Patterns and variation of littoral habitat size among lakes

The littoral zone varies in size among lakes from ∼3% to 100% of lake surface area. In this paper, we derive a simple theoretical scaling relationship that explains this variation, and test this theory using bathymetric data across the size spectra of freshwater lakes (surface area = 0.01–82,103 km2, maximum depth = 2–1,741 m). Littoral area primarily reflects the ratio of the maximum depth of photosynthesis to maximum lake depth. However, lakes that are similar in these characteristics can have different relative littoral areas because of variation in basin shape. Hypsometric (area-elevation) models that describe these patterns for individual lakes can be generalized among lakes to accurately predict the relative size of littoral habitat when there is incomplete bathymetric information. Collectively, our results provide simple rules for understanding patterns of littoral habitat size at the regional and global scales.