Spatial Distribution of the Taxonomic Diversity of Phytoplankton and Bioindication of the Shallow Protected Lake Borovoe in the Burabay National Natural Park, Northern Kazakhstan
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Review for the paper "Spatial distribution of the taxonomic diversity of phytoplankton and bioindication of the protected lake Borovoe in the wetlands of the Burabay National Natural Park, Northern Kazakhstan" by Sophia Barinova, Elena Krupa, Elena Khitrova submitted to "Diversity".
General comment.
In most freshwater ecosystems, phytoplankton play a crucial role in converting and transferring solar energy to higher trophic levels. Being very sensitive to environmental forcing, microalgal assemblages may be used as a clear indicator of various external influences from antropogenous impact to grazing by zooplankton and microbial infestation. To assess possible fluctuations associated with natural effects, monitoring studies are strongly needed and this is more relevant in protected areas. The authors attempted to present spatial patterns of phytoplankton composition, abundance, biomass, and diversity in a lake located in Burabay National Natural Park (Northern Kazakhstan). There are a few studies dealing with freshwater phytoplankton in the region and, therefore, the paper may be of particular interest to hydrobiologists dealing with microalgal ecology by providing baseline data regarding the community structure of the summer phytoplankton in Lake Borovoe. The authors used standard collecting methods and analyzed the data using relevant statistical approaches. They gave a good visualization of the main results using relevant Figures and Tables. The materials and methods, however, are not fully described and must be updated. The discussion is rather short and do not contain relevant explanation of the main findings. This section should be expanded by comparing the data with similar locations. The main problem with the paper is a lot of linguistic errors. I have indicated most serious mistakes but further checking is strongly needed. I feel that the ms must be thoroughly revised and can not be recommended for accepting in the current form.
Specific remarks.
The abstract should be updated with real estimations of phytoplankton abundance, biomass, and richness.
The authors use 'lake Borovoe', 'Lake Borovoe', 'Borovoe Lake', 'the Borovoe Lake' to identify the study region. I think that there must be a uniformity when describing results. I suggest using 'Lake Borovoe' throughout the entire text.
L16. Consider replacing " The Burabay National Natural Park unites on its territory 6 lakes " with " The Burabay National Natural Park unites six lakes ".
L18, 104. Consider replacing " at 8 evenly distributed sampling stations" with " at eight stations".
L19, 104. Consider replacing " the monitoring net" with " the monitoring site".
L21. Consider replacing " during study period" with " during the study period".
L22-24. Consider replacing " On the base of species richness, abundance, and biomass, as well as bioindicators and calculated indices of organic pollution and toxic impact was assessed the current ecological condition of the lake" with " Current ecological status of the lake was assessed based on the species richness, abundance, biomass, and calculated indices of organic pollution and toxic impact" .
L24-27. Consider replacing " Statistical mapping, calculated of community similarity, and correlation of its species content with help of Redundancy Discriminant Analysis (RDA) revealed the human impact zones located at the lake shores and water of the lake as low alkaline, Class 2-3 of water quality with index saprobity S=1.63-2.00. " with " Statistical mapping, calculated community similarity, correlation and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) revealed zones affected by human impact. These were located in the lake shores and low-alkaline water with the saprobity index of 1.63-2.00".
L27. Consider replacing " lakes indicate the oligotrophic" with " lakes indicating the oligotrophic".
L30-31. Consider replacing " Therefore, our multivariate analysis of phytoplankton and major environmental variables relationships help us to assess " with " Therefore, our multivariate analysis allowed us to assess ".
L34. Consider replacing "The analysis results showed tendency" with "The results suggest a tendency".
L46-47. Consider replacing "is not only the most visited by tourists’ lake, but also" with "is not only the site most visited by tourists but it also".
L47. Delete "That because".
L50-51. Consider replacing " During last decades was find high abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the lake with bloom of Cyanobacteria" with "High abundances of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the lake in the last decades have been documented with blooming of Cyanobacteria".
L52-54.Consider replacing " The phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance in the Borovoe protected lake was characterized by heterogeneity in the community structure but species richness of it was never regularly studied." with "Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in Lake Borovoe demonstrate high heterogeneity but the species richness was not regularly studied.".
