Periphyton Inhabiting Reeds in Polish Water Ecosystems

Abstract

This study presents the results of a long-term study of periphyton inhabiting submerged parts of shoots of Phragites australis, carried out in the ecosystems of northern Poland (lakes, rivers, oxbows and a dam reservoir). The development of epiphytic organisms representing the level of producers and consumers was found on the substrate formed by the reed in each of the studied aquatic ecosystems. The coastal lake was characterized by the highest taxonomic diversity and the smallest oxbow lake undergoing restoration. In the autotrophic fraction, Bacillariophyta predominated in the studied ecosystems and were accompanied by very high amounts of chlorophytes and Cyanobacteria. Phytoperiphyton had the highest abundance in lakes (~40 mln cells m −2 ) and the lowest in rivers (~7 mln cells m −2 ). Among the heterotrophic fraction, there were 14 taxa in the lakes and only 9 taxa in the dam reservoir. Zooperiphyton reached the highest abundance in lakes (~140 thousand indiv. m −2 ) and were the lowest in the dam reservoir (~7 thousand indiv. m −2 ). The largest share in the microperiphyton was reached by Protista (~60%) and Rotifera (~20%), while the lowest abundance were representatives of Cladocera (~2%) and Oligochaeta (~1%). Macrozooperiphyton were represented primarily by Chironomidae larvae (~75%). The structure and abundance of periphyton may indicate the trophic state of individual aquatic ecosystems, which is important in determining their ecological condition according to the Water Framework Directive.