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<p>Coarse woody habitat (CWH) is a structural element within lakes, and its presence/absence, abundance, and complexity have distinct influences in food webs. Stable isotopes, δ13C and δ15N, allow insight into trophic positioning, habitat use, and allochthonous contributions to fishes. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact design, we tested for isotopic shifts in the fish community after adding 140 trees to Sanford Lake, Wisconsin (treatment system) relative to an unmanipulated reference system. Our results indicated δ13C did not change after CWH addition, although weakly significant shifts were observed for yellow perch (<i>Perca flavescens</i>) and walleye (<i>Sander vitreus</i>). Isotopic shifts observed for <i>P. flavescens</i> and <i>S. vitreus</i> were due to changes in our reference system. δ15N signatures did not change after CWH addition. We hypothesize that ecological hysteresis driven by natural allochthonous-dominated inputs to the treatment system, slow isotopic turnover, and legacy δ13C may have masked any δ13C shifts. Since CWH addition did not introduce novel prey items or shift consumer-resource linkages, it was unlikely that δ15N would shift. Although our results suggested no major isotopic changes, our findings also suggest that more research is needed at lower trophic levels and over a longer period to understand fish community isotopic dynamics resulting from CWH manipulations.</p>

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Coarse woody habitat addition minimally influences isotopic signatures of a north-temperate lake fish community

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月3日

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  • Willem T. Stoll,
  • Joseph T. Mrnak,
  • Taylor N. Preul-Stimetz,
  • Stephanie L. Shaw,
  • Greg G. Sass

摘要

Coarse woody habitat (CWH) is a structural element within lakes, and its presence/absence, abundance, and complexity have distinct influences in food webs. Stable isotopes, δ13C and δ15N, allow insight into trophic positioning, habitat use, and allochthonous contributions to fishes. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact design, we tested for isotopic shifts in the fish community after adding 140 trees to Sanford Lake, Wisconsin (treatment system) relative to an unmanipulated reference system. Our results indicated δ13C did not change after CWH addition, although weakly significant shifts were observed for yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and walleye (Sander vitreus). Isotopic shifts observed for P. flavescens and S. vitreus were due to changes in our reference system. δ15N signatures did not change after CWH addition. We hypothesize that ecological hysteresis driven by natural allochthonous-dominated inputs to the treatment system, slow isotopic turnover, and legacy δ13C may have masked any δ13C shifts. Since CWH addition did not introduce novel prey items or shift consumer-resource linkages, it was unlikely that δ15N would shift. Although our results suggested no major isotopic changes, our findings also suggest that more research is needed at lower trophic levels and over a longer period to understand fish community isotopic dynamics resulting from CWH manipulations.