New findings of rare and threatened non-diatom freshwater algae in NP "Kopaonik", Serbia

Abstract

In the summer of 2022, a total of 22 algae samples were collected from 16 sites in the Kopanik Mt. area as part of the Kopaonik National Park Wetland Habitats Monitoring Project. All algae samples were fixed with formaldehyde. The algal preparations were identified using a Zeiss AxioImager M.1 microscope with AxioVision 4.9 software. A total of 135 taxa from seven phyla of algae were determined. For the first time two algae which are characteristic of high mountain regions Dolichospermum zinserlingii and Staurastrum tohopekaligense were recorded on the territory of Serbia. The freshwater red alga Hildenbrandia rivularis was found in the Gvozdac River. According to Serbian legislation H. rivularis is a strictly protected species in Serbia. Another freshwater red alga, Lemanea rigida, was found in the Bistrička River. Data on the distribution of this alga in southeastern Europe are very scarce. Species Lemanea rigida was found in Croatia (Koletić et al. 2020) and in Serbia at the Božička, Golema and Jelašnica rivers (Mitrović et al. 2020). The cold-water stenotherm alga Hydrurus foetidus was found in the Gvozdac River and in the Bistrička River. In Serbia, H. foetidus is found mainly in streams and rivers in mountainous regions. In this study, one species from the genus Draparnaldia, a heterotrichous green alga, was found. So far, the species of this genus have been found in four locations: the Jabučka Plain, Stanjanska River, Trkoviški Timok and Svrljiški Timok (Simić 2002).