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The impact of zooplankton status on the management of Lake Kinneret (Israel)

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Abstract

Monthly averages of standing stock wet biomass of zooplankton in Lake Kinneret (Israel) varied between 11 and 76 g m−2 during 1969–1981, with the exception of two months. Averaged contributions of different groups were: Cladocera 58%, Copepoda 35% and Rotifera 7%. Total standing crop wet biomass is highest during January–June, averages varied between 35 and 50 g m−2, and decreases during summer–fall (23–36 g m−2). The winter biomass of Cladocera fluctuated between 22 and 35 g m−2 and dropped to a range of 9–23 g m−2 in summer, whereas copepod biomass varied very little around an average of 18 g (ww) m−2 with the exception of low values from April to June. The stock biomass of Rotifera is relatively high during winter floods season (December-March) whilst in summer it is very low.

Young stages of fish in Lake Kinneret feed mostly on zooplankton and zoobenthic forms. The most abundant fish in the Kinneret ecosystem, Mirogrex terraesanctae terraesanctae, also feed on zooplankton at the adult stage throughout the year, and herbivorous fish consume zooplankton during the summer when lake plankton resources are limited.

The summer ecosystem of Lake Kinneret is characterised as a ‘steady state’ type, in which the impact of the zooplankton-chain is of great importance. Increase of predation pressure on zooplankton by fish can disequilibrate the balanced trophic relations existing between nannoplankton production and zooplankton grazing capacity. Such a situation can lead to organics accumulation as nannoplankton blooms, resulting in water quality deterioration. Management options aimed at preventing collapse of zooplankton populations are discussed.

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  1. Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, P.O. Box 345, 14102, Tiberias, Israel

    M. Gophen

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Gophen, M. The impact of zooplankton status on the management of Lake Kinneret (Israel). Hydrobiologia 113, 249–258 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00026613

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