Original paper
Influence of water level fluctuations on phytoplankton communities in an oxbow lake
Dembowska, Ewa A.; Kubiak-Wójcicka, Katarzyna
Fundamental and Applied Limnology Volume 190 Nr. 3 (2017), p. 221 - 233
published: Aug 1, 2017
published online: Jun 21, 2017
manuscript accepted: May 15, 2017
manuscript received: Nov 28, 2016
ArtNo. ESP141019003005, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Abstract The study was aimed at examining phytoplankton communities in an oxbow lake of the Vistula River during two different hydrological stages: potamophase and limnophase. River level fluctuations influenced the lake water level. The study investigated the abundance, biomass, species composition, and functional groups of phytoplankton. The observations were made for four years during the growing season at two-week intervals. We identified a total of 304 taxa of algae. Species with the highest biomass belonged to 16 functional groups (FGs). Although the trophic state of the lake did not change (eutrophy), dominant algal species varied between stages. During limnophase the phytoplankton was dominated by coccal chlorophytes, mainly from FG J, while during potamophase, by centric diatoms from FG C and D (mainly by Cyclotella meneghiniana, Actinocyclus normanii and Stephanodiscus hantzschii). Our results indicate that hydrological conditions affect the water transparency as well as the predominance of certain algal species in the oxbow lake, periodically connected with the river.
Keywords
floodplain lake • potamophase • limnophase • phytoplankton • functional groups • water level