Ecologicalaspects of the TisaRiver Basin
l0 yearsanniversary regional conference 2l,d - 246 March 2002. Tdrgu-Mures,Romania
Editors A. Srirkfuy-Kiss and J. Hamar
Tdrgu Mures-Szeged-Szolnok 2002
li TISCIA monograph series volume 6.
Ecologicalaspects
I of the Tisa River Basin
l0 yearsanniversary regional conference 2l* -24^ March2002. Tdrgu-Mureg,Romania
Editors A. Srlrkiny-Kissand J. Hamar
TSrguMureq-Szeged--Szolnok 2002 Project financed by Frmdatia pentru Parteneriat Miercurea Ciuc Hrmgarian Environmental Pamership Foundation Budape$ Proiect No. T-ROOI-3
Edited by: Pro Europa f,eague & Tisza Klub
**** * * * t * Pn0if * * EUROP}r. Liga Pro Euopa 4300 Tirgu Mrneg, P.O. Box l-154, Romania
Tisza Klub for Environment and Nature 5001 Szolnok, pf. 148' HrugarY
Editorial board: Iiszlf Gall6 MarianTraian Gomoitr Mszl6 Kdrmiiczi Dan Munteanu Mnl6 kfrkory
ISSN 141&0,{48 ISBN 963 204619 6 PREFACE
We havebeen exploring the rivers belongingto the Tisa River Basin for ten years, our work having been organized by the Tisza Klub, Szolnok, Hungary and the Pro Europa League Tdrgu-Mureg, Romania. The two nongovernmental organizations signeda cooperationagreement on2'lth April 1991.The most importantobjective of the cooperation was "the creation of a scientific database,with special regard to the commonriver valleys" and "the achievementof environmentaland educationalaims". For the survey of the common rivers we have recruited a multidisciplinary work-team of Romanian and Hungarian experts. The germinating power of the work has made our professionaland personalrelationship closer and closer.With a strong belief in our joint power, we have made bolder and bolder plans. More and more Romanian, Hungarian,Ukrainian and Slovakian colleaguesand social organizationshave been invited to cooperate. Our surveyshave been extendedto the Upper Tisa and its numeroustributaries. Working with nongovemmentalorganisations made us possible to invite well- known specialists from every country from the Carpathian Basin. We have revealed the real condition of the surveyedrivers, we have drawn the attention of the executive and supervising state institutions to the endangeredriver sections,to the natural riches we intend to protect, and we have elaborated a matter-of-fact documentation of environmental protection. Our results were published in the first four volumes of the Tiscia Monograph Series,with studiesabout the Mureg/Maros,the Someq/Szamos,the Crig/Koros and the Upper Tisa Rivers. There is an upcoming volume about the Bodrog River, too. After eleven years of working together we felt that the time has come to summarize and analysetogether our results, to draw the main consequencesbased on knowledge of more than ten rivers and to list the main tasks for nature- and environmentprotection. That is why we organisedthe "Conferenceof the Tisa River Basin Experts"on March 22-24,2002.We addressedthree questions to participantsin the conferenceinvitation: - Why are our rivers ill? - Are we taken seriousby the executive bodies? - How to go further? The answersfor the first question were given by the contributions presentedat the conference and in this volume, giving substantial cornpletion of the studies already published. The fact that the specialists' warning call is still inconvenient to executive bodies was clearly shown by the absence of their invited representatives.This gives the answer to our second question. We believe that the new EU Water Framework will Directive, which obliges the membersto treat the rivers as habitats,hopefully bring seriouschanges in EU-memberaspirant countries, too' in ih" "Ho* to go furth"r" questionis partially answeredby the paperspublished or this volume, when they present new methods of ecological water-qualification The discusstheoretical issues lite "Flood-plain researchat different spatial scales". databaseof river valleys it is participants agreed-designed that after compiling the first basic the ii-" fo. well monitoring schemesto follow the changing tendencies.In sametime, we should also concentrateon revealingcause-consequence relationships' The planningand executionof this work cannotbe doneproperly by nongovemmental organisations.We were delighted to see that our work was more and more supported by- universities and ."r.u."h centres like the Ecology Department of the Szeged university, the uzgorod university, the Debrecen university, the Babeg-Bolyai university, the Luciin Blaga University (Sibiu), the university of oradea,the Grigore Antipa Museum, the Fish Culture Research Institute at Szarvas, Environmental Agenciesfrom Szolnok,Debrecen and Gyula. The river researchinitialized by the nongovemmentalorganisations stimulated a seriesof cooperationsbetween the institutesof nei ghbour coun tries : "Investigation of - between 1999-2001during a two year researchproject intitled (Research the Natural Resourcesof the i,IureS River for Sustainable Development" member Support Scheme of the bpen Society Support Foundation) a conunon eight researchteam of the Babeq-Bolyaiand DebrecenUniversity surveyedthe whole lenght of the Mureq/lvlarosriver, registeringthe changesoccured since the l99l survey. - the..Researchof the hibitat-corridors on Tisa river and its tributaries" project is the founded by the Hungarian Environment Protection Ministry and it is listed among for Nature conservation. projects^ -- coordinatedby the Europeancentre a complex research programme to study the freshwater living communities Ldpug/Ldpos,the SomeS/Szamos exposedto ryanide and heavy metal pollution in the the Arany und th" Tisa rivers, supportedby the Hungarian Acaderny of Scienciesand J6nosFoundation of the Hungarian Academy of Science' - Investigation of the f.isk of Cyanide in Gold Leaching on Health and Environment in central Asia and central Europe (Inco copernicus Project). We woud like to thank the help of those specialistswho were not participating directly in our river expeditionsbut followed our work and gave us advice: Dr' L6szl6 Gall6, Head of Ecology Department at Szeged University; Prof. Dr. Marian Traian Gomoiu, Academiciari,-Deputy General director of the National Institute of Marine Dan Geology and Geoecology,-p.of"ttor of the ovidius University constan{a;Dr. Munte-anu,Academician,-Birdlife Romania; Dr. Gyorgy Devai, Head of the Ecology Department at DebrecenUniversity and Dr. J6nosTardy. Special thanks are addressed to to Frofessor L6szl6 Gall6 and Dr. L6szl6 Kormoczy who offered us the possibility publish our results in volumes of the Tiscia monograph series'
ANDREI SARKANY-KISS JOZSEF HAMAR ProEuropa League Tisza Klub Tirgu Mureq,Romania Szolnok, Hungary TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 7-16
FLOOD-PLAIN RESEARCHAT DIFFERENT SPATIAL SCALES
Ldszl6 Gall6
Abstract
This paperpresents the rnainphilosophy, aims and somepreliminary results of the joint Rumanian-Hungarian ecological project carried out in the terrestrial habitats of River Mureq/Maros flood plains. The studies,scoping different spatial scalesfrom the microcosmsto the regions,have revealedthe specificitiesof plant communitiesin very small patches(ant mounds), the role of an ant supercolony in struchrring spatial pattern of the whole ant community, the differential effect of exogenousfactors on the habitat selection of plant and different invertebrate assemblages,the restricted potential corridor function of the terrestrial habitatsalong River Mureq/Maros, and the scale-dependenceof the faunaland communitysimilarities.
Keywords: River Mureq/Iv1aros,ecological communities, community organization, scales,scale-dependent pattems.
Introduction
There are two main paradigm shifts in the contemporaryecology. One is the recognition and acceptanceof random processesand non-equilibrium dynamics (Pickett and White 1985, Diamond and Case 1986, Gall6 1998 and the citations therein), which includes the application of stochasticmodels, and the other is the change of the traditional spatio-temporalhabitat scale of the classical ecological sfudiesto both smaller (microcosm)and larger (landscape,region) directions(Lucas 1992,Haines-Youing et al. 1993,Farina 1998,Marg6czi 1998,Gaston and Blackburn 2000). Both views openednew perspectivesfor the ecologicalresearches and their applications.Although the different patterns,processes and mechanismsof different ecological(supraindividual) biological units (e.g.populations, communities etc.) have been intensively studied and/or interpreted at different scales, the nomenclature remainedvery poor and besidesthe few namesalready given, such as metapopulation, sigma-communititesetc., many are yet missing(Table 1). The scaleenlargement has been manifested in such theories and fields of studies, as interdemic selection, the dynarnics of the metapopulations,metacommunities and sigma-communities(Wilson of the turn of interestto 1975,Hanski and Gilpin 1997,Hanski 1999).As an indication deal with the large-scale the macroscales,even new disciplineshave appeared,which (e'g' landscape ecology' ecological research and coniervation management and Blackburn 2000)' -ac.J".ology, Haines-Youinget al. 1993,Farina1998, Gaston important for the river The applicalion of the large"+caleapproaches is especially bring community and research in the carpathiariBasin. These sorts of approaches closer to each populationecology, faunisticsand floristics, as well as biogeography th: i1P:rtalce of the biotics ottrer. et larger spatial scale, we have to emphasize for decadesand it anI faunistics;,wtrictr has been a neglecteddiscipline lnoristics of the main sciences snoula get back it, o*n right, as important representatives studyingessential aspects of biodiversity' joint Hungarian-Rumanian In this paper we present the main objectives of the terrestrial eioiogical project on the River Mureq/\4aros' program of cluj and The main ptitoropt y of the Mureq/I4aros joint ecological processesand their probably Szeged univeisities is to study pattems, possible the connectionsof the scales mechanismsat different spatial scaiesand to try to find at^tl:.terrestrial habitats ty interpreting their co-oidinatednessand complementarity 2000a,Gall6 et al. 2000). aiongt6e River (for the first results,see Marg6czi et al.
in The merk @ shows the scale at which the object Table l. Ecological objects at differ€nt scaling levels' questionhasbe€ntraditional|ystudied'Thequestionmarksshowthosescalesrtwhichthespecifiedunit instead of widely used given to that. The name biogeocenosisis applied is studied, but no name has been (see to the cases,wh€n systems analysis is done ecosystem becaus€ the letter term- should be restricted Juhfsz-NagY 1986).
