Diversity and Structure of the Tychoplankton Diatom Community in the Limnocrene Spring Zelenci (Slovenia) in Relation to Environmental Factors
Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Water 2018, 10(4), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040361
Received: 30 January 2018
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Revised: 20 March 2018
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Accepted: 21 March 2018
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Published: 23 March 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multiplicity, Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation)
The influence of selected factors on the diversity and composition of tychoplanktonic diatom community in limnocrene spring Zelenci was investigated. The spring that was studied is located in a glacial valley in the south-eastern calcareous Alps. Samples of tychoplankton were collected with a plankton net between October 2012 and August 2015 and for each sample, selected abiotic factors were measured. Over 100 different diatom species were identified, the most abundant being Achnanthidium minutissimum and Denticula tenuis. The most species-rich genera were Navicula, Fragilaria, Nitzschia, Cymbella and Gomphonema. The most significant impact on species composition of tychoplanktonic diatom community was from the conductivity of the water and the consecutive number of the month. Diversity was correlated negatively with concentration of orthophosphate and positively with pH and water level. Benthic species from the low profile ecological group dominated the tychoplankton community, with a share of 30–72%. High profile and motile species characteristic for benthos reached higher shares on average than euplanktonic species. This indicates the essential role of underwater springs in the maintenance of a species-rich tychoplanktonic community.
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Keywords:
tychoplankton; pool spring; south-eastern calcareous Alps; river Sava; ecological groups; algae
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zelnik, I.; Balanč, T.; Toman, M.J. Diversity and Structure of the Tychoplankton Diatom Community in the Limnocrene Spring Zelenci (Slovenia) in Relation to Environmental Factors. Water 2018, 10, 361. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040361
AMA Style
Zelnik I, Balanč T, Toman MJ. Diversity and Structure of the Tychoplankton Diatom Community in the Limnocrene Spring Zelenci (Slovenia) in Relation to Environmental Factors. Water. 2018; 10(4):361. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040361
Chicago/Turabian StyleZelnik, Igor, Tadeja Balanč, and Mihael J. Toman. 2018. "Diversity and Structure of the Tychoplankton Diatom Community in the Limnocrene Spring Zelenci (Slovenia) in Relation to Environmental Factors" Water 10, no. 4: 361. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040361
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