Svetlana Zahradkova

• Masaryk University

Large lowland rivers and their alluvial floodplains comprise a wide range of biotopes inhabited by many animal and plant species (Adámek and Sukop 1992; Schiemer 1999; Schomaker and Wolter 2011). The lotic systems are highly dynamic, supported by a high ability to recover former, and to create new, biotopes. Natural, non-impacted lowland streams di...

Many streams in the extensive Central European region have an intermittent flow regime. Conventional hydrological methods used to identify zero-flow conditions, and in particular drying events, have limited use when assessing large areas dominated by low-order streams. We developed a novel multimetric index to recognise antecedent stream drying bas...

Evaluation of the ecological status of running waters (i.e. the status of natural water bodies) is based on the evaluation of biological quality elements, physico-chemical and chemical (synthetic and non-synthetic specific) parameters, and hydromorphological parameters. The following text presents the main principles of the assessment of ecological...

1. Large-scale and intensive human activities have caused widespread and profound changes in the diversity and structure of biological communities. Historical or long-term data are an important tool for the quantification and understanding of temporal changes. A comparison of Ephemeroptera collected at 60 streams in the Morava and Odra river basins...

This document presents the development and basic principles of the national approach to the assessment of the ecological status of large nonwadable rivers using benthic macroinvertebrates. The proposed assessment method follows the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Czech Notice No. 98/2011 Sb. and No. 24/2011 Sb. Sa...

The paper gives an overview of the principles of methods for the assessment of ecological status and potential of running water according to biological components defined by Water Framework Directive - benthic invertebrates, phytobenthos, macrophytes, phytoplankton and fish. It is also briefly mentioned the issue of assessment of physico-chemical,...

This document presents the development and basic principles of the national approach to the assessment of the ecological status of large nonwadable rivers using benthic macroinvertebrates. The proposed assessment method follows the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Czech Notice No. 98/2011 Sb. and No. 24/2011 Sb. Sa...

The saprobity represents the sum of metabolic processes that are in contradiction to primary production. Saprobity is a biological state of the waters induced by pollution with decomposable organic substances. Intensive decomposition processes result in lower oxygen contents, which can be tolerated by organisms to a different extent. Different inte...

Natural drying up of streams is not common in Central Europe. Nevertheless, the recurrent drying up of small streams in last decades has shown an urgent need to pay attention to the impact of global climate change. This strong disturbance infl uences conditions in streams markedly and causes changes in the taxonomical and functional structure of bi...

This document presents the development and basic principles of the national approach to the assessment of the ecological status of large nonwadable rivers using benthic macroinvertebrates. The proposed assessment method follows the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and the Czech Notice No. 98/2011 Sb. and No. 24/2011 Sb. Sa...

An unusual data set of Plecoptera, very sensitive aquatic insects, allow diversity changes to be estimated for 175 streams in the Czech Republic between two periods, 1955–1960 and 2006–2011. Substantial overall declines in Plecoptera biodiversity were found. Three‐quarters of the species studied declined in their frequency of occurrence, 48% of whi...

The lower Morava and Dyje rivers belong among the large lowland rivers on the South-East of the Czech Republic flowing into the Danube River 69 km downstream of their confluence. Despite their high nature value and environment protection, both rivers suffered from heavy pollution from the sixties to eighties of the last century. Significant improve...

The methodology establishes reference conditions for biological components of benthic invertebrates, fish, phytobenthos, phytoplankton and macrophytes and takes into account the requirements of Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD), principles Guidance Document No. 10 and No. 13 and related national legislation (in particular Decree No. 49 / 2...

1. Rapid expansion and intensification of anthropogenic activities in the 20th century has caused profound changes in freshwater assemblages. Unfortunately, knowledge of the extent and causes of species loss (SL) is limited due to the lack of reliable historical data. An unusual data set allows us to compare changes in the most sensitive of aquatic...

In keeping with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) a national approach to ecological status assessment using benthic macroinvertebrates has been proposed. The method can be applied only to the samples which had been taken and processed according to the Czech Standard 75 7701 (PERLA) and is, therefore, designed to evaluat...

In keeping with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) a national approach to ecological status assessment using benthic macorinvertebrates has been proposed. The method can be applied only to the samples which had been taken and processed according to the Czech Standard 75 7701 (PERLA) and is, therefore, designed to evaluat...

To study Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera taxocenoses, 13 sites evenly distributed across the area of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park and representing all present types of freshwater habitats were sampled by the kicking technique in all seasons of 2008 and 2009. A further 13 sites were sampled by sweeping and/or Malaise traps in 2004-2009. Princ...

The recurrent drying out of small streams in past decades has shown an urgent need to pay attention to the impact of global climate change. The objectives of this study were to describe the effect of drying out on the composition of the mayfly taxocene and evaluate the relevance of individual species traits for survival of mayflies to drying out. T...

The checklist of mayflies of the Czech Republic now comprises 107 species (30 genera, 16 families), 87 spp. found until 1970 (first research period) and 99 after 1970 (second research period). The distribution of these species in principal river basins (Elbe: 95 spp., Danube: 79 spp. and Oder: 55 spp.), their frequency, abundance and spatial distri...

