Changes In Phytoplankton Community Structure Research Articles

Daily process and key characteristics of phytoplankton bloom during a low-water level period in a large subtropical reservoir bay.

Reservoirs, heavily influenced by artificial management, often harbor phytoplankton assemblages dominated by cyanobacteria or dinoflagellates, triggering significant changes in aquatic ecosystems. However, due to limited sampling frequency and insufficient attention to species composition, the bloom processes and key characteristics of phytoplankton community structure have not been systematically elucidated. During the low-water level period when blooms are most likely to occur (June to September) in a tributary bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, daily sampling was conducted to investigate phytoplankton community composition, identify significant environmental factors, and evaluate important structure characteristics of phytoplankton community. The results showed that Microcystis aeruginosa maintained a clear dominance for almost a month in stage 1, with low Shannon and evenness but a high dominance index. Phytoplankton total density and biomass decreased drastically in stage 2, but Microcystis aeruginosa still accounted for some proportion. The highest Shannon and evenness but the lowest dominance index occurred in stage 3. Peridiniopsis niei occurred massively in stage 4, but its dominant advantages lasted only one to two days. NH4-N was responsible for the dominance of Microcystis aeruginosa, while TP and PO4-P was responsible for the dominance of Peridiniopsis niei; however, precipitation contributed to their drastic decrease or disappearance to some extent. The TN : TP ratio could be considered as an important indicator to determine whether Microcystis aeruginosa or Peridiniopsis niei dominated the phytoplankton community. Throughout the study period, physiochemical factors explained more variation in phytoplankton data than meteorological and hydrological factors. Pairwise comparisons revealed an increase in average β diversity with stage progression, with higher β diversities based on abundance data than those based on presence/absence data. Repl had a greater effect on β diversity differences based on presence/absence data, whereas RichDiff had a greater effect on β diversity differences based on species abundance data. Co-occurrence networks for stage 1 showed the most complex structure, followed by stage 4, while the network for stage 3 was relatively sparse, although the overall community division remained compact. This study provides a useful attempt to explore the status and changes in phytoplankton community structure during the bloom process through high-resolution investigation.

Effects and mechanisms of glyphosate as phosphorus nutrient on element stoichiometry and metabolism in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

The ability to utilize dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) gives phytoplankton competitive advantages in P-limited environments. Our previous research indicates that the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum could grow on glyphosate, a DOP with carbon-phosphorus (C-P) bond and an herbicide, as sole P source. However, direct evidence and mechanism of glyphosate utilization are still lacking. In this study, using physiological and isotopic analysis, combined with transcriptomic profiling, we demonstrated the uptake of glyphosate by P. tricornutum and revealed the candidate responsible genes. Our data showed a low efficiency of glyphosate utilization by P. tricornutum, suggesting that glyphosate utilization costs energy and that the alga possessed an herbicide-resistant type of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase. Compared to the P-limited cultures, the glyphosate-grown P. tricornutum cells up-regulated genes involved in DNA replication, cell growth, transcription, translation, carbon metabolism, and many genes encoding antioxidants. Additionally, cellular C and silicon (Si) increased remarkably while cellular nitrogen (N) declined in the glyphosate-grown P. tricornutum, leading to higher Si:C and Si:N ratios, which corresponded to the up-regulation of genes involved in the C metabolism and Si uptake and the down-regulation of those encoding N uptake. This has the potential to enhance C and Si export to the deep sea when P is limited but phosphonate is available. In sum, our study documented how P. tricornutum could utilize the herbicide glyphosate as P nutrient and how glyphosate utilization may affect the element content and stoichiometry in this diatom, which have important ecological implications in the future ocean.IMPORTANCEGlyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the world and could be utilized as phosphorus (P) source by some bacteria. Our study first revealed that glyphosate could be transported into Phaeodactylum tricornutum cells for utilization and identified putative genes responsible for glyphosate uptake. This uncovers an alternative strategy of phytoplankton to cope with P deficiency considering phosphonate accounts for about 25% of the total dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) in the ocean. Additionally, accumulation of carbon (C) and silicon (Si), as well as elevation of Si:C ratio in P. tricornutum cells when grown on glyphosate indicates glyphosate as the source of P nutrient has the potential to result in more C and Si export into the deep ocean. This, along with the differential ability to utilize glyphosate among different species, glyphosate supply in dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP)-depleted ecosystems may cause changes in phytoplankton community structure. These insights have implications in evaluating the effects of human activities (use of Roundup) and climate change (potentially reducing DIP supply in sunlit layer) on phytoplankton in the future ocean.

