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Protozooplankton in the Deep Oligotrophic Traunsee (Austria) Influenced by Discharges of Soda and Salt Industries

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Water, Air and Soil Pollution: Focus

Abstract

Traunsee is a deep oligotrophic lake in Austria characterised by an artificial enrichment of chloride in the hypolimnion (up to 170 mg L-1) caused by waste disposal of soda and salt industries. Protists were collected monthly over one year, observed alive and after Quantitative Protargol Staining (ciliates) or via epifluorescence microscopy (heterotrophic flagellates). Three sites within the lake (0–40 m depths) were compared to deeper water layers from 60–160 m depths where chloride concentrations and conductivity were increased. In addition, we observed the protozooplankton of two neighbouring lakes, i.e. reference systems, during one sampling occasion. In Traunsee the abundance of ciliates was low (200–36 600 cells L-1) in contrast to high species diversity (at least 60 different species; HS = 2.6) throughout the year. The main pelagic species in terms of abundance were small oligotrichs and prostomatids like Rimostrombidium brachykinetum/hyalinum, Balanion planctonicum and Urotricha spp. throughout the investigation period. Among free-living heterotrophic flagellates, which occurred at densities of 40–2800 cells mL-1, small morphotypes dominated in the pelagial. No differences at the community level between the three lakes could be observed and pelagic ciliates and flagellates seemed not to be affected by increased chloride concentrations or by enhanced conductivity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Bettina Sonntag, Thomas Posch & Roland Psenner

  2. Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Susanne Klammer

  3. Centre for Applied Earth Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Christian Griebler

Authors
  1. Bettina Sonntag
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  2. Thomas Posch
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  3. Susanne Klammer
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  4. Christian Griebler
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  5. Roland Psenner
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Correspondence to Bettina Sonntag.

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Sonntag, B., Posch, T., Klammer, S. et al. Protozooplankton in the Deep Oligotrophic Traunsee (Austria) Influenced by Discharges of Soda and Salt Industries. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus 2, 211–226 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020360125761

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