Volume 41 (2012): Issue 3 (September 2012)

A set of classification methods was developed for the Polish coastal and transitional waters regarding the biological quality elements — phytoplankton, macrophytes and macroinvertebrates as required by the EU Water Framework Directive. Mean summer chlorophyll-a and total summer biomass of phytoplankton were proposed as indicators in the phytoplankton assessment. Macrophytes were assessed by the Macrophyte Quality Assessment Index, including biomass and percent bottom coverage of the selected taxa. Macroinvertebrate assessment was based on a biotic index comprising abundance, dominance structure, taxonomical richness and species sensitivity/tolerance to eutrophication. A preliminary assessment of the ecological status revealed that the coastal and transitional waters failed to reach a ‘good’ ecological status.

Body mass and body composition of 27 adult Velvet Scoters (Melanitta fusca) were studied. These birds were collected from January to March in the Gulf of Gdańsk, Poland. Body mass, fat, and protein contents of both males and females decreased significantly between mid and late winter, possibly because of a physiological process or a result of worsening environmental conditions. In mid-winter, the mean body mass of males and females did not differ significantly, whereas in late winter the difference in body mass between sexes became prominent. There was no difference in fat mass between the sexes, but females had higher lipid indexes despite their smaller size. The lack of expected fat mass increase in late winter may be due to the spring migration strategy of Velvet Scoters, which apparently opt to fly short distances rather than make long non-stop flights after departure from the Gulf of Gdańsk. Body mass was the best predictor of fat mass accumulated by Velvet Scoters wintering in the Gulf of Gdańsk.

The main objective of this paper is to report three benthic diatom species from the Nišava and Jerma Rivers, which prove to be new findings in the context of the Serbian diatom flora. These are also new distributional records for all three species. Monthly samples (from stones, sediments and macrophytes) were collected from May 2008 to May 2009. Diatom frustules were cleaned using chemical agents, and mounted on permanent slides. Descriptions (main valve measurement of the populations in the Nišava and Jerma Rivers), ecology, distribution in Serbia and Europe, and appropriate photomicrographs of three species are presented. Navicula novaesiberica Lange-Bertalot and Neidiomorpha binodiformis (Krammer) Lange-Bertalot & Cantonati are rarely found in Europe, while Parlibellus protracta (Grunow) Witkowski is more common. Navicula novaesiberica and Neidiomorpha binodiformis were found at higher water temperatures in comparison to temperatures reported in the existing literature. These new taxa significantly contribute to diatom floristic richness of the Nišava and Jerma Rivers in Serbia.

Twaite shad Alosa fallax (12–48 cm total length) from the Gulf of Gdansk feed on Mysids: Mysis mixta, Neomysis integer, and fish: Sprattus sprattus, Osmerus eperlanus, and Pomatoschistus sp.. In the stomachs of A. fallax there also occur Hydrobia sp., Diptera and small stones, particles of wood and plastic. The food of inshore twaite shad measured from 12 to 21 cm centered on M. mixta. Fish are the main prey for A. fallax from the class length 22–31 cm from the Vistula River mouth and for all shads longer than 32 cm.

In this work, data on methanogenic Archaea communities in sediment from the coastal area of Puck Bay were investigated. Sediments were collected along the Hel Peninsula from areas characterized by the occurrence of gas bubbles. Based on the analysis of molecular markers, the presence of a specific methanogenic Archaea gene was detected at all stations. Further research involved the cloning and sequencing of methanogenic DNA. Based on the comparison of obtained genetic sequences with existing genetic databases, it was confirmed that all of the nucleotide sequences belonged to the domain Archaea. Furthermore, in the investigated sediment certain sequences had certain similarities to the sequences of organisms from the families Methanosarcinaceae, Methanospirillaceae and Methanocorpusculaceae.

This work presents the results of the study on methane emission from the sea bottom in the coastal zone of Puck Bay. The investigations were conducted from June through September 2010 at seven sampling sites located along the Hel Peninsula. The research results indicate that the methane flux rates vary periodically. Methane emission from seabed into near-bottom water in the coastal zone of Puck Bay along the Hel Peninsula ranged from 0.91 mmol m−2 d−1 to 49.15 mmol m−2 d−1.

