Gábor Várbíró

Algal assemblage types of bog-lakes in Hungary and their relation to water chemistry, hydrological conditions and habitat diversity

Algal flora of 12 bog lakes was investigated during the period of March 1995 to August 1999 in Hungary. Of the 129 samples, 624 taxa of algae were identified. Species richness of individual samples ranged between 8 and 107 except the extraordinarily species rich Baláta-tó where 533 algal taxa were observed. Ordination of the samples resulted in five groups: (1) assemblages dominated by chlorococcalean algae and planktonic Cyanoprokaryota; (2) assemblages dominated by flagellates (Dinophyta, Cryptophyta, Euglenophyta, Chrysophyceae, Raphidophyceae); (3) chlorococcalean algae and cyanoprokaryotic assemblages with desmids, cryptophytes, dinoflagellates or euglenophytes as subdominants; (4) assemblages dominated by diatoms and (5) a group of samples where other taxa belonging to Xanthophyta and filamentous green algae dominated. The bogs were typically rich in inorganic N and P, moreover, their water chemical characteristics (including pH and conductivity) were rather uniform. Therefore, other factors than chemical properties were responsible for different flora. The above groups were characteristic to certain types of habitats. In the first group, plankton samples from relatively large pools with considerable open water can be found. The second group included samples taken from small bog pools. The third group contained the periphyton samples from macrophytes, living in bogs with constantly reliable water supply. Samples of group four and five comprised small bogs that occasionally dry up. Periphyton of lakes with Sphagnum belonged exclusively to the fifth group. This study has shown that small bog-pools are often inhabited by different species of flagellates and desmids are not as important as it has been widely believed. Hydrological properties and habitat diversity are the major factors influencing species richness of Hungarian bog-lakes.

Phytoplankton functional and morpho-functional approach in large floodplain rivers

Influence of hydrological characteristics and nutrient concentrations on phytoplankton was investigated in four large rivers (Mura, Drava, Danube and Sava) in the Pannonian ecoregion in Croatia to understand how phytoplankton of rivers can be explained by the “different functional group approach”. To gain a clearer understanding of the factors that affect river phytoplankton, the present study examined phytoplankton biomass and composition in relationship with physical and chemical parameters assessed in detail by preparing self-organising maps using functional groups and morpho-functional groups. Total nitrogen along with water residence time showed to be the best predictor to determine phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll a. Phytoplankton diversity increased with higher water discharge, but it had the consequence of diluting algae and decreasing biomass. Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae species dominated the phytoplankton assemblages in all rivers. Diatoms predominated in rivers with shorter residence time. Dominant diatom codons of functional groups were C, D and TB while morpho-functional groups were represented by only diatom group VI. As residence time increased, the proportion of chlorococcalean green algae, represented by functional group codon T and morpho-functional group IV grew in summer. Since potamoplankton is dominated by diatoms, functional groups with its fine partition of diatom codons proved to be excellent descriptor of the potamoplankton. Application of morpho-functional groups originally developed from the lake data, showed to be limiting because of the predominating presence of only one diatom group.

Characteristics of the pelagic phytoplankton in shallow oxbows

Numerous oxbows of different sizes, depths and ages accompany alluvial rivers in the Carpathian basin. These water bodies provide various habitats for macroscopic and microscopic assemblages. Phytoplankton of 13 oxbows in the Tisza valley was studied between 2005 and 2008. In this article, we focussed on the following questions (i) do the oxbows have unique microflora? (ii) does the macrophyte coverage have a large effect on the composition and biomass of the algal assemblages? and (iii) does the higher plants dominated state result in clear-water conditions in the oxbows? The studied oxbows were in different stages of the ageing process. We classified the sampled oxbows according to their macrophyte vegetation into five types. A total of 646 species of algae were recorded in the oxbows over the study period. The microflora was dominated by cyanophytes, chlorococcalean green algae, euglenophytes and diatom species. Phytoplankton species were allocated into 32 coda. For the determination of typical algal assemblages, we used Kohonen’s Self Organizing Map (SOM) statistical analysis combined with K-means clustering, which has resulted five different types of phytoplankton associations. These types were dominated by coda Y, LO, W1, WS and J. Chlorophyll a data of the sparsely and densely vegetated oxbows did not differ, since a wide range of values characterised both types of the lakes. In this study, the composition of the microflora is similar to that of other eutrophic lakes, but some rarely occurring taxa such as Peridinium gatunense Nygaard and Peridiniopsis elpatiewskyi (Ostenf.) Bourelly might play a key role in the phytoplankton succession of the oxbows. The effect of the macrophyte coverage was decisive in the composition of the algal assemblages, and our investigations indicated that, in the case of the oxbows, the macrophyte-dominated state does not necessarily result in a clear-water state.