L54-56. Consider replacing "Nevertheless, algae of the Borovoe Lake study have been started in 1947 by N. Voronikhin [7-9], and continue sporadically up to 2013, only few species were mentioned in the references [6,10-15]" with "Nevertheless, research of algae in the Borovoe Lake was started in 1947 by N. Voronikhin [7-9], and continued sporadically up to 2013, only few species were mentioned in the previous reports [6,10-15]".
L62-63. Consider replacing "and does infers environmental conditions on the natural, climatic, and economic from the Burabay National Natural Park" with "and do infer environmental impact on the natural, climatic, and economic conditions of the Burabay National Natural Park".
L75. Consider replacing "Environmental and biological variables mapping " with "Mapping of environmental and biological variables ".
L78-81. The aim of the study must be defined more clearly. Please, indicate, the novelty of the study and importance of your research.
Section 2.1. A short description of environmental conditions in the region (climate, meteorology, etc.) must be included in the ms. Also, provide information about the bathymetry in the lake (depth range).
Fig. 1 caption must be updated by the period of the study (month).
L101. Consider replacing " Kazakhstan territory" with " Kazakhstan ".
L103. Consider replacing " The Borovoe Lake was examined in the summer season on 29 July of 2019" with " The Borovoe Lake was examined in the summer season (29 July, 2019)".
L104. Consider replacing " 8 evenly distributed sampling stations" with " eight stations ".
L117. Consider replacing " Biomass was calculated from the volume of the cell figure. " with " Biomass was calculated from the volume of the cell. ". Also, indicate the unit for biomass (wet, dry or carbon).
L130. Clarify source for species-specific saprobity indices.
L132-141. Statistical methods must be described in more detail. The present text contains only a short description or refers to works unavailable for international readers (e.g. sources 39 and 40 in Russian). Additionally, some methods are not described at all (correlation and cluster analyses).
Section 3.1. The mean values with SD (or SE) must be presented in the ms.
L151-152. Consider replacing " Distribution of TDS and water temperature is controversial in central part and not correlated with the depth. But water transparency was correlate with temperature." with " The distribution of TDS and water temperature was controversial in the central part with not correlations with the depth. Water transparency correlated with temperature.".
L151-153. p-values for correlation analysis must be added in relevant parts.
L159. Consider replacing " has been found in the Borovoe Lake phytoplankton during sampling period of 2019" with " were found in Lake Borovoe during the sampling period ".
L163. Consider replacing " species over the sampling stations" with " species at the sampling stations".
L164. Consider replacing " varied in amplitude between 21 and 29 taxa" with " varied between 21 and 29 taxa".
Table 1 caption. Consider replacing " Distribution of species richness of algae and cyanobacteria in phytoplankton over taxonomic phyla on the sampling stations of the Borovoe Lake, 2019. " with " Species richness of phytoplanktonic algae and cyanobacteria in Borovoe Lake, summer 2019. ".
L180. Consider replacing " Tree of the " with " Cluster dendrogram of ".
L187. Consider replacing " On Figure 5 is" with " Figure 5 shows".
L193-194. Delete " No of sampling station given in the edges of net".
L197. Consider replacing " Average parameters values (Table 2) were calculated to see " with " Average values (Table 2) were calculated to indicate ".
L200. Consider replacing " the active work of the lake ecosystem" with " high ecosystem activity work of the lake ".
L201. Consider replacing " The second group of stations 3 and 7" with " The second group ".
L203. Consider replacing " of stations " with " of three stations ".
L206-207. Delete " Therefore, to define species richness is important for the lake ecosystem analysis.".
L213. Consider replacing " understanding the importance of species content dynamics on the phylum" with " to understand the importance of species dynamics at the phylum".
L214. Consider replacing " for each phyla taxa distribution over" with " for each taxa distribution in".
L215. Consider replacing " species distribution " with " species ".
L216-217. Consider replacing " where was maximal water transparency and temperature but lower TDS (Appendix Table 1). " with " with maximal water transparency and temperature and lower TDS (Appendix Table 1). ".
