Papers by Krzysztof Szoszkiewicz
Callitriche cophocarpa Sendtn. is typically a submerged macrophyte, widespread throughout Poland.... more Callitriche cophocarpa Sendtn. is typically a submerged macrophyte, widespread throughout Poland. It is a monoecious plant with unisexual flowers which are produced only in the floating rosettes. We studied the allozyme variation of 9 populations of C. cophocarpa from Polish rivers in order to establish its genetic struc- ture, mode of reproduction, clonal structure, and gene flow between populations. Genetic
Central European Journal of Biology, 2012
The ecological drivers of macrophyte development in a lowland agricultural area were tested based... more The ecological drivers of macrophyte development in a lowland agricultural area were tested based on a 2008 survey on the Wkra River catchment. Our survey was carried out in the rivers of an agricultural area with relatively high concentrations of both nitrates and phosphates in the water. By using the Polish macrophyte method, we were able to calculate several botanical metrics. Canonical ordination analyses used to relate biological data to environmental variables such as physical and chemical parameters of water, surface water velocity or river width, were carried out using CANOCO for Windows. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that pH and alkalinity were the parameters best correlated with the distribution of macrophytes and values of macrophyte indices. The recorded values of the Macrophyte Index for River in the Wkra River and its tributaries reflected their good and moderate ecological status (the Water Framework Directive scale). Despite the fact that nutrient concentrations in the water were relatively high and that most of the sites represented eutrophic conditions, the results of this survey showed that non-nutrient parameters may play an important role in explaining aquatic plant occurrence in rivers that have been subjected to eutrophication.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 1998
Hydrobiologia, 2013
The study focused on modelling of macropyte indices against physico-chemical parameters of waters... more The study focused on modelling of macropyte indices against physico-chemical parameters of waters by artificial neural networks. Several macrophyte diversity indices were analysed (species richness-N, the Shannon index-H 0 , the Simpson index-D, and the Pielou index-J) as well as the ecological status index (the Macrophyte Index for Rivers-MIR). The aim of the study was to verify knowledge about potential application of macrophytes in the environmental monitoring. A Multi-Layer Perceptron type of network was used in the analyses. The study included 260 river sites located throughout Poland. Alkalinity, conductivity, pH, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, reactive and total phosphorus, and biochemical oxygen demand were used as the explanatory variables. The quality of the constructed models was assessed using calculated errors (RMSE and NRMSE) and r Pearson's linear correlation coefficient. The neural network for the MIR index was characterised by the highest quality. Neural networks for other diversity indices (N, H 0 , D, and J) did not provide adequate results for modelling, which shows their ineffectiveness biological monitoring. Sensitivity analysis revealed the influence of each variable to the models. It indicated that modelled values of MIR are most strongly influenced by total phosphorus and alkalinity.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
River Habitat Survey (RHS) data collected for the EU-funded STAR project was used to identify hyd... more River Habitat Survey (RHS) data collected for the EU-funded STAR project was used to identify hydromorphological characteristic features of rivers in four European regions namely: lowlands; mountain; the Alps; and the Mediterranean. Using RHS attributes, Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA) -a measure of natural habitat diversity, and Habitat Modification Score (HMS) -a measure of anthropogenic modification, we identified considerable differences in frequency, diversity and evenness of features between the regions. A relatively small subset of features clearly distinguish the hydromorphological characters of lowland, Alpine and southern European rivers. It was more difficult to distinguish mountain rivers from Alpine rivers. The highest statistical differences are observed between Lowland and Mountain region. Within the four regions studied the RHS attributes that most strongly influence the HQA and HMS indices were identified. We conclude that specific effort should be made to ensure these are recorded properly as part of the quality control of RHS data.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
The interactions between sensitivity and variability of macrophyte and diatom communities were ev... more The interactions between sensitivity and variability of macrophyte and diatom communities were evaluated as a research support of methodologies required by the Water Framework Directive. Slope and shading were identified as additional typological parameters improving links between unimpacted macrophyte communities and running water types. Two other studies demonstrated indication value of macrophytes for assessment of nutrient enrichment and hydromorphological degradation. The special exercises were realized within the STAR project to evaluate sources of variability/uncertainty in assessment methods based on macrophytes and diatoms. Sampling period and shading of the site were found as major factors affecting variability in macrophyte assessment results. Uncertainty of diatom assessment is predominantly associated with selection of site, substrate type and taxonomic identification. Further extension of indication systems and definition of macrophyte/diatom-specific typology of running waters are considered as the main aims of subsequent investigations.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
The application of macrophytes in freshwater monitoring is still relatively limited and studies o... more The application of macrophytes in freshwater monitoring is still relatively limited and studies on their intercalibration and sources of variation are required. Therefore, the aim of the study was to compare selected indices and metrics based on macrophytes and to quantify their variability. During the STAR project, several aspects influencing uncertainty in estimation of the ecological quality of river were assessed. Results showed that several metrics based on the indicative value of plant species can be used in evaluation of the ecological status of rivers. Among estimated sources of variance in metric values the inter-surveyor differences had the lowest effect and slightly stronger were the influences of temporal variation (years and seasons) and shading. The impact of habitat modification was the most important factor. Analysis showed that some of macrophyte-based metrics (notably MTR and IBMR) are of sufficient precision in terms of sampling uncertainty, that they could be useful for estimating the ecological status of rivers in accordance with the aims of the Water Framework Directive.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
