engleski

Application of Morpho-Functional Classifications in the Evaluation of Phytoplankton Changes in the Danube River

The traditional taxonomic approach is today being supplemented by ecological classifications of phytoplankton following the concepts of functional groups (FG), morpho-functional groups (MFG), and morphology-based functional groups (MBFG). In this study, we compared the potential of all three concepts in the evaluations of phytoplankton changes in the Danube River (rkm 1 388). Redundancy analysis revealed that a higher percentage of variance is explained by using ecological classifications than by using the taxonomic approach. Diatoms were the most abundant representatives. Applying the MBFG classification, whereas all diatoms were sorted into a single group (G6), only the changes of total diatom abundance can be followed. According to the FG classification, diatoms were distributed into seven groups, among which the dominant codons were C, D, and TB, while the MFG classification separated diatoms into five groups. Different temperature requirements and sensitivity to flushing were found to be the key driving factors for the successions of dominant species within small centrics, sorted into only one group. The need for phytoplankton species integration according to their capability to cope with the specific river environments still persists and further investigations, focused on the changes of phytoplankton along the Danube River, would aid the improvement of the phytoplankton classification schemes.

Phytoplankton; Danube River; ecological classification; diatoms

The 40th IAD Conference: The Danube and Black Sea Region – Unique Environment and Human Well Being Under Conditions of Global Changes, 17-20 June 2014, Sofia, Bulgaria