Comparing aspirations: Intercalibration of ecological status concepts across European lakes for littoral diatoms

Eleven European countries participated in an exercise to harmonise diatom-based methods used for status assessment in lakes. Lakes were divided into low, medium and high alkalinity types for this exercise. However, it was not possible to perform a full intercalibration on low alkalinity lakes due to the short gradient and confounding factors. Values of the Trophie Index were computed for all samples in order that national datasets could all be expressed on a common scale. Not all participants had reference sites against which national methods could be standardised and, therefore, a Generalised Linear Modelling approach was used to control the effect of national differences in datasets. This enabled the high/good and good/moderate status boundaries to be expressed on a common scale and for deviations beyond ±0.25 class widths to be identified. Those countries which had relaxed boundaries were required to adjust these to within ±0.25 class widths whilst the intercalibration rules allowed those countries with more stringent boundaries to retain these. Despite biogeographical and typological differences between countries, there was broad agreement on the characteristics of high, good and moderate status diatom assemblages, and the exercise has ensured consistent application of Water Framework Directive assessments around Europe.

Improvement of the ecological water qualification system of rivers based on the first results of the Hungarian phytobenthos surveillance monitoring

Results of an ecological quality ratio-based qualification system, developed on the basis of the analysis of 1,161 benthic diatom dataset of the Hungarian national database, are presented herein. Using Kohonen’s Self Organising Map technique, the 25 Hungarian physiographic river types were pooled into six larger distinct categories (diatom river groups). Diatom metrics were tested for their sensitivity to the targeted stressors (nutrients, COD hydromorphological alteration) in each group. The strongest relationships were found in the case of the IPS, SI and TI indices; therefore the average of these metrics (IPSITI) was proposed as a national multimetric index for Hungarian streams. Based on IPSITI values, the ratio of moderate to worse quality water was the highest in those groups containing small rivers. In the case of large, lowland and mid-altitude rivers with fine sediment, the good and moderate ecological status was more characteristic. Applicability of the IPSITI seems to be very useful in case of small- and medium-sized rivers. For these rivers, the index showed a significant relationship with nutrients and organic pollutants. In the case of very large rivers, the stressor–index relationships were not significant because of the insufficient number of samples and the small range of stressors.

Disturbance and stress: different meanings in ecological dynamics?

There is an increasing frequency of papers addressing disturbance and stress in ecology without clear delimitation of their meaning. Some authors use the terms disturbance and stress exclusively as impacts, while others use them for the entire process, including both causes and effects. In some studies, the disturbance is considered as a result of a temporary impact, which is positive for the ecosystem, while stress is a negative, debilitating impact. By developing and testing simple theoretical models, the authors propose to differentiate disturbance and stress by frequency. If the frequency of the event enables the variable to reach a dynamic equilibrium which might be exhibited without this event, then the event (plus its responses) is a disturbance for the system. If frequency prevents the variable’s return to similar pre-event dynamics and drives or shifts it to a new trajectory, then we are facing stress. The authors propose that changes triggered by the given stimuli can be evaluated on an absolute scale, therefore, direction of change of the variable must not be used to choose one term or the other, i.e. to choose between stress and disturbance.

Which factors affect phytoplankton biomass in shallow eutrophic lakes

The restoration and management of shallow, pond-like systems are hindered by limitations in the applicability of the well-known models describing the relationship between nutrients and lake phytoplankton biomass in higher ranges of nutrient concentration. Trophic models for naturally eutrophic small, shallow, endorheic lakes have not yet been developed, even though these are the most frequent standing waters in continental lowlands. The aim of this study was to identify variables that can be considered as main drivers of phytoplankton biomass and to build a predictive model. The influence of potential drivers of phytoplankton biomass (nutrients, other chemical variables, land use, lake use and lake depth) from 24 shallow eutrophic lakes was tested using data in the Pannonian ecoregion (Hungary and Romania). By incorporating lake depth, TP, TN and lake use as independent and Chl-a as dependent variables into different models (multiple regression model, GLM and multilayer perception model) predictive models were built. These models explained >50% of the variance. Although phytoplankton biomass in small, shallow, enriched lakes is strongly influenced by stochastic effects, our results suggest that phytoplankton biomass can be predicted by applying a multiple stressor approach, and that the model results can be used for management purposes.

