The Macrobenthic Fauna of Great Lake and Arthurs Lake, Tasmania
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THE MACROBENTHIC FAUNA OF GREAT LAKE AND ARTHURS LAKE, TASMANIA. by ea W. FULTON B.Sc. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA HOBART May 1981 Old multiple-arch dam, Miena Great Lake, 1962 (Photo courtesy P. A. Tyler) "Benthic collecting can be fun ...." To the best of my knowledge, this thesis does not contain any material which has been submitted for any other degree or diploma in any university except as stated therein. Further, I have not knowingly included a copy or paraphrase of previously published or written material from any source without due reference being made in the text of this thesis. Wayne Fulton iii CONTENTS Page Title 1 Statement CONTENTS iii ABSTRACT 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 AIMS 3 1.2 HISTORY 4 1.3 DRAINAGE ALTERATIONS 11 1.4 GEOLOGY 14 1.5 GEOMORPHOLOGY 15 1.6 BIOLOGICAL HISTORY 18 CHAPTER 2 METHODS 21 2.1 SAMPLING DEVICE 21 2.2 SAMPLING PROGRAM 22 2.2.1 Collection and Sorting of Samples 25 2.2.2 Sample Sites 29 2.2.3 Summary of Sampling Program 35 2.3 SITE DESCRIPTIONS, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL DATA 36 2.3.1 Discussion: Site Physical and Chemical Relationships .53 2.4 TREATMENT OF DATA 55 iv Page CHAPTER 3 FAUNAL COMPOSITION OF GREAT LAKE AND ARTHURS LAKE 58 3.1 INTRODUCTION 58 3.2 RESULTS 58 3.3 DISCUSSION 70 CHAPTER 4 QUANTITATIVE FAUNAL VARIATION OF GREAT LAKE AND ARTHURS LAKE 79 4.1 INTRODUCTION 79 4.2 RESULTS 80 4.2.1 Faunal Variation 80 4.2.1.1 Within series variation 81 4.2.1.2 Seasonal variation 86 4.2.1.3 Inter-site variation 93 4.2.1.3.1 Diversity indices 93 4.2.1.3.2 Cluster analysis 96 4.2.1.3.3 Principal coordinates analysis 104 4.2.1.3.4 Site faunal relationships 108 4.2.2 Life History Data 113 4.2.3 Biomass Estimates 123 4.2.4 Instantaneous Growth Rates and Production Estimates 132 4.3 DISCUSSION 135 4.3.1 Faunal Variation 135 4.3.1.1 Within series variation 135 4.3.1.2 Seasonal variation 136 4.3.1.3 Inter-site variation 138 Page 4.3.1.3.1 Diversity indices 138 4.3.1.3.2 Cluster analysis 139 4.3.1.3.3 Principal coordinates analysis 140 4.3.1.3.4 Site faunal relationships 141 4.3.2 Life History Data 148 4.3.3 Biomass and Growth. Rates 151 CHAPTER 5 GENERAL DISCUSSION 156 5.1 SPECIES DIVERSITY 156 5.2 BIOMASS COMPARISONS 161 5.3 LAKE TYPOLOGY 167 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 174 REFERENCES 176 APPENDICES 189 ATTACHMENTS 238 • ABSTRACT The histories of Great Lake and Arthurs Lake are outlined In terms of geology, geomorphology, discovery,. previous biological collections and drainage alterations. Collections of the benthic fauna were made from six sites in each lake every two months for a period of twelve months in Great Lake and fourteen months in Arthurs Lake. A total of 1.560 grab samples in 20 sample series were examined. The number of individuals in each species was counted and total wet weights for each sample series were estimated. Physical data collected included sediment particle size distribution and organic content as well as temperature readings. An accurate and comparatively complete species list for each lake has been compiled and affinities are discussed. Approximately 15 species collected during the survey have been recognised as new to science and taxonomic descriptions have been made, or are pending. The data were briefly examined for variation within sample series at each site and for seasonal variation within a site. Some data on life histories of certain species are presented. Detailed analyses of faunal variation between sites, within and between lakes were made. This was done using both qualitative and quantitative (numbers of individuals) data. Cluster analysis, using various sorting strategies, generally grouped sites from the original lake areas of both lakes before grouping sites from different levels of 2 the same lake. Principal coordinates analysis gave similar results. Biomass levels are presented and discussed in terms of component species groups. Instantaneous growth rates of some species are briefly examined. The species diversity and benthic biomass of the two lakes are discussed in relation to other Tasmanian, Australian and overseas lakes. The topics of lake typology and lake classification are examined both in relation to Australian lakes and in general. The question of prediction of lacustrine production levels is also briefly examined. 