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Abstract Background Protists are essential contributors to eukaryotic diversity and exert profound influence on carbon fluxes and energy transfer in freshwaters. Despite their significance, there is a notable gap in research on protistan dynamics, particularly in the deeper strata of temperate lakes. This study aimed to address this gap by integrating protists into the well-described spring dynamics of Římov reservoir, Czech Republic. Over a 2-month period covering transition from mixing to established stratification, we collected water samples from three reservoir depths (0.5, 10 and 30 m) with a frequency of up to three times per week. Microbial eukaryotic and prokaryotic communities were analysed using SSU rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and dominant protistan groups were enumerated by Catalysed Reporter Deposition-Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH). Additionally, we collected samples for water chemistry, phyto- and zooplankton composition analyses. Results Following the rapid changes in environmental and biotic parameters during spring, protistan and bacterial communities displayed swift transitions from a homogeneous community to distinct strata-specific communities. A prevalence of auto- and mixotrophic protists dominated by cryptophytes was associated with spring algal bloom-specialized bacteria in the epilimnion. In contrast, the meta- and hypolimnion showcased a development of a protist community dominated by putative parasitic Perkinsozoa, detritus or particle-associated ciliates, cercozoans, telonemids and excavate protists (Kinetoplastida), co-occurring with bacteria associated with lake snow. Conclusions Our high-resolution sampling matching the typical doubling time of microbes along with the combined microscopic and molecular approach and inclusion of all main components of the microbial food web allowed us to unveil depth-specific populations’ successions and interactions in a deep lentic ecosystem. more...

Abstract Background Planktonic microbial communities have critical impacts on the pelagic food web and water quality status in freshwater ecosystems, yet no general model of bacterial community assembly linked to higher trophic levels and hydrodynamics has been assessed. In this study, we utilized a 2-year survey of planktonic communities from bacteria to zooplankton in three freshwater reservoirs to investigate their spatiotemporal dynamics. Results We observed site-specific occurrence and microdiversification of bacteria in lacustrine and riverine environments, as well as in deep hypolimnia. Moreover, we determined recurrent bacterial seasonal patterns driven by both biotic and abiotic conditions, which could be integrated into the well-known Plankton Ecology Group (PEG) model describing primarily the seasonalities of larger plankton groups. Importantly, bacteria with different ecological potentials showed finely coordinated successions affiliated with four seasonal phases, including the spring bloom dominated by fast-growing opportunists, the clear-water phase associated with oligotrophic ultramicrobacteria, the summer phase characterized by phytoplankton bloom-associated bacteria, and the fall/winter phase driven by decay-specialists. Conclusions Our findings elucidate the major principles driving the spatiotemporal microbial community distribution in freshwater ecosystems. We suggest an extension to the original PEG model by integrating new findings on recurrent bacterial seasonal trends. Video Abstract more...

The distribution of age 0+ percids (perch, Perca fluviatilis and pikeperch, Sander lucioperca) was investigated in a shallow, wellmixed reservoir during a 24-h period in late May, using acoustic and netting methods. Diel vertical migrations (DVMs) were acoustically recorded between the layers close to the bottom and the whole water column. The netting data showed a high abundance of larvae and juveniles at night (nearly 1 ind m-3, or 6 ind m-2), whereas negligible numbers of age 0+ percids were present in the water column during the day (3% of night abundance). Age 0+ percids remained during the day in the layer very close to bottom. Smaller pikeperch larvae dominated the pelagic age 0+ fish assemblage during daylight, while larger perch prevailed at night. A strong difference between day and night abundances along with a clear pattern discerned by acoustic methods revealed the DVM of age 0+ percids. Analyses of the fish digestive tract contents indicate that DVM was not governed by feeding behaviour, but rather a defensive strategy against predation. This is in agreement with the size distribution of age 0+ percids, since they were smaller in water column during the day as opposed to the night. more...

