Volume 44 (2015): Issue 4 (December 2015)

During the twenty-five years of existence, water quality has declined and severe blooms of cyanobacteria have occurred in the Grlište Reservoir. Changes in phytoplankton functional groups over time and along horizontal and vertical gradients were investigated in the course of a one-year study in this water-supply reservoir. We identified 19 dominant taxa, classified into 12 phytoplankton associations. The presence of the codons C, P, D and S1 differentiated the transitional from the lacustrine part of the reservoir. The nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria Dolichospermum viguieri dominated the phytoplankton community in the epilimnion during August and September, when the reservoir showed P-limitation, but the bloom was not observed. The driving factors that accounted for the main variability in phytoplankton functional groups along the seasonal and vertical profile were identified using the direct gradient analysis (RDA). Our results revealed the importance of two bipolar factors. The first factor explained the variability in phytoplankton due to thermal stratification and physical mixing, each process affecting the algal community in contrasting ways. The second factor was interpreted as reduction vs. oxidation processes. Positive correlation between stratification and water pumping by a drinking water plant indicated that human activities were not severe enough to break down the thermal stability of the reservoir and to cause a cyanobacterial bloom.

The objective of this study was to analyze macroinvertebrate assemblages dominated by Chironomidae (Diptera) and to assess the protective nature of these midges’ larval tubes against trace metals in the weakly polluted Bzura River. This low order lowland river flows through the Łódź City Municipal Area and is supplied by a large amount of organic matter from ecotones and a polluted roadside. Determination of metal content in sediments and chironomid tissue and tubes was conducted using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Our study has shown that the composition of chironomid assemblages was not determined by trace metals but rather by high organic enrichment, which caused the dominance of two species representing the same trophic group − gathering collectors − but differing in behavior. One of them belongs to free-rangers (Prodiamesa olivacea), while the other (Chironomus riparius) to tube-dweller larvae. Although the accumulation of certain trace metals in the tubes was found, the larvae of both types of behavior had a similar concentration of metals in their tissues, which proves effective metal detoxification in these insects.

The cosmopolitan freshwater oligochaete Aulodrilus pigueti Kowalewski, 1914 (Naididae: Tubificinae) was recorded for the first time in Poland. The species was found at a few groyne field sites and in the main flow of the middle and lower course of the Oder River. Forty two other species of oligochaetes were found in the analyzed material, including rarely found in Poland Aulodrilus japonicus and Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum, as well as alien species: Branchiura sowerbyi and Quistadrilus multisetosus.

Marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean are well recognized as one of the richest ecosystems in the world’s ocean, being at the same time the most vulnerable to climate change. Such vulnerability affects the distribution of water masses, thus influences the pelagic species dispersal and local diversity.

For certain reasons some plankton species can be used as indicators of water mass distribution. Although the use of copepods and chaetognaths in such a manner is well documented, still little is known about the potential of pelagic Coelenterata as possible indicator species; they are still poorly investigated in this part of the Arctic Ocean. Therefore, a survey of these gelatinous animals was conducted in a transect between the Norwegian, Greenland, and Barents Seas in summer 2011. A total of 21 taxa were encountered and the most abundant was Aglantha digitale. Species distribution coupled with hydrological analysis of the investigated area enabled us to establish the water mass indicator taxa. Therefore, A. digitale was connected with the Atlantic Water Mass, while Bougainvillia superciliaris and large numbers of ctenophores were correlated with the Arctic Water Mass.

The results presented herein may provide the basis for developing new tools to analyze changes in the Arctic Ocean.

The areas of northern Poland are typical examples of recently formed post-glacial landscapes with a very large number of small ponds. Phycology of these ponds has been seldom studied, especially when compared to data collected from lager post-glacial lakes. The aim of our study was to determine the importance of small ponds to the biodiversity of algae.

In 1996-2002 and 2012-13, we carried out phycological studies in 20 small ponds located in fields and forests. During the study period, we recorded the presence of 503 taxa of algae. The flora of algae was unique in each pond. Another important and frequent observation was the total and rapid “rebuilding” of algal flora.

Statistical analyses revealed some other important facts, including the importance of small ponds to algal biodiversity. The average number of taxa recorded during the studies of individual water reservoirs was 56, thus much less than usually recorded in typical large lakes. But when we take the large number of small ponds into consideration, it appears that they represent more than 97% of the populations of algae and for this reason they are important to the biodiversity of algae.