Scale Region Global Unit Micrcosm Local (habitat) LandscaDe I biosphere @ biom ,) slgma- ? nmmunitv @ meta-. ,| sDecles Ponulation @ meta- Group @ suoer- lndividuum @ @
plots for invert€t retes at voslobeni, upper- Table 2. Habitat attribut€s lbr characterization of study Mures/Maros (after Gall6 et al 2000)
I l. Habitat architecture l.l. moisturedegtee debris 3 (19 I .2. total cover of higher plants, mossesand scores) I l.3. moss and debris thickness >300 cm 8 1.4.vegetation cover at 0-5, 5-15' l5-30 "100-300' 1 1.5.maximum heightsof Plants I 1.6.no ofstones 2 I .7. no and conditionof twigs on the ground 2 Within-habitat scale
Thc first, smallestspatial levels of the inr.estigationsare the within-habitatones, e.g.microcosms, between microcosms and habitats tsee Table 1). At the level of microcosm,among others.u'c studied the distribution of higher plantson the nestsof Lasiusflavzs F. and their surroundings.I. flavus moundsact as very small islands(in order of l0l cm in both dianteterand height, as a rule) for the vegetation.Although obtaining their plants from the sunounding biota, the species composition and frequency distribution of the ant mound plant assemblages significantly differ from the neghbouringones (Fig. l, after Marg6czi et al. 2000b). On the ant moundsthe plantscannot avoid eachother's influence because of the small sizeof thesemicrocosms (Marg6czi et al. 2000b). Another exampleof within-habitatstudies is the researchon the distributionof ant nests,the within-colony distribution of ant individuals and the structuringrole of ecological interactions,especially interspecific competition in the spatio-temporal patternsof ant populationsin the supercolonyof Formica exsectaF. The individual nestsof the huge supercolonycovering more than I sq. km are more or lessrandomly dispersed(Fig. 2). The effect of the F. exsectaon the spatio-temporaldistributional and activity pattemsof the other ant populationswas srudiedby bait experimentsand mini-pitfall-trap sampling, studying the density and activity of ants other than F. exEectaas a function of the density of exsecta individuals. The preliminary results show, that the role of exsectain structuring the ant community if weaker than it was expected(Gall6 and Mark6 1999,Mark6, Mabelis and Gall6 in preparation).
Landscapescale
At the level of landscape(between-habitat scale), different ecologicalassemblages (i.e. plants, grasshoppers,spiders, ants, beetles and snails) of different habitats are comparedwithin the sameregions in details.These studieshave been carriedout in four regions by the River Mureg/Maros, i.e. at the upper stream (near Voslobeni, Roumania),in the vicinity of Zam and Deva (Roumania),at Arad-Pecica(Roumania) and at Maroslele,near Szeged (Hungary). Besides sampling plant and invertebrateassemblages (e. g. wolf spiders,ants, grasshoppersground beetles),the possible background factors (see Table 2) and their assumedeffects were also assessed.As an example,we show herethe resultsobtained at Voslobeni,where we selectedseven study plots, which representeddifferent habitat types (Marg6czi et al 2000a,Gall6 et al 2000). At theseplots, nine plant assemblage types were distinguished (by Braun-Blanquet system, Marg6czi et al 2000a). The Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) of the vegetation showed that the plant assemblagesof the region form four groups such as (l) wetlands characterizedby Carex species; (2) meadows of Molinietum coeruleae plant associations; (3) dry pastures and (4) transitional vegetation (Caricetum flavae juncosum subnodulosi) between(l) and (2). The picture on the basis of different animal assemblagesis not so unequivocal. OD trDtrC
fln -"n D u-_ tru D
o o a NU tr ra t TnD " Dn aa lt' n"o B Do
a a
Fig, l. Principaf Coordinate scrttergrem (Jaccard distance function) of the vegetrtioa on Lasius flavus mounds and in the neighbouring grasslend at Voslobeni (After Mrrg6czi et Nl. 2000a).
22Qm
200 . nest birch e pine " r80
160 ta x bait x trap
140 .a .l' -'. 120 tr o ' 8 a. oxxux&xx{xxxart* 9a 100 . I.{ ''1ao r:I{ tt 80 . t 60 t I rorrorlotttot 40 8- E
fr t I 20
0 0 20 40 60 80 100 r2O 140 160 180 200 220n
Fig. 2. Distribution of the individual nestsof r Formica e:sectasupercolony in a prsture at Yoslobeni,
l0 Random reference
Habitat attributes
Wolf D s.D./mean spiders distance
I Meart Ants distance
Ground beetles
Vegetation
0,2 o,4 0,6 0,8
Fig. 3. Averege hrbitrt distrnces rnd their coefficients of vrrirtion computed on th€ brsis of hrbltrl attributes (Trble 2), different rssemblages |nd their rlndom reference
between region
between site
within site (pitfall trap)
microcosm 2 (minitrap)
microcosm I (bait)
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4 0,45 0,5 similaritY
Fig.4. Similerity veluesofant rssemblagesend faunasrs r function ofspatid scrling levels:Nt two smrll' within supercolony(microcosm I andmicrocosm2) scrles; rt hrbitrt (within site) rcalel et hndscrpe (betweensite)scrle and rt regionrl (bctwecn region) scele, respectively.
ll Three habitatgroups can be distinguishedon the basisof ground beetleand wolf spiderassemblages from their PCoA scattergrams,but differentplots form groups.In beetles'scattergram, however, no well-definedgroups are fonned (Galle et al 2000). We interpretedthe indicationof the heterogeneityof the landscapeby the different assemblagesat Volobeni as of the average habitat disssimilarities(Bray-Curtis distance function, Podani 1997, T6thm6r6sz 1993) computed on the basis of the composition of different assenrblages.The rnost sensitive indicators of landscaoe heterogeneityare the vegetationand the groundbeetles (Fig. 3), whereasthe distancls on the basisof ant and wolf-spidcr assemblagesdo not exceedthe valuescomputed from fictive, randomlyassembled communities. A non-parametriccorrelation analysis shows that thereis closecorrelation befween the following assemblagesand the groups of habitat scores: (l) vegetation compositionand soil properties;(2) vegetationcomposition and carabid beeiles;(3) antsand habitatarchitecture (see also Gall6 1991,1999, Gall6 et al 1993,199g); (a) antsand wolfspiders; (5) wolfspiders and habitatarchitecture; (6) groundbeetles and vegetationcomposition. According to theseresults, those groups of habitat attributes could be assumedto be responsiblefor the compositionof the ecologicalassemblages, with which they are correlated.Therefore, we can concludethat the compositionof different assemblagesare presumably conducted by different exogenous iactors, the results of which are indicated by the above-mentionedresponse to the habitat heteromorphy.
