Macrozoobenthic community of Fuxian Lake, the deepest lake of southwest China

Abstract

Located in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, Fuxian Lake covers an area of 211 km 2, with maximum depth of 155 m. It is known to have a unique fauna, including 14 described endemic species. In order to describe the zoobenthic community of the lake more completely, the present study was conducted from August 2002 to August 2003. Altogether 62 benthic taxa, including 22 oligochaetes, 21 molluscs and 18 insects were identified, of which the dominant taxa belonged to Potamothrix, Procladius and Paraprososthenia. The standing stocks of benthos were much higher in the littoral (824 ind/m 2 in density, 3.72 g/m 2 in biomass) than in the profundal region (23 ind/m 2 in density, 0.10 g/m 2 in biomass). Species richness was greatest in summer and standing stocks were larger in spring and summer than in other seasons. Analyses of functional feeding groups indicated that collector-gatherers and scrapers were predominant in entire lake. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the water depth is the most important factor affecting the distribution of macrozoobenthos.