refuges where larger populations of these species may persist. However, other macroinvertebrate taxa may be more negatively affected by acidification than by trout. By protecting naturally acidic, brown water streams, New Zealand crayfish and galaxiid fish populations can be conserved within geographic areas where trout are present.
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Ecosystem consequences of potential range expansions of Orconectes virilis and Orconectes rusticus crayfish in Canada - A review
2009, Environmental Reviews
Influence of lake pH on the distribution, abundance and health of crayfish in Canadian Shield lakes
1993, Hydrobiologia

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Effect of experimental lake acidification on crayfish Orconectes virilis population recruitment and age composition in north-western Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Methods for assessing the benthos of acidifying lakes

Response of acid stress upon the oxygen uptake of eggs of the crayfish Astacus astacus L.

Early development of the crayfish Astacus astacus L. in acid water

Inst. Freshw. Res. Drott.

Use of macroinvertebrate life history information in toxicity tests

J. Fish. Res. Bd Can.

Population collapse of the crayfish Orconectes virilis in response to experimental whole-lake acidification

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

The rate of acidification of aquatic ecosystems in Ontario, Canada

Nature Lond.

Response of the crayfish Orconectus virilis to experimental acidification of a lake with special reference to the importance of calcium

Comparative tolerance to low pH of three life stages of the crayfish Orconectes virilis

Can. J. Zool.

Relationship of crayfish Orconectes virilis growth to population abundance and system productivity in small oligotrophic lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Preliminary investigation of the effects of sublethal acid exposure on the material behavior of the crayfish Orconectes virilis

Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.

Low pH avoidance by crayfish Orconectes virilis: evidence for sensory conditioning

Can. J. Zool.

Current status of methods of toxicological research on freshwater crayfish

Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Calcium and trace metal composition of the crayfish Orconectes virilis in relation to experimental lake acidification

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Reproductive impairment of the crayfish Orconectes virilis in response to experimental acidification of Lake 223

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

The North American latitudinal gradient in species richness and geographical range of freshwater amphipods and crayfish

Amer. Nat.

Increased microsporidian parasitism of the crayfish Orconectes virilis in an experimentally acidified lake

Water, Air & Soil Pollut.

Empirical hypothesis to explain the limited abundance of Hyalella azteca (Amphipoda) in anthropogenically acidified lakes

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

Influence of lake pH and macrograzers on the distribution and abundance of nuisance metaphytic algae

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.