Regional scale
At regional scale,our main aim has been to comparethe above-mentionedfour complexes of sites and to carry out faunistical "scanning" sfudies between these regions.At this level, we hopedto obtainresults on the ecologicalcorridor function of the River Mureg/Maros valley, too. For the regional level comparison,the first question by an ecologist could be that whether an ecologicalpattern or mechanismis scaledependent. As an example,we demonstrate here the comparison of similarities of the ant (Forn-ricoidea) assemblages/faunasat microcosm,within site (habitat),between habitat and regional scales,respectively (Fig. 4). The data originatedfrom the following field samplings: (7) microcosm/: bait experimentswere conductedto follow the circadialrhythms of ants at very small spatial scale; (2) microcosm 2: datafrom mini pitfall traps arranged in 50x50 cm grids and employedto reveal the small spatial scaledifferences in the penetratedforaging territories of different species;(3) within site (habitat) scale: the data are from pitfall traps arrangedin 5x5 m grids in the sampled sites and the catches of the individual traps is compared with similarity measurement;(4) between site level: comparison of the data from different sites within a landscapecomplex (e.g. within vaslobin or Maroslele district) and (5) betweenregion level..a comparison Jf the ant fauna ofthe different regions. As it is seen on Fig. 4, no linear scale-dependenttrend is observed,but there is a similarity maximum at within site scale. The low similarity values experienced at
1) microcosmlevel are resultedin by the segregationin the territoriesof the different speciesand also by the circadian activity diftbrences(in the case of baits) in the presenceof a supercolonialspecies. The high averagesimilarity at within site shows that the sampledhabitats are more or lesshomogeneous. The betweensite difference indicatesthe differencesof sampledsites (the designof samplinginvolving different habitattypes was our original intention in this srudy).One could expecteven greater dissimilaritiesat the larger,between-region level, brought about by the geographical scaledifferences. The results,however, do not meetthis expectation,probably because there are similar habitat types of the diffcrcnt srudiedregions, where the populations of the same,mostly widely distributedspecies were found. The alternativehypothesis could be that the habitatstripes along the river act as "ecologicalcorridors", resulted in similar withis-stripefaunas. The ecological corridor and the ecological network are among the recent and fashionablebuzzwords both in ecology and conservationbiology. Rivers, both their water bodies, and the terrestrialhabitat complexesof the flood plains are a priori regardedto be ecologicalcorridors, as a rule. Ifwe defineecological corridors as such stripe-likehabitat, which promotethe migration,the dispersion,and the distributionof plant and animal species,it is clear that no any habitatstrip is ecologicalcorridor per se. It dependson the studiedecological objects i.e. populationsor communities,if a habitatstrip is usedas conidor or not. Therefore,the term ecologicalcorridor is plural, similarly to the ecologicalenvironment. The corridor function of the flood plain of River Tisa has been demonstratedon plants, grasshoppers,ants, snails, birds and ground beetles(see Gall6 2002,Galle et al 1995 and the citationstherein). Since the flood plain is a complex of different habitatzones and ecologicalcommunities along River Tisa, there is a composedsystem of potential corridors,differently promoting the migration and distributionof different specieseither to the North or to the South. Besidesthese functions, the terrestrialhabitats by the River, Tisa flood plain also acts as core areasfor severalpopulations and communitiesand promotethe recolonization of theseecological units in habitatsisland outsidethe flood plain. In the caseof River Mureq/Maros, the corridor role is not unequivocal, although the very first paper dealingwith role of flood plains and especiallyfloods themselves,as the promotersof insect migration and distribution was published on the beetles by the River Mureg/Itlaros(Erd6s 1935).As one side we cannotdispute the resuitsconcerning the faunal (and probably also the floral) distribution by the flood by direct drive, the great differences of the fauna at the upper and lower streams of the river, the different geographical character of the different regions and especially, the interruptednessof the stripe-like habitats at the middle parts of the flood area,where the cultivated frelds are adjacentto the riverbanks.
The ecological communities in the inundated part of the flood plain are regularly exposed to the disturbing effects of repeating floods and the processesof recovery result in a complicated dynamics, which can be describedwith the catastrophetheory. The recolonization of the formerly flooded sites takes place from the higher refuge, from the trees and from the unflooded areasoutside. Both the longitudinal migration and distribution along the river ("corridor function") and the transversal migration
t3 from to the flooded area (core area function and recolonization) form a complex, rather complicated dynamics of the riversides' biota. As our preliminary results have shown, however. in the case of River Maros. the corridor function is much more restricted.
References
Farina, A. (1998): Principles and Methods in LandscapeEcologt. - Chapman & Hall, London. Erd6s, J. (1935): Maros torkolatdnak arvizi 6s drtdri bogdrvildga biol6giai szempontb6l(The beetlefauna of floods andflood plains at the outlet of River Maros) . - Thesis,Szeged pp. 84 Gall6, L. (1998): Ekvilibrium 6s nem-ekvilibrium koegzisztencia 6letkozdss6gekben(Equilibrium and non-equilibrium coexistence in ecological communities). In: Fekete G. (ed.): A k)zdss,igi dkol6gia frontvonalai (Frontiers of '"Kir\',*t1fi;tt'-,rru-rn"nre okol6giai6s term6szetv6delmi jelent6s6ge (The ecologicaland conservationalsignificance ofTisa flood plain). In: Rakonczai,J, (ed.): A Tisza vizgtiijtdje, mint komplex vizsgdlati 6sfejlesztdsi rdgi6 (Tisa Catchment Area as a Region for Complex Research and Management). - Tisza Vizgytijt6 Programregi6,Szeged, 75-8 l. Gal16,L., Marg6czi, K., Kovfcs, 8.. Gycirffy, Gy., Kormiiczi, L., N6meth, L. (1995):River valleys:Are they ecologicalcorridors? - Tiscia, 29,53-58. Gall6, L., Krirmriczi, L., Homung, E., Kerekes, J. (1998): Sructure of ant assemblagesin a Middle-Europeansuccessional sand-dune area. - Tiscia,31, 19-28. Gall6, L., Gall6, R., Mark6, B., Mik6, I., Sirk6ny-Kiss, A. (2000): Habitat correlatesof ground invertevrate assemblagesin a flood plain landscapecomplex. In: Gall6, L., Kormoczi, L. (ed.): Ecologt of River Valleys. - Dept. Ecology, Univ. Szeged,Szeged,3l-36. Gall6, L., Gyorffy, Gy., Hornung, E. (1982): Flood as an ecological perturbation of epigeic animal communities I. Some preliminary hypotheses on the application of catastrophetheory by evaluating some M6rt6ly-KorW6lyes data. Tiscia, 17,155-162. Gaston, K. J., Blackburn, T. M. (2000): Pattern and Process in Macroecology. - Blackwell, Oxford. Hanski, I. (1999): Metapopulation Ecology. - Oxford Univ. press,Oxford Hanski, I., Gilpin, M. E. (1997): Metapopulation Biologt Ecolog,,, Genetics and Evolution. - Academic Press,San Diego Gurney, W. S. C., Nisbet, R. M. (1998): Ecological Dynamics. Oxford University Press,New York. Haines-Young,R., Green,D. R., Cousins,S. H. (ed.)(1993/:Landscape Ecologt and the GIS. - Taylor and Francis, London. Juh6sz-Nagy,P. (1986): Egt operativ dkol6gia hidnya, szilksdglete6s feladatai (Shortage, Need and Duties of an Operational Ecolgt). - Akad6miai Kiad6, Budapest.
14 Lucas,P. H.C. (1992):Protected Landscapes. - Chapman& Hall, London. Marg6czi, K. (1998): Termdszetvidelmi Biol6gia (Conservation Biolog). - JATEPress,Szeged., Marg6czi, K., Dr[gulescu, C., Macalik, K. (2000a): Vegetation description of the habitat complexesalong the Maros (Mureg) River L In: Gall6, L., Kormoczi, L. (ed.): Ecologt of River Valleys.-Dept. Ecology,Univ. Szeged,Szeged,3T-42. Marg6cziK., N6methA. Mark6, B., Galle, L. (2000b):Egy kiilonlegesszigetvilSg: hangyaf6szkek nov6nyzete (A special archipelago - vegetation of ant nestsf V. Magyar Okol6gus Kongresszus,Debrecen. Kivonatok (Abstracts),268. o. Mark6, B., Gall6, L. (2000): A Formica exsectaNyl. szuperkol6niahat6sa a hagyakoztiss6gekt6rszerkezet6re (The effect of Formica exsectaNyl. supercolony on the spatial sructure of an ant community).- Sziinzool6giai Sziinp6zium, El6ad5s- kivonatok,Budapest, I 8. Nisbet, R. M., Gumey, W. S. C. (1982): Modelling Fluctuating Populations.- Wiley, Chichester. Pickett, S. T. A., White, P. S. (1985): The Ecologt of Natural Disturbanceand Patch Dynamics. - Academic Press,Orlando. Podani, J. (1997): Bevezetdsa tdbbvaltoz6s biol6giai adatfeltdrds rejtelmeibe (Introduction to the Mutivariate Analysis of Biological Data). - Scientia,Budapest Scientia,Budapest, I 1-33. T6thm6r6sz, B. (1996): NuCoSa: Programcsomag botanikai, zool6giai ds dkol6giai vizsgalatokhoz(NuCoSa: Progrma Packagefor Botanical, Zoological and Ecological Studies).- Scientia, Budapest. Wilson, E. O. (1975): Sociobiologt The New Synthesis. Belknap, Harward, Cambridge,Mass.
