engleski

Overflow effect on the dynamics of the zooplankton community in cascade lake systems

In cascade lake systems, the overflow effect was determined to be an important factor influencing temporal changes in population density and functional feeding organisation of plankton community along the longitudinal gradient. This is based on the fact that during thermal stratification, epilimnetic water impoverished by nutrients flows over the barriers from one lake into another. In two largest lakes of the Plitvice cascade system located in the karstic Dinaric area we observed that these overflows and the retention of nutrients by plankton metabolic activity in lakes located upstream influence the seasonal dynamics of the zooplankton community in a lake located downstream. These two different zooplankton cycles were explained by the temporal fluctuation of available food caused by the overflow of epilimnetic water impoverished in nutrients from the upstream into the lake located downstream.

zooplankton; overflow effect; cascade lake systems; karstic lakes

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