THE ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS OF AQUATIC PLANTS AT LAKE NAIVASHA, KENYA

The distribution and abundance of the aquatic flora of Lake Naivasha has been constrained by two ecosystem-level processes. One is the natural and unpredictable fluctuation of water levels which the lake experiences, resulting in a drawdown zone of several vertical meters. The other is the consequence of herbivory by several alien species, linked with competition between rooted aquatic plants and phytoplankton. The effects of alien introductions in the 1960s and 1970s was to eliminate submerged vegetation from the lake completely by 1982, principally by crayfish herbivory. Vegetation has been progressively returning since 1984 and this return is coincident with a decline in crayfish population density. Concentrations of phytoplankton have progressively increased since 1982 as a result of nutrient increase caused by a decline in water level and papyrus swamp clearance for agriculture. The relationship between high levels of phytoplankton and extensive littoral weed beds is discussed.