Abandoned artificial saline pond – safe place for rare/endangered species

Abstract

Inland saline ecosystems are characterized by very specific and unique biodiversity Still, biodiversity studies of saline habitats are mostly focused on lakes and ponds of natural origin We investigated the biodiversity of submerged macrophytes, phytoplankton and phytobenthos in the saline pond near Kikinda city (in Vojvodina, the northern province of Serbia) that was artificially made by commercial clay digging and abandoned in the landscape of the city suburban over time Collecting samples and field measurements were conducted in July 2018 The dense cover of macrophytes in the litoral area consisted of a carpet of Chara canescens with sparse specimens of Zannichellia palustris This is the second currently known locality of C canescens in Serbia which was recently rediscovered Despite the relatively wide range of this typically brackish species, populations of C canescens are isolated, and it is worldwide considered threatened/endangered and rare A total number of 27 algal taxa were detected in phytoplankton A few taxa characteristic for saline or brackish water were detected Oocystis submarina Merismopedia warmingiana Euglena proxima However, the majority of detected taxa can be characterized as halotolerant In the phytobenthic community 15 diatom taxa were recorded The most dominant genus was Nitzschia 4 species) Brackish water species were also recorded (e g Tryblionella hungarica T apiculata Navicymbula pusilla first recorded in Serbian flora in 2018 was also discovered here Generally low diversity, typical for saline habitats, was observed in relation to all communities, however typically brackish, rare/endangered species were recorded Since our preliminary results (obtained after one sampling occasion) indicate the potential for detecting specific biodiversity in macrophyte, phytoplankton, and phytobenthic communities in one artificial saline pond, we propose conducting a detailed study of this and other ponds of similar origin.