Do rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) invasions affect water clarity in north temperate lakes?

Long‐term macrophyte and snail community responses to population declines of invasive rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus)

“…More long‐term studies like ours are needed to reveal whether community or ecosystem recovery is common after natural declines of invasive species and if the length of these press disturbances dictates the degree or timing of recovery. These studies may also need to include more community members or ecosystem processes than we considered, as F. rusticus population declines could have complex, indirect effects on native crayfishes, fish populations, or water quality (Maezono et al, 2005, but see Szydlowski, Daniels, & Larson, 2022). However, if ecosystem recovery following natural invader declines is common, then the effects of some invasive species may be alleviated over long periods of time regardless of the duration of high invader abundance (Dostál et al, 2013; Strayer et al, 2017).…”

“…F. rusticus was introduced to northern Wisconsin during the 1960s and spread between lakes through human vectors such as bait buckets or other intentional release (Capelli & Magnuson, 1983; Puth & Allen, 2005). Since its initial introduction, F. rusticus has become the most common crayfish (by occurrence records) in Wisconsin (Olden et al, 2006), and its impacts have been intensively studied in this region (Hansen, Vander Zanden, et al, 2013; McCarthy et al, 2006; Olsen et al, 1991; Szydlowski, Daniels, & Larson, 2022; Wilson et al, 2004). Crayfishes in eight of our 10 study lakes were originally sampled in the 1970s as part of an expansive survey of 67 Vilas County lakes, and the crayfish portion of our community dataset (1987–2020) is an extension of that original sampling (Capelli & Magnuson, 1983).…”