The effect of filter feeding fish on water quality in irrigation reservoirs

doi:10.1016/0378-3774(92)90044-W

Agricultural Water Management

Volume 22, Issue 4, December 1992, Pages 369-378

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-3774(92)90044-W Get rights and content

Abstract

The effect of filter feeding fishes, silver carp: Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, bighead carp: Aristichthys nobilis, and a hybrid of these two species on water quality in irrigation reservoirs has been studied by means of field surveys and enclosures experiments. The concentration of particles that are liable to clog an irrigation system was reduced in the reservoirs that were stocked with filter feeding fish. The filter feeding fish reduced the concentration of filamentous algae, prevented bluegreen algae blooms, and also reduced the concentration of zooplankton, mainly of copepoda and cladocera in the reservoirs.

Experiments in enclosures indicated that the concentration of chlorophyll-a was not always reduced in the presence of the filter feeding fish, but that the alga population was shifted to a smaller sized species. Blooms of bluegreen algae occurred only in the enclosures without fish. During periods of bloom, the corresponding concentration of chlorophyll-a was also significantly higher in the enclosures without filter feeding fish. Zooplankton concentration in the enclosures with no fish was much higher (up to 10 times or higher) as compared to those enclosures with filter feeding fish. In general, the presence of filter feeding fish improved the quality of irrigation water by the removal of large suspended particles.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (4)

Relationships between clogging in irrigation systems and plankton community structure and distribution in wastewater reservoirs
2014, Agricultural Water Management
Citation Excerpt :
Strong selective predation by many species of fish was reported to reduce the amounts of the larger zooplankton (copepods and cladocerans) changing population structure towards smaller species (e.g.: Barthelmes, 1989; de Bernardi et al., 1987; Domaizon & Devaux, 1999; Iglesias et al., 2008, 2011; Lazzaro et al., 1992; Leventer and Teltsch, 1990; Ludwig, 1989; Milstein et al., 1985). Fish predation as a biomanipulation management tool in Israel is practiced with success in drinking water and some irrigation reservoirs (Leventer, 1979; Rothbard, 2008; Sagi, 1992), including part of those in the IWWA monitoring program. However, most irrigation reservoirs in the country store treated wastewater, and environmental conditions in those waters may not be always appropriate for fish life.
The development of large populations of cladocerans and copepods in reservoirs that store wastewater for crop irrigation causes severe clogging in irrigation systems. In most reservoirs in Israel water is filtered at the banks of the reservoirs before being sent to irrigation. This avoids/reduces clogging in the irrigation systems transferring the problem to the storage reservoirs. To cope with this problem we studied relationships between clogging and particle size distribution in a range of secondarily treated wastewater reservoirs with different characteristics and water management. Since the reservoirs are deep and thermal stratification develops, measurements of the time required to clog 100 μm pore net filters and samples for physico-chemical and microscopic analyses were collected in the surface, deep epilimnion and hypolimnion. Factor analysis allowed identifying two independent sets of environmental conditions and planktonic species that lead to clogging of irrigation filters. The first set is related to thermal stratification and the development of a planktonic community with a complex web of feeding interactions in which the organisms capable of clogging filters are mainly copepods. The second set occurs in spring and fall, and includes planktonic organisms forming a short food chain in which the organisms capable of clogging filters are mainly cladocerans. A third factor was organic loading, mostly related to the entrance of fresh wastewater into the reservoirs during the irrigation season, which had a negative effect on nitrification and promoted blue green algae development and copepod reproduction. The analysis of potential management procedures to avoid filter clogging indicates that in these reservoirs manipulations of food web interactions in the planktonic community structure towards smaller organisms that do not clog filters would not be effective against copepods. A better option to decrease clogging events is to avoid pumping water out from the deep epilimnion, preferably pumping from the hypolimnion.
A dozen fish: some exotic invasive species found in Brazilian waters and their impacts
2023, Ciencia Animal Brasileira
Impact of silver and bighead carp (Cyprinidae) on plankton and water quality in fish ponds
1998, Biologia
Silver carp biomass effects on the plankton community in paranoá reservoir (Brazil) and an assessment of its potential for improving water quality in lacustrine environments
1998, International Review of Hydrobiology

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Agricultural Water Management

Abstract

References (21)

Food habits and growth of silver carp and bighead carp in cages and ponds

Aquaculture

Food web manipulation without nutrient control: a useful strategy in lake restoration?

Schweiz. Z. Hydrol.

Condition for effective biomanipulation: conclusions derived from wholelake experiments in Europe

Feeding of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val). and Aristichthys nobilis (Val). in natural water of Soviet Union

Irrigation with treated sewage effluent

Biomanipulation: retrospective and future development

Biomanipulation in The Netherlands in freshwater ecosystem and estuarine water, an introduction

Hydrobiol. Bull.

Control of phosphorus loading and flushing as restoration method for lake Veluwe, The Netherlands

Hydrobiol. Bull.

Fish manipulation as a lake restoration tool in shallow eutrophic temperate lakes, 1: cross analysis of three Danish case-studies

The contribution of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix to the biological control of reservoirs

Cited by (4)

Relationships between clogging in irrigation systems and plankton community structure and distribution in wastewater reservoirs

A dozen fish: some exotic invasive species found in Brazilian waters and their impacts

Impact of silver and bighead carp (Cyprinidae) on plankton and water quality in fish ponds

Silver carp biomass effects on the plankton community in paranoá reservoir (Brazil) and an assessment of its potential for improving water quality in lacustrine environments