Fish species richness in lakes of the northeastern lowlands in Germany

Fish species richness was assessed by electrofishing and gillnetting in 16 lakes of the northeastern lowland in Germany (the Schorfheide biosphere reserve). The lakes range from 0.03 to 10.55 km² and support between 5 and 14 fish species. Species richness is significantly correlated with lake area in an exponential and a power model. Richness is also correlated with shoreline development and total dissolved solids. This supports the hypothesis that larger areas contain more species within a taxonomic group due to increased habitat diversity. The slope of the species-area curve is low compared with most other studies of fish species richness in lakes, and the intercept value is high. This is interpreted as the result of high habitat and food diversity, lack of stress from abiotic factors, and the small regional species pool from which these lakes can be colonized. Two species inventories, one from the beginning of this century and one from the 1950s, are available for comparison. Average species richness did not change during the last decades. Species turnover rates were not related to the degree of anthropogenic eutrophication or to the intensity of fishery exploitation in these lakes. On the species level, however, one effect of accelerated eutrophication is apparent, the disappearance of 4 bottom-living species from one to 6 of the study lakes.