Effects of the Spawning Migration of the Alewife, Alosa Pseudoharengus, on Freshwater Ecosystems

Abstract

The influx of large numbers of alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, into relatively small freshwater systems may have a considerable impact upon pre—established food chains and nutrient cycles. We estimate the total nutrient input to Pausacaco Pond, Rhode Island, USA, from alewives amounted to 0.43 g P, 2.7 g N, and 16.8 g/Cm 2 over a 2—mo period. This is largely through mortality of the spawning fish, and to a lesser extent through excretion. These inputs were much greater than the eventual nutrient loss to the system through emigration of juvenile fish. In tank experiments using pond microcosms, the initial response to the addition of the fish was a large phytoplankton bloom and an increase in litter respiration. The phytoplankton bloom was short—lived, and the most lasting effort was an increase in production and respiration in the leaf litter. This increased production in the litter community would support a long lasting supply of insect and benthic invertebrate food for young fish. The respiration rate of autumn leaves incubated in alewife streams during the migration was significantly higher than that of leaves incubated simultaneously in a stream which had no alewife run. Respiration rates of leaves incubated in the same streams before the arrival of alewives did not differ significantly. The increase in litter respiration, an indication of microbial and invertebrate activity on the leaf surface, was attributed to the additional nutrients supplied by the fish.