Abstract
The community of animals living on the lake bottom, the benthic fauna, is a complex one with representatives of almost every class of aquatic animal, and a greater variety of kinds and numbers than any other community (Reid, 1961). They play an important role as decomposers in the nutrient cycle of a lake, being largely detritivores and consumers of particulate organic matter. They are also important as fish food and can be useful indicators of pollution or eutrophication (Beeton, 1969; Johasson, 1969). In Lake McIlwaine the benthic fauna was investigated as part of a fishery survey (Munro, 1964, 1966) and in an attempt to evaluate the effects of eutrophication (Marshall, 1971, 1978). A severe drop in lake level in 1972–1973 made it possible to assess the structure and abundance of the mussel population (Marshall, 1975).
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Marshall, B.E. (1982). The benthic fauna of Lake McIlwaine. In: Thornton, J.A., Nduku, W.K. (eds) Lake Mcilwaine. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 49. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7983-3_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7983-3_13
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