Bottom fauna and littoral vegetation fauna in Lake Maarsseveen

Summary

The littoral vegetation starts its development only in June and reaches its highest expansion in autumn. By that time the organic debris from these plants starts to play an important role for detritivorous organisms. The quantitative development of the fauna in the littoral is highest in autumn and early winter. The bottom fauna in the hypolimnetic parts of the lake is less dependent of the season. The experiments with artificial plants have shown that most species are present when the littoral vegetation is absent. Owing to the absence of substrate in the form of vegetation with epiphyton as a major food resource the numbers in spring and early summer are low. The most productive invertebrate isDreissena polymorpha.