Effects of dilution on the benthos of an alkaline lake

✍ Scribed by T. Wiederholm

• Book ID: 104615002
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1980
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 659 KB
• Volume: 68
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1573-5141
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00018827

✦ Synopsis

Lake Lenore is a highly productive alkaline lake in the Lower Grand Coulee, Central Washington . Leakage of freshwater from nearby irrigation projects decreased the lake salinity from about 17 to 1 .5 g/ I during 1950-75 . The initial bottom fauna with mass occurrence of single halobiontic chironomid species was supplanted by more diverse communities at all depths . The species richness increased by 2-8 times . The greatest addition of new species was found in the salinity range of 2-3 g/ I . Concurrent increases in abundance and biomass suggest that the carrying capacity of the lake at higher salinities was not fully utilized by the benthos . A comparison with other eutrophic saline lakes indicates that benthic species composition and quantity is correlated with total salinity and ion composition .