Littoral periphyton dynamics in newly established post-mining lakes

0583666 - BC 2024 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Bešta, Tomáš - Mareš, Jan - Čapková, Kateřina - Janeček, E. - Štenclová, Lenka - Kust, Andreja - Říha, Milan - Konopáčová, Eliška - Řeháková, Klára
Littoral periphyton dynamics in newly established post-mining lakes.
Aquatic Sciences. Roč. 85, č. 1 (2023), č. článku 21. ISSN 1015-1621. E-ISSN 1420-9055
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-05791S
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/21
Program: StrategieAV
Institutional support: RVO:60077344
Keywords : seasonal succession * benthic algae * phytoplankton * Periphyton diversity * Post-mining lake * Land restoration * Oligotrophic environment * Algal mats
OECD category: Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology
Impact factor: 2.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-022-00914-y

Hydric recultivation-flooding of abandoned mining pits-creates a completely new, underexplored habitat for a wide range of aquatic organisms. Periphyton, dominated by algae and cyanobacteria, is frequently a key component of newly established aquatic ecosystems. Periphyton and its response to abiotic factors were studied in the littoral zone of three post-mining lakes with different ages of foundation situated in the Czech Republic. The microbial diversity of phototrophs as a major component of periphyton is largely unknown in such localities. The studied habitat proved to harbour a huge periphytic diversity-25% of diatom species found in the respective watershed (similar to 5500 km(2)) inhabited exlusively the studied lakes. Species composition of phototrophic microorganisms varied significantly (Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance) among the studied lakes, seasons, and sampling years. However, the sampling depths and sampling site of the studied lake have not shown a significant impact on the diversity, indicating the homogeneous composition of the littoral periphyton within a particular lake and growing season. The seasonal dynamics of periphyton were unique for each lake, documenting three distinct successional patterns. The proportion of diatoms in the periphytic community decreases with the higher trophic state and flooding age of the post-mining lakes. Cyanobacteria and mobile diatom forms prevailed later in the growing season, suggesting that they could utilise nutrients released from the accumulated periphyton biomass. Calcium ions were one of the best correlates of species data among other abiotic variables tested, offering the intriguing question of the role of calcium in the formation of periphytic mats for future research.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0351691