Density-dependent effects of exotic brook trout on freshwater zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities in mountain lakes - Open access data

Exotic invasion of non-native fishes threatens freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Yet, detailed estimates of population demography for invasive species, that integrate estimates of population size and body size of the invasive species, are rarely integrated in evaluating aquatic community responses. Our study capitalized on detailed brook trout population demographic data collected for a replicated whole lakes ecosystem experiment involving experimental harvesting of exotic brook trout in nine mountain lakes. We applied morphological taxonomy and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to examine the response of crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities to gradients in brook trout effective density and lake elevation. Density-dependent effects of brook trout on crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities were detected even decades after their first introductions (between 1926 and 1980). However, they were moderated by environmental factors such as elevation, lake maximum depth and dissolved organic carbon. Elevation was important in structuring crustacean zooplankton and macroinvertebrate community composition. While there were differences in explanatory variables when describing communities characterized by morphological enumeration and eDNA metabarcoding, the principal driving environmental factors structuring the communities were similar. Our paper highlights persisting impacts of exotic trout on invertebrate communities even decades after first introduction.