Abstract
A five-year study examined the responses of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), emergent vegetation, and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to variations in water level in a large lake in Florida, USA. SAV was assessed using a combined transect survey/spatial mapping approach, emergent vegetation was quantified with aerial photography and GIS, and bass were surveyed by electro-shocking. During the period leading up to this study (1995–1999), water levels were high in the lake, and the SAV was reduced in spatial extent and biomass, compared to its condition in the early 1990s. Spatial extent of emergent vegetation also was low, and largemouth bass surveys indicated low densities and failure to recruit young fish into the population. This was attributed to the lack of critical vegetative habitat. In spring 2000, the lake was lowered by discharging water from major outlets, and this was followed by a regional drought. Water levels dropped by 1 m, and there was widespread development of Chara lawns in shoreline areas, with coincident increases in water clarity. There was some germination of vascular SAV, but Chara was the extreme dominant, such that structural complexity remained low. There was no substantive improvement in bass recruitment. During 2001, water levels declined further, and emergent plants germinated in exposed areas of the lake bottom. SAV was restricted to sites farther offshore, and continued to be dominated by Chara. There again was no bass response. In 2002, conditions changed when water levels increased to a moderate depth, flooding shoreline habitat to ∼0.5 m. Vascular SAV increased in biomass and spatial extent, such that the community developed a high structural complexity. At the same time, emergent aquatic plants developed dense stands along the western shoreline. Largemouth bass had a strong recruitment of young fish for the first time in 5 years. Recruitment continued to be successful in 2003, when spatial extent of SAV was somewhat reduced by higher water but total biomass and diversity remained high. These results demonstrate an important effect of inter-annual variation in water depth on the population dynamics of aquatic plants and fish in a subtropical lake.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W. Abtew (2001) ArticleTitleEvaporation estimation for Lake Okeechobee in South Florida Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering 127 41–147
I. Blindow (1992) ArticleTitleLong and short term dynamics of submerged macrophytes in two shallow lakes Freshwater Biology 28 15–27
I. Blindow A. Hargeby G. Andersson (2002) ArticleTitleSeasonal changes of mechanisms maintaining clear water in a shallow lake with abundant Chara vegetation Aquatic Botany 72 315–334 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3770(01)00208-X
L.A. Bull DD. Fox LJ. Davis S.J. Miller JG. Wullschleger (1995) ArticleTitleFish distribution in limnetic areas of Lake Okeechobee, Florida Advances in Limnology 45 333–342
J.K. Cronk MS. Fennessy (2001) Wetland Plants: Biology and Ecology Lewis Publishers Florida 462
L.B. Crowder WE. Cooper (1982) ArticleTitleHabitat structural complexity and the interaction between bluegills and their prey Ecology 63 1802–1813
B. Fry PL. Mumford F. Tam DD. Fox GL. Warren K.E. Havens AD. Steinman (1999) ArticleTitleTrophic position and individual feeding histories of fish from Lake Okeechobee, Florida Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 56 590–600 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfas-56-4-590
J.B. Furse DD. Fox (1994) ArticleTitleEconomic fishery valuation of five vegetation communities in Lake Okeechobee, Florida Proceedings South East Associated Fish Wildlife Agencies 48 575–591
H.J. Grimshaw K. Havens B. Sharfstein A. Steinman D. Anson T. East RP. Maki A. Rodusky KR. Jin (2002) ArticleTitleThe effects of shading on morphometric and meristic characteristics of wild celery, Vallisneria americana, transplants from Lake Okeechobee, Florida Archiv für Hydrobiologie 155 65–81
Grimshaw H.J., Sharfstein B., East T. (2004). The effects of shading on Chara zeylanica and its epiphytes. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, in press
L. Hakanson (1982) ArticleTitleLake bottom dynamics and morphometry: the dynamic ratio Water Resources Research 18 1444–1450
M.C. Harwell KE. Havens (2003) ArticleTitleExperimental studies on the recovery potential of submerged aquatic vegetation after flooding and desiccation in a large subtropical lake Aquatic Botany 77 135–151
K.E. Havens (2003) ArticleTitleSubmerged aquatic vegetation correlations with depth and light attenuating materials in a shallow subtropical lake Hydrobiologia 493 173–186
K.E. Havens MC. Harwell MA. Brady B. Sharfstein T.L. East AJ. Rodusky D. Anson RP. Maki (2002) ArticleTitleLarge-scale mapping and predictive modeling of submerged aquatic vegetation in a shallow eutrophic lake The Scientific World 2 949–965
K.E. Havens RT. James (1999) ArticleTitleLocalized changes in transparency linked to mud sediment expansion in Lake Okeechobee, Florida: ecological and management implications Lake and Reservoir Management 15 54–69
