Ecological impacts of water net (Hydrodictyon reticulatum) in Lake Aniwhenua, New Zealand
The ecological impacts of Hydrodictyon reticulatum blooms (1989-94) were studied at Lake Aniwhenua (a constructed lake) in North Island, New Zealand by collating fish, invertebrate and macrophyte data collected towards the end of a four year bloom period and following its decline. Hydrodictyon reticulatum had some localised impacts on the biota of the lake. Some macrophyte beds were smothered to the extent that they collapsed and disappeared, and dense compacted accumulations of H. reticulatum caused localised anoxic conditions while it decayed.