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Dual impact of the flood pulses on the phytoplankton assemblages in a Danubian floodplain lake (Kopački Rit Nature Park, Croatia)

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Abstract

There are several conflicting hypothesis that deal with the influence of flooding in the natural river–floodplain systems. According to the Flood Pulse Concept, the flood pulses are not considered to be a disturbance, while some recent studies have proven that floods can be a disturbance factor of phytoplankton development. In order to test whether flooding acts as a disturbance factor in the shallow Danubian floodplain lake (Lake Sakadaš), phytoplankton dynamics was investigated during two different hydrological years—extremely dry (2003) without flooding and usually flooded (2004). A total of 18 phytoplankton functional groups were established. The sequence of phytoplankton seasonality can be summarized P/D → E (W1, W2) → C/P (only in potamophase) → S2/H1/SN/S1 → W1/W2 → P/D. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) demonstrated that the water level was a significant environmental variable in 2004. Due to the higher total biomass of Bacillariophyceae established under potamophase conditions, floodings in the early spring seem to be a stimulating factor for phytoplankton development. On the other hand, the flood pulses in May and June had dilution effects on nutrients, so that a significantly lower phytoplankton biomass was established indicating that flooding pulses can be regarded as a disturbance event. Such conditions supported diatom development (D, P, C species) and prolonged its dominance in the total phytoplankton biomass. A long-lasting Cyanoprokaryota bloom (various filamentous species—S1, S2, SN and H1 representatives) with very high biomass characterized the limnophase (dry conditions) in summer and autumn of both years. In-lake variables (lake morphology, internal loadings of nutrients from sediments, light conditions) seem to be important for the appearance of Cyanoprokaryota bloom. The equilibrium phase was found during the Cyanoprokaryota bloom only in the extremely dry year. This study showed that depending on the time scale occurrence, flood pulses can be a stimulating or a disturbance factor for phytoplankton development in Lake Sakadaš.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions which substantially improved this manuscript.

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

    Melita Mihaljević, Filip Stević, Janja Horvatić & Branimir Hackenberger Kutuzović

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  1. Melita Mihaljević
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Correspondence to Melita Mihaljević.

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Mihaljević, M., Stević, F., Horvatić, J. et al. Dual impact of the flood pulses on the phytoplankton assemblages in a Danubian floodplain lake (Kopački Rit Nature Park, Croatia). Hydrobiologia 618, 77–88 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9550-6

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