K.E. Havens KR. Jin AJ. Rodusky B. Sharfstein M.A. Brady TL. East N. Iricanin RT. James M.C. Harwell AD. Steinman (2001) ArticleTitleHurricane effects on a shallow lake ecosystem and its response to a controlled manipulation of water level The Scientific World 1 44–70 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD3s3nvV2msw%3D%3D
K.E. Havens B. Sharfstein MA. Brady TL. East M.C. Harwell R.P. Maki AJ. Rodusky (2004) ArticleTitleRecovery of submerged plants from high water stress in a large subtropical lake in Florida, USA Aquatic Botany 78 67–82
M.V. Hoyer D.E. Canfield SuffixJr. (1996) ArticleTitleLargemouth bass abundance and aquatic vegetation in Florida lakes: an empirical analysis Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 34 23–32
E. Jeppesen M. Søndergaard K. Christoffersen (Eds) (1998) The Structuring Role of Submerged Macrophytes in Lakes Springer-Verlag New York
S.A. Ludsin DR. DeVries (1997) ArticleTitleFirst-year recruitment of largemouth bass: the interdependency of early life stages Ecological Applications 7 1024–1038
M.J. Maceina PW. Bettoli (1998) ArticleTitleVariation in largemouth bass recruitment in four mainstream impoundments along the Tennessee River North American Journal of Fisheries Management 18 998–1003
Milleson J.F. (1987). Vegetation Changes in the Lake Okeechobee Littoral Zone 1972–1982. South Florida Water Management District Tech. Publ., Florida, USA: 87–93
Pesnell G.L., Brown RT. (1976). The Major Plant Communities of Lake Okeechobee and their Associated Inundation Characteristics as determined by Gradient Analysis. South Florida Water Management District Tech. Publ., Florida, USA: 77–81
T.C. Pratt KE. Smokorowski (2003) ArticleTitleFish habitat management implications of the summer habitat use by littoral fishes in a North temperate, mesotrophic lake Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60 286–300
J.R. Richardson TT. Harris (1995) ArticleTitleVegetation mapping and change detection in the Lake Okeechobee marsh ecosystem Archiv für Hydrobiologie, Advances in Limnology 45 17–39
L.P. Rozas WE. Odum (1988) ArticleTitleOccupation of submerged aquatic vegetation by fishes: testing the roles of food and refuge Oecologia 77 101–106
S.M. Sammons L.G. Dorsey PW. Bettoli (1999) ArticleTitleEffects of reservoir hydrology on reproduction by largemouth bass and spotted bass in Normandy Reservoir, Tennessee North American Journal of Fisheries Management 19 78–88
J.F. Savino RA. Stein (1982) ArticleTitlePredator-prey interactions between largemouth bass and bluegills as influenced by simulated, submerged vegetation Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 111 255–266
M. Scheffer (1998) Ecology of Shallow Lakes Chapman and Hall London, UK
M. Scheffer M. Vanden Berg A. Breukelaar C. Breukers H. Coops R. Doef ML. Meijer (1994) ArticleTitleVegetated areas with clear water in turbid shallow lakes Aquatic Botany 49 193–196
A.M. Schwarz M. Winton Particlede I. Hawes (2002) ArticleTitleSpecies-specific depth zonation in New Zealand charophytes as a function of light availability Aquatic Botany 72 209–217
Steinman, A. D., K. Havens Hornung L., 2002. The managed recession of Lake Okeechobee, Florida: integrating science and natural resource management. Conservation Ecology 6: 17 (online) URL: www.consecol.org/vol6/iss2/art17
U.S. Department of Interior, 1996. Black bass fishing in the U.S. Report 91–4, Addendum to 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal Aid, Washington, DC
R.D. Valley BT. Bremigan (2002) ArticleTitleEffects of macrophyte bed architecture on largemouth bass foraging: implications of exotic macrophyte invasions Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 131 234–244
M.S. Vanden Berg M. Scheffer E. Van Nes H. Coops (1999) ArticleTitleDynamics and stability of Chara sp. and Potamogeton pectinatus in a shallow lake changing eutrophication level Hydrobiologia 408 IssueID409 335–342
A.G. Vander Valk (1994) ArticleTitleEffects of prolonged flooding on the distribution and biomass of emergent species along a freshwater wetland coenocline Vegetatio 110 185–196
A.G. Vander Valk CB. Davis (1978) ArticleTitleThe roles of seed banks in the vegetation dynamics of prairie glacial marshes Ecology 59 322–335
E. Van Nes M. Scheffer M.S. Berg Particlevan den H. Coops (2002) ArticleTitleDominance of charophytes in eutrophic shallow lakes – when should we expect it to be an alternative stable state? Aquatic Botany 72 275–296
K.A. Williges TT. Harris (1995) ArticleTitleSeed bank dynamics in the Lake Okeechobee marsh ecosystem Archiv für Hydrobiolo-gie, Advances in Limnology 45 79–94
P.V. Zimba MS. Hopson JP. Smith D.E. Colle JV. Shireman (1995) ArticleTitleChemical composition and distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation in Lake Okeechobee, Florida (1989–1991) Archiv für Hydrobiologie, Advances in Limnology 45 241–246
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Havens, K.E., Fox, D., Gornak, S. et al. Aquatic vegetation and largemouth bass population responses to water-level variations in Lake Okeechobee, Florida (USA). Hydrobiologia 539, 225–237 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-4876-1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-004-4876-1