LASZLO GALLE Departmentof Ecology, University of Szeged SzegedPf. 51, H-6701,Hungary [email protected]
t5 TfSCIA monograph series ( 20O2), 6. l7-28
THE CAUSESOF CATASTROPHICFLOODS IN THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REGION AND THE SYSTEM OF ECOLOGICALPROPHYLACTIC MEASURES FOR THEIR PREVENTION
S. M. Stoyko
Keywords: floods, layer shifts, carst processes,mud flows, water basin, ecohydrologicalsystem.
The greatestfloods in the XX-th century occurred on November 4-8, 1998 in the Transcarpathians,in the upper reachesofthe Tisa and its tributaries- the Teresva,the Rika, the Borzhava, as well as in the basin of the river Latorytsia. These floods were accompaniedby such natural disastersas mud flows, structural and layer shifts, plane and bank erosionand carst processes.All of these increasedessentially the material losses.According to official data.269 villages populatedby 40790 people suffered from the floods. There were 1426 houses ruined fully and 1347 houses partly damaged.The 2887 housesneeded capital repair and the 187 populatedareas were deprivedof telephonecommunication. In the mountain villages of Tyachiv district there were 241 families that had to leavetheir dwellings as a result of layer shifts, and about 300-350houses are still in dangcrouszone as to the shifts and underthe control ofgeologists. 100,000hectares of agricultural lands, including the 70,000 hectaresof arable iand were flooded in Prytysianskalowland, as well as in the plain villageswithin the basinsof the Teresva, Tereblya, Rika, Borzhava and Latorytsia rivers. Water chaosdamaged 20 big bridges of 876 m lenght and 254 km of highways. 680 specialshores were destroyedin the beds of rivers. In the basin of the Teresva, near the villages of Kryve, Neresnlrtsia,Pidplesha, Krasna and Lopukhovo dozensof km of narrorv-gaugerailways were damaged,many railway bridgeswere undermined. The railroadwas put out of actionfor a long time. During this ecologicaldisaster 17 personswere lost, the generaleconomical losses exceeded400 million hryvnas, to say nothing of the cost of hundredsof thousand cubic metersof washedout brown-soil groundsand agriculturallands, depreciated by shifts. The ecologicaldisaster attracted the public attentionin many countricsof Eu.r 17 Transcarpathianregion for severaltimes to speedup the liquidationof flood aftermath andto helpthe people. The problem of conqueringfloods and other natural disastershas an interstate importance. The largest tributary of the Danube the Tisa flows through the transboundaryzone of Ukraine,Romania and Hungary.Its lengthis 201 km within the Transcarpathianregion and totals - 966 km. Transcarpathianrivers such as the Latorytsia and the Uzh flow down into the river Bodrog on the territory of Slovakia. Numerousoil and gas pipelines,the pipes for chemicalproducts and ethylene,high- voltage electricallines are laid throughthe Ukrainian Carpathians.There are also the railways and highwaysof internationalsignificancs there. Therefore it is importantto ensurean ecologicalbalance for normal functioning of thesecommunications in the region. Comparativeecological research shows that the characterand the scaleoffloods is conditionedby a complexofinteracting natural and anthropogenicfactors. Among the natural factors the most important is the unfavourable hydro- meteorologicalsifuation: the quantityof precipitationexceeds the norm; the duration, intensity and area of rainfall; the suddenmelting of snow in early spring or late autumn;the characterand densityof hydrologicalnet. It should be noted that the Carpathiansare situatedin the semi-humidand humid climatic zone.In Chop (102 m abovesea level) falls 700 mm of vertical precipitation per year, at the meteorologicalstation Ruska Mokra (640 m a.s.l.)in GorganMts. it reaches 1600 mm. To this quantity we should add about 200 mm of horizontal precipitationfrom moisture condensationof fog and hoar-frost in the forests [16]. Hydro-netin Transcarpathiansinclud es 9426rivers and streamsI 9,793km long. Hcre is the highestdensity of waterwaysin Ukraine- 1.7krn per km'. Flood processesdepend also on the charactersofwatcr basinsurface - steepnessof the slopes, dismembermentof the relief, thickness of the pedosphere,depth of geologicallayers. Due to such unfavourableecological situation dangerousfloods happenedin the Carpathiansin the past too, when the anthropogenicimpact onto natural landscapes was insignificant.According to contemporaryrecords and historicaldata, floods were registeredin the basinsof the Tisa,the Dnisterand the Prut in 1700,1730, 1864, 1887, 1895,1900, 191 l, 1913,1926, 1927,1933, 1941 [1,5]. At the beginningof the XXth centuryan especiallydangerous flood took place in Transcarpathianson the Tisa on July 10-l I 1913,when thc water level in the centreof Tyachiv reached 120 cm (it is marked on the monument of L. Kossuth). In 1914, despite of the war, Hungary built a strong dike on the right bank of the Tisa to protect populatedareas. In the 1930-iesthe village Vylok in Berehovodistrict sufferedfrom the flood and the Czechoslovakiangovernment built a similar dike. Ecologicalstability in the basinsof mountainrivers and their normal hydrological regime dependgreatly on the index of forestation,the characterof vegetationcover and anthropogenicchanges in its structure. From all types of vegetation, forest ecosystems,due to the multi-layer structure of its over- and underground parts and high productivity,have the highestecostabilizing importance. The efficiencyof water- 18 protective function of forest ecosystemsdepends on the index of afforestation within the water basin, the age, the dendrological composition, the vertical structure, productivity,sanitary condition of phytocoenosis,character of the layer and physical propertiesol lorestsoils. According to the data of long-time researchof O.V.Chubaty [l3] at the forest hydrologicalstation in Svalyava(219 m a.s.l.),with annualprecipitation of 965 mm, the ripe beech forest holds 25.1% of precipitationduring the year, and the rest of 74.9%ogets under its floor. On the northern macro-slopeof the Carpathiansat the stationKhrypeliv (850 m a.s.l.,1094 mm of precipitation)spruce forest hold 36.9% of precipitation, and 63.1o/oof it goes under the floor. With the increaseof afforestation index on 1% of the area,an averageriver flow is increasingby 9.4 - I 1.9mm. During the last centuries undesirable quantitative and qualitative changes took place in the forest formations in the Carpathiansand then influenced essentially the ecological stability of the natural environment. The area of oak forests has decreased by 64,000ha, the beechforests by 93,000ha, and the fir forestsby 36,200ha. On the otherhand, the areaof spruceforests (mostly monocultures)has increasedby 298,300 ha [3,7,8].The areaofpost-forest pastures has increased by 331,000ha and the areaof post-foresthayfields by 213,000ha [a]. There are about 60,000ha of anthropogenic bushes and 113,000 ha of badlands in the Ukrainian Carpathians.The general afforestationdegree in four Carpathianregions in 1973 was 20.16%oin the plains and 53.52%in the mountain parts [9]. Essential changesin the forest stock of the Carpathianshad taken place in economicallydifficult post-waryears. During 1941-195773 million m' of wood was cut there and 20o/oof the forest covered lands was bared. Fig.l and 2 show the dynamicsof the main use and afforestationin Transcarpathiansin the post-wartimes. These significant territorial changes in ripe forests had negative impact on the hydrological condition of mountain rivers too, and disastrousfloods became more frequent.They were markedin 1947,1948,1955, 1951,1959,1964,1969,1970, 1914,1977, 1980, 1982, 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998 [5,9,10,12]. Especially unfavourable hydrological situation was in the Transcarpathiansin the autumn of 1998. It causedimmense floods, ground shifts and mud flows. During August - October the precipitation at the meteorological stations in Transcarpathians reached1.2 * 2 rnonthlyquotas and the over-wettedground did not hold the excessive moisture (Fig.3). At the beginning of November 1998 an atmosphericfront passed through the Carpathians causing the formation of micro-cyclons in the Ukrainian Carpathians.As a result, the total quantity of precipitation was 45-75 mm on November 4-5 in the basins of the Latorytsia, the Borzhava and the Teresva; in the upper basin of the Tisa it was 90- 120 mm, and in the upper waters of the Rika 207 mn @ig.a). Daily amountof precipitationreached monthly norm and in someplaces 1.5 of norm. t9 1000x m3 3500 3000 2500 2000 I 500 l 000 500 N€6O€€r&€NO$.O€r@ h6n€a€rrr€ao60ao6 666A6060364O4606A la lb Fig, 1. The dynamics of real clear cutting in forestry in the comparison with ecological grounding cutting (1952-1998) (here and on the fig.2 - according th€ drte of Forestry direction). Svmbols indicate: a - ecological grounded clear cutting,6 - real cutting ha 2500 2000 1500 100(i 5CC 0 I99.1 [a Ib Fig. 2. The dynamics of forestation in comparison with area of cl€er cutting in forestry in the 1993-1998 period. Symbols indicate: a - the area of clear cutting, , - the area of forestasion. 