Applying Panarchy Theory to Aquatic Invasive Species Management: A Case Study on Invasive Rainbow SmeltOsmerus mordax

Synthesizing Professional Opinion and Published Science to Build a Conceptual Model of Walleye Recruitment

“…2007; Mrnak et al. 2022). Additionally, spring thermal conditions (e.g., warming rate, growing degree‐days; Hansen et al.…”

“…Among studies examining anthropogenic activity in the watershed (e.g., water clarity, Chu et al 2004;habitat modification, Jones et al 2006;human footprint, Gutowsky et al 2019;invasive species, Mercado-Silva et al 2007;Hansen et al 2020), negative correlations with Walleye recruitment were relatively consistent. However, exceptions were identified, such as variation in the influence of nonnative Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax on Walleye recruitment (i.e., Rainbow Smelt could hamper recruitment by preying on larval Walleye, but bolster recruitment by serving as prey for juveniles; Mercado-Silva et al 2007;Mrnak et al 2022). Additionally, spring thermal conditions (e.g., warming rate, growing degree-days; Hansen et al 1998;Beard et al 2003;Shaw et al 2018;Honsey et al 2020;Feiner et al 2022) and habitat quality (defined here as availability, substrate size, and macrophyte density; e.g., Hoyle et al 2012; see Supplement for details) were relatively consistent in their positive relationship with Walleye recruitment among recruitment studies.…”

Fisheries Volume 48 Number 4 April 2023

“…Among studies examining anthropogenic activity in the watershed (e.g., water clarity, Chu et al 2004 ; habitat modifi cation, Jones et al 2006 ;human footprint, Gutowsky et al 2019 ;invasive species, Mercado-Silva et al 2007 ;Hansen et al 2020 ), negative correlations with Walleye recruitment were relatively consistent. However, exceptions were identifi ed, such as variation in the infl uence of nonnative Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax on Walleye recruitment (i.e., Rainbow Smelt could hamper recruitment by preying on larval Walleye, but bolster recruitment by serving as prey for juveniles; Mercado-Silva et al 2007 ;Mrnak et al 2022 ). Additionally, spring thermal conditions (e.g., warming rate, growing degree-days; Hansen et al 1998 ;Beard et al 2003 ;Shaw et al 2018 ;Honsey et al 2020 ;Feiner et al 2022 ) and habitat quality (defi ned here as availability, substrate size, and macrophyte density; e.g., Hoyle et al 2012 ; see Supplement for details) were relatively consistent in their positive relationship with Walleye recruitment among recruitment studies.…”

Panarchy Suggests Why Management Mitigates Rather than Restores Ecosystems from Anthropogenic Impact

“…Panarchy, a branch of complexity science rooted in ecological resilience, has shown promise for managing ecological challenges such as large-scale terrestrial transitions in the Great Plains of North America (Garmestani et al, 2020), lake acidification (Angeler et al, 2021), ecosystem service provision (Winkler et al, 2022) and invasive species (Mrnak et al, 2022). Panarchy accounts for several features that influence the complexity of ecosystems and other systems of people and nature, such as their multiscale spatiotemporal organization, dynamic system structure at each scale (portrayed as nested adaptive cycles with four inherent phases: conservation, release, reorganization, growth), the interconnectedness of these scales and the ability of ecosystems to exist in alternative regimes, such as lakes in clear-water and turbid regimes (Gunderson and Holling, 2002;Allen et al, 2014).…”

“…Consider the example of a managed lake panarchy related to species invasions (Mrnak et al, 2022): In the conservation phase, inland fisheries invaded by rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) operate in a specific social-ecological systems regime in which nutrients, biomass and dynamic species interactions from phytoplankton (lowest panarchy level) to fish (highest level) influence ecosystem structure and function. In the reorganization phase ecosystem structure and function can be deliberately changed through management of rainbow smelt (e.g., reducing population stock), which may cause cascading effects to lower trophic levels.…”