Impact of Phytoplankton Community Structure Changes in the South Sea of Korea on Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change

Herein, we conducted surveys during the 2018–2022 summers to investigate the impact of climate change-related changes in the phytoplankton community structure on the marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. The average surface water temperature increased by ~1.07 °C at 0.0195 °C·yr−1 between 1968 and 2022. During the summers, the rate was 0.0211 °C·yr−1, with a total increase of ~1.16 °C, indicating a stronger increase in summer surface water temperature. Over the last 30 years, nutrient levels in the South Sea have decreased, particularly at the surface. Moreover, 29.3–90.0% of the phytoplankton community structure was dominated by nanoflagellates (≤20 μm). Based on the size of the phytoplankton chl-a, the average contribution rate of picophytoplankton was the highest (60.1%). Redundancy analysis revealed negative correlations between nutrients and water depth, excluding NH4. Increased stratification due to climate change is causing reduced nutrient availability at the surface mixed layer, and the size of the phytoplankton structure is progressively reducing. These changes are expected to manifest in a complex microbial food web centered on smaller phytoplankton with low primary productivity. This can reduce the efficiency of carbon transfer to higher consumer levels, suggesting a potential decrease in marine productivity.

Assessing drivers of estuarine pH: A comparative analysis of the continental U.S.A.'s two largest estuaries

AbstractIn estuaries, local processes such as changing material loads from the watershed and complex circulation create dynamic environments with respect to ecosystem metabolism and carbonate chemistry that can strongly modulate impacts of global atmospheric CO2 increases on estuarine pH. Long‐term (> 20 yr) surface water pH records from the USA's two largest estuaries, Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Neuse River Estuary‐Pamlico Sound (NRE‐PS) were examined to understand the relative importance of atmospheric forcing vs. local processes in controlling pH. At the estuaries’ heads, pH increases in CB and decreases in NRE‐PS were driven primarily by changing ratios of river alkalinity to dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations. In upper reaches of CB and middle reaches of the NRE‐PS, pH increases were associated with increases in phytoplankton biomass. There was no significant pH change in the lower NRE‐PS and only the polyhaline CB showed a pH decline consistent with ocean acidification. In both estuaries, interannual pH variability showed robust, positive correlations with chlorophyll a (Chl a) during the spring in mid to lower estuarine regions indicative of strong control by net phytoplankton production. During summer and fall, Chl a and pH negatively correlated in lower regions of both estuaries, given a shift toward heterotrophy driven by changes in phytoplankton community structure and increases in the load ratio of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to organic carbon. Tropical cyclones episodically depressed pH due to vertical mixing of CO2 rich bottom waters and post‐storm terrestrial organic matter loading. Local processes we highlight represent a significant challenge for predicting future estuarine pH.

