Ecology and Phenology of Freshwater Ostracods in Lake Gölköy (Bolu, Turkey)

Abstract

Seventeen ostracod species were recorded from Lake Golkoy (Bolu, Turkey) between January 2000 and December 2001. Limnocythere inopinata is a new record for the Bolu region. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) explained 73% of the correlation between species and environmental variables, suggesting that the occurrence of many species is temporally variable, and is related to seasonal changes in physico-chemical conditions. The four most frequently occurring cosmopolitan ostracod species (Candona neglecta, Darwinula stevensoni, Physocypria kraepelini, and Cypridopsis vidua) accounted for more than 70% of the species recorded. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and redox potential were the most affective variables on the species occurrence. Two species (C. vidua, I. bradyi) were positively correlated to redox potential, while such a correlation was negative for P. kraepelini. The most frequently occurring species C. neglecta was most closely related to the changes in redox potential, whereas C. vidua and D. stevensoni showed a positive correlation to water temperature. Negative strong correlation (p<0.01) was found between pH and I. bradyi, but correlation was positive and weak for C. vidua. Some species (e.g. L. inopinata) showed no clear relationship with any of those environmental variables. UPGMA clustering of species based on their occurrence in different ecological conditions revealed three main species assemblages. Analysis of species phenology using the ‘Ostracod Watch Model’ showed that temporal patterns of occurrence could be similar among species with similar ecological preferences. The current status of the lake is discussed based on the present study.