Shrimp (Exopalaemon modestus) is one of the most important aquatic products and zooplankton predators in large freshwater lakes and reservoirs in subtropical China. Previous studies have revealed the biological characteristics and diets of E. modestus, while few studies studied the influences of this invertebrate predator on plankton dynamics in spring-summer. Here, we designed an outdoor microcosm experiment to compare the difference of nutrient levels and plankton communities under contrast shrimp scenarios (shrimp absent/present). The results showed that:1) E. modestus significantly reduced total nitrogen (TN) concentrations, while increased total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and thereby caused a decline in TN:TP ratios in spring. 2) The predation of E. modestus in spring significantly reduced the biomass of large-sized cladoceran-Daphnia pulex and the total zooplankton biomass. Meanwhile, D. pulex dominance in the zooplankton community was replaced by rotifers when E. modestus were present, which caused a decline in zooplankton size; 3) E. modestus significantly elevated chlorophyll-a concentrations, while no significant effect of E. modestus on phytoplankton community structure was observed. Our study suggests that in large lake and reservoir ecosystems, invertebrate predators such as E. modestus may affect plankton succession. Thus, more attention should be paid to spring plankton studies.