Effects of Land Use and Physicochemical Factors on Phytoplankton Community Structure: The Case of Two Fluvial Lakes in the Lower Reach of the Yangtze River, China

Potential changes in phytoplankton community structure in shallow lakes due to land use could pose a serious threat to ecosystem sustainability and functioning. Nevertheless, this effect has not been analyzed in detail. In this study, we chose two adjacent lakes, the main land use types around them are farmland and forest, respectively. We investigated the spatial differences in the phytoplankton community structure, water quality physicochemical parameters, and land use patterns in the two lakes. The results indicated that the annual average cell density and biomass of phytoplankton in the former were 1.84 times and 2.38 times that of the latter, respectively. The results of Pearson correlation and Redundancy analysis showed that total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), water depth (WD), and water temperature (WT) were the main environmental factors influencing the structural changes of phytoplankton communities in the two lakes. The results indicated that different land use patterns, such as farmland and towns around the lake, increase the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content of the lake, while the forests distributed around the lake can reduce the N and P entering the lake, which is probably the main reason for the spatial difference in the characteristics of phytoplankton communities in the two lakes. Our results highlight that land use significantly affects the community structure of phytoplankton by influencing physicochemical factors in water bodies. Our study can provide guidance for pollution control and water quality management of shallow lakes.

Changes in phytoplankton community structure over a century in relation to environmental factors.

Changes in phytoplankton abundance and biomass during the period 1933-2020 were examined by statistical modeling using data from the Inner Oslofjorden phytoplankton database. The phytoplankton abundances increased with eutrophication from 1930s to 1970s, but with the implementation of sewage cleaning measures and a resulting reduction in nutrient releases, the phytoplankton abundance has since then decreased significantly. The onset of the seasonal blooms has started progressively later during the last 15years, especially the spring bloom. The delayed spring bloom co-occurred with increasing temperature in winter and spring. The diatom biomass decreased more than that of dinoflagellates and other microeukaryotes. The diatom genus Skeletonema dominated the spring bloom and was found to be the key taxa in explaining these changes in abundance and phenology. Extensive summer blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi, which has been characteristic for the inner Oslofjorden, has also gradually decreased during the last decades, along with reducing eutrophication. Dinoflagellates have not had the same reduction in abundance as the other groups. Despite an increasing proportion of dinoflagellates compared with other taxa, there are no clear indications of increased occurrence of toxic algal blooms in inner Oslofjorden. However, the introduction of new "toxin-producing" species may cause concern.

Effects of Flood on Phytoplankton Diversity and Community Structure in Floodplain Lakes Connected to the Yangtze River

Flood events can significantly affect the physical and biological processes of aquatic ecosystems in a short time, leading to rapid changes in phytoplankton community structure. The Huayanghe Lakes experienced extreme flooding in the summer of 2020, with the water level reaching 16.42 m. In order to understand the effects of flooding on phytoplankton diversity and community structure, eight samples were collected in the Huayanghe Lakes from 2019 to 2020. Water-level disturbance has a significant influence on lake-water quality and phytoplankton community structure. The results showed that the Secchi depth increased from 65.36 to 8.52 cm, while the concentration of total nitrogen (from 0.98 to 0.7 mg/L) and total phosphorus (from 0.04 to 0.031 g/L) decreased. In addition, flooding significantly increased the Shannon–Wiener diversity index, the Pielou index, and the Margalef richness index by an average of 43.5%, 36.7%, and 40.21%, respectively. The phytoplankton community structure in the Huayanghe Lakes changed due to the change of physicochemical environment caused by flood. While in the pre-flood period phytoplankton was composed of large diatoms (e.g., Aulacoseira granulata), cyanobacteria (e.g., Microcystis sp., Anabaena sp., and Aphanizomenon sp.) and other multicellular taxa, the flood period showed an increase in the proportion of chlorophytes and diatoms that quickly adapted to settle in new environments. Pearson correlations and redundancy analyses showed that water level fluctuation was the most significant environmental factor affecting the phytoplankton community between the regular hydrological cycle and flood periods. There are few studies on phytoplankton in the Huayanghe Lakes, and the present study provides basic data on phytoplankton diversity and community structure. In addition, it provides a theoretical basis for controlling water level change in the Yangtze River.

Length, width, shape regularity, and chain structure: time series analysis of phytoplankton morphology from imagery.