Use of desmids to assess the natural conservation value of a Hungarian oxbow (Malom-Tisza, NE-Hungary)*

A method recently proposed by Coesel that uses the desmid flora to assess the conservation value of aquatic habitats was applied to an alkaline and hypertrophic oxbow of the Upper Tisza river (NE Hungary). According to the macrophyte community the oxbow contains two distinct habitats, both of which provide suitable conditions for the development of a rich desmid flora. High temporal and spatial differences in the algal flora were observed in periphyton and plankton samples taken in June and August 2004. The sample of Utricularia vulgaris periphyton collected in August was characterised by the most species-rich desmid flora. The conservation value of this sample was the maximum according to Coesel’s method. The latter also proved to be useful for the assessment of the conservation value of plankton net samples taken from among the macrophytes. The use of modified rarity value calculations as recently proposed by Fehér did not significantly affect the conservation value, but different enumeration methods to quantify the floristic diversity did result in different conservation values. We found that Coesel’s desmid based method is a useful tool for assessing the conservation value of the studied oxbow. Based our results the Coesel method’s applicability and usefulness depended on (i) the sampling location (open water or macrophytic region) samples were taken from open water or from macrophytic region; and (ii) species enumeration procedures (up to 400 specimens counted, or whole droplets counted).

Comparative algological and bacteriological examinations on biofilms developed on different substrata in a shallow soda lake

According to the European Water Framework Directives, benthic diatoms of lakes are a tool for ecological status assessment. In this study, we followed an integrative sample analysis approach, in order to find an appropriate substratum for the water qualification-oriented biomonitoring of a shallow soda lake, Lake Velencei. Six types of substrata (five artificial and one natural), i.e., andesite, granite, polycarbonate, old reed stems, Plexiglass discs and green reed, were sampled in May and in November. We analysed total alga and diatom composition, chlorophyll a content of the periphyton, surface tension and roughness of the substrata and carbon source utilisation of microbial communities. Water quality index was calculated based on diatom composition. Moreover, using a novel statistical tool, a self-organising map, we related algal composition to substratum types. Biofilms on plastic substrates deviated to a great extent from the stone and reed substrata, with regard to the parameters measured, whereas the biofilms developing on reed and stone substrata were quite similar. We conclude that for water quality monitoring purposes, sampling from green reed during springtime is not recommended, since this is the colonization time of periphyton on the newly growing reed, but it may be appropriate from the second half of the vegetation period. Stone and artificially placed old reed substrata may be appropriate for biomonitoring of shallow soda lakes in both spring and autumn since they showed in both seasons similar results regarding all measured features.

Rainfall fluctuations and vegetation patterns in alkali grasslands - using self-organizing maps to visualise vegetation dynamics

Knowledge about the drivers of vegetation dynamics in grasslands is fundamental to select appro-priate management for conservation purposes. In this study, we provide a detailed analysis of vegeta-tion dynamics in alkali grasslands, a priority habitat of the Natura 2000 network. We studied vegetation dynamics in five stands of four alkali grassland types in the Hortobagy National Park (eastern Hunga-ry), between 2009 and 2011. We analysed the effect of fluctuations in precipitation on both the overall vegetation composition and on the cover of each species using Self Organizing Map neural networks (SOM). We found that SOM is a promising tool to reveal plant community dynamics. As we analysed species cover and overall vegetation composition separately, we were able to identify the species re-sponsible for particular vegetation changes. Fluctuations in precipitation (a dry season, followed by a wet and an average season) caused quick shifts in plant species composition because of an increasing cover of halophyte forbs, probably because of salinisation. We observed a similar effect of stress from waterlogging in all studied grassland types. The species composition of Puccinellia grasslands was the most stable over the three years with varying precipitation. This was important as this grassland type contained many threatened halophyte species. Self-organising maps revealed small-scale vegetation changes and provided a detailed visualisation of short-term vegetation dynamics, thus we suggest that the application of this method is also promising to reveal community dynamics in more species-rich habitat types or landscapes.