The study verifies the usefulness of aquatic beetles as an indicator of biodiversity of a simple ecological system. Detailed analyses were carried out at the elementary level for the purpose of determining the significance of correlations between the biodiversity of Coleoptera and other groups of aquatic insects in single samples. The relation of selected taxa to selected habitats of the lake Wukśniki (north-eastern Poland) was also investigated. Moreover, the possibility of application of biodiversity surrogates, i.e. higher taxonomic units (genera and orders), in the determination of biodiversity was examined. A significant high correlation was determined between Coleoptera and the total remaining taxa (RR - Remaining Richness) in samples collected in the entire lake. The correlation has the highest value at the species level. The complementarity analysis reveals that the percentage contribution of Coleoptera in the overall biodiversity of the lake is similarly high at the species and genus level, and substantially lower at the family level. In accordance with the hypothesis, aquatic beetles can be used as indicators of the overall biodiversity of insects in the ecosystem of a mesotrophic lake. Biodiversity surrogates, i.e. higher taxonomic units (genera and families), can be applied instead of the species level.

The experiment was established in a set of containers. Every container held a 10 cm thick layer of profundal sediments and water from a badly polluted lake. The following five preparations were tested (brand names): AQUAKALGON₊, BIOGEN REMEDIANT, BIODENN K, ECOTABS 1(TABLETS), ECOTABS 2(POWDER). The biological preparations were applied twice: phase I lasted 56 days and phase II was continued for 21 days. The research results demonstrated that considerably higher values, compared to the control, were initially (day 3) obtained for TOC after the application of ECOTABS 1, for total nitrogen − after BIODENN K and ECOTABS 1, and for total phosphorus − after BIODENN K, ECOTABS 1 and BIOGEN REMEDIANT. Multiplying bacteria might have been an additional source of organic matter in water, which was subsequently deposited in the bottom sediments as implicated by a higher percentage (by 1 to 7% of d.w.) of organic matter in the sediments at the termination of the experiment. Our preliminary experiment did not provide any justification for using the tested preparations in lake restoration efforts. Subsequent studies should focus on the question whether mineral phosphorus released to the lake water or a drastic change in the environmental conditions would not lead towards the dominance of invasive and highly toxic cyanobacteria.

Feeding activity and diet composition of round goby were investigated in the south-eastern Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian coastal waters during May-October 2012 in order to determine main feeding objects and seasonal periods when native fauna could be most affected by predation of this highly invasive species. In total, prey represented by 18 taxa was found in the gut contents of dissected fish. Feeding activity of round goby varied depending on the body size, sex and stage of the reproduction period. The gut contents of < 50 mm specimens were dominated by zooplanktonic and meiobenthic organisms, whereas larger individuals (50–99 mm) shifted to amphipods and mollusks. Individuals of the intermediate 100-200 mm length had a variable diet, changing depending on the season; in spring they mostly preyed on Macoma balthica, in summer − on polychaetes, while in autumn the contribution of Mytilus trossulus and fish considerably increased in their diet. Diet composition of individuals ≥ 200 mm was relatively constant in the course of the study with substantial preference to M. balthica. These findings imply that benthic fauna, particularly a newly settled generation of epibenthic mollusks in autumn is under strong predatory pressure of the round goby.

A parasitological study was carried out on 330 eelpouts from two fishing grounds of the Polish fishing zone off the Oder estuary (Pomeranian Bay and Dziwna Mouth). A total of 11 species and genera of parasites from six higher taxa were recorded: 1 monogenean, 1 digenean, 5 nematodes (eelpout was a new host for Ascarophis morhuae and Capillaria gracilis), 2 acanthocephalans, 1 mollusk and 1 protist (a fungus-related pathogen). A total of 4284 autogenic countable parasites were identified. These included parasites of eight species and two genera (six higher taxa) from Pomeranian Bay, and five species (two higher taxa) from the Dziwna Mouth. The abundance of parasites per host was higher in fish from the Dziwna Mouth, while the parasitic biodiversity index was almost two times lower than in Pomeranian Bay. Pomphorhynchus laevis dominated among the eelpout parasites in both fishing grounds, but the parasite communities from the Dziwna Mouth consisted of a larger number of dominating classes. The high intensity of infection of Hysterothylacium auctum and the relative density affect more the dimensions of the dominant parasite (P. laevis) in the Dziwna Mouth than the crowding of parasites. Infection by more abundant large parasites have an important influence on the value of Fulton’s coefficient.