The community of pelagic fish fry present during late summer was studied in the canyon-shaped and eutrophic Římov Reservoir, Czech Republic, using nighttime trawling over seven years. Cyprinid fish dominated in the open water area throughout the period investigated. The highest mean density of fry in the surface water layer was observed in 1999 (15 ind 100 m-3), the lowest in 2000 (0.1 ind 100 m-3). A pronounced spatial gradient in the distribution of fry was observed in the reservoir in all years, with the highest densities in the upstream area and the lowest densities near the dam. Occurrence of cyprinids was highest in the upper area, while percid fry were distributed more regularly throughout the horizontal gradient from the lower to upper areas of the reservoir. Vertically, the cyprinids were confined almost entirely to the near-surface water layer, whereas the percids dominated in the deeper strata (3-6 m depth) in all years investigated. Catches in the deepest layer sampled (between 6 and 9 meters) were only sporadic. No significant correlations between fry density and biotic or abiotic factors were observed during the seven years investigated, neither for the dominant fish species pooled together nor for separate fish species. The observed spatial gradients of fry density, both horizontal and vertical, are similar to spatial gradients of older fish. The longitudinal gradient of fry density seems to be a result of reservoir morphology (a gradient of the relative volume of the littoral) rather than other limiting biotic or abiotic factors. more...

Piscivory in cyprinids (Cyprinidae) is extremely rare. Specifically, common bream (Abramis brama) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) are zooplanktivorous fish in deep lentic waters. Nevertheless, we observed predation by these two cyprinids under natural conditions in the Vír Reservoir, Czech Republic. We conducted diet analysis for cyprinids caught by trawling and gillnets and the large amount of young-of-the-year (YOY) perch (Perca fluviatilis), with sizes of 37-52 mm standard length, were found in their digestive tracts. In 2010, a large amount of YOY perch caused a significant decrease in Daphnia spp. size and abundance in the reservoir. Hence, a food deficit was induced for the cyprinids, apparent also from the poor nutritional condition of common bream which was much worse than the condition of those in similar reservoirs. Common carp and common bream shifted to forced piscivory, and they utilized the YOY perch as an alternative food source. In contrast, smaller species, such as roach (Rutilus rutilus) and bleak (Alburnus alburnus), widely utilized planktonic cyanobacteria. In the following year, YOY perch occurred in significantly lower numbers and conversely, Daphnia spp. size and abundance were significantly higher. The forced piscivory was not observed. Our results indicate a switch to forced piscivory by cyprinids, which was caused by a shortage of their natural food source. Moreover, this phenomenon presents an effective mechanism for reduction in the numbers of YOY perch, ensuring the stability of the ecosystem. more...

Abstract Background The phytoplankton spring bloom in freshwater habitats is a complex, recurring, and dynamic ecological spectacle that unfolds at multiple biological scales. Although enormous taxonomic shifts in microbial assemblages during and after the bloom have been reported, genomic information on the microbial community of the spring bloom remains scarce. Results We performed a high-resolution spatio-temporal sampling of the spring bloom in a freshwater reservoir and describe a multitude of previously unknown taxa using metagenome-assembled genomes of eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and viruses in combination with a broad array of methodologies. The recovered genomes reveal multiple distributional dynamics for several bacterial groups with progressively increasing stratification. Analyses of abundances of metagenome-assembled genomes in concert with CARD-FISH revealed remarkably similar in situ doubling time estimates for dominant genome-streamlined microbial lineages. Discordance between quantitations of cryptophytes arising from sequence data and microscopic identification suggested the presence of hidden, yet extremely abundant aplastidic cryptophytes that were confirmed by CARD-FISH analyses. Aplastidic cryptophytes are prevalent throughout the water column but have never been considered in prior models of plankton dynamics. We also recovered the first metagenomic-assembled genomes of freshwater protists (a diatom and a haptophyte) along with thousands of giant viral genomic contigs, some of which appeared similar to viruses infecting haptophytes but owing to lack of known representatives, most remained without any indication of their hosts. The contrasting distribution of giant viruses that are present in the entire water column to that of parasitic perkinsids residing largely in deeper waters allows us to propose giant viruses as the biological agents of top-down control and bloom collapse, likely in combination with bottom-up factors like a nutrient limitation. Conclusion We reconstructed thousands of genomes of microbes and viruses from a freshwater spring bloom and show that such large-scale genome recovery allows tracking of planktonic succession in great detail. However, integration of metagenomic information with other methodologies (e.g., microscopy, CARD-FISH) remains critical to reveal diverse phenomena (e.g., distributional patterns, in situ doubling times) and novel participants (e.g., aplastidic cryptophytes) and to further refine existing ecological models (e.g., factors affecting bloom collapse). This work provides a genomic foundation for future approaches towards a fine-scale characterization of the organisms in relation to the rapidly changing environment during the course of the freshwater spring bloom. Video Abstract more...

