Journal article

Publication year: 2014

Pages: 69-76

Journal: Limnology

Volume number: 15

Issue number: 1

ISSN: 1439-8621

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-013-0414-z

Publisher: Springer

Abstract: 

In many lake ecosystems, waterbirds rate among the top consumers. Lake
Constance is an important overwintering site for waterbirds in Central
Europe because it provides sufficient food sources to meet energy
demands during the winter months. In this study we focussed on the
submerged vegetation and its associated macroinvertebrate fauna as a
food source. We conducted experiments with exclosure cages which
protected evergreen charophytes from bird grazing and compared the mass
decline throughout the winter to unprotected grazed sites. Furthermore,
we assessed the change in macrophyte-associated macroinvertebrates
during the course of winter. We found that wintering waterbirds caused a
significant decline of charophytes and their associated
macroinvertebrates down to a depth of 4 m. We determined the taxa and
abundance of macroinvertebrates associated with charophytes and
predominantly found Dreissena polymorpha.
At sites protected from bird grazing, the biomass of the
macroinvertebrate fauna increased relative to the plant biomass during
the course of winter. This might also have affected the foraging
behaviour of diving waterbirds.

Harvard Citation style: Matuszak, A., Mörtl, M., Quillfeldt, P. and Bauer, H. (2014) Macrophyte-associated macroinvertebrates as an important food source for wintering waterbirds at Lake Constance, Limnology, 15(1), pp. 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-013-0414-z

APA Citation style: Matuszak, A., Mörtl, M., Quillfeldt, P., & Bauer, H. (2014). Macrophyte-associated macroinvertebrates as an important food source for wintering waterbirds at Lake Constance. Limnology. 15(1), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-013-0414-z