Differential effects of freshwater browning across fish species: consequences for individual‐ to community‐level fish traits in north temperate lakes

The browning of freshwater ecosystems is increasingly evident in temperate and northern regions, with widespread ramifications for lake physics, chemistry, and biology. Contrasting results on how freshwater browning may impact fish have been reported, but there has been no comprehensive examination of how browning may cause cascading effects on individual- to population- to community-level traits of freshwater fishes. We addressed this knowledge gap by summarizing the existing literature and conducting a series of original analyses to: (i) explore the effects of a brown water gradient on populations of eight economically important species of fish across 871 lakes; and (ii) examine how a brown water gradient may influence community trait compositions across 303 lakes. From our literature synthesis, we found that fish growth is often negatively associated with browner waters, despite browning generally showing no effect on fish foraging. We also demonstrated that browner waters had greater abundances of northern pike (Esox lucius) and walleye (Sander vitreus), but lower numbers of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (M. dolomieu), and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). Moreover, we showed that fish communities were significantly more likely to contain species with larger eyes in browner lakes. Lastly, we examined relationships between various metrics of browning (i.e. dissolved organic carbon, Secchi transparency, water colour) and present a framework for how the effects of freshwater browning on fish may scale from individuals to populations to communities.

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Journal
Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
Published
2025-09-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70074
Primary Topic
Fish Ecology and Management Studies
Type
article
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article

Differential effects of freshwater browning across fish species: consequences for individual‐ to community‐level fish traits in north temperate lakes

Marco A. Rodríguez, Allison M. Roth, Andrew J. Tanentzap, Kristin Scharnweber et al.
Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
Fish Ecology and Management Studies
article

Differential effects of freshwater browning across fish species: consequences for individual‐ to community‐level fish traits in north temperate lakes

Marco A. Rodríguez, Allison M. Roth, Andrew J. Tanentzap, Kristin Scharnweber, Cristina Charette, Magnus Huss, Sandra Klemet‐N'Guessan, Gregor F. Fussmann, Jean‐François Lapierre, Christer Brönmark, Fernando Chaguaceda, Alison Margaret Derry, Sapna Sharma, Kaj Hulthén, Christopher T. Solomon, Mehdi Moslemi-Aqdam, Andrew P. Hendry, Jan Karlsson, Irene Gregory‐Eaves, Jérémy André Fonvielle, Renee M. van Dorst, Vincent Fugère, Peter Eklöv, Beatrix E. Beisner, Matilda Andersson, Michelle Gros, Joe Sánchez Schacht
article en

Abstract

The browning of freshwater ecosystems is increasingly evident in temperate and northern regions, with widespread ramifications for lake physics, chemistry, and biology. Contrasting results on how freshwater browning may impact fish have been reported, but there has been no comprehensive examination of how browning may cause cascading effects on individual- to population- to community-level traits of freshwater fishes. We addressed this knowledge gap by summarizing the existing literature and conducting a series of original analyses to: (i) explore the effects of a brown water gradient on populations of eight economically important species of fish across 871 lakes; and (ii) examine how a brown water gradient may influence community trait compositions across 303 lakes. From our literature synthesis, we found that fish growth is often negatively associated with browner waters, despite browning generally showing no effect on fish foraging. We also demonstrated that browner waters had greater abundances of northern pike (Esox lucius) and walleye (Sander vitreus), but lower numbers of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (M. dolomieu), and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). Moreover, we showed that fish communities were significantly more likely to contain species with larger eyes in browner lakes. Lastly, we examined relationships between various metrics of browning (i.e. dissolved organic carbon, Secchi transparency, water colour) and present a framework for how the effects of freshwater browning on fish may scale from individuals to populations to communities.

Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical SocietyVol. 101(1)
Uppsala University (SE), Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE), University of Waterloo (CA), Université du Québec à Montréal (CA), University of Potsdam (DE), Lund University (SE), York University (CA), Linnaeus University (SE), University of Cambridge (GB), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (US), University Hospital of Umeå (SE), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (DE), ABS Consulting (United States) (US), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), P-D Refractories (Germany) (DE), McGill University (CA), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CA), Trent University (CA), Université de Montréal (CA), Wilfrid Laurier University (CA), University of Missouri (US), Umeå University (SE)
National Science Foundation, Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie, Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Fish Ecology and Management Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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