20 mm 700 600 H 500 400 ffi ffi 300 -l 204 ffi I 100 I 0 t- #2&6 207 470 284 234 158 606 328 384242 508 286 669 391 260 201 Velikij Nizhni Beregove Mizhgirya Hust Raohiv Plai Uzhgorod Bereznij \brota ga Db Fig. 3. The precipitation in August-October 1998 on meteorological strtions of Transcarpathian region (here and on the fig. 3, 4 - according lhe date St&te hydrometeorological slation). Symbols indicater a - factual precipitation, 6 - average precipitation Fig, 4. The map ofisolines ofprecipitation in the Carpathians in 3-5 November 1998 (scale l:1000000) 2l Table. Charact€ristics of water levels during the flood of 5-8 November 1998 in the Transcarpathians. River Meteo- Zero of Historical Data on the flood in 5-8 November,1998 post )ost, maxlmum rlt. asl water late I H max date / fH+ -Hr level, (during owest of the duration lduring (during cm cbserva tr'ater flood, of cbserva observa- -tion) evel in cm observa- lion), tion) of :herivcr, tion, min. annual, lowest annual, tverage. cm level in 1998.cm I 2 3 + 5 o 7 8 o l0 lt lisa Rakhiv 429.73 499 08.06.61 24t 158 500 05.1 I /0t 25 9C V.Bych- 294,78 598 13.05.7( 20t 58 552 05.1l/04 344 150 kiv Twqchi 208.9'7 674 30.12-4'7 r99 72( 05.I t/r 52 204 Khust 162.91 42( 13.05.70 l8c I 42f 05.11/1 248 181 Vvlok ll5 69( 14.05.7C 5C l)/ 66( 06.11/0: 610 20i Chon 92.3: t32 18.05.70 57( 39t 132 08.1l/l 8 752 178 lhoma Yasynya 646,54 464 23.02.64 164 t34 34( 05.1l/00 t1(. Iisa Teres- Ust- 523,86 301 14.12.57 9( 4'1 .J OJ 05.11/00 zot 4S VA Chorna Neres- 298.38 345 o1.04.62 l0 -86 305 05.I 1i0( 295 96 nvtsia Mok- Ruska- 549,04 255 14.r2.5-, 80 4C 3t2 05.I li0( 40 rianka Mokra fereb- (olocha- 53t,r? 27( 29.10.91 t12 b/ 36( 05.I ti03 24t 45 tuka v{izhhir- 434,22 47t r4.r2.57 lr3 6t 378 05.l 1/04 265 44 Khust 156.41 68: 30.12.47 JJ} 234 624 05.1l/06 281 t0: Bor- Dovhe l 68.35 514 t4.12.57 189 t34 536 05.rl/00 347 zhava ihalankv t14.32 822 26,07.8( 249 il 890 06.11/0t 641 Latory- Pidpolo- 356,54 388 14.t2.57 10t 64 320 05.1l/0( 2tl 45 lsia Jvalvava 190.0( 4t( 01.03.67 t2( 96 304 05.I l/04 t84 Muka- I 15.6( 65t 23.07.80 27t 2t7 687 05.I l/0( 413 >l cheve Choo 96.5t 744 26.07.84 453 252 74( 07.1l/0( 293 201 Stara Znyatse- 104,91 49t 23.07.80 321 85 494 05.11/l t'73 l3t VC Uzh Zhoma- 328,2t 296 t4.12.57 53 l4 24( 05.I I /02 193 J) va Vel. t96,26 >tt t4.12.5'7 228 t96 433 05.1i/01 205 3 Rerezn Zariche- I 54,56 446 29.01.75 r61 84 442 05.1l/06 281 1', VE Uzhgo- I 12.38 35r t7.l192 -70 295 05.1l/1( JO: 82 rnrl 1 Designated*: + H = estimation(6) - (7); - H : estimation(8) - (6) 22 Heavy showerscaused sudden rise of water levels in the Tisa near Tyachiv and Vylok and in the Latorytsiabelow Mukachiv. They were 4.1-6.1m. At the l0 water- measuringstations the highestwater level reachedor exceededa historicalmaximum. The datafrom hydro-meteorologicalstations are shown in the table. It is well known from the specialforestry references that forestecosystems can, to a certainextent, hold the precipitationand regulatethe surfaceflow of water. For the ripe forests of the Carpathiansthe daily precipitationis up to 175 mm [2]. At the beginning of November 1998 these indices were much higher, the soil was ovcrrnoisturcd,and all of these resulted in disastrousfloods. Over-cutting of the mountainforests that had taken place in the past had intensifiedthe activity of floods and othernatural disasters. The problemof floods hasmany aspects,therefore the systemof measuresfor their prevention is differentiated and diverse. Water basin of a mountain river with characteristicnet ofwater arteriesshould be consideredas half-openeco-hydrological system.Depcnding on the structureof landscapewhere the basin is formed, on the characterof hydro-net and hydrological conditions, it is possible to define four functionallyconnected zones in this system(Fig.5). There is a largc mountainzone accumulatingwater resourcesin the upper part in the river basin (zone "A'). It includes a wide net of streamswith swift water flow, that is why thereis no flood danger,but thc dangerof mud flow exists.It is adjacentto the piedmont transit zonc (zone "B") covering foothills and mountain landscapeswith possibilityof bank erosion.The most dangerousas to the water chaosis the plain zone of potentialdecumulation of water resources(zone "C" , or flood zone).It coverswide terracesand adjoining plain landscapes,dangerous to the flood of water masses. Fartherthis zone turns into a usual plain transit river-bedzone (zone "D"). Each of thesezones den-rands differentiated anti-flood measuresdepending on their ecological and hydrologicalspecific features. As it was stated, floods are conditioned by both natural hydrological and anthropogenicfactors. They may be diffcrent dependingon the forms and scale of anthropogenicinfluence on the habitat. Consideringthe ecological condition of mountain river basins,the characterof landscapesand the structure of water net, we chose six subsystemsof anti-flood measures:hydro-technical, forestry, nature conserving, agricultural, organizational and ecology-educational. The subsystemof hydrotechnical measures.These measures are of paramount importancefor normalizationof hydrologicalregime of nountain rivers and are to be takenin all zonesofwater basins.In upper watersofrivers, dangcrousas to the floods for the lower basin parts (zone "A'), it is necessaryto build anti-flood reservoirs.A net of specialreservoirs for rafting timber (dams,"clausura") was built at the end of XIXth and the beginningof XXth century within the basinsof the Bila Tisa (village Luhy), the Choma Tisa (v. Lazeshchyna,3 dams; v.Chorna Tisa, site Apshynets; v.Dovzhana,river Dovzhana), in upper waters of the Tereblya (the Chorna Rika, rivers Pessya,Lubelyanka, Chernyanka).In the Ivano-Frankivskregion some reservoirs were on the river Cheremosh.Mountain water reservoirs also performed an important anti-floodfunction. After the times of floatins of the timber had ceased.thev fell into 23 decay. But we should say that new-built mountain reservoirs could have also recreational- and the larger ofthem - hydro-energeticsignificance. In the "8" zone, especially on the sharp turns of rivers, concrete fortifications should be built, and stonedams on the turns of small rivers. In the "B" zone the most reliable measureagainst flooding is the construction of powerful dikes. On the right bank of the Tisa near Tyachiv, Vylok and other populated areassuch dikes have been functioning for 80-90 years quite successfirlly. Fig.S. The water trasin as an eco-hydrological systeu. 24 The main cause of bank erosion is the rapid water current. To slow it down it is necessaryto createa systemof water trestlesin certainplaces. In theseplaces waters becomerich in oxygen,useful for hsh-breeding,especially for trout breeding. A chaotic extraction of gravel, sand and river stones harms the beds of a river, deepeningthem and creating the bank erosion. Such exploitation ought to be controlled and permitted only in proper places. In order to estimatethe existing ecological condition of large basins of water arteries and to forecast their functioning, it is recommendedto increase the net of water-measuring stations and on their basis to organize a system of hydrological monitoring. The subsystemof forestry measures.The efficiency of hydrotechnicalmeasures in humid regions can be securedonly in parallel with forestry ones. The research canied out in the Carpathiansshowed that the forest cover, in comparison to the non- forest one, decreasesthe river flow two times and the destructivemaximum flow four times. The most favourable hydrological regime in river water basins is where the forests over 40 years ofage cover 65-'15Yoareal2]. Such forest coverageshould be provided in zones"A" and "B". The systemof forestmanagement in thesezones is to be based on the principle of forest stability (Dauerwald), substantiatedfor the Austrian Alps the in XIXth century. The stability of forest and forest environment ensuresthe stability of water protective function performed by forest ecosystems.Therefore clear-cutting areasshould be limited asmuch aspossible in zones As it was noted, water basins of mountain rivers should be consideredas a half- open hydrological system. To ensure the ecological balance in such systems, the forestry should be managedby the method of water basins, which is grounded for the Carpathiansby O.V.Chubaty [4], V.S.Oliynyk with co-authors[6] and V.I.Parpan [7]. However,for use of this methodit is necessaryto considerthe specificecological features of each basin: climate (the quantity of precipitation), orography and hydrology (divided relief, hydronet character), phyocoenotic (afforestation percentage,forest age structure). Only after such integral evaluation of ecological situation it is possible to determine the volume and methods for exploiting mountain forestsin the basinsofcorresponding rivers. During a long pastoral period in the high mountain range of the Carpathians,the upper border of forests which hold melted waters from alpine meadows was essentiallylowered. The water-protective function of these subalpine forests is several times higher than that of phytocoenoseslocated lower. The renewal of ecologically grounded upper forest border on high-mountain meadows of Yavimyk, Rivna, Borzhava, Apetska, Ktasna, Svydovets, Kvasivsky Menchul will improve the hydrological regime of the rivers rising there. In Transcarpathiansthe forest area belonging to the agricultural economic complex makesnow 136,800ha. Theseformerly collectiveand state-farmforests situated near the mountain river beds are of importance for water protection. Unforfunately their ecologicalcondition is unsatisfactory.It would be reasonableto passthem to the State Forest Fund to ensure forest naturalization and improvement of water-protective functions. 