3 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The benthic fauna of Tasmanian lakes as a unit has received little detailed study. This could also be said of much of the freshwater invertebrate fauna of the state. Timms (1978) has briefly examined the benthic fauna of Lakes St. Clair, Dove, Dobson, Sorell, Crescent, Leake and Tooms in Tasmania. However these studies were the result of small numbers of samples at a single point in time. Weatherley and Nicholls (1955) collected some benthic samples from Lake Dobson but did not identify the species in any detail. They did calculate biomass for this lake. A few other brief studies have been made of the littoral fauna of a few Tasmanian lakes (see Knott & Lake 1974; Leonard & Timms 1974; Knott et al. 1978). All of these studies suffer, to some degree, from a lack of previous taxonomic work on the Tasmanian freshwater fauna. Species lists contain many unidentified taxa, which makes later comparative work more difficult. •.1 AIMS The objective of the project reported in this thesis was to examine the fauna of Great Lake and Arthurs Lake in sufficient detail to gain a reliable knowledge of that fauna both qualitatively and quantitatively, and to examine the variation in both of these characters throughout the lakes, and over a complete cycle of the seasons. Considerable attention was given to the taxonomy of the various groups, with the invaluable co-operation of many specialists (see Acknowledgements), so that more meaningful species lists could be compiled. The study was not intended as an examination of methods, nor of species distribution on a small scale. Therefore, once the sampling procedure was established by analysis of the variation present within a series of samples, little further attention was to be given to such variation. As both the lakes to be studied are subject to large and often unseasonal fluctuations in water level (see Figs. 1.1 - 1.2) due to their useage for hydro-electric purposes the littoral fauna is in a state of flux to the extent that it is virtually non-existent in some years. Hence the benthic fauna only was studied. The effects of fluctuating water levels on the littoral fauna of lakes has been the subject of several studies in various parts of the world (Hynes 1961; Grimas 1962, 1965; Paterson & Fernando 1969; Hunt & Jones 1972a). The Great Lake in particular has undergone one major change in water level resulting in two areas which can be categorised as level 1 (original lake bottom) and level 2 (post flooding bottom). These areas were to be examined in order to investigate any apparent effects of the water level changes on the benthic fauna. Maps showing original levels and contours of both lakes are given in Figs. 1.3 - 1.4. 1.2 HISTORY According to Maude (1965) Great Lake was discovered 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 7§ 27 26 25 'SL 1916-22 24 23 22 21 20 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 Year Fig. 1.1: Water level fluctuations, Great Lake, 1916-1979 . (Values for February and September of each year from Hydro Electric Commission data). 6 FSL 952.5 m 52 51 .. 50 49 900) s(_ e tr Me 48 47 1 46 45 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 Year Fig. 1.2: Water level fluctuations, Arthurs Lake, 1964-1979. (Values for February and September of each year from HEC data). • Fig. 1.3: Map of Great Lake showing present and past water levels and approximate depth contours. (Map based on detailed contour map supplied by Hydro Electric Commission, Tasmania). B Present FSL Original level Other contours (/1 ASL) 0 1 2 3 km Approx. scale Fig. 1.4: Map of Arthurs Lake showing present and past water levels and approximate depth contours. (Map based on detailed contour map supplied by Hydro Electric Commission, Tasmania). 10 0 1 2 3 4 5km Approx. scale Present PSL Original levels Other contours On ASL) 11 in 1815 by a kangaroo hunter named Toombs. A little later in 1817 a party led by a naval officer, John Beaumont, and a settler from the Jordon River, Robert Jones, travelled from the Jordon River to Great Lake and from there proceeded further west across the plateau (Shepherd 1974). The valleys of the Clyde, Shannon and Ouse Rivers were explored for most of their length by this time (Maude 1965) and graziers were beginning to run stock in the Bothwell district. By 1830 there were large numbers of cattle, many of them wild, grazing in the plateau area (Plomley 1966). Stock grazing was the principal use of the central plateau area until about 1900 when trout were introduced into the area. This use continued but the area also became a popular recreational fishery. The waters of Great Lake, and to a lesser extent Arthurs Lake (then consisting of two separate lakes), received considerable attention after this time and successful stockings were made with brown trout, Salmo trutta L. and later with rainbow trout, S.