Response of cyanobacteria and algae community from small water bodies to physicochemical parameters

The article presents the research into the taxonomic diversity of cyanobacteria and algae, as well as the relationships between these organisms and the habitat conditions of certain water ecosystems varying in origin and location (both rural and urban reservoirs in the Lower Silesia region — Poland). Another issue addressed in the paper is the influence of ecological conditions and the origins of the reservoirs on the structure of phytoplankton. The RDA enabled to identify the most important biological parameters (the biodiversity of cyanobacteria and algae described using the Shannon-Weaver Index) and the physicochemical properties of the studied basins. The results distinguished four groups of basins (I — artificial basins within urban areas; II — old river-beds within urban areas; III — ponds in rural areas; IV — an old river-bed in forest areas). This distinction shows major relevance of the reservoirs’ origins and their presence in the landscape. Additional PCA and RDA analyses of the studied basins have shown that the biological parameters are more efficient in diversifying the basins in respect of their origins than the physicochemical parameters.