The depth-distribution of epilithic diatoms in a carbonate meromictic lake (south-eastern Alps), characterized by marked water-level fluctuations, was investigated. Fixed stations were placed along a depth-profile at intervals of 2-3 m and sampled throughout the year using scuba diving. Diatom analysis included quantification of living cells (biovolume calculations) and the estimation of fucoxanthin concentration, which, coupled with the analysis of digested material, permitted taxonomic determination at specific or subspecific level. Multivariate analyses indicated the following variables to be significant: water-level fluctuations, photosynthetically active radiation, silica and nitrates. Diatoms had distinct depth-distributions. Quantification of densities, biovolumes and Chl a, and physiological (senescence index, fucoxanthin), functional (photosynthetic efficiency), and community structure (diversity) parameters allowed the definition of three depth-distribution zones (shallow, mid-depth and deep). The different diatom communities in these zones were confirmed by ANOSIM (analysis of similarity). The shallow, mid-depth, and deep zone were characterized by disturbance due to water-level fluctuations, high stability with favourable growth conditions and severe light limitation, respectively. Community composition and diversity depth-distribution features remained relatively stable throughout the year, while marked changes in benthic diatom biovolumes were modulated by competition for light with phytoplankton. Fucoxanthin was strongly correlated with epilithic diatom biovolumes. The results indicate that depth-distribution patterns should be considered when performing lake diatom biodiversity inventories and integrity evaluations because water-level fluctuations are likely to increase in many lakes due to increased withdrawal of water and climate change in the future.

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Species composition and interactions, biomass dominance, geographic distribution and driving variables were investigated for two key elements of the pelagic food web of Alpine lakes, the phytoplankton and the zooplankton, based on a single sampling campaign during summer 2000. Altogether, 70 lakes were surveyed, 49 of which located in three different lake districts of the west and eastern Italian Alps and 21 in the central Austrian Alps (within the uppermost Danube catchment). In addition to the analysis of environmental variables affecting distribution and species structure of the two planktonic compartments, a brief review of the main research lines and hypotheses adopted in the past for the study of phytoplankton and zooplankton in high Alpine lakes is given. The lakes, investigated partly within the European project EMERGE (EVK1-CT-1999-00032) and partly within a regional project in the eastern Alps, comprise a wide range of morphological, chemical and trophic conditions. The phytoplankton communities were found to be diverse and mostly dominated by flagellates (chrysophytes, cryptophytes and dinoflagellates), and only to a lesser extent by non-motile green algae, desmids and centric diatoms. The zooplankton communities were mainly dominated by Alpine cladocerans and copepod species, while rotifers were abundant within one group of Italian lakes (sampled in early summer). The multivariate statistical analyses (CCA) showed that catchment features (i.e. percentage of vegetation cover and geochemical composition) and nitrate concentration are essential drivers for the phytoplankton, whereas for zooplankton also trophic status of the lakes and phytoplankton structure are important. The combined variance analysis of the lake clusters outlined by the multivariate analyses on phytoplankton and zooplankton data, respectively, allowed the identification of four principal lake types (three located on siliceous and one on carbonaceous bedrock), each one characterised by a certain combination of habitat features, which in their turn influence trophic state, and phytoplankton and zooplankton species composition and functionality.

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