The aim of this study was to determine the existence of cosmic spherules in oceanic sediments. Two cores recovered from the Clarion-Clipperton fault zone (northeastern Pacific Basin) contain magnetic spherules of extraterrestrial origin. Their chemical compositions and morphological features show the degree of heterogeneity of cosmic material reaching the earth’s surface. The diverse origins of spherules from the Pacific Ocean explains their diverse composition and does not allow for the classification of the material into a single group. In addition, the time interval over which sediments accumulated extends for an estimated period of approximately 200 000 years to the present.

Nine lakes (Garda, Maggiore, Como, Iseo, Lugano, Idro, Pusiano, Ledro, and Levico) located in the Italian subalpine lacustrine district were chosen for a comparative study of the diversity and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins. All nine lakes are known to host different toxic cyanobacteria, mainly Planktothrix rubescens. An analytical protocol has been used, based on LC-MS technique, for determining 20 different toxins (14 microcystins, 2 nodularins, anatoxin-a and 3 cylindrospermopsins). In the investigation, microcystins were found in all lakes on all sampling dates. Anatoxin-a could be detected in 6 lakes, but it was only present in 4 lakes on all sampling dates (lakes Garda, Iseo, Como, and Maggiore). Nodularins and cylindrospermopsins were not detected at all. The number of microcystins detected in the survey was 9, but 4 were the most abundant (dmRR, YR, dmLR, and LR); they were differently distributed among the lakes, thus providing each lake a unique toxic potential. Statistical analysis showed positive correlations between total microcystin concentrations and eutrophication indicators and also between anatoxin-a concentrations and water temperature, suggesting that anthropic and climate-related stressors can have different impacts on the presence of different cyanotoxins.

The aim of this paper was a taxonomic verification of cyanobacteria of the genus Anabaena that occur in the Gulf of Gdańsk. Classical taxonomic methods were combined with modern molecular taxonomic methods (polyphasic approach). Analysis of the species diversity of cyanobacteria from the genus Anabaena was based on the microscopic analysis and on the analysis of 16S rRNA and ITS region. Comparison of the obtained results with sequences in GenBank showed 97.8–100% similarity for 16S rRNA and 98.8-100% similarity in the case of the ITS fragment. Similarity of the 16S rRNA and ITS sequence of 98.5% seems to be sufficient to determine the species.

Wetlands cover almost 14% of the area of Poland, but most of them are in bad condition. This paper aims are compiling an up-to-date Polish list of wetland species based on the data on their distribution and threat status in individual regions. 609 species were analyzed and their respective threat categories were examined in 13 local lists. It has been shown that 65% of the wetland species are classified as threatened taxa in at least one red local list. The data were used to create a formula for calculating the new threat category for each of the species. The resulting red list of wetland species includes 283 taxa.

The research on phytoplankton communities in Lake Charzykowskie was carried out at intervals since the 1940s till the beginning of the 21 century. Long-term observations, initially of the species composition and in the following years also of the biomass and the concentration of chlorophyll-a in relation to habitat conditions, allowed to assess the impact of the catchment area on changes in the trophic status of the lake for over 50 years. And thus, based on the results of physicochemical analysis and studies on the phytoplankton structure in the 1940s, the lake was classified as ß-mesotrophic (Cabejszek 1950), between the 1960s and the1990s as eutrophic (Szulkowska-Wojaczek 1968, 1976; Wiśniewska 1994, 2000), in 2004 as hypertrophic (Wiśniewska 2005), and in 2008 and 2009 as meso-eutrophic.

The European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758), enters the Baltic Sea only occasionally. Little is known about the parasites that inhabit this fish in the northern part of its natural range (north-eastern Atlantic). This study is based on 32 anchovies sampled in autumn 2006 from a substantial bycatch accompanying sprat in the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea).

The fish were examined using standard parasitological procedures, and yielded 10 L3 larvae of the nematode Hysterothylacium aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802). The prevalence and the intensity (mean and range) were 21.9%, 1.4, and 1–4, respectively.