Methods

Adult rusty crayfish were trapped in August of 2001 and from June-August of 2002-2011 using Gee-style minnow traps modified by widening the openings and baited with beef liver or frozen fish following (Capelli and Magnuson 1983). Between 30-313 (mean=149) traps were set at 43 sites around the perimeter of the lake at the 1 m depth contour, with higher concentrations of traps in locations of higher crayfish abundance (Hein et al. 2007). Traps were emptied daily from 2001-2003 and every 1-4 days from 2004-2011 as catch rates declined. From 2001-2008 all trapped rusty crayfish were removed, and all native virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis) were released. From 2009-2011 trapping continued but all crayfish were released. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) of each crayfish species is used as an index of adult crayfish abundance, and was calculated daily (total crayfish caught/total trap days).
Capelli G.M. and Magnuson J.J. (1983) Morphoedaphic and Biogeographic Analysis of Crayfish Distribution in Northern Wisconsin. J. Crustacean Biol., 3, 548-564
Hein C.L., Vander Zanden M.J. and Magnuson J.J. (2007) Intensive trapping and increased fish predation cause massive population decline of an invasive crayfish. Freshwater Biol., 52, 1134-1146

Methods

To control for sampling methodology and allow comparisons among native and invasive species, we only included data where both invasive and native species from a taxonomic group were sampled using the same methods across multiple sites. Exceptions were made to include rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) in its native range and zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) data. Native rusty crayfish data were obtained from (Jezerinac 1982). Zebra mussel data were mainly obtained from a meta-analysis (Naddafi et al. 2011) which compiled data from 55 European and 13 North American sites from 1959-2004. Additional densities from North America were compiled from multiple primary literature sources (Table S3). All zebra mussel records were presented as number per m2 and are from their invaded range; we did not include native mussel data.Crayfish data were obtained from multiple sources. Crayfish were collected in Wisconsin, USA during summers of 2002-2010 from lakes in the Northern Highlands Lake District following their protocol for crayfish collection. Crayfish were sampled in Wisconsin streams tributary to Lake Michigan from 2007-2010 using 10 gee-style minnow traps per site baited with chicken livers and set overnight. Swedish crayfish were sampled using 30 minnow traps baited with frozen fish in lakes and streams of southern Sweden from 2001-2003 as described in (Nystrom et al. 2006). Washington crayfish were collected from 100 lakes in the Puget Sound Lowlands region of Washington State, USA between 2007 and 2009 from mid-June to early October of each year. At each lake, the investigators set 20 minnow traps baited with fish-based dog food. Traps were deployed in four clusters of five traps each and recovered the following day. All crayfish densities are presented as number per trap per day, with the exception of native range rusty crayfish data, which were reported as number per site (Jezerinac 1982) and excluded from all comparisons that depend on sampling units.Wisconsin fish data were collected from streams throughout the state from 2005-2010 using either a backpack or towboat electrofisher with pulsed DC current in wadeable (less than1m depth) streams for a minimum of 15 minutes. For Wisconsin trout species, locations sampled within 10 years following a stocking event of that species were excluded. Lamprey data were collected from 2008-2010 from Great Lakes tributaries using backpack electrofishers following standardized methods as a part of the sea lamprey assessment program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. North American fish densities are presented as number per minute of sampling. Swedish fish data were collected using backpack electrofishing between 1980 and 2010 from streams in Vasterbotten county, northern Sweden, and were obtained from the Swedish Electrofishing REgister (SERS), www.fiskeriverket.se, and are reported as number per 100 m of stream.Snail data were collected in 2006 from lakes in the Northern Highlands Lake District in Wisconsin as described by (Solomon et al. 2010), and densities are presented as number per two m2. Aquatic plant data were collected using a systematic grid-based point-intercept sampling methodology to record macrophyte frequency of occurrence in 242 Wisconsin lakes from 2005-2008. Aquatic plant presence absence was recorded from a boat using a double-sided rake sampler at each point on a sampling grid as described in (Mikulyuk et al. 2010). Density data are presented as proportion of sites within lake littoral zone where a species was present.For all data, if multiple records existed from the same location, we used the most recent record. If replicate samples existed within the same site on the same sampling date, the mean value was used.

Methods

Rainbow smelt were sampled from Crystal Lake to obtain age and growth estimates. Samples were taken using vertical gillnets and beach seines during late July and early August of 2009. Annual growth was estimated using sectioned sagittal otoliths from 25 individuals spanning the observed length range (31–164 mm). Otoliths were mounted in epoxy and a transverse section was removed using a low-speed saw. Annual growth estimates were measured along a radius from the origin to the edge oriented perpendicular to annual growth rings. Age-specific length was estimated using the biological intercept method of back-calculation. The biological intercept was calculated by applying the average rainbow smelt otolith radius at time of hatch, to our observed linear relationship of natural-log-transformed total otolith radius and total fish length. Of the 25 individuals aged using otoliths, 5 were YOYs. As a result, annual growth was only back-calculated using the 20 older individuals. Weight at age was determined from back-calculated lengths using a weight–length relationship derived from 100 individuals captured during late July and early August of 2009.