L217-219. Consider replacing " Figure 6b shows that the total distribution of the number of phytoplankton species is determined by the number of green algae species that take a part of its composition. " with " Figure 6b shows that the total number of phytoplankton species was determined by the number of green algae species".
L219. Consider replacing " The distribution of diatoms is inversely the distribution of green algae" with " The distribution of diatoms is inversely relative to the distribution of green algae".
L233. Consider replacing " prosperous" with " preferable".
Fig. 7 caption. Consider replacing " Figure 7. Statistical maps of distribution of species richness in taxonomic phyla in phytoplankton communities on the sampling stations of the Borovoe Lake surface, 2019" with " Figure 7. Maps of the surface phytoplankton abundance (a), biomass (b), nitrates (c), and WESI index (d) in Lake Borovoe, summer 2019".
Correct, the Fig. 6 caption in a similar way.
The discussion does not contain relevant interpretation of the authors' results. Moreover, comparisons with previous investigations and similar ecosystems must be done to provide a comprehensive explanation of the main findings.
L278. Provide relevant reference confirming the statement that mid-summer is the best period to study phytoplankton.
L284-285. Consider replacing " lake water associated with the location on the coast of villages and resort areas" with " lake water is associated with villages and resort areas located on the coast".
L312-313. Consider replacing " So, the anthropogenic load one of the reasons for the eutrophication of Lake Borovoe may be the degradation of macrophyte communities. " with " The anthropogenic load may be one of the reasons for the eutrophication of Lake Borovoe leading to degradation of the macrophyte communities. ".
L313-315. Consider replacing " As a results of the Lake Fund monitoring in 1964–2002 macrophytes occupied 65–80% of the bottom surface [3], by 2019, they were found on approximately 30–35% of the bottom surface." with " The Lake Fund monitoring showed that macrophytes occupied 65–80% of the bottom surface in 1964–2002 [3] while their density had decreased to approximately 30–35% by 2019".
L317. Consider replacing " and, as a result, change the trophic condition of the lake" with " and, causing changes in the trophic conditions of the lake".
Conclusion. Most of the conclusion (L324-329) looks like a speculation and is not supported by the authors' results. Please, re-phrase the section focusing on the main findings.
Author Response
Dear Editor,
Thank you and the Reviewer for comments. Please find below responses to each Reviewer comment.
With best regards,
Prof Sophia Barinova,
Corresponding author
Reviewer 1 comments and responses
Review for the paper "Spatial distribution of the taxonomic diversity of phytoplankton and bioindication of the protected lake Borovoe in the wetlands of the Burabay National Natural Park, Northern Kazakhstan" by Sophia Barinova, Elena Krupa, Elena Khitrova submitted to "Diversity".
General comment.
In most freshwater ecosystems, phytoplankton play a crucial role in converting and transferring solar energy to higher trophic levels. Being very sensitive to environmental forcing, microalgal assemblages may be used as a clear indicator of various external influences from antropogenous impact to grazing by zooplankton and microbial infestation. To assess possible fluctuations associated with natural effects, monitoring studies are strongly needed and this is more relevant in protected areas. The authors attempted to present spatial patterns of phytoplankton composition, abundance, biomass, and diversity in a lake located in Burabay National Natural Park (Northern Kazakhstan). There are a few studies dealing with freshwater phytoplankton in the region and, therefore, the paper may be of particular interest to hydrobiologists dealing with microalgal ecology by providing baseline data regarding the community structure of the summer phytoplankton in Lake Borovoe. The authors used standard collecting methods and analyzed the data using relevant statistical approaches. They gave a good visualization of the main results using relevant Figures and Tables.
The materials and methods, however, are not fully described and must be updated.
Response: added
The discussion is rather short and do not contain relevant explanation of the main findings. This section should be expanded by comparing the data with similar locations.
Response: added and re-phrased
The main problem with the paper is a lot of linguistic errors. I have indicated most serious mistakes but further checking is strongly needed. I feel that the ms must be thoroughly revised and can not be recommended for accepting in the current form.
Response: corrected
Specific remarks.
The abstract should be updated with real estimations of phytoplankton abundance, biomass, and richness.