In order to assess and compare the ecological impacts of channelization and shallow lowland reservoirs, macroinvertebrate communities of a lowland metapotamal river below reservoirs with epilimnial release were studied. The study was carried out in the Dyje River (Czech Republic) at five sites located from 1.5 to 22.5 km downstream of the reservoir...

Palingenia longicauda (OLIVIER, 1791), a well-known species of mayfly belongs to the most critically endangered species of the Ephemeroptera in Europe. It represents the Pontic faunistic element of the expansive type originally distributed in almost all great and numerous middle-sized European rivers in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, F...

The impact of an unstable hydrological regime on macroinvertebrates in an intermittent stream (with periodic summer droughts in particular stretches) was investigated in two successive years with differing climatic conditions. Ten series of macroinvertebrate samples were taken from two sampling sites between April 2002 and October 2003. Total abund...

The EU Water Framework Directive requires European Union Member States to establish ‘type-specific biological reference conditions’ for streams and rivers. Types can be defined by using either a fixed typology (System-A), defined by ecoregions and categories of altitude, catchment area and geology, or by means of an alternative characterisation (Sy...

The assessment of running water quality has a long tradition in the Czech Republic, but in the past it focused on the evaluation of organic pollution using the saprobic system. Considering the modern trends of stream ecological status evaluation in water management a new assessment system named PERLA was developed. The system is a complex of biolog...

Ecological status assessment of water bodies according to the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is generally based on the comparison of a reference and observed status. There are two basic approaches to define the reference conditions for a particular water body: a site-specific and a type-specific. For the latter, required by the Directive,...

Based on the requirements of the Water Framework Directive, a macroinvertebrate-based assessment system to evaluate the ecological quality of streams has been developed by AQEM project consortium. In the Czech Republic the impact of organic pollution was principal pressure studied, but some morphological degradation of some sampling sites could not...

The use of saprobic systems has long traditions in the water management in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. Within the context of water quality assessment they are applied to indicate the effects of anthropogenic caused organic impact leading to a decrease in the dissolved oxygen content of running waters. In December 2000 the European Unio...

The use of saprobic systems has long traditions in the water management in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. Within the context of water quality assessment they are applied to indicate the effects of anthropogenic caused organic impact leading to a decrease in the dissolved oxygen content of running waters. In December 2000 the European Unio...

In samples of mosses collected during an expedition in the year 1987 along the southern border of Iceland, in seven habitats on the slopes of Skerhöll Hill, south of the glacier Svínafellsjökull, 80 taxa of testate amoebae have been recorded. From these taxa 24 species are new to Iceland. Up to now, including our own data, on the basis of available...

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires river assessment systems based on benthic invertebrates. The AQEM project is developing, at a European scale, such a methodology, based on a comparison of communities of reference streams and degraded streams. The project is focussing on three main impact types: morphological degradation, organic poll...

The oligochaete fauna of 57 small streams of the Morava and Odra River basins, Czech Republic, was studied during 1997 and 1998. TWINSPAN and CCA (CANOCO) were used to characterize the relationship between oligochaete species, habitat diversity and environmental variables. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), water hardness, NO3 ––N, Ca2+, Mg2+, altitude,...

The oligochaete fauna was studied as a part of the research project of running water quality assessment based on prediction of macrozoobenthos community composition. Studied material was sampled at 57 unpolluted or moderately polluted streams in the Morava and Odra River basins (Czech Republic) in 1997 and 1998. The program TWINSPAN divided studied...

Samples of mayfly larvae and main environmental variables from 80 undisturbed. localities evenly distributed in the Czech Republic were taken and measured during 1994–1997. Data were examined by TWINSPAN and by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to define mayfly taxocenes characteristic of different areas and to prepare a mayfly database for a...

During 1994, 129 specimens of chub (Leuciscus cephalus L.) from two localities, polluted--Bolelouc, 80th river kilometer, near the city of Olomouc, and unpolluted--Brodské, 225th river kilometer, near the Lanzhot on the Morava river, were examined for metazoan parasites. Altogether 38 metazoan parasite species including helminths, leeches and gloch...

In 1987 to 1990 in the South Moravian region 1094 lungs of small terrestrial mammals were examined for hantavirus antigen and sera of 525 rodents and 93 hares for antibodies against these viruses. In the majority the materials were not from the same individual. Lungs were examined by the ELISA method, antibodies were assessed by the indirect immuno...

During the period between July and October 1988 more than 1000 ticks Ixodes ricinus were collected at 16 sites in the town of Brno and examined by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) for the presence of Borrelia. The positivity of the tick population in 13 localities varied between 0.9-18.6%, ticks from three localities were negative. The results con...

The aim of this study was to find out what abiotic environmental variables are related to the occurrence of benthic water bug Aphelocheirus aestivalis. Samples and abiotic environmental data sets obtained by extensive monitoring of Labe, Vltava and Danube river basis were sorted and analysed by Redundancy analysis (RDA). Results of RDA did not offe...

Zahrádková S., Dušek L., Nìmejcová D., Mergl A. & Soldán T.: Ephemeroptera - environmental profiles of species, genera and families The relationships of Ephemeroptera species to selected environmental variables were studied on the basis of semiquantitative samples from 320 localities taken over the past 10 years in the Czech Republic. First of all,...