Zgrupowania skąposzczetów dennych (Oligochaeta) Kanału Gliwickiego i Kanału Kędzierzyńskiego oraz związanych z nimi zbiorników antropogenicznych

Most of the studies on bottom oligochaetes have been carried out in lakes and rivers, whereas other various anthropogenic water environments have been treated sporadically. Only dam reservoirs are rather well known in this field of study, while the surveys concerning the occurrence of these animals in ditches, drain canals and navigable canals have been conducted only occasionally. The previous investigations referred mainly to the role of canals in the spread of alien freshwater species into new water systems. The scarcity of studies on bottom oligochaetes in navigable canals and anthropogenic reservoirs was the reason for undertaking this study in two canals (the Gliwicki canal and the Kędzierzyński canal) and in the three sand pits (Dzierżno Duże, Dzierżno Małe, Pławniowice) connected with them. The sites studied are located in a heavily industrialised region of Southern Poland (Upper Silesian Industrial Area). The investigations were carried out from 2002 to 2005. Oligochaeta were sampled from bottom sediments by means of standard quantitative methods using a core sampler (20 cm2) from 31 sampling stations. Immediately prior to sampling the oligochaetes, water samples and sediments were collected from each sample site. The zoocenological studies of the oligochaete communities were carried out using the following indices: domination, frequency, the Shannon-Wiener index and the Pielou index. Different tools based on oligochaetes were used for the evaluation of the biological quality of studied environments. The resulting data were evaluated and interpreted by different statistical tests using Statistica for Windows ver. 7.0 and the Canoco program for Windows ver. 4.5. In the environments studied Oligochaeta were dominants and formed from 73% (in Pławniowice) to 95% (in the Gliwicki canal) of the benthic fauna. In addition to them, Amphipoda, Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Diptera larvae were observed in all the environments. Isopoda and Hirudinea occurred in sand pits as well. In total, 25 oligochaete species from the families Tubificidae (with 11 species of the subfamily Naidinae and 12 species of the subfamily Tubificinae) and Lumbriculidae (2 species) were found in the environments studied. Amongst them only Potamothrix bavaricus (Oeschmann) is rare in Poland. Along the Gliwicki canal different oligochaete communities were observed. The community was poor in species from the first section below the Gliwice port, whereas the section before the Kędzierzyn-Koźle port was more diverse. The obtained results showed that diversity of oligochaete communities may be caused by the amount of bottom sediment pollution (heavy metals and WWA15), the sediment granulation, as well as the pollution of the water by organic contaminants, salinity and nutrients. The studies revealed different responses of oligochaete species to sediment pollutions. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and L. claparedeanus were the most tolerant. The result of the surveys indicated that the bottom oligochaetes are a useful tool for evaluating the water quality and bottom sediments in the anthropogenic environments studied. The IOBS index and the percentage of Tubificinae without hair chaetae in dorsal bundles were the most valuable for classifying bottom sediments, whereas diversity indices had great value for classifying the water quality. The classification of the Gliwicki canal sediments was proposed on the basis of the IOBS index and the percentage of Tubificinae without hair chaetae. In the Gliwicki canal and Dzierżno Duże similar oligochaete communities were recorded. Both of these environments are supplied by water from the Kłodnica river. The communities in Dzierżno Małe and Pławniowice were different, first of all, in species richness. All the sand pits, in spite of their connection with the Gliwicki canal, had no effect on the Oligochaeta species occurring in it

Further dispersion of the invasive alien species Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774) in the Oder River

Corbicula fluminea is recognised as being one of the worst alien species in Europe and one of the world's most widespread non-indigenous species in freshwater ecosystems. In Poland, it was detected in a heated water channel of the Lower Oder Power Station near Szczecin for the first time in 2003. In the following years, it continued its spread in the Oder River and the Vistula River. Our study uncovered new findings of C. fluminea in the Upper Oder River, which are its southernmost localities in the Oder River. Its record in the Gliwice Canal indicates that this may be a new dispersion route to the east for this species

The impact of environment factors on the diversity of gastropods communities in sinkhole ponds in a coal mining region (Silesian Upland, Southern Poland)

Studies on the diversity of gastropod fauna were carried out in ten sinkhole ponds with varied sediments types, which were located in a coal mining area (Silesian Upland, Southern Poland). The water bodies with different bottom types were distinguished by their dissimilar water properties and the total organic matter in the sediment. A total of 11 gastropod species from four families were identified. Eleven species occurred in sinkhole ponds with a coal shale bottom, while in water bodies with sandy sediments nine species were found. The gastropod diversity and abundance were lower in water bodies with sandy sediments compared to the ponds with a coal shale bottom. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed the important factors that influence the gastropod distribution in the subsidence ponds that were studied

Alien freshwater polychaetes Hypania invalida (Grube 1860) and Laonome calida Capa 2007 in the Upper Odra River (Baltic Sea catchment area)

Two polychaete species, Hypania invalida and Laonome calida, were found in the Upper Odra River in 2016. Both species were recorded close to a natural river bank down to 1 m depths. They inhabited sandy-gravelly and sandy-muddy sediments. H. invalida is an alien invasive Ponto-Caspian species, previously known in Poland from the Odra River estuary only. Our results may indicate a further rapid dispersal of H. invalida upstream the Odra River or an accidental introduction. This study is the first record of L. calida in the Baltic Sea catchment. This Australian species has been recently introduced into Europe. Prior to this study, it had been reported from Dutch rivers only. The present data suggest accidental introduction of the species to European rivers; however, our findings show an urgent need for a close monitoring of the polychaete in Europe

