High tolerance to water pollution in Cosmarium boitierense Kouwets and Staurastrum bloklandiae Coesel et Joosten, taxa recorded for the first time from the Balkan Peninsula

Abstract

Detailed investigations into the desmid flora of the Province of Vojvodina (north Serbia) were performed in the period from April 2002 to May 2003. Although water of the investigated localities was marked as alkaline, distinctly hard, enriched with mineral salts and organic, biodegradable compounds, a surprisingly high number of desmid species was recorded. Two taxa, Cosmarium boitierense var. boitierense and Staurastrum bloklandiae, are new to the algal flora of Serbia as well as for the Balkan Peninsula. In this paper 47 plankton samples from six localities holding these taxa are taken into consideration. It was found that Cosmarium boitierense var. boitierense and Staurastrum bloklandiae are inhabitants of eutrophic and alkaline freshwater ecosystems containing a considerable amount of mineral salts, toxic compounds, heavy metals and s-radioactivity.