Data from: Species' ecological functionality alters the outcome of fish stocking success predicted by a food-web model

Fish stocking is used worldwide in conservation and management but its effects on food-web dynamics and ecosystem stability are poorly known. To better understand these effects and predict the outcomes of stocking, we used an empirically validated network model of a well-studied lake ecosystem. We simulate two stocking scenarios with two native fish species valuable for fishing. In the first scenario, we stock planktivorous fish (whitefish) larvae in the ecosystem. This leads to 1% increase in adult whitefish biomasses and decreases the biomasses of the top predator (perch). In the second scenario, we also stock perch larvae in the ecosystem. This decreases the planktivorous whitefish and the oldest top predator age class biomasses, and destabilizes the ecosystem. Our results demonstrate that the effects of stocking depend on the species' position in the food web and thus cannot be assessed without considering interacting species. We further show that stocking can lead to undesired outcomes from both management and conservation perspectives. The gains of stocking can remain minor and have adverse effects on the entire ecosystem.Data of whitefish baseline stocking (Wht200)Daily biomasses of each trophic level in response to whitefish baseline stocking (Wht200) in the absence and presence of fishing.data200.txtData of increased whitefish stocking (Wht300)Daily biomasses of each trophic level in response to increased whitefish stocking (Wht300) in the absence and presence of fishing.data300.txtData of perch stocking (Wht300+Per50)Daily biomasses of each trophic level in response to perch stocking (Wht300+Per50) in the absence and presence of fishing.data300_50.txtCatch data of whitefish baseline stocking (Wht200)Catch biomasses of adult fish in response to whitefish baseline stocking (Wht200) in the absence and presence of fishing (1 = 2 year old whitefish, 2 = 3 year old whitefish, 3 = 4 year old whitefish, 4 = 2 year old perch, 5 = 3 year old perch, 6 = 4 year old perch).data200_C.txtCatch data of increased whitefish stocking (Wht300)Catch biomasses of adult fish in response to increased whitefish baseline (Wht300) in the absence and presence of fishing (1 = 2 year old whitefish, 2 = 3 year old whitefish, 3 = 4 year old whitefish, 4 = 2 year old perch, 5 = 3 year old perch, 6 = 4 year old perch).data300_C.txtCatch data of perch stocking (Wht300+Per50)Catch biomasses of adult fish in response to perch stocking (Wht300+Per50) in the absence and presence of fishing (1 = 2 year old whitefish, 2 = 3 year old whitefish, 3 = 4 year old whitefish, 4 = 2 year old perch, 5 = 3 year old perch, 6 = 4 year old perch).data300+50_C.tx