The importance of anthropogenic ponds in the dispersion of alien benthic macroinvertebrates – a case study from a mining subsidence pond in Chorzów

tekst w j. pol. i ang.Celem prowadzonych badań w zbiorniku zapadliskowym, położonym w kompleksie ogrodów działkowych w Chorzowie, była ocena różnorodności fauny bentonicznej ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem gatunków obcych

Impact of secondary salinisation on the structure and diversity of oligochaete communities

Secondary salinisation has become one of the most important factors responsible for changes in the aquatic biota. Earlier research has focused on macroinvertebrates including oligochaetes in anthropogenically saline rivers and streams, but studies on oligochaetes in anthropogenically saline stagnant waters remain scarce. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess changes in the species composition as well as the abundance and biomass of oligochaete communities along a large salinity gradient in the anthropogenic inland water bodies located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Southern Poland), which is one of the largest coal basins in Europe. Herein, a total of 27 oligochaete species including five alien species were assessed, namely, Potamothrix bavaricus, Potamothrix hammoniensis, Potamothrix moldaviensis, Psammoryctides albicola, and Psammoryctides barbatus. The results confirmed that the freshwater oligochaetes could tolerate elevated water salinity and showed highest densities and taxa richness in intermediate salinity. Moreover, the waters with the highest salinity had an extremely low number of oligochaete species. A salinity level above 2800 mg L -1 led to significant loss of diversity of the oligochaetes, and consequently, these habitats were colonized by halotolerant species, especially Paranais litoralis, whose abundance increased with increasing salinity gradient

The importance of the mining subsidence reservoirs located along the Trans-Regional Highway in the conservation of the biodiversity of freshwater molluscs in industrial areas (Upper Silesia, Poland)

The objectives of the survey were to analyse the structure of the mollusc communities in the mining subsidence reservoirs that were created as a result of land subsidence over exploited hard coal seams and to determine the most predictive environmental factors that influence the distribution of mollusc species. The reservoirs are located in urbanised and industrialised areas along the Trans-Regional Highway, which has a high volume of vehicular traffic. They all have the same sources of supply but differ in the physical and chemical parameters of the water. In total, 15 mollusc species were recorded including four bivalve species. Among them Anodonta cygnea is classified as Endangered according to the Polish Red Data Book of Animals and also as Near Threatened according to the European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs. Eleven of the 15 mollusc species are included on the European Red List of Nonmarine Molluscs as Least Concern. Conductivity, pH and the concentration of calcium were the parameters most associated with the distribution of mollusc species. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Radix balthica, Physella acuta, Gyraulus crista and Pisidium casertanum were associated with higher conductivity and lower pH values. A. cygnea, Anodonta anatina and Ferrissia fragilis were negatively influenced by these parameters of the water. The results of this survey showed that the mining subsidence reservoirs located in urbanised and industrialised areas provide refuges for rare and legally protected species and that they play an essential role in the dispersal of alien species as well

Response of the mollusc communities to environmental factors along an anthropogenic salinity gradient

Anthropogenic salinisation of freshwater ecosystems is frequent across the world. The scale of this phenomenon remains unrecognised, and therefore, monitoring and management of such ecosystems is very important. We conducted a study on the mollusc communities in inland anthropogenic ponds covering a large gradient of salinity located in an area of underground coal mining activity. A total of 14 gastropod and 6 bivalve species were noted. No molluscs were found in waters with total dissolved solids (TDS) higher than 17.1 g L−1. The share of alien species in the communities was very high in waters with elevated salinity and significantly lower in the freshwaters. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that TDS, pH, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, iron, the content of organic matter in sediments, the type of substrate and the content of sand and gravel in sediments were the variables that were significantly associated with the distribution of molluscs. The regression analysis revealed that total mollusc density was positively related to alkalinity and negatively related to nitrate nitrogen. The taxa richness was negatively related to TDS, which is consistent with previous studies which indicated that a high salinity level is a significant threat to freshwater malacofauna, causing a loss of biodiversity and contributing to the colonisation and establishment of alien species in aquatic ecosystems

The colonization of a cold spring ecosystem by the invasive species potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1843) (gastropoda: Tateidae) (Southern Poland)

Springs are unique aquatic environments that support specific biota, including endemic species and rare species listed in Red Lists. Due to their usually small size, springs are highly sensitive to disturbance. Many of them are threatened by aquifer depletion, contamination, surface-water diversion, livestock trampling, recreation, and invasive species. The aim of this study was to assess the colonization success of the invasive New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) in a cold spring ecosystem in southern Poland. In Europe, this species has recently been added to the top “hundred worst” alien species due to its impact on invaded ecosystems. The study was carried out in two areas of the spring ecosystem—in the springhead and the springbrook—over a four-year period. Potamopyrus antipodarum dominated the benthic macroinvertebrate communities in both areas of the spring ecosystem. Nevertheless, its abundance in the springbrook was significantly greater, and increased noticeably during subsequent years compared to that in the springhead. The populations of P. antipodarum were exclusively composed of females. Smaller-sized New Zealand mudsnails were more abundant near the spring’s source than at the second site. The females at the springhead became fecund at sizes as small as 3.7 mm (the number of embryos was between 0 and 37), while at the springbrook, embryos were found in snails as small as 3.4 mm (the number of embryos was between 0 and 42). Our results suggest that the lower water temperature at the springhead may limit the population size of P. antipodarum, thus making its density too low to be able to affect the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates, including the spring snail Bythinella cf. austriaca