Macrophytes are an important component of aquatic ecosystems and are used widely within the Water... more Macrophytes are an important component of aquatic ecosystems and are used widely within the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to establish ecological quality. In the present paper we investigated macrophyte community structure, i.e., composition, richness and diversity measures in 60 unimpacted stream and river sites throughout Europe. The objectives were to describe assemblage patterns in different types of streams and to assess the variability in various structural and ecological metrics within these types to provide a basis for an evaluation of their suitability in ecological quality assessment. Macrophyte assemblage patterns varied considerably among the main stream types. Moving from small-sized, shallow mountain streams to medium-sized, lowland streams there was a clear transition in species richness, diversity and community structure. There was especially a shift from a predominance of species-poor mosses and communities dominated by liverwort in the small-sized, shallow mountain streams to more species-rich communities dominated by vascular plants in the medium-sized, lowland streams. The macrophyte communities responded to most of the features underlying the typological framework defined in WFD. The present interpretation of the WFD typology may not, however, be adequate for an evaluation of stream quality based on macrophytes. First and most important, by using this typology we may overlook an important community type, which is characteristic of small-sized, relatively steep-gradient streams that are an intermediate type between the small-sized, shallow mountain streams and the medium-sized, lowland streams. Second, the variability in most of the calculated metrics was slightly higher when using the pre-defined typology. The consistency of these results should be investigated by analysing a larger number of sites. Particularly the need of re-defining the typology to improve the ability to detect impacts on streams and rivers from macrophyte assemblage patterns should be investigated.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
The macrophyte surveys undertaken as part of the EU-funded STAR project are a unique resource all... more The macrophyte surveys undertaken as part of the EU-funded STAR project are a unique resource allowing aquatic plant communities to be studied at a Pan-European scale (211 stream sites with macrophytes in 14 countries). Using this dataset, we examined the influence of organic pollution in relation to other environmental correlates of river plant community variation across Europe. We examined the relationships between several existing macrophyte metrics and nutrient enrichment, and we also explored the possibility of developing a pan-European macrophyte-based assessment system. We showed that trophic (nutrient) status is an important driver of aquatic plant communities in European rivers. We found that while most existing macrophyte metrics are useful, none can be applied at a pan-European scale in their current form. Our attempt to redesign the Mean Trophic Rank (MTR) index by the addition of further species, and the re-scoring of existing species, resulted in a considerable improvement in the relationship between MTR scores and nutrient variables. We conclude that an enlarged core group of macrophyte species can form part of an improved pan-European macrophyte-based bioassessment system, although regional modifications may be required to adequately describe the nutrient status of certain stream types.
Hydrobiologia, 2010
Freshwater classification according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is based on estimation... more Freshwater classification according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is based on estimation of the deviation between biological elements found on river stretch in comparison with communities detected in the same river type under reference conditions (undisturbed and near-natural habitats). We present analyses to describe macrophyte development in pristine lowland rivers and to reveal the variation among various stream types. The study is based on a country-wide survey of Poland with a dataset of 642 sites on 367 water courses. Surveyed rivers covered the whole lowland area of Poland. Field surveys were conducted using the Polish macrophyte approach, which enabled calculation of several macrophyte metrics. Firstly, a numerical index MIR (Macrophyte Index for Rivers) was computed, which reflects river degradation, especially eutrophication. Furthermore, five diversity metrics were calculated. Each survey, in addition to macrophyte assessment, was supplemented by a complex suite of environmental records. Reference conditions were defined using four criteria: (1) catchment land use, (2) hydromorphological features, (3) water quality and (4) biological assessment. The selected reference lowland rivers included 40 sites. To classify plant data, two-way indicator species analysis Twinspan was used. This resulted in distinguishing four endclusters which were heterogeneous according to plant composition: organic rivers and three types of siliceous rivers (small with sandy substrate, small with stony substrate and large rivers). The differentiation of environmental factors between river types was confirmed by a variance analysis (ANOVA). Furthermore, the environmental database was explored with principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA principal components were analysed against river types with the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Finally botanical differences between identified river types have been detected, using botanical metrics the share of different macrophyte groups and relationships with particular species were defined.
Freshwater Biology, 2006
1. Periphytic diatoms, macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish were sampled with standar... more 1. Periphytic diatoms, macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish were sampled with standard methods in 185 streams in nine European countries to compare their response to degradation. Streams were classified into two main stream type groups (i.e. lowland, mountain streams); in addition, the lowland streams were grouped into four more specific stream types. 2. Principal components analysis with altogether 43 environmental parameters was used to construct complex stressor gradients for physical-chemical, hydromorphological and land use data. About 30 metrics were calculated for each sample and organism group. Metric responses to different stress types were analysed by Spearman Rank Correlation. 3. All four organism groups showed significant response to eutrophication/organic pollution gradients. Generally, diatom metrics were most strongly correlated to eutrophication gradients (85% and 89% of the diatom metrics tested correlated significantly in mountain and lowland streams, respectively), followed by invertebrate metrics (91% and 59%). 4. Responses of the four organism groups to other gradients were less strong; all organism groups responded to varying degrees to land use changes, hydromorphological degradation on the microhabitat scale and general degradation gradients, while the response to hydromorphological gradients on the reach scale was mainly limited to benthic macroinvertebrates (50% and 44% of the metrics tested correlated significantly in mountain and lowland streams, respectively) and fish (29% and 47%). 5. Fish and macrophyte metrics generally showed a poor response to degradation gradients in mountain streams and a strong response in lowland streams. 6. General recommendations on European bioassessment of streams were derived from the results.
Hydrobiologia, 2006
STAR is a European Commission Framework V project (EVK1- CT-2001-00089). The project aim is to pr... more STAR is a European Commission Framework V project (EVK1- CT-2001-00089). The project aim is to provide practical advice and solutions with regard to many of the issues associated with the Water Hydrobiologia (2006) 566:3-29 Ó Springer 2006
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Papers by Krzysztof Szoszkiewicz