The relative importance of interference and exploitative competition from Daphnia was tested in contrast to known role of Cyclops vicinus predation, influencing the rotifer community in Římov Reservoir during spring period. The abundances of five dominant rotifer species and their birth and death rates were analysed, together with changes in chl-a concentration, HNF, bacteria biomass and the abundances of predator and competitor species, from high frequency sampling. Development of loricated species (Keratella cochlearis, K. quadrata and Kellicottia longispina) was driven predominantly by food availability. The dominant soft-bodied species Polyarthra spp. and Synchaeta lakowitziana were affected predominantly through C. vicinus predation. The role of mechanical interference from D. galeata, although may be important in a limited periods was overclouded by predation and exploitative competition in general. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The zooplankton community in a relatively small and mountain pond was studied during the spring growing season. To investigate which factors operate in the community structure, we explored several physical conditions, such as high inflows, and the biotic dynamics of the main zooplankton groups (i.e., rotifers, cladocerans and copepods). Two extreme flood events occurred during the investigated period and caused dramatic changes in physical conditions and reduction of the planktonic community abundances. The short period between both high-flow events was enough for the recovery of microplankton, but not for the metazoan zooplankton. Our results are in agreement with the common situation in which high flood events commonly favour rotifers over crustaceans, likely due to rotifer species have great colonization ability and grow faster. However, we found that the dominance of rotifers over crustaceans in our system is evidenced by an extremely, unusual high ratio between their abundances. We observed that, at the time of the great floods, crustacean abundances as well as rotifer populations notably decreased until near zero values. Although rotifer abundance began declining before high floods, the decrease was particularly notable when the great flood happened. Our results evidenced that i) dilution rate and temperature were the main drivers which are operating in the structure of the zooplankton community; and ii) no negative biotic interactions were detected between large and small cladocerans and rotifers. Additionally, we found surprisingly that a repeated disturbance caused by high flood events does increase the species diversity of rotifers. Finally, our study also detected some cues which may indicate that diapausing egg bank is also playing an important role in the zooplankton community, favouring the dominance of rotifers; however, this phenomenon deserves further studies. more...

Cladocerans of the genus Daphnia are keystone pelagic filter feeders in many temperate ponds and lakes. They have also become popular model organisms in various biological disciplines, from aquatic ecology to biomedical sciences. The crucial features that make these organisms excellent experimental models are their cyclical parthenogenetic life cycle together with easy culturing and handling. Thanks to these characteristics, the number of publications dealing with Daphnia is rapidly growing. The special insert to the Journal of Limnology on Daphnia biology contains contributions that deal directly or indirectly with the reproduction and development of these water fleas, in relation to various ecological factors. These include predator-prey interactions and their impact on morphology, population dynamics, or senescence-related traits, growth of daphnids on a diet consisting of invasively spreading cyanobacteria, and also the impact of extreme floods on a Daphnia population (and particularly on its dormant ephippial egg bank) in a reservoir. Here, we discuss these presented works, and point out the potential lines of research that may improve the generalisation of their findings. more...

