Impacts of shelter on the relative dominance of primary producers and trophic transfer efficiency in aquatic food webs: Implications for shallow lake restoration

Wind-induced turbulence can strongly impact ecological processes in shallow lake ecosystems. The creation of shelter against wind be expected to affect both primary producers and herbivores aquatic food webs. Shelter may benefit particular more than others by changing relative resource availabilities for different producers. Herbivore community compositions affected either directly or indirectly as a consequence changes their quantity quality that, turn, the transfer efficiency between herbivores. A reduction trophic resulting from wind-induced potentially lead declines higher levels, but is generally understudied. Here, we focus on efficiency. We hypothesised that reducing will stimulate production lakes. However, multitude impacts webs make it challenging predict direction change when creating sheltered conditions. tested our hypothesis waters newly constructed archipelago named Marker Wadden Markermeer Netherlands. Lake has experienced declining numbers birds fish. These have been related sediment resuspension limits large-scale restoration project aims add heterogeneous habitat otherwise mostly homogeneous lake, thus targeting potential problems associated with turbulence. executed 2-month manipulative field mesocosm experiment study effect reduced (i.e., shelter) Specifically, studied effects producers, phytoplankton zooplankton (using biomass divided Chl proxy), benthic fauna. consisted three treatments: no shelter, without macrophytes submerged (Myriophyllum spicatum) present at start experiment. Our results clearly showed under unsheltered conditions was dominant producer, whereas became dominant. Interestingly, appeared rapidly treatment where first were visibly present; hence, end experiment, there little difference among treatments initial presence macrophytes. Despite concentrations 23-fold conditions, this did not result biomass. This explained five-fold greater Furthermore, Gastropoda density reached 746 individuals m−2, found treatment. findings indicate lakes are negatively turbulence, measures aimed ameliorating stressor effective facilitating macrophyte recovery, increasing densities restoring zooplankton. Ultimately, support levels such fish water availability