Cladocera species (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in the littoral zone of Lake Baikal: some representatives of Daphniidae families

Brief morphological descriptions of new Cladocera taxa (Daphniidae): Daphnia (Daphnia) turbinata Sars, 1903; Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) sinensis Gu, Xu, Li, Dumont et Han 2013, found in Lake Baikal are presented. The representatives of these taxa inhabit the littoral zone of the lake and Olkhon Island. Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) sinensis were encountered in the water bodies in the south of Eastern Siberia for the first time.

Coexistence of Lobelia dortmanna and Cladium mariscus, an ecological and paleobotanical study

Lobelia dortmanna L. (Lobeliaceae family) is an indicator species that is predominantly found in oligotrophic and acidic lakes. They are mainly distributed in northwestern Europe. Their occurrence in Poland is highly threatened by the increasing grade of human activity and environmental eutrophication; however, new sites of Lobelia were discovered in the last few decades, for example, in Lake Krzywce Wielkie situated in Bory Tucholskie National Park (BTNP), Poland. The existence of Lobelia in this lake was unexpected because Cladium mariscus was also found in the lake. Cladium has different ecological demands and is regarded as a species typical of calcareous habitats where calcium is found in abundance in the substrate. To explain the coexistence of both species in Krzywce Wielkie, pollen analysis of organic sediments was performed for four short cores collected from the littoral zone of the lake and for one long deep-water core. Additionally, macrofossil analysis was done for all the short cores. Pollen analysis revealed the existence of Cladium from the early Holocene period up to the present time. Pollen and seeds of Lobelia were found to be present since the beginning of the 20th century. Development of L. dortmanna and Myriophyllum alterniflorum populations and a decrease in the number of aquatic macrophytes in the eutrophic water indicate oligotrophication of water. This process started following the construction of drainage canal and the consequent water level decrease. This situation can be attributed to the abandonment of the agricultural areas adjoining the lake, which causes a decrease in the inflow of nutrients into the lake. Development of pine forest and establishment of BTNP enabled the protection and conservation of the surrounding catchment areas, thus restricting the potential eutrophication of the habitats.

Liquidated Sulphur Mine “Piaseczno” – Vol. 2. Application of Integrated Measurement Technologies in the Inventory of the “Piaseczno” Water Body – State of 2020

Among many inland water bodies, a large group includes water bodies formed as an effect of mining activities. Open-cast mining of common minerals, i.e., sand, gravel, loam, basic minerals such as lignite, sulphur and fossil resins of coniferous trees (amber) leaves many excavations, which spontaneously get filled with precipitation waters, black waters (the ones near the surface) and ground waters (deeper underground), often making new and wonderful elements of local landscape. Till the time of political transformations in Poland, due to low awareness of proper reclamation of post-mining areas, few post-mining excavations that spontaneously filled with water were subdued to comprehensive inventory, surveying and geological documentation, which is a necessary condition for their safe use. Examples of such objects are Bagry and Staw Płaszowski in Kraków (mining of loam (clay), sand and gravel), which have undergone full surveying inventory, including bathymetric surveying, only several decades after the end of mining (Gawałkiewicz R., Maciaszek J., 1999; Gawałkiewicz R., 2017; Gawałkiewicz R., 2018a and Gawałkiewicz R., 2018b), despite being the property of the city of Cracow for many years and functioning as sports and recreational, natural (ecological) and economical (fishing facilities) spots. A worth mentioning body of water is the reservoir “Piaseczno” (the commune of Łoniów, the Sandomierz District), now classified as a part of a group of reservoirs with medium retention and has been created after the opencast exploitation of sulphur ended. Despite many years of reclamation measures (shallowing by washing glass sands to the reservoir) and due to the great risk of danger (local landslides, unstable ground in the costal zones, artificially maintained level of the water table) the Łoniów commune did not approve this reservoir to use; and nowadays, the reservoir is not suitable for any form of use. The only function that can be fulfilled is ecological function. In the article the results of the complex geodetic (littoral zone) and hydrographic (body of water) inventory are presented. It was possible owing to the use of the remote-controlled HyDrone produced by Seeflor Systems and equipped with a SonarMite BTX/SPX OHMEX ultrasonic sonar by Lymtech and a GNSS set by Trimble (R8s antenna + TSC3 controller) and biological inventory in the littoral zone. Detailed morphometric parameters of the reservoir were also noted based on the integrated geodetic and bathymetric measurements, which in the future may provide valuable data used in the process of adapting the analyzed area for various socio-economical purposes, while maintaining a high degree of safety of its use. ZLIKWIDOWANA KOPALNIA SIARKI „PIASECZNO” – cz. 2. ZASTOSOWANIE ZINTEGROWANYCH TECHNOLOGII POMIAROWYCH W INWENTARYZACJI AKWENU „PIASECZNO” – STAN 2020 r. Spośród licznej grupy śródlądowych zbiorników wodnych dużą grupę stanowią obecnie akweny będące wynikiem działalności górniczej. Eksploatacja odkrywkowa kopalin pospolitych, tj.: piasków, żwirów, gliny, kopalin podstawowych, takich jak węgiel brunatny, surowców chemicznych, jak siarka, oraz kopalnych żywic drzew iglastych (bursztynu) pozostawia po sobie liczną wyrobiska, które z czasem wypełniają się samoistnie wodami opadowymi, zaskórnymi (przypowierzchniowymi) oraz gruntowymi (podziemnymi), tworząc często nowe i niezwykłe elementy lokalnego krajobrazu. Do czasu przemian ustrojowych w Polsce znikoma świadomość właściwej rekultywacji terenów pogórniczych decydowała o tym, iż niewiele wyrobisk poeksploatacyjnych samoistnie wypełnionych wodą doczekało się kompleksowej inwentaryzacji i udokumentowania mierniczo- geologicznego, co jest niezbędnym warunkiem bezpiecznego niegórniczego ich użytkowania. Przykładem takich obiektów wodnych są krakowskie Bagry i Staw Płaszowski (eksploatacja: gliny, piasku, żwiru), które doczekały się pełnej inwentaryzacji geodezyjnej, w tym batymetrycznej, dopiero kilkadziesiąt lat po zakończeniu eksploatacji surowców (Gawałkiewicz R., Maciaszek J., 1999; Gawałkiewicz R., 2017; Gawałkiewicz R., 2018a oraz Gawałkiewicz R., 2018b), mimo iż od wielu lat stanowią własność miasta Krakowa, pełniąc funkcje rekreacyjno-sportowe, przyrodnicze (użytki ekologiczne) oraz gospodarcze (obiekty wędkarskie). Wartym uwagi akwenem wodnym kwalifikowanym obecnie do grupy zbiorników średniej retencji, powstałym po eksploatacji odkrywkowej złóż siarki, jest zbiornik Piaseczno (gm. Łoniów, pow. sandomierski). Pomimo wielu lat rekultywacji (zabezpieczeń zboczy i ich wielokrotnego przemodelowywania, wypłycania poprzez namywanie piasków szklarskich do zbiornika), z uwagi na szereg niebezpieczeństw (lokalnych osuwisk, niestabilnego podłoża w strefach nadbrzeżnych, sztucznie utrzymywanego poziomu zwierciadła wody) nie został przekazany w użytkowanie gminie Łoniów i dziś poza funkcją użytku ekologicznego nie nadaje się do jakiejkolwiek innej formy zagospodarowania. W artykule przedstawiono wyniki kompleksowej inwentaryzacji geodezyjnej (strefa przybrzeżna) i hydrograficznej (akwen) przy wykorzystaniu zdalnie sterowanego hydrodrona HyDrone firmy Seefloor Systems wyposażonego w sondę ultradźwiękową SonarMite BTX/SPX OHMEX firmy Lymtech oraz zestaw GNSS firmy Trimble (antena R8s + kontroler TSC3) oraz inwentaryzacji przyrodniczej w strefie litoralu. Określono także szczegółowe parametry morfometryczne zbiornika na podstawie zintegrowanych pomiarów geodezyjnych oraz batymetrycznych, co w przyszłości może stanowić wartościowy materiał w procesie adaptacji analizowanego terenu do różnych społeczno- gospodarczych celów przy zachowaniu warunku wysokiego stopnia bezpieczeństwa jego użytkowania.

