Phytoplankton communities of small watercourses of urbanized ecosystems (on the example of the Lososna river, Grodno, Belarus)

Abstract

On the example of the small Lososna river (Grodno, Belarus), the changes in the phytoplankton community in urbanized areas for the period 2015–2018 are shown and compared with the data previously obtained in 2008. The species diversity of the Lososna river phytoplankton was represented by 87 species from six divisions dominated by Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta (the algocenosis is dominated by the chlorophytic-diatom complex). There was an increase in species diversity relative to 2008 (36 species), which indicates a positive dynamic of reducing the inflow of pollutants into the watercourse. The calculated saprobity indices correspond to the β-mesosaprobic type, which makes it possible to attribute the water of the Lososna river to the 4th rank and III class of water quality (satisfactory purity), and to characterize changes in the ecosystem as reversible.

Keywords

• phytoplankton
• potamoplankton
• small rivers
• anthropogenic impact
• species diversity
• saprobity index
• water quality