Can lake restoration by fish removal improve the status of profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages?

Summary Removal of fish to restore lake pelagic food webs and water quality has been shown to increase the abundance of benthic invertebrates in shallow areas due to decreased predation pressure, while responses of profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages are less well documented. We used multivariate analyses and a Before-After-Control-Impact design to assess the impacts of fish removal (in total 101 000 kg of percid and cyprinid fish) on profundal macroinvertebrate species composition and abundance and ecological status in two basins of a eutrophic boreal lake. In the deeper main basin, macroinvertebrate community composition and classification of ecological status were not affected by fis…