Limno-ecological assessment of lentic ecosystems in the western Mediterranean basin (Turkey) using phytoplankton indices

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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Limno-ecological assessment of lentic ecosystems in the western Mediterranean basin (Turkey) using phytoplankton indices Abuzer Çelekli 1

&

Ömer Lekesiz 1

Received: 31 May 2020 / Accepted: 31 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract Great attention has been given to freshwater ecosystems worldwide due to the increased exploitation of water resources and the degradation of water quality. This study was aimed to demonstrate the phytoplankton-stressor interactions using multivariate approaches and assess the ecological conditions of 28 sampling stations of 12 lentic ecosystems (five lakes and seven reservoirs) in the western Mediterranean basin using phytoplankton indices in dry and rainy seasons 2018. Freshwater and brackish water systems were separately ordinated by canonical correspondence analysis. The brackish ecosystems were under pressures of Ar (arsenic), N-NO−2 (nitrite), Ca (calcium), EC (electrical conductivity), Cl (chloride), B (boron), etc., whereas shallow freshwater ecosystems were associated with total organic carbon. These factors had significant effects on phytoplankton distribution among lentic ecosystems on the basin. Ecological associations of phytoplankton assemblages varied in the western Mediterranean basin during the study. Pseudanabaena catenata and Palatinus apiculatus, considered tolerant taxa, are associated with higher Ar, EC, and V (vanadium) while Desmodesmus abundans and Microcystis flos-aquae are related to total organic carbon. The modified PTI (phytoplankton trophic index) had the highest correlation coefficient value. Scores of the PTI varied from 2.02 in Çavdır Reservoir to 2.59 in Lake Kocagöl. Results of phytoplankton indices indicated that two (Gölhisar and Yazır) lakes and two (Yapraklı and Çavdır) reservoirs were classified as Good, and three lakes and five reservoirs were classified as Moderate condition. Other predicted classifications (high, poor, and bad) by phytoplankton metrics were not represented. The modified PTI could be a suitable phytoplankton metric for assessing the ecological status of lentic ecosystems in the Mediterranean system according to its highest correlation coefficient value. Overall, the results of this limno-ecological study demonstrated that responses of phytoplankton taxa to explanatory factors provide crucial ecological information about their ecology and to estimate the ecological status of lentic ecosystems. Keywords Bio-assessment . Phytoplankton . Freshwater and brackish waters . Mediterranean . Lentic ecosystems

Introduction Freshwater lentic ecosystems are an important part of the biogeochemical cycle on the earth that support biodiversity and maintain ecological balance. Increasing human activities like urbanization, agricultural land uses, wastewater disposal, modifications (e.g., reed cutting and sand removal), and combustion of fossil fuels lead to eutrophication, acidification, Responsible Editor: Thomas Hein * Abuzer Çelekli [email protected] 1

Department of Biology,