Functional traits are increasingly used to assess changes in phytoplankton community structure and to link individual characteristics to ecosystem functioning. However, they are usually inferred from taxonomic identification or manually measured for each organism, both time consuming approaches. Instead, we focus on high throughput imaging to describe the main temporal variations of morphological changes of phytoplankton in Narragansett Bay, a coastal time‐series station. We analyzed a 2‐yr dataset of morphological features automatically extracted from continuous imaging of individual phytoplankton images (~ 105 million images collected by an Imaging FlowCytobot). We identified synthetic morphological traits using multivariate analysis and revealed that morphological variations were mainly due to changes in length, width, shape regularity, and chain structure. Morphological changes were especially important in winter with successive peaks of larger cells with increasing complexity and chains more clearly connected. Small nanophytoplankton were present year‐round and constituted the base of the community, especially apparent during the transitions between diatom blooms. High inter‐annual variability was also observed. On a weekly timescale, increases in light were associated with more clearly connected chains while more complex shapes occurred at lower nitrogen concentrations. On an hourly timescale, temperature was the determinant variable constraining cell morphology, with a general negative influence on length and a positive one on width, shape regularity, and chain structure. These first insights into the phytoplankton morphology of Narragansett Bay highlight the possible morphological traits driving the phytoplankton succession in response to light, temperature, and nutrient changes.

Preliminary assessment of water quality post-the first phase of the development plans in Lake Burullus, Deltaic coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt

Lake Burullus is the second largest lake in Egypt and a Ramsar site located north of the Nile Delta. The lake is connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Burullus inlet and the River Nile through Brimbal Canal. Lake Burullus receives a large amount of agricultural drainage water (about 97% of its water balance), which affects its water quality. The national plan, launched in 2017, aimed to improve the condition, water quality, and fish production of Lake Burullus. The current study provides an effective protocol to monitor the water quality of Lake Burullus post the first phase of the national plan. Aglydopting the proposed protocol would enable researchers and managers to evaluate the effectiveness of the development plans in resolving the environmental problem facing Lake Burullus and similar lakes. Intensive sampling was carried out in December 2019 and October 2020 to collect ecological parameters. The results showed a general improvement in the lake water indicated by the phytoplankton composition and diversity. Compared to previous research, the current study recorded a lower number of species belonging to Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae and new records of marine species belonging to Dinophyceae. The changes in phytoplankton community structure were mainly due to the deepening of the seawater inlet which has resulted in a better exchange between seawater and the lake and a subsequent increase in salinity. Based on TSIChl-a, the lake has shifted from being predominantly hypereutrophic to eutrophic. Nutrient-load reduction strategies for Lake Burullus may result in measurable changes in trophic state parameters.

Seasonal changes of phytoplankton community structure and its influencing factors in lakes and reservoirs adjacent to water sources in Shanghai

Seasonal changes of phytoplankton community structure and its influencing factors in lakes and reservoirs adjacent to water sources in Shanghai

Phytoplankton community structure changes in Thi Nai lagoon (South - Central Vietnam) from 2004 to 2020

Phytoplankton species composition, abundance, biodiversity indices and their influence by environmental conditions were examined in Thi Nai lagoon using data from four surveys in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2020. A total of 367 taxa of phytoplankton belonging to ten groups was recorded, of which diatoms were dominant with over 60% of the total species. In Thi Nai lagoon, the number of phytoplankton species decreased from the upper lagoon (283 taxa) to the lagoon mouth area (224) and was lowest in river stations (139). The species number was much lower in the rainy season (<95 species) and increased from 2004 to 2020. Among the biodiversity indices, Shannon, ∆, s∆+, Λ+ and sФ+ were lower in the rainy season, whereas ∆*, ∆+ and Ф+ had lower values in the dry season. For long-term analysis, the differences were especially significant at upper and lower lagoon for ∆, ∆*, ∆+, s∆+ and sФ+. In the dry season, the mean density of phytoplankton was lower at the river stations and upper lagoon, but higher at the lower lagoon and the lagoon mouth area. There was a clear difference of species assemblages between the two seasons with average dissimilarities in each area ranging from 94.16% to 95.57%. During 2004–2020, the difference in ratios between the main phytoplankton groups were small over years but there was a complete change in dominance of particular species, assemblage dissimilarities were from 73.4 to 77.9, greatest between 2009 and 2020. The lagoon was low in biodiversity for the whole investigated time indicated by taxonomic index ∆+. Among biodiversity indices, species richness (S), taxonomic indices (∆*, s∆+), and phylogenetic indices (Ф+, sФ+) were more sensitive to the changes of the aquatic environment than other traditional indices.