25 Now, in hard economic situation the cutting without petmiss-ionincreased, thus reducingthe protectiverole of forests.In 1998there were 3,500m'of suchcuttings in the forestsof StateForest Fund and 30,100m3in the forestsof agricultural-economic complex. It is necessaryto keep strongerthe regirne of mountain forestsprotection andprovide local peoplewith gas. For mountain villages situated in potentially dangerous localities as to the structuraland layer shifts it is necessaryto crcateplans of their ecologicalsafety (the safety of existing and planned houses, bridges, railways and highways, electric transmissionlines, gas and oil pipes).Such plans must be basedon specialgeological and landscape-ecologicalresearch. The subsystemof nature-protecting measureshas to be aimedto the improving of water- and soil-protective function of forest ecosystemsand other types of vegetation.For this purposeit is proposedto createa net of water-protectivepartial reserveswith specialregime of forestryand agriculturein zone"A". Suchplots arenot withdrawals from the land fund of land users, but the latter havc to use natural rcsourcesin sucha way as not to violatethe protectivefunctions of ecosystems. In flood-dangerouszones it is essentiallyto widen the stripesof riversidewater- protectiveforests or in caseof their abscnceto createthem by meansof cultures. The subsystemof agricultural measures.A largearea in mountainriver basinsis coveredwith agriculturallots which appearedin placesof cut down forests.In zone "A" the main anti-floodmeasures should be directedto the improvementof water-and soil-protectivefunctions of post-forestmountain meadows and pastures.Therefore eroded pasturesmust be afforested and turfed. The cutting down of bushes on stcep slopesfor increasingarable land must be forbidden.Measures must be taken against ravine (channel)and plain erosionon mountain slopes.It is desirableto reconstitute the traditional "terrace crop-growing" uscd before in mountain regions. It is inexpedientto uso 50 m riversidezone for tilled crops. The subsystemof organizational measures.Now mountainstreams do not have a single managerresponsible for their regulation,maintaining notmal hydrological regime and protection.Since they run on the lands of StateForest Fund it would be reasonableto create a structural sub-departmentfor protection and regulation of mountainrivers and streams. The subsystemof ecology-educationalmeasures. Forestry, agriculture and water economy in the Carpathianshave their own mountain characteristic feature which is not always taken into consideration by specialists and land users. Therefore proper attention must be paid to rise the level of nature-protectionknowledge as to the rational use and resumption of nahrral resourcesand preservationof ecological balancein the region. It is desirableto exchangeexperience with specialistsfrom Slovakia,Hungary and Romaniain the struggleagainst disastrous nafural phenomena. 26 Conclusion The forecast of the probability of furure floods in the Transcarpathiansis disastrous.The regionis sifuatedon the south-\'esternmacro-slope of the Carpathians which getsmore precipitationthan the north-easternone. Transcarpathiansis the zone of warmerclimate, hence the processof snow melting is more rapid. Thereare mainly oak and beechforests under which snow melts two-threetimes quicker, than under evergreendark-ncedle forests. There are more than 60,000 ha of treelesshigh- mountainmeadows where tremendous snow massesare accumulated.On the Volcanic Ridge andesitsand trahits prevail, that are hard waterproofrocks. The hydronet in Transcarpathiansis much denserthan in other Carpathianregions. The prytysianska lowland lies 200-250 m below the plain landscapesof the Dnister. The region is a seismic zonc were little earthshakersoften happen,what in its turn can causethe activity ofslope processesand layer shifts. According to geneticclassification of mud flows, within the Transcarpathiansone can distinguishthe south-westerndangerous region, covering the basinsofrighrhand tributariesof the Tisa. There is a ridge of Pienin limestonesextending from Perechyn to Dilove, wheredangerous carst processes are potentially possible. During thc last decadesin the Carpathians,as well as in other regionsof northern hemisphere,we observeglobal warming of the climate under the greenhouseeffect. From the 90-iesof the last century the waters in river basinsof Europe rise and the sameis observedin the Carpathians.All of thesemay causefurther floods and other dangerousecological processes. Therefore Transcarpathians should be classifiedas an ecologicallycritical region which needsa specialmanagement for forestry,agriculture and water economy.It needschanges in the orientationof economy,directing it onto decreasingforest cxploitation, increasing forest coverage and rising protective functionsof forestand meadowecosystems. Due to warm climate,different balneologicalresources, high recreationalpotential and easy accessibility of picturesquemountain landscapes,the Transcarpathians shouldpay more attentionto recreationand tourism industry. It is necessarythat the Westem ScientificCentre of NationalAcademy of Sciences of ukraine shouldsubstantiate a complexprogram for researchof the flood problems and other nafural phenomena for the nearest future and the perspective by drawing scientificand production potential ofthe region. The Ukrainian Carpathiansborder with four countries having mountain systems. To solve ecological,economic and nature protecting problems successfullyin the transborderedregions it would be expedient to create The Carpathian Ecological Comission. References AizenbergM.M. 1962.unusual floods in the rivers of carpathiansin l2-13, l7-1g centuriesllProc. of lJkrainianNIGRI. - Pt.34.-P.76-j8 (in Russian). 27 // HavrusevichA., Oliynyk V.1gg4. The Carpathianforests as flood regulators Ukrainian Forest.- N2. * P.26-27 (in Ukrainian)' HolubetsM.A.lgT8.SpruceforestsofUkrainianCarpathians.-Kiev:Naukova dumka.-244 p. (in Russian). the Krys Z.O. tdgZ. post-forest meadows of Ukrainian Carpathians: the flora, - - preservationand the rationaluse. Doct.Hab.thesis' Kiev' 36 p'(in Russian)' Lutyk R.I. 1985. Disastrous floods and their consequences// Thermal and water - -P'227- regime of Ukrainian Carpathians.Red. L.I.Sakali. Kiev: Hydrometeoizdat' 263 (in Russian). of Citiynyt V.S., ParpanV.I., Chubatyi O.V' 1986' The ways on improvement - - (in cl"u, cutting in the forists of Carpathians// Forestry. N3. p.l9-24 Russian). Parpan V.t. SSq. Structure, dynamics and economical basis of beech forests - - p. (in rationai use in the Carpathian region. Dr.Hab.Thesis. Dnipropetrovsk. 42 Russian). StoykoS'M.1966.ThestrictreservesandnaturemonumentsofUkrainian carpathians.- Lviv: Lv. University.- 141p. (in Ukrainian)' in Stoyko S.M. 1993. The consequences of anthropogenic transformations Carpathian forest ecosystems and the ways on elimination of harmful ecological proi"rr", // The UkrainianForest. - N2. - p' 11-17(in Ukrainian)' Stoyko s.M. 1999. The catastrophic floods in Transcarpathiansand ecological forestry ,.r"ur.,i", of their prevention ll The problems and perspectives of the education, scienceand practice development.Proc. of international scientific-practice conference.- Lviv. - P.1l9-120 (in Ukrainian)' Stoyko S.M., Milkina L.I-, SolodkovaT.I' et al' 1980' Nature conservationof * - p. (in ukrainian carpathians and adjacent territories. Kiev: Nauk. dumka. 260 Ukrainian). of Stoyko S., Shevchenko G. 1994. Roaming waters (the ecological grounding - -2. -P counter-flood measures)// The green carpathians. N I -44-47(in Ukrainian). - chubatyi o.v. 1969. The protecting role of carpathian forests. Uzhgorod: Karpaty.- \34 p. (in Ukrainian). - - (in bftyUutvi O.V.'tSSt. The forestryin water basins// Forestry. N1. P.3-11 Russian). Stoyko S. 1997. The causesof flood in the Ukrainian Carpathiansand the system of theii prevention // CERECO'97. The 2-nd Intemational Conference on Carpathian Euroregion,Miskolc, 1997.