Effects of the application of polyculture with grass carp to control aquatic vegetation in fishponds on their phytoplankton and macrozoobenthos

Abstract

Aquatic vegetation overgrowth is a serious problem for the fish farming. It is caused by combination of factors, such as rapid climate change, rising water temperatures and eutrophication. The excessive development of aquatic macrophytes prevents the use of the fish ponds for different purposes and threatens the structure and functioning of the aquatic communities. In our experiment, in ponds stocked with two-year-old grass carp the aquatic vegetation (mostly Ceratophyllum demersum L.) was successfully reduced. In this way grass carp remained without its natural food and the improvement of the light regime in the ponds led to bloom of phytoplankton and changes in the species composition, which created a rich natural food base for the hybrid silver carp. High concentrations of orthophosphates at the beginning of the experimental period coincided with the high rate of development of aquatic macrophytes. Afterwards, during the period of intense phytoplankton blooms their concentrations decreased, presumably due to the increased consumption by algae. The removal of macrophytes led to high abundance of macrobenthic organisms (more chironomids and less oligochates).

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