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Cyanobacterial blooms in a temperate river-floodplain ecosystem: the importance of hydrological extremes

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Abstract

In the past decade, extreme hydrological events were expressed with extreme droughts and floods in temperate regions. The aim of this paper is to explain how such changes in hydrology can influence cyanobacterial populations in floodplain ecosystems. We therefore analyzed a 6-year (2003–2008) study of the phytoplankton in the Kopački Rit floodplain, one of the largest natural floodplains in the middle section of the Danube River (Europe). During the studied period, the shallow floodplain lake shifted between a state of turbid water, characterized by high phytoplankton biomass and regular appearance of cyanobacteria blooms, to a state of clear water with very low phytoplankton biomass and absence of cyanobacteria, and back to the turbid state. Apparently, the major forces driving the cyclic shift were closely related to extremely high and long-lasting flood events. Significant increase in water level, low hydraulic residence time of water, decrease in transparency and low-light climate, together with mass developed aquatic macrophyte vegetation in the whole inundated floodplain were unfavorable conditions for growth and proliferation of cyanobacteria. With the establishment of the flood regime characterized by long-lasting periods without flooding, in-lake processes prevailed leading to cyanobacterial bloom. The most successful were filamentous non-N-fixing cyanobacteria tolerant to mixed and low-light conditions (Planktothrix and Limnothrix) and invasive species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Their massive development led to the establishment of a phytoplankton steady state. All our results demonstrate that the altered intensity and frequency of flood events will have pronounced effects on the appearance of cyanobacterial blooms and generally on alternative stable states in the floodplain. Relating to this, management objectives should be focused on qualifications of changes in hydrology and projecting those effects for potential floodplain restoration.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions which substantially improved this manuscript. This project was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dubravka Špoljarić and Vanda Cvijanović for help in the sampling process and laboratory investigation. Also, we would like to thank Branimir K. Hackenberger, PhD for help in the statistical analyses and Ms. Jadranka Zlomislić for careful reading of the manuscript and language corrections.

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  1. Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Trg Ljudevita Gaja 6, 31000, Osijek, Croatia

    Melita Mihaljević & Filip Stević

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  1. Melita Mihaljević
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Correspondence to Melita Mihaljević.

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Mihaljević, M., Stević, F. Cyanobacterial blooms in a temperate river-floodplain ecosystem: the importance of hydrological extremes. Aquat Ecol 45, 335–349 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-011-9357-9

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