Development of the mud habitat during the filling of two new lakes

Abstract
Summary: An attempt is made to illustrate some of the principles of early development of muds in two contrasting lake basins which were devoid of vegetation cover before filling. Essentially the changes involve the dispersion and redistribution of particles in the newly flooded lake bottom. Field and laboratory observations are presented to demonstrate the interaction that exists between water chemistry, wave erosion and the burrowing activity of mud‐dwelling insect larvae, and the effect of these factors on particle size sorting in the substrate. These characteristic changes in the mud during filling are compared with post‐filling stage developments in which the role of extraneous material, including organic matter, may predominate.