Friday March 3, 2023
PhysOrg —
Biodiversity is declining rapidly. Many conservation actions focus on single species. An alternative approach is to comprehensively improve ecological processes and habitats, thereby supporting entire species communities. This so-called ecosystem-based management is however rarely implemented because it is costly. There is also a lack of evidence that ecosystem-based habitat management is more effective than obvious alternatives, such as releasing animals to enhance stocks.
A research team based in Berlin, in close cooperation with numerous angling clubs organized in the Angler Association of Lower Saxony, has presented a groundbreaking study. Scientists and practitioners worked together to conduct a set of whole-lake experiments and assess the outcomes of ecosystem-based habitat enhancement versus fish stocking in 20 gravel pit lakes over a period of six years.
In some of the lakes, additional shallow water zones were created. In other lakes, coarse wood bundles were added to enhance structural diversity. Other study lakes were stocked with five fish species of interest to fisheries; unmanipulated lakes served as controls. The study was based on a sample of more than 150,000 fish.