Response: added
The authors use 'lake Borovoe', 'Lake Borovoe', 'Borovoe Lake', 'the Borovoe Lake' to identify the study region. I think that there must be a uniformity when describing results. I suggest using 'Lake Borovoe' throughout the entire text.
Response: changed as 'Lake Borovoe'
L16. Consider replacing " The Burabay National Natural Park unites on its territory 6 lakes " with " The Burabay National Natural Park unites six lakes ".
Response: done
L18, 104. Consider replacing " at 8 evenly distributed sampling stations" with " at eight stations".
Response: done
L19, 104. Consider replacing " the monitoring net" with " the monitoring site".
Response: done
L21. Consider replacing " during study period" with " during the study period".
Response: done
L22-24. Consider replacing " On the base of species richness, abundance, and biomass, as well as bioindicators and calculated indices of organic pollution and toxic impact was assessed the current ecological condition of the lake" with " Current ecological status of the lake was assessed based on the species richness, abundance, biomass, and calculated indices of organic pollution and toxic impact" .
Response: done
L24-27. Consider replacing " Statistical mapping, calculated of community similarity, and correlation of its species content with help of Redundancy Discriminant Analysis (RDA) revealed the human impact zones located at the lake shores and water of the lake as low alkaline, Class 2-3 of water quality with index saprobity S=1.63-2.00. " with " Statistical mapping, calculated community similarity, correlation and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) revealed zones affected by human impact. These were located in the lake shores and low-alkaline water with the saprobity index of 1.63-2.00".
Response: done
L27. Consider replacing " lakes indicate the oligotrophic" with " lakes indicating the oligotrophic".
Response: done
L30-31. Consider replacing " Therefore, our multivariate analysis of phytoplankton and major environmental variables relationships help us to assess " with " Therefore, our multivariate analysis allowed us to assess ".
Response: done
L34. Consider replacing "The analysis results showed tendency" with "The results suggest a tendency".
Response: done
L46-47. Consider replacing "is not only the most visited by tourists’ lake, but also" with "is not only the site most visited by tourists but it also".
Response: done
L47. Delete "That because".
Response: done
L50-51. Consider replacing " During last decades was find high abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the lake with bloom of Cyanobacteria" with "High abundances of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the lake in the last decades have been documented with blooming of Cyanobacteria".
Response: done
L52-54.Consider replacing " The phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance in the Borovoe protected lake was characterized by heterogeneity in the community structure but species richness of it was never regularly studied." with "Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in Lake Borovoe demonstrate high heterogeneity but the species richness was not regularly studied.".
Response: done
L54-56. Consider replacing "Nevertheless, algae of the Borovoe Lake study have been started in 1947 by N. Voronikhin [7-9], and continue sporadically up to 2013, only few species were mentioned in the references [6,10-15]" with "Nevertheless, research of algae in the Borovoe Lake was started in 1947 by N. Voronikhin [7-9], and continued sporadically up to 2013, only few species were mentioned in the previous reports [6,10-15]".
Response: done
L62-63. Consider replacing "and does infers environmental conditions on the natural, climatic, and economic from the Burabay National Natural Park" with "and do infer environmental impact on the natural, climatic, and economic conditions of the Burabay National Natural Park".
Response: done
L75. Consider replacing "Environmental and biological variables mapping " with "Mapping of environmental and biological variables ".
Response: done
L78-81. The aim of the study must be defined more clearly. Please, indicate, the novelty of the study and importance of your research.
Response: re-phrased
Section 2.1. A short description of environmental conditions in the region (climate, meteorology, etc.) must be included in the ms. Also, provide information about the bathymetry in the lake (depth range).
Response: reference and climatic data added. Figure 1b replaced with the bathymetry in the lake
Fig. 1 caption must be updated by the period of the study (month).
Response: done
L101. Consider replacing " Kazakhstan territory" with " Kazakhstan ".
Response: done
L103. Consider replacing " The Borovoe Lake was examined in the summer season on 29 July of 2019" with " The Borovoe Lake was examined in the summer season (29 July, 2019)".
Response: done
L104. Consider replacing " 8 evenly distributed sampling stations" with " eight stations ".
