Habitats of Molluscs: Lowland Lake Habitat

Species frequently associated with lowland lakes & reservoirs in Britain.

Lowland lake

For present purposes, an area of standing water which is large enough for winds to create waves, may be considered to be a lake.

Lowland lakes usually contain "hard water" and so tend to have a good range of species, provided the edges are not steep and emergent vegetaion can become established. Most invertebrates are to be found around the periphery of the lake.

Leisure pursuits such as boating, water sports and angling are all deliterious to invertebrate communities; the first two due to disturbance, and the third due to overstocking with fish in order to increase the catches.

Mollusc species often associated with lowland lakes include :–

Gastropods:
Anisus vortex, Bithynia tentaculata, Gyraulus albus, G. crista, G. laevis (as a pioneer coloniser), Hippeutis complanatus, Lymnaea stagnalis, Physa fontinalis, Planorbarius corneus, Planorbis carinatus, Radix auricularia, R. balthica, Valvata cristata, V. piscinalis

Bivalves:
Anodonta cygnea, Dreissena polymorpha (mainly in reservoirs in this context), Musculium lacustre, Pisidium casertanum, P. henslowanum, P. nitidum, P. subtruncatum, Sphaerium corneum, Unio pictorum.

The nomenclature used in the list follows "An annoted list of the non-marine mollusca of Britain and Ireland."  by Dr. Roy Anderson,  2005 in Journal of Conchology Vol. 38: Part 6 pages 607– 637, which may also be accessed from the menu to the left under 'British Non-marine List'