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Charophytes (Charales) of Lake Skadar/Shkodra: Ecology and Distribution

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The Skadar/Shkodra Lake Environment

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 80))

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Abstract

Charophytes or stoneworts (Charales, Characeae) are submerged green macroscopic algae of great importance for the environmental and economic sustainability of the aquatic ecosystem of Lake Skadar/Shkodra. In the course of many years of research of these algae in the Montenegrin and the Albanian part of Lake Skadar/Shkodra, 30 taxa of charophytes have been registered in the rank of species, forms and varieties. These taxa belong to the four genera of the Characeae family existing in the lake – namely, Chara, Nitella, Tolypella and Nitellopsis. The largest number of taxa belongs to the genus Chara, namely, 12 species, 3 forms and 2 varieties, 10 species belong to the genus Nitella, 2 species belong to the genus Tolypella and, finally, only 1 species belongs to the genus Nitellopsis. The ecological and phytocenological characteristics of each taxon, as well as the hydrological and geomorphological characteristics of their finding sites, are presented in order to emphasize the fact that Lake Skadar/Shkodra is one of the most significant charophyte diversity centres in the Balkan Peninsula. All the data presented in this study are based on our own field investigations, as well as herbarium and literature surveys.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Dr. Ingeborg Soulié-Märsche (Université de Montpellier-II) for her constructive and precious assistance in the interpretation of the micropaleontological investigations of fossil charophytes found in the Albanian part of Skadar/Shkodra basin. We also wish to express our gratitude to Professor Vladimir Stevanović for his valuable comments and advice. The expert technical assistance of Ms. Milica Petrović Đurić is gratefully appreciated, and we thank Dr. Dag Hjermann (Norwegian Institute for Water Research) for his help in making the map of localities. A. Vesić was supported by The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia (Projects Nos. 173030 and 172001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Biology, Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden “Jevremovac”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Jelena Blaženčić & Branka Stevanović

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Lefter Kashta

  3. Department of Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Aleksandra Vesić

  4. Natural History Museum of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Vera Biberdžić

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  1. Jelena Blaženčić
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Correspondence to Jelena Blaženčić .

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Montenegro Department of Biology, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Vladimir Pešić

  2. Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts , Podgorica, Montenegro

    Gordan Karaman

  3. P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanolology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    Andrey G. Kostianoy

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Blaženčić, J., Kashta, L., Vesić, A., Biberdžić, V., Stevanović, B. (2018). Charophytes (Charales) of Lake Skadar/Shkodra: Ecology and Distribution. In: Pešić, V., Karaman, G., Kostianoy, A. (eds) The Skadar/Shkodra Lake Environment. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 80. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2018_265

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