Ornitholimnology: Effects of grazing by the Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus).
Experimental exclusion of the Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) from shallow water areas of a salt lake in the Bolivian Andes caused large increases in the biomass of microorganisms inhabiting the surface sediments, especially a large diatom (Surirella wetzeli), amebas, ciliates, and nematodes. This is a conservative demonstration of the influences that water birds in general exert on the structure of aquatic ecosystems.
Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182.
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Hurlbert
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Chang