Spatial distribution of zooplankton in a shallow eutrophic lake, with a discussion of its relation to fish predation

Zooplankton distribution in a small, eutrophic lake was studied over two seasons as part of a wider analysis of the fish-plankton interaction. Patchiness was evident at all sample spacings, but autocorrelation between adjacent samples became significant only at mean spacings of <10 m. Patchiness could only rarely be correlated with environmental variables in open water, but there were consistent trends in the distribution of most taxa with respect to the shore. The limnetic assemblage within 10 m of the shore showed some littoral influence in the presence of littoral taxa and the relative paucity of euplankters. Emphasis is placed on the impact on plankton distribution of fish predation, which varies markedly in the study lake.