Half a century of research on diatoms in athalassic habitats in central Poland

The authors would like to dedicate this paper to Prof. Marcin Pliński who started the phycological research in these unique habitats of Central Poland.Part of the geology in the Łódź province was formed during the Upper Permian period when rich Zechstein salt was deposited. Groundwater drains the deposits and flows out in the village of Pełczyska, creating a unique hydrogeological site in Central Poland. An inland, athalassic ecosystem can be a reference site for halophile microflora. The outflow with surrounding marshes has been an algological research site since 1964. The research reveals changes recorded in diatom assemblages from athalassic habitats, characterized by a wide range of salinity levels, and verifies the tolerance of taxa to salinity. The comparative analysis was based on the diatom material sampled in 1964-1965, 1992-1994 and on recently collected samples. The analysis revealed the temporal change in assemblages caused by a change in the chloride concentration, and the spatial change from one to another habitat type, characterized by varying salinity levels. The halophilic species in the studied habitats included e.g. Halamphora dominici, H. tenerrima, Navicula digitoconvergens, N. meulemansii, Staurophora salina. The analysis of changes allowed the verification of the species’ requirements and tolerance range to the salinity factor. Therefore, in the case of Fragilaria famelica and Halamphora sydowii, we propose a change in the halobion system classification

Cyanobacteria microflora in a limestone spring (Troniny spring, Central Poland)

The paper reports a study of cyanobacterial diversity in a cold-water limestone limnocrene in Central Poland. Samples were collected from 1998 to 2000 and in June 2012. The morphology, population characteristics and species composition of the cyanobacteria assemblages were investigated, and the frequency of taxa was recorded. The large number of taxa identified (30) reflects the microhabitat heterogeneity of this spring. Some species considered epiphytes grew on limestone rocks. The occurrence of the majority of the most frequent taxa was related to the physicochemical characteristics of the spring, but none of them can be considered obligatory crenobionts characteristic of limestone springs. The studied spring is a unique ecosystem with an interesting cyanobacteria microflora whose occurrence is attributable to the spring’s water chemistry, low temperature and variety of microhabitats

Persistent cyanobacteria blooms in artificial water bodies : an effect of environmental conditions or the result of anthropogenic change

Algal blooms are an emerging problem. The massive development of phytoplankton is driven partly by the anthropogenic eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems and the expansion of toxic cyanobacteria in planktonic communities in temperate climate zones by the continual increase in global temperature. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) not only disturb the ecological balance of the ecosystem, but they also prevent the use of waterbodies by humans. This study examines the cause of an unusual, persistent bloom in a recreational, flow-through reservoir; the findings emphasize the role played by the river supplying the reservoir in the formation of its massive cyanobacterial bloom. Comprehensive ecosystem-based environmental studies were performed, including climate change investigation, hydrochemical analysis, and bio-assessment of the ecological state of the river/reservoir, together with monitoring the cyanobacteria content of phytoplankton. Our findings show that the persistent and dominant biomass of Microcystis was related to the N/P ratio, while the presence of Aphanizomenon and Dolichospermum was associated with the high-temperature end electric conductivity of water. Together with the increase in global temperature, the massive and persistent cyanobacterial bloom appears to be maintained by the inflow of biogenic compounds carried by the river and the high electric conductivity of water. Even at the beginning of the phenomenon, the reservoir water already contained cyanobacterial toxins, which excluded its recreational use for about half the year

Abiotic Determinants of the Historical Buildings Biodeterioration in the Former Auschwitz II – Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp

The paper presents the results of a study conducted at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświecim on the occurrence of biodeterioration. Visual assessment of the buildings revealed signs of deterioration of the buildings in the form of dampness, bulging and crumbling plaster, and wood fiber splitting. The external surfaces, and especially the concrete strips and ground immediately adjoining the buildings, were colonized by bryophytes, lichens, and algae. These organisms developed most intensively close to the ground on the northern sides of the buildings. Inside the buildings, molds and bacteria were not found to develop actively, while algae and wood-decaying fungi occurred locally. The factors conducive to biological corrosion in the studied buildings were excessive dampness of structural partitions close to the ground and a relative air humidity of above 70%, which was connected to ineffective moisture insulation. The influence of temperature was smaller, as it mostly affected the quantitative composition of the microorganisms and the qualitative composition of the algae. Also the impact of light was not very strong, but it was conducive to algae growth

Pro Libris: Lubuskie Pismo Literacko-Kulturalne, nr 4 (2010)

145 s. : il., portr.