Nutrient ratios driven by vertical stratification regulate phytoplankton community structure in the oligotrophic western Pacific Ocean

Abstract. The stratification of the upper oligotrophic ocean has a direct impact on biogeochemistry by regulating the components of the upper-ocean environment that are critical to biological productivity, such as light availability for photosynthesis and nutrient supply from the deep ocean. We investigated the spatial distribution pattern and diversity of phytoplankton communities in the western Pacific Ocean (WPO) in the autumn of 2016, 2017, and 2018. Our results showed the phytoplankton community structure mainly consisted of cyanobacteria, diatoms, and dinoflagellates, while the abundance of Chrysophyceae was negligible. Phytoplankton abundance was high from the equatorial region to 10∘ N and decreased with increasing latitude in spatial distribution. Phytoplankton also showed a strong variation in the vertical distribution. The potential influences of physicochemical parameters on phytoplankton abundance were analyzed by a structural equation model (SEM) to determine nutrient ratios driven by vertical stratification to regulate phytoplankton community structure in the typical oligotrophic ocean. Regions with strong vertical stratification were more favorable for cyanobacteria, whereas weak vertical stratification was more conducive to diatoms and dinoflagellates. Our study shows that stratification is a major determinant of phytoplankton community structure and highlights that physical processes in the ocean control phytoplankton community structure by driving the balance of chemical elements, providing a database to better predict models of changes in phytoplankton community structure under future ocean scenarios.

Phytoplankton mortality in a changing thermal seascape.

Predicting spatiotemporal distributions of phytoplankton biomass and community composition heavily relies on experimental studies that document how environmental conditions influence population growth rates. In unicellular phytoplankton, the net population growth rate is the difference between the cell division rate and the death rate. Along with predation and disease, phytoplankton mortality arises from abiotic stress. Although the effect of temperature on the net population growth rate is well understood, studies examining thermally induced death rates in phytoplankton are scarce. We investigated how cell division and death rates of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum varied within its thermal tolerance limits (thermal niche), and at temperatures just above its upper thermal tolerance limit. We show that death rates were largely independent of temperature when P. tricornutum was grown within its thermal niche, but increased significantly at temperatures that approached or exceeded its upper thermal tolerance limit. Furthermore, the sensitivity of mortality increased with the duration of exposure to heat stress and was affected by the pre-acclimation temperature. Heat waves can be expected to significantly affect phytoplankton mortality episodically. The increasing frequency of heat waves accompanying global warming can be expected to drive changes in phytoplankton community structure due to interspecific variability of thermal niches with potential implications for food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycles.

A kernel‐based change detection method to map shifts in phytoplankton communities measured by flow cytometry

