Effect of Water Quality on Phytoplankton Structure in Oxbow Lakes under Anthropogenic and Non‐Anthropogenic Impacts

Abstract

In this study, we present the effects of environmental factors on phytoplankton in two different oxbow lakes formed from the Vistula River. One of these lakes is under extreme anthropogenic pressure, i.e. impacted by industrial and municipal effluents and characterized by high water temperature and high concentrations of ions. The other oxbow lake is located in a natural forest with some its abiotic factors lower compared to the first oxbow lake. There were significant changes among environmental parameters, which influenced significant differences between the phytoplankton populations. The dominant algae of the impacted oxbow were small centric diatoms, which are able to rapidly absorb nutrients and have a rapid turnover. The results demonstrated that human impacted lake was a habitat, where species with a broad range of ecological requirements survive. However, these habitats are also more vulnerable for the entry and colonization of invasive algal species. In the forest oxbow lake, without human impact, heterogeneity of water quality parameters resulted in different specific habitats. Oxbow lakes are important as biodiversity hotspots for rare and/or endemic species.

Contrasting Phytoplankton Structure and Morphologically Based Functional Groups of Reservoirs That Differ in the Adjacent Surrounding

“…The relation between forest and other natural components of surrounding and ammonia nitrogen might be a result of non‐anthropogenic impact, which promoted domination of autogenic processes and higher concentration of NH 4 + in the Aukstadvaris reservoir. Similar trends were shown for oxbow lakes with anthropogenic and non‐anthropogenic influences .…”

“…In the water reservoir with undisturbed natural surroundings, large mixotrophic algae (group V) able to tolerate low nutrients concentration were the most important MBFG group. Domination of mixotrophs (chrysophytes, dinophytes, prymnesiophytes) in waters with forest surrounding was observed in many studies . In the waters surrounded by forest and marshes, nutrients are bound to humic/organic substances and may not be available for autotrophic algae.…”

Does Dredging of Floodplain Lakes Affects The Structure of The Macrophytes and Epiphytic Fauna Inhabiting Stratiotes Aloides?

“…Any hydrotechnical activities within natural oxbow lakes should be preceded by a detailed analysis of biological and hydrological conditions in each water body to avoid losses of valuable elements of the ecosystems in river valleys. Changes in habitat quality affect biotic components of aquatic ecosystems [8,17] and are reflected in the biodiversity of plant and animal assemblages [18,19].…”

Does hydrological connectivity determine the benthic macroinvertebrate structure in oxbow lakes?

“…Predatory pressure, phytoplankton biomass, nutrient concentration and bottom type also play an important role (e.g. Schneider and Winemiller, 2008;Miranda et al, 2014;Wilk-Woźniak et al, 2014). Firstly, the type of a water body is crucial followed by the type of bottom and the depth (Glińska-Lewczuk and Burandt, 2011).…”

“…In spite of the usually limited contact with the main riverbed, oxbow lakes play a very important ecological role as a place of incubation for amphibians and ichthyofauna. They also contribute to the reconstruction of species composition in river basins after rapid floods, which are detrimental to riverine fauna (Kennen et al, 2010;Wilk-Woźniak et al, 2014). Additionally, oxbows can be used in the restoration of degraded water courses (Obolewski and Glińska-Lewczuk, 2011).…”