SIMULTANEOUS PATTERNS OF TEMPERATURE, OXYGEN, ZOOPLANKTON AND FISH DISTRIBUTION IN LAKE KINNERET, ISRAEL

1. Temperature, oxygen concentration and zooplankton density were measured simultaneously on 25 December 1990 at twenty-six stations during an acoustic survey of the fish population of Lake Kinneret, Israel. Data from a preliminary acoustic survey were used to establish the optimal distance between transects (4 km). 2. The distribution of temperature and oxygen concentration (and their gradients), and zooplankton and fish densities were compared using three-dimensional plots and correlation analysis. Both fish and zooplankton were concentrated in frontal zones where temperature and oxygen gradients were highest. 3. In the south-eastern part of the lake, where fish abundance was highest, a minimum of zooplankton density was observed, suggesting that predation by fish reduced zooplankton concentrations.