“…The various aquatic communities (such as benthic and planktic algae, zooplankton and macroinvertebrates) of these ecosystems are exposed to extreme physical and chemical stress (strongly alkaline pans with high conductivity, nutrient concentration, turbidity, and diurnal temperature variation) (Boros, ; Stenger‐Kovács et al, ), all of which may play a decisive role in selection of a given species (Horváth et al, ) able to survive under such circumstances (Pálffy et al, ). This strong environmental filter causes a low degree of α‐diversity in alkaline lakes, not only in the case of benthic communities (Stenger‐Kovács, Hajnal, Lengyel, Buczkó, & Padisák, ), but also in planktic communities (Nkambo et al, ; Vidaković et al, ; Vignatti, Paggi, Cabrera, & Echaniz, ). However, the degree of β‐diversity found in these communities, primarily determined by the environmental variables, is high due to species turnover (Szabó, Lengyel, Padisák, Vass, & Stenger‐Kovács, ); this is true even in sodic anthropogenic, bomb crater ponds (Vad et al, ).…”