Taksonomia i ekologia sinic (Cyanobacteria) źródeł zimnowodnych

Przedmiotem badań była różnorodność taksonomiczna i ekologiczna sinic występujących w źródłach zimnowodnych na czwartorzędowych utworach geologicznych Polski Środkowej. Badaniami objęto 10 obiektów krenologicznych w województwie łódzkim, o zróżnicowanym typie hydrobiologicznym – 6 reokrenów i 4 limnokreny. Dla obiektów określono stopień oddziaływania człowieka na nisze źródliskowe na podstawie zaproponowanej kategoryzacji, w celu scharakteryzowania stopnia przekształcenia obiektów krenologicznych. W odstępach comiesięcznych, od marca 2012 do lutego 2014 roku, zbierano próby do analizy algologicznej, z różnych typów mikrosiedlisk: bentosu, epilitonu, epiksylonu, peryfitonu, epilitonu z mchami, epiksylonu z mchami i peryfitonu z mchami oraz jednocześnie wykonywano w terenie pomiary parametrów takich, jak: temperatura, odczynu i przewodnictwo elektrolityczne wody. Dodatkowo w okresie zimy i lata pobrano próby wody do analizy wybranych parametrów chemicznych w laboratorium. Wykonano analizę jakościową sinic na podstawie tradycyjnych metod identyfikacji oraz oszacowano biomasę na podstawie średniej objętości komórek i form morfologicznych. Wielowymiarowe metody porządkowania danych wykorzystane zostały do opisu struktury taksonomicznej zbiorowisk i zbadania preferencji ekologicznych taksonów sinic względem: typu hydrobiologicznego źródeł, rodzaju mikrosiedlisk, pory roku, stopnia oddziaływania człowieka i parametrów chemicznych wód. W badanych źródłach zimnowodnych odnotowano występowanie 43 taksonów sinic, które w przeważającej części należały do form kokalnych (Chroococcales) – 19 i prostych form trychomowych (Oscillatoriales) – 17 oraz niewielkiej części form tworzących heterocyty (Nostocales) – 7. Źródła reokreniczne charakteryzowały się nieznacznie większą średnią liczbą taksonów – 14, niż źródła limnokreniczne – 12, jednak dla poszczególnych obiektów krenologicznych liczba taksonów była zróżnicowana – dla reokrenów od 3 do 22, a limnokrenów od 7 do 17. Zbiorowiskiem o najwyższej różnorodności taksonomicznej był peryfiton porastający podłoża betonowe wypływów limnokrenicznych, natomiast o najniższej – bentos. Peryfiton charakteryzował się również najmniejszą sezonową zmiennością liczby taksonów sinic. Duże różnice w liczbie taksonów zanotowano w mikrosiedliskach związanych z mchami, w których w okresie zimowym nie odnotowano występowania sinic. W badanych źródłach najczęściej i z największym udziałem notowano przedstawicieli rodzajów: Aphanocapsa, w tym A. fonticola; Chamaesiphon reprezentowany przez Ch. minutus, Ch. incrustans; Microcoleus: M. fonticola, M. amoenus, M. autumnalis, Phormidium: P. terebriforme, P. tinctorium oraz taksony: Heteroleiblenia kuetzingii, Lyngbya martensiana, Oscillatoria sp., Pseudanabaena minima i Tapinothrix janthina. Występowanie poszczególnych taksonów związane było z preferencjami w stosunku do typu hydrobiologicznego źródeł, jak i rodzaju mikrosiedlisk, jednak tylko w przypadku pojedynczych taksonów zaobserwowano związek występowania z porą roku. Przeprowadzona analiza BIO-ENV wskazała, że w największym stopniu zbiorowiska sinic kształtowane były przez zawartość jonów: amonowych, azotanowych, fosforanowych oraz odczyn wody. W związku z dużym wpływem bezpośrednim oraz pośrednim człowieka na badane obiekty krenologiczne, czynniki antropogeniczne miały decydujące znacznie przy kształtowaniu się zbiorowisk sinic w źródłach zimnowodnych Polski Środkowej

Resurrection of the Plagiothecium longisetum Lindb. and proposal of the new species-P. angusticellum.

Plagiothecium longisetum was described by Lindberg in 1872, based on Maximowicz materials from Japan. In the 1970s, this species was synonymized with P. nemorale. However, a polyphasic approach applied to the investigation of the P. nemorale sensu lato showed a clear separation between the specimens of former P. longisetum and the type of P. nemorale. Morphological features and molecular analyses provide evidence that those two groups are distinct, as well as allowed to describe the new species. The results are strongly supported by the statistical analyses of morphometric features and phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated nuclear and chloroplast DNA markers. The maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses of ITS, rps4 and rpl16 regions place both species outside the P. nemorale group. The distinctions between individual species, reflected by the morphological features-easy to observe-and the molecular data, provide a scientific foundation for the resurrection of P. longisetum Lindb. and establishment of a new species-P. angusticellum sp. nov

Effect of Clove and Thyme Essential Oils on <i>Candida</i> Biofilm Formation and the Oil Distribution in Yeast Cells

Candida biofilm structure is particularly difficult to eradicate, since biofilm is much more resistant to antifungal agents than planktonic cells. In this context, a more effective strategy seems to be the prevention of biofilm formation than its eradication. The aim of the study was to examine whether the process of initial colonization of materials (glass, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene) by food-borne Candida sp. can be impeded by clove and thyme essential oils, used at their minimal inhibitory concentrations. In the presence of clove oil, 68.4&#8722;84.2% of the yeast tested showed a statistically significant reduction in biofilm formation, depending on the material. After treatment with thyme oil, statistically significant decrease in biofilm cell numbers was observed for 63.2&#8722;73.7% of yeasts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed diverse compounds of clove and thyme oils that were disparately located in C. albicans cell, on a cell wall and a cell membrane, in cytoplasm, and in vacuoles, depicting the multidirectional action of essential oils. However, essential oils that were used in sub-inhibitory concentration were sequestrated in the yeast vacuoles, which indicate the activation of Candida defense mechanisms by cell detoxification. Clove and thyme essential oils due to their anti-biofilm activity can be efficiently used in the prevention of the tested abiotic surfaces colonization by Candida sp