Influence of fish introduction and water level decrease on lakes of the arid Patagonian plateaus with importance for biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity loss in shallow lakes is associated to several factors among which water level decrease and fish introduction are indicated as potential stressors. The Patagonian basaltic plateaus, located in one of the most arid regions of South America, hold thousands of shallow lakes and ponds and some large lakes, where vegetated lakes are the prime habitat for waterbirds, including endemic threatened species. We studied 31different lakes at...