Response: done
L117. Consider replacing " Biomass was calculated from the volume of the cell figure. " with " Biomass was calculated from the volume of the cell. ". Also, indicate the unit for biomass (wet, dry or carbon).
Response: added
L130. Clarify source for species-specific saprobity indices.
Response: added
L132-141. Statistical methods must be described in more detail. The present text contains only a short description or refers to works unavailable for international readers (e.g. sources 39 and 40 in Russian). Additionally, some methods are not described at all (correlation and cluster analyses).
Response: added correlation and cluster analyses programs and other corrections. Sources for index saprobity s and bioindicative data for each revealed species are widely available in cited 39 and 40 because represented in internet as table form in English.
Section 3.1. The mean values with SD (or SE) must be presented in the ms.
Response: done, Appendix Table 1 replaced with SD
L151-152. Consider replacing " Distribution of TDS and water temperature is controversial in central part and not correlated with the depth. But water transparency was correlate with temperature." with " The distribution of TDS and water temperature was controversial in the central part with not correlations with the depth. Water transparency correlated with temperature.".
Response: done
L151-153. p-values for correlation analysis must be added in relevant parts.
Response: added
L159. Consider replacing " has been found in the Borovoe Lake phytoplankton during sampling period of 2019" with " were found in Lake Borovoe during the sampling period ".
Response: done
L163. Consider replacing " species over the sampling stations" with " species at the sampling stations".
Response: done
L164. Consider replacing " varied in amplitude between 21 and 29 taxa" with " varied between 21 and 29 taxa".
Response: done
Table 1 caption. Consider replacing " Distribution of species richness of algae and cyanobacteria in phytoplankton over taxonomic phyla on the sampling stations of the Borovoe Lake, 2019. " with " Species richness of phytoplanktonic algae and cyanobacteria in Borovoe Lake, summer 2019. ".
Response: done
L180. Consider replacing " Tree of the " with " Cluster dendrogram of ".
Response: done
L187. Consider replacing " On Figure 5 is" with " Figure 5 shows".
Response: done
L193-194. Delete " No of sampling station given in the edges of net".
Response: done
L197. Consider replacing " Average parameters values (Table 2) were calculated to see " with " Average values (Table 2) were calculated to indicate ".
Response: done
L200. Consider replacing " the active work of the lake ecosystem" with " high ecosystem activity work of the lake ".
Response: done
L201. Consider replacing " The second group of stations 3 and 7" with " The second group ".
Response: given in brackets (3 and 7) because we don’t outline the groups of stations, toned only.
L203. Consider replacing " of stations " with " of three stations ".
Response: done
L206-207. Delete " Therefore, to define species richness is important for the lake ecosystem analysis.".
Response: deleted
L213. Consider replacing " understanding the importance of species content dynamics on the phylum" with " to understand the importance of species dynamics at the phylum".
Response: done
L214. Consider replacing " for each phyla taxa distribution over" with " for each taxa distribution in".
Response: done
L215. Consider replacing " species distribution " with " species ".
Response: done
L216-217. Consider replacing " where was maximal water transparency and temperature but lower TDS (Appendix Table 1). " with " with maximal water transparency and temperature and lower TDS (Appendix Table 1). ".
Response: done
L217-219. Consider replacing " Figure 6b shows that the total distribution of the number of phytoplankton species is determined by the number of green algae species that take a part of its composition. " with " Figure 6b shows that the total number of phytoplankton species was determined by the number of green algae species".
Response: done
L219. Consider replacing " The distribution of diatoms is inversely the distribution of green algae" with " The distribution of diatoms is inversely relative to the distribution of green algae".
Response: done
L233. Consider replacing " prosperous" with " preferable".
Response: done
Fig. 7 caption. Consider replacing " Figure 7. Statistical maps of distribution of species richness in taxonomic phyla in phytoplankton communities on the sampling stations of the Borovoe Lake surface, 2019" with " Figure 7. Maps of the surface phytoplankton abundance (a), biomass (b), nitrates (c), and WESI index (d) in Lake Borovoe, summer 2019".
Correct, the Fig. 6 caption in a similar way.
