ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Benthic Invertebrates in Floodplain Lakes of a Polish River: Structure and Biodiversity Analyses in Relation to Hydrological Conditions
Krystian Obolewski1, Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk3, Natalia Jarząb2, Paweł Burandt3, Szymon Kobus3, Roman Kujawa4, Tomasz Okruszko5, Magdalena Grabowska6, Sylwia Lew7, Anna Goździejewska8, Andrzej Skrzypczak8
 
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1Department of Hydroecology, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz,
Al. Ossolińskich 12, 85-093 Bydgoszcz, Poland
2Department of Ecology, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Arciszewskiego 22b, 76-200 Słupsk, Poland
3Department of Land Reclamation and Management, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn,
Plac Łódzki 2, 10-719 Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland
4Department of Lake and River Fisheries, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn,
M. Oczapowskiego 5, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland
5Division of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Life Sciences,
Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warszawa, Poland
6Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Biology, University of Białystok,
Świerkowa 20B, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
7Department of Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn,
10-719 Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland
8Department of Applied Ecology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn,
Oczapowskiego 5, 10-957 Olsztyn, Poland
 
 
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2014;23(5):1679-1689
 
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ABSTRACT
Our study was carried out in the middle basin of the Biebrza River (NE Poland) in the periods of June and September in 2011 and 2012. From among numerous side-arms, four objects have been selected for analyses of macrozoobenthos structure and biomass. Two lakes exhibited a lentic character due to a long-lasting isolation from the river channel, one presented a lotic, and one was of a semi-lotic character. Differentiated hydrological conditions within the study period enabled comparative studies: in 2011 appeared low and high water levels, while in 2012 no low water appeared and high water levels prevailed, which influenced the wetland conditions and inhabiting aquatic zoocenoses. During the study 352 individuals of benthic invertebrates with a total biomass of 288 g of wet weight were collected. Among the studied lakes we found the highest values of biodiversity indices in a lotic reservoir, while the highest densities and biomasses were in a semi-lotic reservoir. Nevertheless, the composition and abundance of benthic invertebrates in the studied lakes differed significantly from type-specific communities found in the floodplain lakes in other regions. A substantially lower level of macrozoobenthos diversity in floodplain lakes of the Biebrza River is indicative of less favorable conditions for macrozoobenthos development due to frequent water level fluctuations.
eISSN:2083-5906
ISSN:1230-1485
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