Regime shifts between clear and turbid water in New Zealand lakes: Environmental correlates and implications for management and restoration

Abstract

We reviewed lakes in New Zealand reported to have undergone regime shifts between macrophyte-dominated clear water states and devegetated, turbid states. Regime-shifting lakes (RSLs) occurred along a wide latitudinal gradient. We obtained catchment land-use data as well as data on the occurrences of introduced (non-indigenous) macrophytes and herbivorous and benthivorous fish for the 37 RSLs and for 58 lakes with similar maximum depths and climates, but which had not been reported to have undergone regime shifts. All RSLs had a maximum depth <20 m and mean annual surface air temperature between 9 and 16°C. Regime shifts were positively related to the percentage of the catchment in pasture and negatively related to the percentage of the catchment in forest. The occurrences of the introduced macrophyte Egeria densa and the introduced fish, Ameiurus nebulosus (catfish), Carassius auratus (goldfish), Scardinius erythrophthalmus (rudd), Cyprinus carpio (koi carp), and Tinca tinca (tench), were significantly correlated to regime shifts in lakes. Although the presence of other introduced aquatic macrophytes was not significantly correlated with RSLs, the number of exotic fish taxa present in lakes was strongly positively correlated with increasing prevalence of regime shifts. The strength of the correlations between land use and introduced species versus regime shifts illustrates a number of factors which could be managed to reduce the susceptibility of lakes to regime shifts and to restore lakes that have become de-vegetated. Our findings also suggests that regime shifts in lakes were unlikely to have been common in New Zealand lakes before anthropogenic deforestation and introductions of introduced aquatic taxa. © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2009.