-Piscivorous fishes -eg Lake Trout, Bass, Pike, Walleye, Musky
-Zooplanktivorous minnows, Small fish, Crayfish, Frogs, Daphnia Shrimp, -Invertebrate and Larvae (Mayflys etc)
-Phytoplankton, Benthos & Zooplankton
-Plants, Nutrients
Suppose that a lake was suffering a collapse at the top of the food chain.
Predatory fish such as Lake Trout, Bass, Walleye, Pike dying off.
You are given the choice to rejuvenate the lake via several options.
Option 1
Introduce feed directly to the Lake Trout and top predators... just dump
millions of minnows directly into the lake...
OR
Option 2
Solve the issue why the plants and plankton were dying off, reduce
toxins into the lake, reduce nutrient loading, then re-introduce plankton
and allow the shrimp, invertebrates to recover, providing a natural source
of food for the minnows and top predator fishes.
I think it is obvious that Populations will naturally balance if the
rejuvenation of the lake started at the bottom of the food chain. If the fix is started at the top, then the success will be short lived indeed.
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Economic Analogy - the Banks and Auto Makers are the top predatory fish. Consumers are in the food chain as minnows, supplying income to the banks and Auto companies.
Our jobs feed us, so are the Daphnia shrimp and invertebrates. Jobs are disappearing - so the banks are in trouble because the minnows are getting skinny and defaultin.
The US has chosen to dole buckets of minnows into the lake to assist the top predators, banks and car companies. Further, they decided that even though the Walleye (Japanese car company) is more efficient than the pike at catching minnows, we would feed the Pike but not the Walleye.
An alternative would have been to start at the bottom of the food chain, reduce taxes, allow consumers to pay down their mortgages with their RRSP or IRAs, then the banks would not have had all the defaults, people could afford to buy the new car- and so it goes. And the walleye would displace the pike eventually - because they are more efficient.
Natural order anyone??
