Synopsis
Following the introduction of roach, Rutilus rutilus, to a large eutrophic lake in ca. 1973, a subsequent increase in the abundance of this cyprinid through the 1970s was accompanied by a decline in the numbers of one of the lake&s most abundant overwintering waterfowl, the tufted duck, Aythya fuligula, and an increase in overwintering piscivorous great crested grebes, Podiceps cristatus. We suggest that these contrasting trends are causally related and that competition for benthos and increased prey availability are the mechanisms responsible for the changes in the tufted duck and grebe populations respectively. In agreement with these hypotheses, a reduction in the roach population during the mid 1980s was accompanied by a recovery of tufted ducks and a decline of grebes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Andersson, A. 1982. Competition between fishes and waterfowl. pp. 248–249. In: D.A. Scott (ed.) Managing Wetlands and their Birds, International Waterfowl Research Bureau, Slimbridge.
Andersson, G. 1981. Influence of fish on waterfowl in lakes. Anser 20: 21–34.
Andersson, G. 1984. The role of fish in lake ecosystems—and in limnology. Nordisk Limnologsymposium, Oslo: 189–197.
Andersson, G., H. Berggren, G. Cronberg & C. Gelin. 1978. Effects of planktivorous and benthivorous fish on organisms and water chemistry in eutrophic lakes. Hydrobiologia 59: 9–15.
Cragg-Hine, D. 1973. Coarse fish and fishery management in Northern Ireland. Proc. Brit. Coarse Fish. Conf. (6th), Univ. Liverpool: 52–59.
Cramp, S. & K.E.L. Simmons. 1977. The birds of the western Palearctic, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 720 pp.
Cryer, M., G. Peirson & C.R. Townsend. 1986. Reciprocal interactions between roach, Rutilus rutilus, and zooplankton in a small lake: prey dynamics and fish growth and recruitment. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31: 1022–1038.
Eadie, J. McA. & A. Keast. 1982. Do goldeneye and perch compete for food? Oecologia 55: 225–230.
Eriksson, M.O.G. 1979. Competition between freshwater fish and goldeneye Bucephala clangula (L.) for common prey. Oecologia 41: 99–107.
Gibson, C.E. 1986. Preliminary results on phytoplankton reduction in Lough Neagh — assessing the effect against a background of change. Hydrobiological Bulletin 20: 173–182.
Hill, D., R. Wright & M. Street. 1987. Survival of mallard ducklings Anas platyrhynchos and competition with fish for invertebrates on a flooded gravel quarry in England. Ibis 129: 159–167.
Hurlbert, S.H., W. Loayza & T. Moreno. 1986. Fish-flamingoplankton interactions in the Peruvian Andes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31: 457–468.
Johansson, L. & L. Persson. 1986. Planktivorous fish. pp. 237–266. In: B. Riemann & M. Sondergaard (ed.) Carbon Dynamics in Eutrophic Temperate Lakes, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.
Kennedy, G.J.A. & J.E. Greer. 1988. Predation by cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo (L.)) on the salmonid populations of an Irish river. Aquaculture and Fisheries Management 19: 159–170.
Kerekes, J.J. 1990. Possible correlation of summer loon population with the trophic state of a water body. Proceedings XIV Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, Munich (in press).
Lammens, E.H.R.R., H.W. de Nie & J. Vijverberg. 1985. Resource partitioning and niche shifts of bream (Abramis brama) and eel (Anguilla anguilla) mediated by predation of smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) on Daphnia hyalina. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42: 1342–1351.
Lammens, E.H.R.R. & W. Hoogenboezem 1991. Diets and feeding behaviour. pp. 353–376. In: I.J. Winfield & J.S. Nelson (ed.) Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation, Chapman & Hall. London.
Lazzaro, X. 1987. A review of planktivorous fishes: their evolution, feeding behaviours, selectivities, and impacts. Hydrobiologia 146: 97–167.
Owen, M., G.L. Atkinson-Willes & D.G. Salmon. 1986. Wildfowl in Great Britain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 613 pp.
Pehrsson, O. 1984. Relationships of food to spatial and temporal breeding strategies of mallard in Sweden. J. Wildlife Manag. 48: 322–339.
Persson, L., G. Andersson, S.F. Hamrin & L. Johansson. 1988. Predator regulation and primary production along the productivity gradient of temperature lake ecosystem. pp. 45–65. In: S.D. Carpenter (ed.) Complex Interactions in Lake Communities, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Smart, M.(ed.) 1976. Proceedings of the international conference on the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl, Heiligenhafen 1974. International Waterfowl Research Bureau, Slimbridge. 492 pp.
Winfield, D.K., R.D. Davidson & I.J. Winfield. 1989. Longterm trends (1965–1988) in the numbers of waterfowl overwintering on Lough Neagh and Lough Beg, Northern Ireland. Irish Birds 4: 19–42.
Winfield, I.J. & C.R. Towsend. 1991. The role of cyprinids in ecosystems. pp. 552–571. In: I.J. Winfield & J.S. Nelson (ed.) Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation, Chapman & Hall, London.
Winfield, I.J., C.M. Tobin & C.R. Montgomery. 1991. Ecological studies of the fish populations of Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland: a prelude to fisheries management. Proceedings of an Institute of Fisheries Management (Northern Ireland Branch) Study Course, University of Ulster (in press).
Wright, R. & M. Street. 1985. The influence of fish on the survival of wildfowl broods. Game Conservancy Annual Review 1985: 77–80.
Zaret, T M. 1980. Predation and freshwater communities. Yale University Press, New Haven. 187 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Winfield, I.J., Winfield, D.K. & Tobin, C.M. Interactions between the roach, Rutilus rutilus, and waterfowl populations of Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. Environ Biol Fish 33, 207–214 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002565
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002565