Student Research Reports

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The aim was to make a practical introduction to one important part of the aquatic ecosystems: the planktic phototropic micro-algae, called phytoplankton, that are the primary producers in the aquatic food chains. The specific research questions were: Is the phytoplankton of the lakes and rivers that are physically close, similar or different? If different, then how and what can cause the differences? Water samples were collected from 14 water bodies, to study the diversity and composition of phytoplankton. To describe functional diversity and composition, size and shape of the individual organisms were used. Both functional attributes are ecologically important and are considered to be an important indicator of ecosystem health. The sampling time was period of spring blooms: April, May. The results confirmed that phytoplankton communities were clearly different. Three basic types of communities were identified: 1) mainly large and elongated organisms dominated; 2) smaller and rounded organisms dominated; 3) both types coexisted. The expected links with zooplankton were found – e.g. the abundant community of water fleas resulted in low abundance of smaller phytoplankton. Current study was part of hydrology studies by different students results of which will be combined to create new insights and links between these parameters.