Tuesday, June 5, 2007
512

Macroinvertebrate communities of fishless lakes in Maine

Emily G. Schilling, Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5755, Cynthia S. Loftin, USGS-Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, and Alex D. Huryn, Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, 2620 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.

The aim of this study was to describe macroinvertebrate communities inhabiting naturally fishless lakes in Maine, and to determine if these communities are unique compared to similar lakes (e.g., size, location, max depth) containing fish. Additionally, we identified species indicating fish absence to enable rapid identification of fishless lakes. We sampled macroinvertebrates in 34 lakes in Maine (16 fishless, 18 fish-containing) using submerged light traps and plankton tows. We found fishless lake macroinvertebrate communities to be more speciose and have higher absolute abundances of most taxa. Notonectidae, Chaoboridae, Dytiscidae, Corixidae, and Gyrinidae assemblages were most distinct between the two lake types, with some taxa being unique to fishless lakes. We also found regional differences in fishless lake macroinvertebrate communities between high elevation lakes in western Maine and low elevation kettle lakes in eastern Maine. Our results highlight the unique characteristics of Maine’s fishless lake invertebrate communities, and demonstrate that permanent fishless lakes provide habitat for a unique suite of organisms that thrive in the absence of fish predation.

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