| Canadian Shield lakes in Southern Ontario face pressures from cottage development. I examined the hypothesis that cottage development influences aquatic plant communities and nutrient pools. Macrophyte communities of lakes (n=12, development 0--23 cottages/km) were sampled. Shallow water plant biomass, richness, and diversity were negatively related to development (p=0.076; p=0.036; p=0.016). Undeveloped lakes were dominated by floating leaf and emergent species, developed lakes by submersed species. Plant C:N:P ratios were highly variable (C:P mean=815, st.dev.=485; C:N mean=20.6, st.dev.=5.8; N:P mean=39.3, st.dev.=21.4), with development being the best predictor (correlation scores C:P=-0.44, C:N=-0.29, N:P=-0.41). Biomass weighted plant community C:N:P showed a negative trend with development. Effects on abundance, composition, and nutrient pools of aquatic plants are altering the environment and biogeochemistry of littoral zones of cottage developed lakes.;Keywords: aquatic plants, macrophytes, cottage development, Canadian Shield lakes, nutrients, C:N:P ratios, littoral. |
