Synopsis
The abundance and habitat distribution of littoral zone fishes in two small southern Florida lakes were quantified by underwater censuses. The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and large-mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) accounted for 75–80% of community biomass in both lakes; important coexisting species were predominantly benthic feeders in Lake Sirena and planktivores in Lake Annie. All species were largely confined to areas of macrovegetation which extended to a depth of 4 m in Lake Annie but only to 1.2 m in Lake Sirena. The differences in community structure were related to differences in habitat and also variation in water levels and benthic production.
A comparison of community composition with that of small Michigan lakes indicated that similar numbers of species coexist in the littoral zones, despite a three-fold difference in the size of regional species pools. The majority of families and about 50% of the species were common to lakes in both regions; in addition a number of ecological analogues were noted. A major difference was that the small inshore species were members of the Cyprinodontiformes in Florida and Cyprinidae in Michigan. Together the largemouth bass and bluegill comprise similar community proportions in the two regions as do other major feeding groups. Lakes in the two regions that are similar in amount and distribution of vegetation exhibit greater similarity in fish communities than those within regions that differ in littoral vegetation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Barbour, C. D. & J. H. Brown. 1974. Fish species diversity in lakes. Amer. Natur. 108: 473–489.
Barnett, B. S. 1972. The freshwater fishes of the Hillsborough River Drainage, Florida. M. S. Thesis, Univ. South Florida. 84 pp.
Bishop, E. W. 1967. Florida Lakes, part I and II. Florida Board of Conservation, Division of Water Resources, Tallahassee, Florida.
Brown, J. H. 1975. Geographical ecology of desert rodents. pp. 315–341. In: M. Cody & J. Diamond (ed.), Ecology and evolution of communities. Harvard Univ. Press.
Carlander, K. D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Iowa State Univ. Press. Ames, Iowa. 752 pp.
Cody, M. L. 1974. Competition and the structure of bird communities. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N. J. 318 pp.
Cody, M. L. 1975. Towards a theory of continental species diversity: bird distributions over Mediterranean habitat gradients. pp. 214–257. In: M. L. Cody & J. M. Diamond (ed.), Ecology and evolution of communities. Harvard Univ. Press.
Cooper, G. P. 1936. Age and growth of the golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas auratus) and its suitability for propagation. Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. Arts Lett. 21: 582–597.
Eckblad, J. W. 1974. Some limnological features of Lake Annie, Highlands County, Florida. Report to the Archbold Biological Station. 31 pp.
Fryer, G. & T. D. Iles. 1972. The cichlid fishes of the Great Lakes of Africa, their biology and evolution. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. 641 pp.
Gerking, S. D. 1957. A method of sampling the littoral macrofauna and its application. Ecology 38: 219–226.
Hall, D. J. & E. E. Werner. 1977. Seasonal distribution and abundance of fishes in the littoral zone of a Michigan lake. Trans. Am. Fish Soc. 106: 545–555.
Hubbs, C. L. 1921. An ecological study of the life history of the fresh-water atherinine fishLabidesthes sicculus. Ecology 2: 262–276.
Hubbs, C. L. & K. F. Lagler. 1958. Fishes of the Great Lakes Region. Univ. Mich. Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 213 pp.
Hunt, B. P. 1952. Food relationships between Florida spotted gar and other organisms in the Tamiami Canal, Dade County, Florida. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 82: 13–33.
Keast, A. 1970. Food specialization and bioenergetic interrelations in the fish faunas of some small Ontario waterways. pp. 377–411. In: J. H. Steele (ed.), Marine food chains. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.
Keast, A. & J. Hacker. 1976. Strip counts as a means of determining densities and habitat utilization patterns in lake fishes. Env. Biol. Fish. 1: 181–188.
Keast, A. & D. Webb. 1966. Mouth and body form relative to feeding ecology in the fish fauna of a small lake, Lake Opinicon, Ontario. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 23: 1845–1874.
Kushlan, J. A. 1976. Environmental stability and fish community diversity. Ecology 57: 821–825.
Kushlan, J. A. & T. E. Lodge. 1974. Ecological and distributional notes on the freshwater fish of southern Florida. Florida Scientist 37: 110–128.
Nester, R. D. 1976. A survey of the fishes of Lake Annie, Highlands County, Florida. Report to the Archbold Biological Station. 8 pp.
Northcote, T. G. & D. W. Wilkie. 1963. Underwater census of stream fish populations. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 92: 146–151.
Shannon, E. E. & P. L. Brezonik. 1972. Limnological characteristics of North and Central Florida lakes. Limnol. & Oceanogr. 17: 97–110.
Suffern, J. 1973. Experimental analysis of predation in a freshwater system. Ph. D. Thesis, Yale Univ. 100 pp.
Werner, E. E. 1977. Species packing and niche complementarity in three sunfishes. Amer. Natur. 111: 553–578.
Werner, E. E. & D. J. Hall. 1976. Niche shifts in sunfishes: experimental evidence and significance. Science 191: 404–406.
Werner, E. E. & D. J. Hall. 1977. Competition and habitat shift in two sunfishes (Centrarchidae). Ecology 58: 869–876.
Wener, E. E., D. J. Hall, D. R. Laughlin, D. J. Wagner, L. A. Wilsmann, & F. C. Funk. 1977. Habitat partitioning in a freshwater fish community. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 34:360–370.
Wilbur, R. L. 1969. The redear sunfish in Florida. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. Fish. Bull. No. 5. 64 pp.
Wohlschllag, D. E. 1950. Vegetation and invertebrate life in a marl lake. Invest. Indiana Lakes and Streams 3: 321–372.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Werner, E.E., Hall, D.J. & Werner, M.D. Littoral zone fish communities of two Florida lakes and a comparison with Michigan lakes. Environ Biol Fish 3, 163–172 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00691940
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00691940