Response: done
The discussion does not contain relevant interpretation of the authors' results. Moreover, comparisons with previous investigations and similar ecosystems must be done to provide a comprehensive explanation of the main findings.
Response: added and re-phrased
L278. Provide relevant reference confirming the statement that mid-summer is the best period to study phytoplankton.
Response: Paper added to the list: Barinova, S.; Gabyshev, V.; Boboev, M.; Kukhaleishvili, L.; Bilous, O. Algal indication of climatic gradients. American Journal of Environmental Protection. Special Issue: Applied Ecology: Problems, Innovations 2015, 4(3-1), 72-77. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.s.2015040301.22
L284-285. Consider replacing " lake water associated with the location on the coast of villages and resort areas" with " lake water is associated with villages and resort areas located on the coast".
Response: done
L312-313. Consider replacing " So, the anthropogenic load one of the reasons for the eutrophication of Lake Borovoe may be the degradation of macrophyte communities. " with " The anthropogenic load may be one of the reasons for the eutrophication of Lake Borovoe leading to degradation of the macrophyte communities. ".
Response: done
L313-315. Consider replacing " As a results of the Lake Fund monitoring in 1964–2002 macrophytes occupied 65–80% of the bottom surface [3], by 2019, they were found on approximately 30–35% of the bottom surface." with " The Lake Fund monitoring showed that macrophytes occupied 65–80% of the bottom surface in 1964–2002 [3] while their density had decreased to approximately 30–35% by 2019".
Response: done
L317. Consider replacing " and, as a result, change the trophic condition of the lake" with " and, causing changes in the trophic conditions of the lake".
Response: done
Conclusion. Most of the conclusion (L324-329) looks like a speculation and is not supported by the authors' results. Please, re-phrase the section focusing on the main findings.
Response: re-phrased
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The discussion is too brief, it is felt that a thorough explanation is still needed regarding the reason for the emergence of a statement that requires confirmation.
This is necessary to sharpen the expression in the conclusion
Author Response
Dear Editor,
Thank you and the Reviewer for comments. Please find below responses to each Reviewer comment.
With best regards,
Prof Sophia Barinova,
Corresponding author
Reviewer 2 comments and responses
The discussion is too brief, it is felt that a thorough explanation is still needed regarding the reason for the emergence of a statement that requires confirmation.
Response: added and re-phrased
This is necessary to sharpen the expression in the conclusion
Response: re-phrased
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
General comments
The subject of the article is a very important one for the development of aquatic ecosystems studies. The problem of pollution, of the health of ecosystems in relation to human communities, is topical. The development of indices to assess the quality of the aquatic system based on phytoplankton is also important.
The article presents only a snapshot (a single sampling, in July 2019). In specialized literature, the diagnosis of the ecological condition of an aquatic ecosystem is based on extensive studies both in space and time. From a spatial point of view, the sampling was done from several stations, which can create a correct image. One feels the need for a more in-depth approach, over time.
Because 3 years have passed since the study was carried out, it is imperative to reformulate the goal, it can no longer be the current ecological condition
I appreciated the graphic methods of presenting the results, as well as the statistical methods of data processing, which captured the phenomena and could lead to a correct conclusion.
Please cite the international literature for the topic addressed in the introduction and discussion chapter.
English revision and improvement are recommended.
Specific comments (see also comments in the pdf document)
23- replace the current ecological condition of the lake with a moment of assessment of ecological.. or the 2019 ecological condition....because the study was performed in 2019
31- similar to 23
37 – the keyword statistics is not suitable for the article’s topic
47- rephrase please, to improve your English
78 – similar 23 and 31
154-155- please clarify the term statistical map?
162-163 please reword for a better understanding
174- avoid the repetition of species richness..
180 – remove ..in phyla similarity..in the caption of Fig.4
197- the average of the parameter values
224-225 – clarify the term statistical map
330-333 – the phrase is not clear
I recommend the publication of the manuscript, after a minor revision.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear Editor,
Thank you and the Reviewer for comments. Please find below responses to each Reviewer comment.