The influence of Janthinobacterium sp. strain SLB01 on the cell culture of primmorphs of the sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are ancient, multicellular metazoans. Freshwater sponges (Demosponges, Lubomirskiidae) dominate the fauna of the littoral zone of Lake Baikal. Over the last years, there have been mass diseases and death of endemic sponges. Previously, the strain Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 was isolated from the diseased sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis. The studies of the pathogenicity of the strain Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 for Baikal sponges has not been carried out, therefore we infected experimentally in vitro to determine its pathogenicity by the cell culture of the primmorphs with subsequent isolation, sequencing, and analysis of the genomes. The purpose of the study is to show that the strain Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 isolated from the diseased sponge L. baicalensis is a pathogen for the cell culture of primmorphs. The bacteria from the infected samples were isolated and identified as strain Janthinobacterium sp. PLB02. A comparative analysis of the genomes of the strains showed that they are practically identical. The genomes of both strains contain genes vioABCDE violacein, flok formation, and strong biofilm, and the type VI secretion system (T6SS), as the primary virulence factor. These bacterial strains based on a comparison of complete genomes showed similarity with strain Janthinobacterium lividum MTR. Isolated strains of Janthinobacterium sp. are pathogens for cell cultures of primmorphs and L. baicalensis sponges. The results of the study will help to expand the understanding of microbial relationships in the development of disease and the death of Baikal sponges.

Choice of benthic macroinvertebrate-based metrics for assessing water quality in the littoral zone under anthropogenic disturbance in southern Lake Kivu (Central Africa)

Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used to assess the ecological quality of fresh waters. This is because they are in direct contact with the aquatic environment and respond differently to pollutants and changes in the watershed, which are difficult to assess by toxicological or chemical monitoring alone. this study used benthic macroinvertebrate parameters to assess the quality of the nearshore waters of lake Kivu. Twenty-six metrics covering various aspects of the community were tested using whisker plots to compare their sensitivity in discriminating between reference and disturbed stations. Nine parameters (% EPT taxa, % Diptera taxa, % Chironomid taxa, % Insect taxa; % no Insects taxa, ratio EPT/Chironomid taxa, % moderate tolerant taxa, % very moderate tolerant taxa, Family Biotic Index) were found to be sensitive and were able to discriminate between reference and disturbed stations. All sensitive metrics, with the exception of the percentage of EPT taxa, were positively and/or negatively correlated with the physico-chemical parameters affected by the changes in the littoral zone. The combined values of the three calculated biotic indices (ASPT, BMWP and FBI) showed that the biological water quality varies from moderate to good in the reference stations and from average to poor in the disturbed stations. It is concluded that metrics based on benthic macroinvertebrates are effective for assessing water quality in the littoral zone of Lake Kivu in the context of the lack of historical water quality databases and specific tools for toxicological assessment. It is suggested to compare the performance of this approach with others currently used in bio-indication.