Based on the survey records on netz-phytoplankton (>76 μm) collected in the South China Sea (SCS) during the cruise from the 21st August to the 18^th October, 2012, the species composition, biodiversity and its spatial distribution were studied. The identified 326 phytoplankton species belonged to 75 genera and 4 phyla. Thalassionema nitzschioides was the most dominant species accounting for 33.24% of the total cell abundance, followed by Bacteriastrum furcatum − 8.69%. Whereas the phytoplankton cell abundance (cells l^-1) was the highest in the Zhubi Reef (1106.45 ± 2475.38), the southern SCS (396.84 ± 969.87), the western SCS (90.82 ± 144.66) and the northern SCS (66.48 ± 70.89) in order. The distribution of phytoplankton appears to be affected by the Mekong river discharge and particles derived in Sumatra and Kalimantan from biomass burning, nutrient concentrations, the South China Sea Warm Current (SCSWC). The evaluation of biodiversity indices indicated the high level of species richness, evenness and biodiversity in the survey area.

In order to provide the first comparative source of nematofaunal data at the oxic/anoxic interface off the Sinop Peninsula, the southern Black Sea, a survey of meiofauna and nematode fauna was conducted in August 2011 aboard the exploration vessel (E/V) Nautilus with ROV during the Black Sea Expedition NA012. Higher meiofaunal taxa and nematode composition were investigated. Free-living marine nematodes were the most abundant group at each site. A total of 84 species were found, belonging to 23 families. The suboxic zone was dominated by the nematode Trefusia aff. longicauda (42%). This is the first record of the genus Trefusia De Man, 1893 for the Black Sea. Although many factors are likely to influence the changes in the meiofaunal abundance and the composition of nematode assemblages, we suggest that oxygen reduction indeed affected the meiofaunal abundance and the nematode composition, however, a particular preference of several taxa for extreme conditions may be suggested.

The process-based XBeach model has been used to simulate changes in beach and dune morphology in terms of influence of the significant storm event on the sandy Dziwnow Spit, located in the western part of the Polish coast. The research was carried out as part of the SatBałtyk project and represents the first stage of XBeach model application to create a system for recording the selected effects and hazards caused by current and expected storm events. The significant storm event, registered in 2009, was used for model calibration. Ten cross-shore profiles were selected and compared against preand post-storm morphological data. Model performance was verified on the basis of BSS values for the terrestrial part of the profiles. Verification of the results was performed using two different approaches: on the basis of the highest mean BSS value for all profiles together and for one set of parameters (approach no. 1) and on the basis of the highest BSS value for each profile and most adequate sets of parameters (approach no. 2). Additionally, the observed and modelled beach and dune volume changes were calculated. The research showed that the XBeach model is well capable of simulating the dune and beach erosion caused by the storm event, but the model requires site-specific calibration. High sensitivity of the XBeach model to the facua parameter was determined; the parameter defines the wave shape and affects the sediment transport. The best fit of the profiles was obtained for BSS, ranging between 0.71 and 0.93, with the parameter hmin = 0.01 or 0.05, facua = 0.2-0.5, wetslp = 0.2-0.4 and dryslp = 1 or 1.5. The volume estimation error ranged from + 0.6 m³ m^-1 to -7.7 m³ m^-1, which represents 2.7% to 31.6%.

In this paper, the classical problem of horizontal waveinduced momentum transport is analyzed once again. A new analytical approach has been employed to reveal the vertical variation of this transport in the Eulerian description.

In mathematical terms, this variation is shown to have (after “smoothing out” the surface corrugation) the character of a generalized function (distribution) and is described by a classical function in the water depths and by an additional Dirac-delta-function component on the averaged free surface.

In terms of physics, the considered variation consists of two entities: (i) a continuous distribution of the mean momentum transport flux density (tensorial radiation pressure) over the entire water column, and (ii) an additional momentum transport flux concentrated on the mean free surface level (tensorial radiation surface pressure). Simple analytical formulae describing this variation have been derived.

This allowed a conventional expression to be derived, describing the depth-integrated excess of horizontal momentum flux due to the presence of waves (the so-called “radiation stress”), confirming to some extent the correctness of the whole analysis carried out.

The results obtained may be important to the ocean dynamics, especially in view of their possible application in the field of hydrodynamics of wave-dominated coastal zones.