With best regards,
Prof Sophia Barinova,
Corresponding author
Reviewer 3 comments and responses
General comments
The subject of the article is a very important one for the development of aquatic ecosystems studies. The problem of pollution, of the health of ecosystems in relation to human communities, is topical. The development of indices to assess the quality of the aquatic system based on phytoplankton is also important.
Response: thank you
The article presents only a snapshot (a single sampling, in July 2019). In specialized literature, the diagnosis of the ecological condition of an aquatic ecosystem is based on extensive studies both in space and time. From a spatial point of view, the sampling was done from several stations, which can create a correct image. One feels the need for a more in-depth approach, over time.
Response: will be done in future monitoring
Because 3 years have passed since the study was carried out, it is imperative to reformulate the goal, it can no longer be the current ecological condition
Response: done
I appreciated the graphic methods of presenting the results, as well as the statistical methods of data processing, which captured the phenomena and could lead to a correct conclusion.
Response: thank you
Please cite the international literature for the topic addressed in the introduction and discussion chapter.
Response: added to the Discussion part
English revision and improvement are recommended.
Response: corrected
Specific comments (see also comments in the pdf document)
23- replace the current ecological condition of the lake with a moment of assessment of ecological.. or the 2019 ecological condition....because the study was performed in 2019
Response: done
31- similar to 23
Response: done, deleted ‘current’
37 – the keyword statistics is not suitable for the article’s topic
Response: added
47- rephrase please, to improve your English
Response: done
78 – similar 23 and 31
Response: rewritten
154-155- please clarify the term statistical map?
Response: added
162-163 please reword for a better understanding
Response: rewritten
174- avoid the repetition of species richness..
Response: done
180 – remove ..in phyla similarity..in the caption of Fig.4
Response: deleted
197- the average of the parameter values
Response: corrected
224-225 – clarify the term statistical map
Response: done in MM section
330-333 – the phrase is not clear
Response: corrected, rewritten
I recommend the publication of the manuscript, after a minor revision.
In pdf:
Introduction
please briefly present the state of the art of the problem in the current scientific literature
Response: added
MM
please, provide the geographical coordinates of the lake
please cite the source of the map
Response: Figure 1 was reorganized and replaced with coordinates in 1a and sources of map 1b construction
2.2
103 = it would have been appropriate to carry out at least 3 samplings per year, for an ecological evaluation of the condition of the lake for the proposed purpose.
Response: added to the text. It was the first trip with sampling and measurements that covered all lake surface as screening stage for preliminary assessment in purpose of monitoring.
111= please, specify from which depth you sampled
It is about photic zone?
Response: yes, from surface layer 0 0.5 m, added
Results
143= the presentation of the results will be done in the past tense
Response: corrected
151= controversial = Please, clarify the statement
Response: rewritten
156 = Remove the word statistical. It Is about The distribution of....
Response: corrected but disagree, it must be mentioned ‘statistical’ because it is the method for construction. Maybe in another method this distribution can look different.
Before 159 = Diversity = please reformulate
Response: rewritten
162 = It is about species richness
Response: rewritten
171 = I suggest abandoning fig 3 and mentioning the percentage values in the text
Response: removed, percentage added to table
206 = remove the last sentence, is redundant
Response: removed
210 = group of stations, small letters
Response: done
216 = please rephrase, the term species content is not suitable
Response: rewritten
225 = The caption suggestion
The distribution of phyla species richness of studied system
Response: corrected
235 = It is the same caption as in figure 6, please correct it and accept the suggestion
Response: corrected
270 = the p-value is greater than 0.05. This means that the RDA results do not show statistical significance please try to use another analysis
Response: Dear Reviewer, We were unable to carry out calculations with p less than 0.13. Therefore, the figure has been replaced, but its accuracy is not very satisfactory. Please note that we are working with natural, non-experimental data, especially since the accumulated database is not yet large. It will be updated during the monitoring process. Therefore, our conclusions are made only on the material of the screening examination and, therefore, show the acting factors, but with a low statistical significance.
282 = the trophy level of a lake is indicated not only the species number, but the quatitatives parameters such as biomass, abundance . Mainly chlorophyll a is a trophy indicator of a lake
Response: abundance and biomass added, rewritten
333 = please rephrase
Response: done
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors have revised the text according to my suggestions.
