External morphological variations and temporal distribution of the dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella in two dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin (Turkey)

External morphological variations and temporal distribution of the dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella in two dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin (Turkey)

Seasonal distribution, abundance, and external morphological changes of Ceratium hirundinella in the Kralkızı and Dicle dam reservoirs on the Tigris River were investigated during 1 year (February 2008 to January 2009). This species was present in both dam reservoirs during all 4 seasons. The highest mean density of C. hirundinella in Kralkızı Dam Reservoir was recorded in December, while in Dicle Dam Reservoir it was highest in June. C. hirundinella cells had a fourth horn in both dam reservoirs during the study period, and morphologically they showed the highest relative standard deviation in the fourth horn. In addition, a new fifth horn occurred on some cells, always between the antapical and postequatorial horns. Total length, length of antapical horn, and length of the fourth horn of C. hirundinella displayed significant seasonal variations (P < 0.05). The total cell length showed significant correlations with the length of the apical horn and the length of the antapical horn.

___

  • APHA (1999). Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. Washington, DC, USA: American Public Health Association.
  • Bertolo A, Lacroix G, Lescher-Moutoue F, Hjelm J (2010). Relationship between fish and the number of horns in Ceratium hirundinella (Dinophyceae): a food-web-mediated effect on algal morphology? J Phycol 46: 33–40.
  • Dottne-Lindgren A, Ekbohm G (1975). Ceratium hirundinella in Lake Erken: horizontal distribution and form variation. Int Rev Ges Hydrobiol Hydrogr 60: 115–144.
  • Gligora M, Plenkovic-Moraj A, Ternjej I (2003). Seasonal distribution and morphological changes of Ceratium hirundinella in two Mediterranean shallow lakes. Hydrobiologia506–509: 213–220.
  • Harland R (1988). Dinoflagellates, their cysts and quaternary stratigraphy. New Phytol 108: 111–120.
  • Heaney SI, Chapman DV, Morison HR (1983). The role of the cyst stage in the seasonal growth of the dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella within a small productive lake. Br Phycol J 18:47–59.
  • Heaney SI, Lund JWG, Canter HM, Grey K (1988). Population dynamics of Ceratium spp. in three English lakes, 1945–1985.
  • Hydrobiologia 161: 133–148.Huber-Pestalozzi G (1950). Das Phytoplankton des Süsswassers. 3. Teil Cryptophyceen, Chloromonadinen, Peridineen. Stuttgart, Germany: E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (in German).
  • Hutchinson E G (1967). A Treatise on Limnology. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley and Sons.Lindström K (1992). Ceratium in Lake Erken: vertical distribution, migration and form variation. Nord J Bot 12: 541–556.
  • MacDonagh ME, Casco MA, Claps MC (2005). Colonization of a Neotropical Reservoir (Córdoba, Argentina) by Ceratium hirundinella (O. F. Müller) Bergh. Ann Limnol Int J Lim41: 291–299.
  • Padisak J (1985). Population dynamics of the freshwater dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella in the largest shallow lake of Central Europe, Lake Balaton, Hungary. Freshwat Biol 15: 43–52.
  • Padisak J, Borics G, Feher G, Grigorszky I, Oldal I, Schmidt A, Zambone-Doma Z (2003). Dominant species, functional groups and frequency of equilibrium phases in late summer phytoplankton assemblages in Hungarian small shallow lakes. Hydrobiologia 502: 157–168.
  • Parodi ER, Trobbiani N, Caceres EJ (2007). Cytomorphometric characterization of a population of Ceratium hirundinella fa. austriacum (Dinophyta) during a bloom in a reservoir of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Algological Studies 125: 45–55.
  • Perez-Martinez C, Sanchez-Castillo P (2001). Temporal occurrence of Ceratium hirundinella in Spanish reservoirs. Hydrobiologia452: 101–107.
  • Perez-Martinez C, Sanchez-Castillo P (2002). Winter dominance of Ceratium hirundinella in a Southern north-temperate reservoir. J Plankton Res 24: 89–96.
  • Rengefors K, Anderson D (1998). Environmental and endogenous regulation of the cyst germination in two freshwater dinoflagellates. J Phycol 34: 568–577.
  • Rengefors K, Karlsson I, Hansson LA (1998). Algal cyst dormancy: a temporal escape from herbivory. P R Soc Lond B 265: 1353–1358.
  • Reynolds C (1984). The Ecology of Freshwater Phytoplankton. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Utermöhl H (1958). Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton Methodik. Mitt Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol 9: 1–38 (in German).
  • Varol M (2013). Dissolved heavy metal concentrations of the Kralkızı, Dicle and Batman dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin, Turkey. Chemosphere93: 954–962.
  • Varol M, Gokot B, Bekleyen A, Şen B (2012). Spatial and temporal variations in surface water quality of the dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin, Turkey. Catena 92: 11–21.
  • Wetzel RG (1983). Limnology. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Saunders College Publishing.