Temporal and seasonal variations in phytoplankton community structure in Uzuncayir Dam Lake (Tunceli, Turkey)

Seasonal variations in species composition and growth dynamics of phytoplankton in Uzuncayir Dam Lake (Tunceli, Turkey) were studied in relation to ecological factors by collecting horizontal water and phytoplankton samples for over a year. A total of 46 phytoplankton taxa were recorded, where Bacillariophyta was the most abundant in species number representing 24 taxa. Diatoms were the most conspicuous phytoplankton in terms of abundance as well as occurrence frequency. Charophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanobacteria, Ochrophyta, Miozoa, and Euglenozoa were the least abundant. However, some Diatoms (Gyrosigma attenuatum, Hippodonta hungarica, Meridion circulare, Nitzschia clausii, Nitzschia frustulum, Pantocsekiella ocellata, Rhoicosphenia abbreviata), Charophytes (Cosmarium granatum, Mougeotiopsis calospora), Cyanobacteria (Leiblenia epiphytica, Planktothrix agardhii); Dinoflagellates (Ceratium hirundinella, Parvodinium africanum, Parvodinium inconspicuum, Peridinium cinctum), and Ochrophyta (Dinobryon pediforme) were also noticeable, with their occurrence in all seasons. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were employed to analyze the relationship between occurrence and abundance of phytoplankton species as well as the ecological factors. The results showed that pH and the concentrations of NH4, NO3, and PO4 influenced seasonal occurrence and abundance of phytoplankton species in the lake. Uzuncayir Dam Lake may be classified as an oligotrophic lake with the mean value of nitrate 2.62 mg L−1 and phosphate 0.23 mg L−1 as supported by the occurrence of various phytoplankton groups. Findings related to pollution indices yielded that Uzuncayir Dam Lake is on the edge of the moderate state of organic pollution.