Some Aspects of the Ecology of Lake Macquarie, N.S.W., with Regard to an Alleged Depletion of Fish. VI. Plant Communities and their Significance

Abstract

There are four plant communities in Lake Macquarie: the see-grass community, the reef community, the mud bottom community, and the phytoplankton community.

Biologically, the sea-grass community is regarded as being the most important. The epiphytes on the sea-grasses are largely used as food by phytophagous fish and other animals.

The reef community consists of larger brown algae which are not of themselves of great importance, and of felts of blue-green algae such as Ectocarpus, and other filamentous forms which are important.

Photosynthetic organisms are sparse in the mud bottoms, except for the tapetic organisms in the sea.

Phytoplankton is relatively abundant.