Abstract Automated, ship‐board flow cytometers provide high‐resolution maps of phytoplankton composition over large swaths of the world's oceans. They therefore pave the way for understanding how environmental conditions shape community structure. Identification of community changes along a cruise transect commonly segments the data into distinct regions. However, existing segmentation methods are generally not applicable to flow cytometry data, as these data are recorded as ‘point cloud’ data, with hundreds or thousands of particles measured during each time interval. Moreover, nonparametric segmentation methods that do not rely on prior knowledge of the number of species are desirable to map community shifts. We present CytoSegmenter, a kernel‐based change‐point estimation method for segmenting point cloud data. Our method allows us to represent and summarize a point cloud of data points by a single element in a Hilbert space. The change‐point locations can be found using a fast dynamic programming algorithm. Through an analysis of 12 cruises, we demonstrate that CytoSegmenter allows us to locate abrupt changes in phytoplankton community structure. We show that the changes in community structure generally coincide with changes in the temperature and salinity of the ocean. We also illustrate how the main parameter of CytoSegmenter can be easily calibrated using limited auxiliary annotated data. CytoSegmenter is generally applicable for segmenting series of point cloud data from any domain. Moreover, it readily scales to thousands of point clouds, each containing thousands of points. In the context of flow cytometry data collected during research cruises, it does not require prior clustering of particles to define taxa labels, eliminating a potential source of error. This represents an important advance in automating the analysis of large datasets now emerging in biological oceanography and other fields. It also allows for the approach to be applied during research cruises.

Pre-industrial cyanobacterial dominance in Lake Moon (NE China) revealed by sedimentary ancient DNA

Cyanobacterial blooms in water bodies have occurred on a worldwide basis in the last few decades, and knowledge of their occurrence under natural conditions, and of the mechanisms responsible, is important for understanding their origin. However, little is known about the long-term trends in cyanobacterial abundance in the pre-industrial era, and its causes. Traditional microscope analysis of microfossil plankton is widely applied in paleoecology, yet the majority of phytoplankton (e.g., cyanobacteria) are not preserved as microfossils in sediments, although they can leave a fingerprint in the form of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA). Here, sedaDNA is used for the first time to reconstruct the history of phytoplankton communities in a crater lake in northern China over the past two millennia. Our data show that changes in phytoplankton community structure and diversity were linked to temperature and precipitation variations during ∼0–1400 Common Era (CE). However, after ∼1400 CE the cyanobacterial abundance increased to an unprecedented degree, and cyanobacteria (mainly composed of Synechococcus) became disproportionately dominant relative to other phytoplankton. This rise was concomitant with increased aeolian dust input by winds driven by an intensified Siberian High, which resulted in increased dust transport across the entire mid-latitude region of the Northern Hemisphere. This suggests that dust input can exceed natural climatic variability as the dominant control on lake ecosystems in regions subject to dust deposition. We suggest that future lake ecological management strategies in areas of dust deposition should consider not only the influence of climatic warming but also the impact of nutrient inputs delivered by dust storms.

Biome partitioning of the global ocean based on phytoplankton biogeography

Biomes are geographical units that can be defined based on biological communities sharing specific environmental and climatic requirements. Contemporary ocean biomes have been constructed based on various approaches. These included the biogeographic patterns of higher trophic level organisms, physical and biogeochemical properties, or bulk biological properties such as chlorophyll-a, but none considered the biogeographic patterns of the first trophic level explicitly, i.e. phytoplankton biogeography. A global description of marine biomes based on phytoplankton and defined in analogy to terrestrial vegetation biomes is still lacking. A bioregionalization based on phytoplankton appears particularly timely, as phytoplankton have a high sensitivity to climatic changes and fuel marine productivity. Here, we partition the global ocean into biomes by using self-organizing maps and hierarchical clustering, drawing on the biogeographic patterns of 536 phytoplankton species predicted from empirical evidence. Our approach reveals eight different biomes at the seasonal scale, and seven at the annual scale. The biomes host characteristic phytoplankton species compositions, and differ in their prevailing environmental conditions. The largest differences in phytoplankton composition are found between a Pacific equatorial biome and other tropical biomes, and between subtropical and high latitude biomes. The Pacific equatorial biome is characterized by species with narrower ecological niches, the tropical and subtropical biomes by cosmopolitan generalists, and the high latitudes by species with a heterogeneous biogeography. The strongest differences between biomes are found along gradients of temperature and macronutrient availability, associated with latitude. We test whether our biomes can be reproduced based on indicator species, or potential co-occurrence networks of species determined from the predicted species distributions that are wide-spread in some but rare in other biomes. We find that our biomes can be reproduced by the 51 species identified, which together form significant species co-occurrences. This suggests that species co-occurrences, rather than individual indicator species drive oceanic biome partitioning at the first trophic level. Our biome partitioning may be especially useful for comparative analyses on the functional implications of phytoplankton organization, and impacts on zoogeographical partitionings. Furthermore, it provides a framework for predicting large-scale changes in phytoplankton community structure due to anthropogenic climate and environmental change.

