Recruitment and Trophic Dynamics of Gizzard Shad

Abstract

The previous chapter provides one example of ways in which ecosystems can be managed via the deliberate manipulation of food webs. In this chapter, we develop a model of the addition of piscivorous (fish-eating) predators to a system in order to enhance water quality by reducing algal biomass. These effects are obtained when predators diminish, for example, planktivore biomass, which in turn increase zooplankton production. Increased numbers of zooplankton then result in lower numbers of algae, which increases water quality for human uses.

The exquisite manipulation of the master gives to each atom of the multitude its own character and expression. Ruskin Modern Painters, Modern Painters, 1843, J.M. Dent, London (1995) ii. iii. ii. Sect. 10.