-P.23-29 (in English)' // ZeGny V. 196T.Interceptionand horizontal precipitationsin the Beskyd Mts. MeteorologicalIssues. - N6. - P.6-8(in Slovakian)' S. M. STOYKO Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, NationalAcademy of Sciencesof Ukraine, Lviv. 28 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 29-38 USEFULNESSOF EUKARYOTIC AND PROKARYOTIC MICROORGANISMS IN THE INVESTIGATION OF WATER QUALITY IN THE MURE$ RIVER Ldszl6 FodorPataki and Judit PaPP Abstract The development of physiological tolerance to the chemical stress caused by pollution of the aquatic environment with cadmium ions can be detectedby different fuctional and biochemical parametersof the algal cells presentin the phytoplankton of different river sectors. The investigation of such parameters that indicate early symptoms of heavy metal pollution revealed that the intensity of enzymatic H2O2- degradationis a suitable tool to appreciatethe tolerance developedby phytoplankters to cope with polluting agents which act as oxidative stressfactors. Among the main photosynthetic pigments, only the amount of chlorophyll-b exhibits a regular correlation with the degree of water pollution causedby cadmium. The influence of this heavy metal on the net biomass production of the phytoplankton is also investigated,and the usefulnessof prokaryoticdecomposers in the estimationof water quality is discussed. Keywords: phytoplankton, stresstolerance, water pollution, cadmium, oxidative damase Introduction Planktonic microalgae are primary biomass producers in the aquatic acosystems, while heterotrophic bacteria play an important role in decomposing the different organic substancesin the water. Both of thesetwo groups of microorganismsexhibit a pronouncedmetabolic plasticity and a high growth potential. Thus, they may be used to monitor the degree of water pollution with different inorganic and organic chemicals that indicate human impact and may threaten the health of the riverine populations. The phytoplankton,consisting of microscopicalgae that have little or no resistance to currents and live free-floating in open waters, occur as unicellular, colonial or 29 filamentousforms. From a physiologicaland ecologicalpoint of view, the floating cyanobacteriaare also includedin the phytoplankton.Most of the small organisntsare photosyntheticand are grazed upon by zooplankton and other aquatic creatures. Phytoplanktonorganistns long have been used as indicatorsof water quality. Some speciesflourish in highly eutrophicwaters while othersare very sensitiveto different chernicalwastes (Hamar 1995). Some specieshave been associatedwith noxious blooms,sometimes creating offensive tastes and odorsor toxic conditions.Because of their short life cycles,plankters respond quickly to environmentalchanges, and hence the standingcrop and the speciescomposition indicate the quality of the water massin which they are found. Becauseof their transientnature and often patchy distribution, information on plankton as indicators is interpreted best in conjunction with concurrentlycollected, physicochemical and otherbiological data (Munawar 2000). The microflora of rivers consists of autotrophic and heterotrophic,aerobe or anaerobemicroorganisms that are involved in the naturalcycle of chemicalelements, in the production,degradation, transformation and mineralizationof natural organic compounds,as well as in the bioconversionof xenobioticsoriginating from different human activities.Many polluting agentsthat are releasedin different sectorsof rivers seriouslyendanger the dynamic equilibrium of the aquaticcommunities. The partial self-cleaningprocess of water becomcs possible only upon the close interaction betweenautotrophic and hetcrotrophicn-ricroorganisms, that produceand decompose new organic compoundsand sustainall of the life forms that are characteristicfor an aquaticecosystem (Fodorpataki and Papp2000). Stresscan be regardedas a functional state or as the dynamic responseof the whole organism.It representsa significantdeviation from the conditionsoptimal for life, and eliciting changesand responsesat all functionallevels ofthe organismwhich, althoughat first reversible,may also becotneperrnanent. Stress can be regardedas a directional event, induced by highly specific factors, but the responsemay have common stepsfor severaldifferent stressors.Oftcn, the external factors does not reach the ultimate site of the stressreaction immediately or in its original intensity,because plantspossess a variety of protectivemechanisms to delay or evenprevent disruption of the thermodynamicor chemicalequilibrium between environment and cell interior. The stressresponse is a race betwcenthe effort to adapt and the potencially lethal processesin the protoplasm.Thus the dynamicsof stresscomprises a destabilizing, destructivecomponent, as well as countemeasurespromoting restabilizationand resistance (Schnell 1994). Constraint, adaptation and resistance are thus interconnectedparts of the whole event.Reactions that indicatea stateof stressmake possiblethe employmentof scnsitiveplant speciesas bioindicatorsof environmental stress,or the use of living plants as biomonitorsof specifichabitat parameters. Both categoriesare widely representedamong the freshwatermicroalgae. The aim of this study is to revealmetabolic properties of microalgaland bacterial populations isolated from different sectors of the Mureg River, and to corelate the physiologicalparameters with the water quality of the river, in order to achieve a betterunderstanding of how invisible life forms reactto the challengerepresented by anthropicinfluences on aquaticcommunities. 30 Material and methods Cell populationsof the samealgal species(Scenedesntus opoliensis P. Richt.) were isolated from 3 different sampling sites along the Mureg River, and cultivated under controlled conditions,in nutrient media without and with supplementationwith 0.1 urM cadmiumas a polluting agent.The toleranceof the algalpopulations to this stress conditionwas investigatedby determiningthe peroxide-scavengingenzyme activities, the chlorophyll a and b content and the dry biomass production after 10 days of cultivation. The photosynthetic pigrnent content was determined spectrophotometricallyafter extractionwith methanoland acetone,performed in dim light at 4nC.The activity of H2O2decomposing enzymes was assayedtitrirnetrically, by measuringthe remaining hydrogen peroxide after I hour of incubation in the presenceof a known amount of H2O2.Biomass production was evaluatedby dry weight measurement(Fodorpataki et al.200l). The bacteriologicalinvestigations of the water sarnplesinclude the determination of the total number of hetcrotrophicbacteria (on nutrient agar, 48h incubation at 37'C), as well as the abundanceof some indicatorspecies, such as the coliforms (in Durham tubes with lauryl-sulphate broth) and the streptococci (in inoculation tubes with bromocresol-purple-azidemedium). For these determinationswater dilutions were preparedfrorn 10-rto l0-7,and thesewere inoculatedin selectivenutrient media that allow the growth of specificbacterial groups. The most probablenumber of the different bacteriawas establishedusing the De Man tablc, basedon the number of positive tubes (Fodorpatakiand Papp 2000, Greenberget al. 1995, Rompre et al. 2002). The samplingsites were: 1. Gdldoaia,with unpollutedwater on the uppersection of the river 2. Gura Arieg, situateddownstream to the confluenceof the heavily pollutedArieq River with the Mures 3. Pecica,with partially self-purifiedwater, on the lowest section of the Mureq River. Resultsand discussion Today, as a resultof humanactivities, plants are exposedto far greateramounts of harmful substancesthan before.These are chiefly xenobioticsto which plants could not becomeaccustomed yet. Land-usepractices around the world have often resulted in degradedecosystems that will not retum rapidly to their original state.Commonly, the disturbedhabitat has many stressorsthat impact plant functions,and restoration can be assistedby judicious incorporationof spccicsor ecotypesthat can toleratethe stressesof thesedamaged ecosystems (Jackson and Black 1993, Kullberg 1995).In this context,stress tolerance of microalgae,as the main primary biomassproducers of the aquatic ecosystems,plays a crucial role in the remediation of anthropically pollutedwater ponds (Fodorpataki and Trifu 1995). JI Stress is reflective of the amount of environmental pressure for change that is placed on different biological processesof an organism,inducing an alarm response. Theseresponses may be defensiveor adaptive,and stressoccurs when the unfavorable environmental factors induce enough functional change to result in reduced growth, reduced yield, physiological acclimation, speciesadaptation, or a combination of these.Because of their short life cycle and high contactarea of all the cells with the environment, as well as due to their pronounced metabolic plasticity, microalgae are especially suitable organisms to study the influence of environmental changes on aquatic organisms.Responses to stressorscan be divided into two possibilities. In the caseof toleranceplants have mechanismsthat maintainhigh metabolicactivity under mild stress and reduced activity under severe stress. In contrast, mechanisms of avoidanceinvolve a reduction of metabolicprocesses, resulting in a dormant state, upon exposureto long-term extreme stress(Pugnaire and Valladares 1999). Many pollutants induce oxidative stress conditions in the living organisms (Ray and Gaur 2001). Algal cells are able to protect themselvesagainst harmful active oxygen compounds,..g. by decomposingHzOz. In the presenceof