Benthic Algal Communities Distribution in the Littoral Zone of Yunnan Plateau Lakes

Communities structure,standing crops of benthic algae were investigated in the littoral zone of 6 Yunnan plateau lakes,and benthic algae communities were composed of Cladophora spp.of green algae and some epilithic species of diatom during the studying period,the diatom communities was dominated in the Lake Luguhu,the percent of green algae communities was higher than diatom communities in the other lakes.The standing crops(chl a)of benthic algae and the density of benthic diatom was highest in the Lake Xingyunhu(24 μg•cm^-2) and in the Lake Luguhu-Niaodao respectively,reached maximum development in numbers of 9.3×10⁶ cells•cm^-2.The study found the benthic diatom Epithemia sorex and Cocconeis klamathensis were the dominant indicator taxa separately in the Lake Luguhu and Fuxianhu,Amphora pediculus was the most abundant species in the Lake Yangzonghai and Dianchi-gingbao,There were a lot of the dominant taxon in the Lakes Erhai,Xingyunhu,Dianchi-youyicun,whereas the higher relative abundance taxon in these lakes were epilithic.The results pointed out that the environmental factors,such as nutrient enrichment,littoral zone sunlight and substrate types were very important in controlling community distribution.