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What are the effects of ombro-minerotrophic transition in Central European peatlands on structure and dynamics of microalgal communities?
Hanousková, Andrea ; Neustupa, Jiří (advisor) ; Pusztai, Martin (referee)
Peatlands, as primary boreal habitats, are very rare and valuable azonal ecosystems in the Central European landscape. Their value is due, among others, to the enormous abundance of microalgae communities, of which probably the most prominent group consists of desmidiales, both in the richness of species and in their proportional representation. An important factor that affects peatland biota is the ombro-minerotrophy gradient derived from the hydrological regime. According to this concept, peat bogs are divided into two basic types - ombrotrophic peat bogs, which are saturated only by rainwater and minerotrophic fens, which are enriched by groundwater or surface water. The desmids, characterized by high sensitivity to environmental factors and species richness, are a very useful model group for ecological studies. In my work I deal with the effect of the ombro-minerotrophic gradient on the structure, diversity and dynamics of desmid communities on Sudeten peat bogs. The results show that ombro-minerotrophy significantly affects the structure of communities and is more determinant for the occurrence of individual species than their abundance. Significant effect was also found in species diversity. Minerotrophic peat bogs have apparently higher species diversity, which is mainly determined by the...
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Desiccation as a structuring factor in desmid communities
Jirková, Kateřina ; Neustupa, Jiří (advisor) ; Kopalová, Kateřina (referee)
Desmids are an important part of the phytobenthos in the wetland ecosystems. These ecosystems are often ephemeral and changes in the hydrological regime is a typical characterisic of this habitat type. Dessication is a significant stress factor that affects water organisms. Different species differ in their extent of tolerance to dessication stress and it can affect their community structure and also their phylogenetic diversity. Two sites, the nature reserve Borkovická Blata and the nature locality Na Plachtě, were selected for this work. Ephemeral (seasonally dessicating) and permanent pools differed in the structure of desmid communities but the difference was signifacant only for Borkovická blata. At both localities, the samples from the dessicating pools showed in average lower species richness and Shannon's diversity index than samples from non-dessicating pools, but the differences between these groups of samples were not statistically significant. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the desmids community were phylogenetically overdispersed; closely related species tended to not appear together on the same sites at both localities. The difference in the phylogenetic structure between ephemeral and permanent was detected only in the Borkovická blata site, where the ephemeral pools exhibited weaker...
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The phylogenetic structure of desmid communities
Bestová, Helena ; Škaloud, Pavel (advisor) ; Mareš, Jan (referee)
Abstract This diploma thesis focuses on processes that structure desmid communities. Phylogenetic structure of communities helps to reveal those processes. Phylogenetic structures links ecology of communities and evolutionary history of species in those communities. Totally I analysed 89 desmid communities. Most of them were phylogenetically structured, which agrees with the hypothesis that communities are structured by classical niche-related processes, such as competition and environmental filtering. Usage of environmental information showed the influence of pH on the community structure. Low pH acts as a strong environmental filter. Under the influence of this filter communities are composed of closely relates species. In the absence of this filter communities are structured by competition. Localities with higher pH host communities of distantly related species - phylogenetically overdispersed. There was found no influence of conductivity and geographical distance on phylogenetic structure of desmids communities. Key words: phylogenetic structure, desmids, Desmidiales, environmental filtering, pH
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