The littoral zoobenthos

Abstract

The littoral substrate and its associated zoobenthos is described from a number of samples collected around the shorelines of these five lochs, during autumn 1977. Further samples were taken from autumn 1977 to autumn 1978 to provide comparative information on species diversity, seasonality, growth, life-cycles and depth distribution of littoral zoobenthos. Loch Lomond had the most diverse and abundant fauna while those of Lochs Shiel and Morar were very impoverished in both respects. Lochs Lomond, Awe and Ness had many features in common but Loch Morar and Shiel were distinct from these three lochs and from each other. The similarities and differences are discussed in relation to environmental factors, and the ecology of various species of ecological interest is also considered. Man’s effect on the environment is reviewed, particularly in relation to hydro-electric schemes.KeywordsTotal Organic CarbonNorth BasinVaried FaunaAbundant FaunaEnglish Lake DistrictThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.