Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak

Effects of flood on the functioning of the Dobczyce reservoir ecosystem

The effects of two summer floods, in 1997 and 2001 on phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish in the Dobczyce reservoir are presented. Shifts in phytoplankton distribution (from hypolimnion into the whole water column) and species composition (domination of diatoms after the flood) were observed. High water flow eliminated large species of cladocerans and copepods (the most effective filtrators) and favoured development of rotifers. Both, the total zooplankton biomass and chlorophyll a concentration after the flood dropped considerably. In the case of fish, the observed changes in their distribution and decrease in concentration were attributed to their behaviour. During the flood, fish were avoiding open water also during the night, but two weeks following the flood they returned to their usual migratory behaviour. The Dobczyce reservoir ecosystem showed great regeneration abilities to recover after the flood.

Alien cyanobacteria: an unsolved part of the “expansion and evolution” jigsaw puzzle?

Abstract Some algal species have extended their native range. Problems in settling on a proper definition of ‘alien’ for microorganisms have made it difficult to unequivocally assess whether their spread was natural or resulted from human intervention. As direct evidence seems to be virtually non-existent, the only option is to rely on circumstantial evidence. In this paper, we discuss the expansion routes of three cyanobacteria species: Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Raphidiopsis mediterranea and Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi. We analyse the information available for these species, which are commonly regarded as alien, in order to establish the context in which the migration and evolution of these microorganisms should be understood, so that a proper assessment of their geographic expansion can be made. A more complete picture of the expansion and evolution of microorganisms must combine many types of information, including the history of local expansions, ecological ranges, and data from studies in morphology, ecology, genetics and paleolimnology.

Comments on the diet of Asplanchna priodonta [Gosse, 1850] in the Dobczycki dam reservoir on the basis of field sample observations

Comments on the diet of Asplanchna priodonta (Gosse, 1850) in the Dobczycki dam reservoir on the basis of field sample observations During a monitoring programme the diet composition of Asplanchna priodonta was studied. Samples were collected every month from the deepest part of the Dobczycki dam reservoir (Southern Poland). The diet of A. priodonta, which included colonial cyanobacteria, diatoms, dinoflagelates and protozoa, indicated that it is both a grazer and a predator. These results support the hypothesis that A. priodonta is an opportunistic feeder. Additionally these results include the first observations of the protozoan Tintinnopsis sp. as a food source of Asplanchna.

Phyto- and zooplankton in fishponds contaminated with heavy metal runoff from a lead-zinc mine

This investigation focused on plankton inhabiting fishponds, which previously received mine waters from the lead-zinc mine ‘Matylda’, located in southern Poland (Upper Silesia). The purpose of the investigation was to study the effects of chronic and persistent contamination of fishpond bottom sediments with heavy metals originated from the lead and zinc mine. The phyto-and zooplankton in the four fishponds were dominated by diatoms, green algae and rotifers. Plankton composition of the reference non-contaminated pond was different, since Chrysophytes dominated, and Copepoda were the most numerous among zooplankton. In the contaminated fishponds, we observed teratological forms, both for phyto-and zooplankton species, but only as individuals. Our results showed that planktonic communities had adapted to chronic and persistent heavy metal contamination.

Towards clarifying the presence of alien algae in inland waters — can we predict places of their occurrence?

Small algae are the trophic basis in both marine and freshwater ecosystems. The identification of tiny microorganisms and place of their origin is laborious but necessary. This paper consists of a literature review of 17 species of planktonic algae, with a discussion of taxonomic problems. We also clarify whether these 17 species are non-native, invasive or cryptogenic species, with an indication whether they had been recognised as ‘alien’ in Europe. According to our observations, areas colonized by small and alien algal species, were anthropogenically altered. There were: systems with heated waters (‘heated islands’), which imitated tropical conditions; highly eutrophic to hypereutrophic water ecosystems, easily colonized by alien species, fishponds with intense fish cultivation, where alien species of fish are/had been introduced, which carried also other alien organisms; and inland water ecosystems with high salinity or high conductivity e.g. pits inundated by mine waters, imitating sea or brackish conditions acting as hubs of migration of alien species adapted to brackish or saline waters. We have prepared a map showing areas inhabited by alien species, both of documented places and hypothetical ones, where we would expect alien species to occur.

Microbial efficiency in a meromictic reservoir

Microbial efficiency in a meromictic reservoir Indices of microbial efficiency (expressed as oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release) were determined in the water column of the meromictic Piaseczno Reservoir (in an opencast sulphur mine), which is rich in sulphur compounds. Phytoplankton abundances were low in both the mixolimnion (up to 15 m depth) and monimolimnion (below 15 m depth). In summer and winter, carbon dioxide release was 3-fold and 5-fold higher, respectively, in the monimolimnion than in the mixolimnion. Laboratory enrichments of the sulphur substrate of the water resulted in a decrease in oxygen consumption rate of by about 42% in mixolimnion samples, and in the carbon dioxide release rate by about 69% in monimolimnion samples. Water temperature, pH and bivalent ion contents were of major importance in shaping the microbial metabolic efficiency in the mixolimnion, whilst in the monimolimnion these relationships were not evident.