The role of aquatic macrophytes in the recovery of the benthic fauna of a tropical lake after a dry phase1

Abstract

The role played by aquatic macrophytes as a habitat for benthic fauna during recovery of a saline African lake from a dry period is examined. The vegetation is of special interest since the mud is unoccupied by fauna over most of the lake bottom. There are two distinct kinds of aquatic macrophytes: those like Typha, which are part of a permanent flora, and those like Aeschynomene and Diplacne, which persist only for a few years after reflooding. The respective roles of the two types during the recovery of the lake are considered. Reasons for persistence of a large and distinctive vegetation fauna were studied by experiments on salinity tolerance and competition with the dominant species of mud fauna.