• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4 s.92
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• pp.319-327
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• 2000

The feeding behavior of 1-year-old silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.) on phytoplankton species in a shallow hypertrophic lake was studied from 22 May to 18 September, 1997. Over the experimental period, the filter-pore sizes of the fish, the total biomass of the phytoplankton and the water temperature in each enclosure changed little with time. The fish biomass in each enclosure increased with time, while their percentage of weight gain correlated negatively to the stocking density, due perhaps to competition for prey. An analysis of gut contents of silver carp showed a strong similarity between the algal communities in the foregut and the water, and was significant for the fish enclosure with a low density (p<0.05). The presence of silver carp rarely suppressed the abundance of phytoplankton such as Oscillatoria, Anabaena and Melosira even at high ingestion levels. There were weak relationships between the IU values of each phytoplankton and the selectivity of fish on them (r = 0.001, p>0.5). There was no doubt that the silver carp fed unselectively when cyanobacteria populations were high, even though the selectivity index for diatoms was slightly higher than those for cyanobacteria, green algae and cryptomonads. Improvements in methodologies are needed to clearly understand and generalize the feeding behavior of silver carp.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4 s.92
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• pp.358-365
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• 2000

To evaluate the influences of stocking and removal of silver carp on plankton communities and physicochemical parameters, fish biomanipulation was conducted in six enclosures constructed on the coast of a hypertrophic lake during the summer of 1997. Of these, three enclosures were established for the fish-stocking experiment; one fishless enclosure used as a control and two enclosures with high and low densities of fish. The other three enclosures for the fish-removal experiment were prepared in an entirely converse process compared to that for fish stocking. The results of randomized intervention analysis (${\alpha}=0.05$) showed significant changes in several physicochemical parameters and plankton communities after fish stocking and removal. Fish stocking decreased water transparency, DO, pH and chi-a (> $40\;{\mu}m$), while increasing the concentration of nitrogen and chi-a (<$2\;{\mu}m$). However, water transparency did not increase by fish removal. Small plankton communities, such as picocyanobacteria, eukaryotic picoplankton and ciliates (<$2\;{\mu}m$) showed significant reciprocal changes after both fish treatments: increase by the presence of fish and decrease by the absence of fish. No count of large sized phytoplankton and zooplankton showed significant change in the presence of fish, while large zooplankton, Diaphanosoma, Cyclopida and nauplii were significantly increased by fish removal. Although the frequent heavy-winds and endless supply of phosphorus from the lake sediment strongly disturbed the fish behavior and enclosure management, the stocking and removal of silver carp showed an obvious reciprocal influences on plankton communities and its physico-chemical parameters in a shallow-hypertrophic lake.