Limnology of oligotrophic dune lakes at Cape Flattery, North Queensland

Abstract

Physical, chemical and biotic attributes of 16 lakes and ponds in the siliceous dunefields of Cape Flattery, in the humid tropics of Australia, have been investigated. The dune lakes are similar to those of dunefields in south-eastern Queensland, with very low to low conductivity (62-338 µS cm^-1), low pH (3.9-6.8), and low to high humic content (gilvin 0.0-31.0 g₄₄₀ m^-1). These lakes are apparently not perched above the local water table. The ionic compositions of all lakes were very similar, with NaCl predominating and with very low concentrations of Mg, Ca, K, and SO₄. Bicarbonate was absent or negligible in most lakes.

The oligotrophic lakes are characterized by a desmid-diatom limnetic plankton of moderate diversity (12-35 species per lake). Of 144 taxa of phytoplankton recognized, 58% were desmids and 15% diatoms. The zooplankton was of low diversity and dominated by Calamoecia ultima. Twenty-nine species of aquatic macrophytes and 11 species of fish were recorded. Freshwater turtles (possibly Chelodina rugosa Ogilby), and the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus Schneider, were recorded from some lakes.

Principal component analysis of chemical data distinguished three groups of lakes: a series of humic-stained ponds and lakes, a group of clear-water lakes with little or no humic staining, and a former barrier lagoon. Cluster analysis of the phytoplankton flora consistently segregated the clear-water lakes from humic-stained lakes but, in general, concordance of chemical, physiographic and biotic characteristics was poor. Existing classification schemes for Australian dune lakes, based on similar sets of physiographic, chemical and biotic data, do not cater well for the Cape Flattery lakes. A more useful classification may derive from consideration of the hydrological processes influencing their water balance and chemical characteristics.