Invertebrates comprise the overwhelming majority of all animal species - around 95% of described species, not including substantial cryptic variation. As it is an extremely diverse and heterogeneous group, research on various invertebrate taxa often follows parallel trajectories, with little interaction among experts on different groups. To promote sharing of knowledge within as well as across taxa, the International Society of Invertebrate Reproduction and Development (ISIRD) was established in 1975 in Calicut, India. Since that time, the ISIRD has organised international conferences at three-year intervals where various aspects of invertebrate biology are presented and discussed, naturally with the focus on reproduction and development. Traditionally, marine invertebrate groups have been well represented at all ISIRD congresses, but freshwater invertebrates have often been relatively overlooked at these meetings. The 12th ISIRD congress took place between August 16 and 20, 2010 in Prague, the Czech Republic. Several different Czech institutions collaborated on the organisation of this meeting. As aquatic invertebrate research has a long tradition in the country, we decided to include a section dedicated to popular model organisms in aquatic ecology and evolutionary biology, the "water fleas", cladocerans of the genus Daphnia. The section entitled "Daphnia and other cladocerans as model organisms" was open to any aspects of cladoceran biology directly or indirectly related to their reproduction or development. Unfortunately, the timing of the Prague congress completely overlapped the triennial congress of the International Society of Theoretical and Applied Limnology (SIL) in Cape Town, South Africa. This large meeting in a very attractive setting attracted many cladocerologists from all over the world, including Europe. Therefore, the Daphnia section of the Prague ISIRD meeting remained moderate in size, attracting 13 contributions (eight talks and five poster presentations). The presenting authors mostly originated from Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Austria) but the conference also attracted a visitor from overseas (Mexico). Although the section was small, some of the presentations evoked considerable interest among conference participants working on marine crustaceans. Information exchange between marine and freshwater biologists was promoted, and will hopefully persist at future ISIRD meetings. The contributions presented in the session covered a very wide range of topics, such as the interplay of sexual and asexual reproduction and its impact on seasonal population development and its clonal structure, the impact of major environmental disturbances (floods) on the status of Daphnia diapausing egg banks, factors promoting male production, the importance of Daphnia ageing, the effect of cyanobacteria on Daphnia growth, and the formation of antipredator morphological structures under different conditions. In this special insert, we present five papers from authors that attended the ISIRD meeting, from one German, two Czech, and two Polish teams. more...

Lake Orta is a very interesting environment because of its history of heavy chronic pollution and biota re-colonization. It was the first deep lake in Italy in which allozyme techniques were used to investigate clonal diversity. In 1986, a newly established Daphnia obtusa population, able to colonize stressed environments, resulted composed by just one multilocus genotype, detected through an analysis of 27 different allozymes, fifteen of which active and stable for up to 12 generations. This result was interpreted as indicative of a colonization by a single clone, able to establish after a strong selection. This species was allochthonous for the lake, and in 1996 was replaced by a Daphnia longispina of the same morphotype as that originally described from its pelagic environment, the latter apparently remaining the only Daphnia species also in the lake’s littoral until 2001, i.e. until a regular sampling to monitor the lake was accomplished. During an accidental sampling in 2004, for detecting the occurrence and prevalence of parasites in Daphnia parental species and hybrids in several lakes located North and South of the Alps, Daphnia galeata was first found in Lake Orta’s pelagic environment, as revealed by morphological and allozyme analyses. Lake Orta zooplankton was then resampled in June 2006, to detect species as well as clonal composition of the Daphnia population, using the same techniques of morphotype and allozyme analyses. We expected to find low clone diversity and the occurrence of hybrids, whose success is enhanced in disturbed environments. Although preliminary, our results confirm that clone diversity Lake Orta’s Daphnia population is low, thus suggesting a recent colonization by D. galeata and providing evidence for a founder effect. In addition, the detection of the M variant at the AO locus, we interpret as a rare allele of D. galeata/D. longispina hybrids, perfectly fits the hypothesis of an enhancement of hybrid success in disturbed environments such as the once heavy polluted Lake Orta. more...