Assisted colonization of a regionally native predator impacts benthic invertebrates in fishless mountain lakes

The intentional introduction of native cold-water trout into high-elevation fishless lakes has been considered a tool to build resilience to climate change (i.e. assisted colonization); however, ecological impacts on recipient communities are understudied. The purpose of this study was to inform native cold-water trout recovery managers by assessing potential consequences of translocating a regionally native trout (westslope cutthroat trout; Oncorhynchus clarkii) into fishless mountain lakes. This study compared littoral benthic invertebrate richness, diversity, community structure, and density between three groups of lakes (fishless, native trout, nonnative trout) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. While richness and diversity were preserved across all lake groups, other lines of evidence suggested that the introduction of native westslope cutthroat trout into fishless lakes can alter littoral benthic invertebrate communities in similar ways as nonnative brook trout (Salvelinus fontinali...