New planktonic microinvertebrates in the Oder River system under anthropogenic pressures
Abstract: Anthropogenic pressures in Central European rivers strongly affect aquatic ecosystems. The Oder River and its estuary exemplify a river system that has been morphologically transformed and is exposed to multiple stressors, including high nutrient loads, salinization, local thermal pollution, and increasingly frequent droughts. In recent years, the Oder River and the Szczecin Lagoon have also become a gateway for multiple biological invasions. While larger aquatic organisms (fish, mollusks, macrophytes) are relatively well documented, smaller planktonic microinvertebrates are often overlooked. In this seminar, I will present recent records of planktonic microinvertebrates, detected in the Oder River system, including rotifers and microcrustaceans (e.g., Eurytemora carolleeae, Thermocyclops taihokuensis, Kellicottia bostoniensis, Notholca bipalium), and discuss a frequently overlooked or misidentified species, Diaphanosoma orghidani. Species were identified using diagnostic morphological characters and, where available, molecular data. I will summarize their current distribution and discuss the factors and pathways that likely contributed to their establishment in the Oder River system. I will also address the implications of these findings for biodiversity assessment and the interpretation of biodiversity change in the Oder River system.
Speaker: Prof. Łukasz Sługocki, Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Biology, University of Szczecin, Poland
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