Effects of a native crayfish (Orconectes virilis) on the reproductive success and nesting behavior of sunfish (Lepomis spp.)

While crayfish are traditionally considered fish prey, they are capable of feeding on substrate-bound fish eggs and their introductions have been blamed for the decline in fish populations in Europe and North America. To investigate their potential effects on fish reproductive success we measured the effects of a native crayfish (Orconectes virilis) on the reproductive success of two substrate-nesting sunfish, pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), in replicated pond experiments. Crayfish were observed feeding on eggs in both experiments. Crayfish presence delayed successful reproduction by pumpkinseeds in densely vegetated ponds, resulting in lower young-of-the-year biomass in ponds with crayfish. In the second experiment, with bluegills in less-vegetated ponds, crayfish prevented successful reproduction entirely. However, when we added crayfish-proof exclosures to the crayfish ponds late in the summer, bluegills located the crayfish-free habitat and successfully reproduced inside the exclosures (1 month after first successful reproduction in control ponds). The results of these experiments demonstrate the potential strong negative effects of crayfish on sunfish reproduction and suggest that the spatial distribution of crayfish and other egg predators may influence fish nesting behaviors and habitat choices. Further studies are needed to determine the magnitude of crayfish effects in natural lakes and ponds where sunfish and crayfish co-occur.