Abstract
The diversity and longitudinal variation of zooplankton in the lower Vistula River were analyzed. Samples were taken from 40 stations located along a 272-km long section of the lower river course. During the study the unique technique of taking samples from “the same water” was used. The zooplankton community was dominated by rotifers and nauplii — larval stages of copepods. The most abundant species were: Brachionus angularis, Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus budapestiensis. The zooplankton species diversity in the main channel of the lower Vistula River was similar to other large European rivers; however, its abundance was lower. The diversity, abundance and biomass of potamoplankton steadily decreased downstream. This could be related both to scarcity of storage zones for potamoplankton development in the river due to the extensive regulation processes, and changes in hydrological conditions of the main channel (by the straightening of riverbed) where the samples were collected.
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Napiórkowski, P., Napiórkowska, T. The diversity and longitudinal changes of zooplankton in the lower course of a large, regulated European river (the lower Vistula River, Poland). Biologia 68, 1163–1171 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-013-0263-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-013-0263-6