Phytoplankton community structure changes during autumn and spring in response to environmental variables in Methana, Saronikos Gulf, Greece

Phytoplankton community was investigated during two contrasting periods using offshore plankton samples in the volcanic area of Methana peninsula (Saronikos Gulf): the first at early autumn (warm period, September 2016) and the second one at early spring (cold period, March 2017). In order to investigate the phytoplankton community structure in the complex geo-biochemical conditions of the area, samples were collected from stations near the CO2 hydrothermal vents, at the hydrothermal sulfur and radioactive springs and at a fishery nearby Methana town. Three major phytoplankton groups, Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae, and Prymnesiophyceae, were studied, using inverted microscopy. In early autumn, Dinophyceae were dominant in the majority of the stations with cell concentrations of Prorocentrum spp. up to ~ 35.5 × 103 cells l-1. In early spring, the dominant class was Bacillariophyceae with dominant genus Nitzschia/Pseudo-nitzschia presenting cell concentrations up to ~ 33.9 × 103 cells l-1. Furthermore, Prymnesiophyceae appeared in both spring and autumn samples with small fluctuations. Total phytoplankton cell concentrations followed a seasonal trend, presenting slightly lower values in the hydrothermal-effected area in comparison with the broader Saronikos Gulf, confirming the prevalence of oligotrophic conditions. Seasonal variation was very strong, revealing an association with water temperature and nutrient content. Those environmental variables proved to have a strong effect that was reflected in the phytoplankton community structure.

鸣翠湖湿地生态修复前后浮游植物群落结构变化

鸣翠湖湿地生态修复前后浮游植物群落结构变化

柳溪湖湿地生态修复前后浮游植物群落结构变化

柳溪湖湿地生态修复前后浮游植物群落结构变化

Retrospective analysis of phytoplankton community structure in water bodies of South Ural (Russia)

The current paper considers changes of phytoplankton community structure in three South Ural (Russia) water bodies different in trophicity: Lake Uvildy, Lake Ilmenskoe, and Shershnevskoe Reservoir. There is no clear relation between the changes of species structure of phytoplankton communities and water-bodies trophicity. The least significant changes in the phytoplankton community structure are registered for the mesoeutrophic Lake Ilmenskoe, which is located on the territory of the State Reserve. Diatomic, green and blue-green algae groups are the most diverse in composition in the studied periods of 1936-1937, 1964-1984 and 1998-2016. But for the last 20 years, Cyanophyta has increased its contribution into the phytoplankton number and biomass of Lake Ilmenskoe. The representatives of the Bacillariophyta group dominate in oligotrophic Lake Uvildy. In 1965-1985, the Chlorophyta group was the most abundant in Shershnevskoe reservoir (34 % of the total number of species), Bacillariophyta -32 % and Cyanophyta – 18 %. In 2003-2005 and 2017 the number of green algae increased (Chlorophyta – 40 %) and that of diatoms decreased (Bacillariophyta -21%) with the number of blue-green algae being unchanged (Cyanophyta -19 %). The ecological status of the Shershenevskoe Reservoir has transformed from a long-term sustainable mesotrophic to eutrophic. So, for oligotrophic lake Uvildy and mesoeutrophic lake Ilmenskoe, Bacillariophyta group is characterized by the greatest taxonomic diversity. While for eutrophic Shershnevskoe Reservoir the absolute abundance of Chlorophyta algae group is marked, which is growing in time. The growing importance of blue-green algae is one more feature of the change of a trophic status.