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Picophytoplankton predominance in hypersaline lakes (Transylvanian Basin, Romania)

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Abstract

The occurrence and importance of photoautotrophic picoplankton (PPP, cells with a diameter <2 μm) was studied along a trophic and salinity gradient in hypersaline lakes of the Transylvanian Basin (Romania). The studied lakes were found to be rich in PPP, with abundances (maximum 7.6 × 106 cells mL−1) higher than in freshwater and marine environments of similar trophic conditions. The contribution of PPP to the total phytoplankton biovolume did not decrease with increasing trophic state as it was generally found in other aquatic environments. Regardless of the trophic conditions, the contribution of PPP could reach 90–100 % in these hypersaline lakes. We hypothesized that the PPP predominance might be the result of the low grazing pressure, since heterotrophic nanoflagellates (the main grazers of PPP) were absent in the studied samples. There were significant differences in community composition among the lakes along the salinity gradient. CyPPP predominated in less saline waters (mainly below 5 %), while EuPPP were present along the entire salinity range (up to 18.7 %), dominating the phytoplankton between 3 and 13 % salinity. Above 13 % salinity, the phytoplankton was composed mainly of Dunaliella species.

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Abbreviations

CyPPP:

Picocyanobacteria

DCM:

Deep chlorophyll a maximum

DGGE:

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

EuPPP:

Picoeukaryotes

HNF:

Heterotrophic nanoflagellates

PPP:

Photoautotrophic picoplankton

SC:

Specific conductance

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Human Resources Development Program (POSDRU 88/1.5/S/60185, Doctoral studies: through science toward society), CNCSIS/UEFISCDI TE306/70 2010-2013, the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA K 73369) and partly by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS–UEFIS-CDI, project numbers PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0546. The authors are grateful to Balázs Németh, Éva Koltai and Erika Nagy for their technical assistance. Boglárka Somogyi was supported by the Bolyai János Research Grant (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and Zsolt Gyula Keresztes supported by the European Union and the State of Hungary, co-financed by the European Social Fund in the framework of TÁMOP-4.2.4.A/2-11/1-2012-0001 ‘National Excellence Program’ and Collegium Talentum, Tatabánya.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Balaton Limnological Institute, Klebelsberg Kuno u. 3, Tihany, 8237, Hungary

    Boglárka Somogyi, Lajos Vörös, Károly Pálffy & Zsolt Gyula Keresztes

  2. Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babes-Bolyai University, Clinicilor Str., Nr. 5-7, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Gyöngyi Székely & Csaba Bartha

  3. Edutus College, Institute of Technology, Studium sqr. 1, Tatabánya, 2800, Hungary

    Zsolt Gyula Keresztes

Authors
  1. Boglárka Somogyi
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  2. Lajos Vörös
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  3. Károly Pálffy
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  4. Gyöngyi Székely
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  5. Csaba Bartha
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  6. Zsolt Gyula Keresztes
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Correspondence to Zsolt Gyula Keresztes.

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Communicated by A. Oren.

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Somogyi, B., Vörös, L., Pálffy, K. et al. Picophytoplankton predominance in hypersaline lakes (Transylvanian Basin, Romania). Extremophiles 18, 1075–1084 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-014-0685-2

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