SUBJECT

Hydrobiology

lecture

Master

Faculty of Science

Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences

Biology MSc

2

Semesters 1-4

Autumn/Spring semester

1. Special kinds of inland waters. Main hydrological features and communities 1. Soda lakes.  2. Special kinds of inland waters. Main hydrological features and communities

2. Astatic waters, inland saltwaters, brackish, thermal and subterranean waters).

3. Mining lakes (hydrology, biodiversity, succession).  

4. Hypotheses regarding running water ecosystems (e.g. river continuum concept).  

5. Environmental threats in running waters, biotope restorations.

6. Anthropogenic effects. Impacts of water traffic. Reservoires pro and contra. Importance of introduced and invasive species.

7. Freshwater benthos. Seasonal dynamics of benthic communities. Alteration of vertical pattern of microzoobenthos and protozoobenthos according to the dissolved oxygene content.  

8. Origin, evolution and diversification of zooplankton.  

9. Vertical migration of the plankton.  

10. Adaptations to planktonic and benthic habitats among algae and protists. Adaptations among aquatic organisms to resist high temperature gradients, astatic habitat, variation in food and light supply. Defence strategies against predation.

11. Importance of specialized aquatic feeding groups in freshwater and marine foodwebs.  

12. Dispersal strategies among freshwater invertebrates. Colonization of distant habitat patches. Life histories, active and passive dispersal, importance of propagules.

13. Selected chapters from applied hydrobiology 1. Water quality, saprobiology. Drink water.  

14. Selected chapters from applied hydrobiology 2. Biological waste water treatment.

15. Selected chapters from applied hydrobiology 3. Paleolimnology. 

• Barnes, R. S. & Mann, K. H. 1991: Fundamentals of Aquatic Ecology. 2nd edition, Blackwell Science, Oxford, 270 pp.

• Wetzel, R. G. 2001: Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems. Academic Press, San Diego 1006. pp.