Roland Knapp DEB 0075448 and Orlando Sarnelle DEB 0075509
Collaborative Research: Recovery of Ecosystem Structure and Function Following Exotic Species Eradication
The proposed research examines how ecosystems respond, not to invasion, but to the elimination of an exotic species. Specifically, this proposal examines the recovery of alpine lake systems in the Sierra Nevada, California, after the eradication of exotic trout. The PI's will ask whether vertebrate and invertebrate species native to alpine lakes return after the removal of exotic fish. A long-term whole-lake experiment will be used in which exotic fish have been successfully removed from three experimental lakes, while fish stocking continues in three control lakes. Monitoring of faunal assemblages in these six lakes, monitoring begun in 1996 before fish eradication, will continue in order to determine the rate of recovery and to better understand the life history attributes of species that facilitate or hinder recovery. The PI's will also ask how changes in species assemblages influence the functioning of alpine lake ecosystems. They will continue limnological monitoring of the whole-lake experiment to evaluate changes in nutrients and algal biomass following fish removal. The results of this study have important implications for the restoration of aquatic ecosystems worldwide.