Cd2*,the H2O2- scavenging enzymeactivity is much higher in the algae selectedfrom polluted water samples(Fig. 1). This indicatesthat phytoplanktersare able to acclimateto variations of the chemical composition of the aquatic environment, and in a relatively short period of time thoseindividuals become dominant which have the ability to developa more efficient defensive mechanism with the contribution of their inducible enzyme systens. In other words, the microalgal populations originating from polluted sectors of the river are better prepared to cope with the oxidative stress induced by the presenceof cadmiumions dissolvedin the water. This may be a suitableexplanation for the fact that the algal populations isolated from Gura Aries (the sampling site with the most heavily polluted water) exhibit a much higher activity of the peoxide- scavengingenzymes, even in the absenceofthe chemical stressfactor representedby cadmium. l8 bt4 g rf 6 l0 N NX E6 Galaoaia Gura Aries Fig. l. Activity of hydrogen peroxidc-scavenging enzymes in cells of Scenedesmus opoliensis, originating in 3 different sectors of the Mure$ River, cultivated in unpolluted (0) and Cd-pollut€d (Cd) media Pecica,0 36.30 Gura Aries, Cd 30.84 Fig. 2. Changes in the chlorophyll-b content (microgram per gram d.w.) of cells of Scenedesmusopoliensis originating in 3 different sectors ofthe lUuret River, cultivated in unpollut€d (O) and cadmium-polluted (Cd) media Galaoaia,0 3.57 Pecica,0 Galaoaia,Cd 3.ll J-OJ Gura Aries, Cd Gura Aries, 0 J.JC 3.49 Fig. 3. Changes in the P700 chlorophyll-a content (microgram per gram d.w.) of cells of ,Scenedesmus opoliensis originating in 3 different scctors of the Muret River, cultivated ir unpolluted {O) and cadmium-polluted (Cd) media The equilibrium between biosynthesisand degradationof chlorophyll-b is also rnfiuencedby polluting agents.The algal populationswhich had becometolerant, are able to maintain this equilibrium under stressconditions. while the other populations show an obviousdecline in the amountof chlorophyll-Din the presenceof Cd (Fig.2). Even under a constantillumination, the size of the light-haryestingpigment-protein complexesvaries on a large scaleif different stressorsare presentin the algal cells. Chlorophyll-b,which in greeaalgae is the main accessoryphotosynthetic pigment, is present mainly in the very dynamic peripherical regions of the light-harvesting complexes. Pollutantsthe inhibit any segmentof the biosyntheticpathway of this pigment, or enhanceits degradation,will reducethe overall amountof chlorophyll-b,thus causing a decreasedefficiency of energyabsorption by the algal cells,which finally may result in the decline of biomassproduction. This suggeststhat monitoring the quantity of chlorophyll-bunder specific light conditionsmay representa useful tool for detecting the disturbance of energy input into the aquatic communities, caused by polluting agents(such as cadmium). In contrast,the amount of one of the most important types of chlorophyll-a (known as the P700 pigment) is highly stable under different conditions,being not suitablefor the detectionof unfavorablewater quality (Fig. 3). 33 E60 = :s0 iqo il E30 Galaoaia Gura Aries Pecica Fig. 4. Dry biomass production after 10 days of cultivation oI Scenedesmusopoliensis populations, originating in 3 different sectors of the lllure9 River, cultivated in unpolluted (0) and Cd-poiluted (Cd) media The dry biomassproduction is mostly affectedby heavy nletal contaminationin the algal populationsisolated from the unpolluted uppcr sector of the Mureg River @ig. a). This suggeststhat acclimationto harmful conditionsis a prerequisiteof the survival of microalgaein polluted environments.Small variationsof the dry biomass can be registeredeven in the absenceof the polluting agent, but the presenceof dissolvedcadmium inducesa much more pronounceddecline in dry weight of the unacclimatedpopulations than in the case of the representativesof the same algal speciesisolated from a heavilypolluted sector of the MuregRiver. Theseresults reflect that by examiningthe different populationsof the samealgal species, their physiological sensitivity or tolerance to polluting agents directly indicatesthe quality of the aquaticenvironment. The abovepresented invastigations can be completedwith the study of different physiological categories of heterotrophyc microorganisms that are strongly interconnectedwith the planktonicprimary producers,and in the sametime provideus with useful information about hygienical parametersof the water. The chemical pollutants also affect the growth and diversity of these heterotrophic bacteria that decomposethe body of dead organismsand many xenobiotics,as well (Gauthierand Archibald 2001). In this regard one suggestiveexample will be given bellow, while the influenceof waterpollution on otherbacterial groups will be presentedseparately. Accumulationof solubleheavy metalsin the water leadsto a decreasednumber of bacteria,while the number of coliforms and faecal streptococciis the highest in the lower sector of the river, which is loaded with organic substancesfrom household wastewaters.This reflects that the chemical nature of the pollutants is the main determinantof the developmentof different prokaryotic microorganismsalon the differentsectors ofthe river (Tab. l). 34 'table l.'Ihe number ofdifferent types ofbacteria at 3 sampling sites along the lr{ur€t River (in I ml of w ater) Samplingsites Total numberof bacteria Coliforms Faecalstreptococci Gilioaia Sept.1999 632 3 0. Gdlioaia Dec. 1999 620 3 0. GdlaoaiaMay 2000 584 3 0. GdlaoaiaAug.2000 654 J 0. Gura Arieg Sept.1999 300 2'7 0.8 Gura Arieq Dec. 1999 204 54 9.2 Gura AriegMay 2000 600 28 7.0 Gura Arieq Aug. 2000 324 27 7.0 PecicaSept. 1999 6000 ll0 0.7 PecicaDec. 1999 660 348 6.1 PecicaMay 2000 4820 140 5.1 PecicaAugust 2000 5800 173 5.1 The values of total number of bacteria and the number of coliforms and streptococci indicate clean, unpolluted water in the upper section of the Mureq river (Gdldoaia) in all sampling periods. In this region the river flows far from the human settlementsand the polluting sources,and the life of the aquatic communities is not perturbed. The water brought by the Arieg River pollutes the water of the Mureg, the unfavourable effect being reflected by the presence of coliforms and especially of streptococciin high number at the confluence site of the Mureg with the the Arieq in every sampling period, excepting September,when the values were lower. The total number of bacteria and the number of indicators increase significantly in the lower region of the river, indicating strongly polluted water. The householdwastewater and the by-products coming from agriculture and animal husbandrythat are releasedin the river determine the contamination of the water with faecal materials and increasethe amountof the indicatormicroorganisms. The highestvalues were registeredin the last samplingsite along the Mureq (Pecica).The presenceof pathogensin a numberabove of the admissiblevalues makes the water unsuitableeven for bathineor for irrisation of crops that serveas food or fodder. Conclusions 1. Functional parameters of algal cells, such as H2O2-scavengingenzyme activity, chlorophyll-b and net bioproductive potential, are good indicators of toleranceor sensitivify to water pollution with heavy metals. 2. By examining the physiological tolerance of different ecotypes of the same Scenedesmusopoliensis species,collected from the different sampling sites along the 35 Mure$, and cultivated under controlled experimentalconditions in culture media enrichedwith cadmium-chloride,very elocventconclusions can be drawn concerning the pollution of the aquatic environmentto which the examined ecotypesbelong. Under controlledexperimental conditions, the algalpopulations originating in polluted water exhibit a highercapacity to copewith stressfulconditions. 3. The most sensitivepopulations to heavy metal pollution are those inhabiting the upperand the lowermostsections of the river (Gdldoaiaand Pecica)' 4. The algaethat are mostly tolerantto high concentrationsof heavymetals were identified at Gura Arieg, where the Arieg river brings highly polluted waters. 5. The amount of coliforms and faecal streptococcifrom the total number of bacteriais an indicator of the degreeof water pollution with organic compoundsof anthropicorigin. 6. The water brought by the tributary streams(Arieg and Tirnava), loaded with organic materials, perturbs the natural microbial communities, increasing the number of faecalindicators, especially of streptococci. Acknowledgement The srudy was supportedby the CNCSIS Grant T 138 cofinancedby the World Bank. References Fodorpataki L., M6rton A. L., Csorba T. L. (2001): Stress-physiological investigationof algal cell culturesin pollutedmedia, Contrib. Bot. 36: 101-i08. FodorpatakiL., Papp J. (2000): Studiesconcerning the physiology of microalgal communitiesisolated from naturalhabitats, Contrib. Bot. 35: 121-130. Fodorpataki,L., Trifu, M. (1995): Influence of heavy metals on photosynthetic parametersunder different light conditions in cultures of Scenedesm.usacutus M' ln'. Mathis, P. (ed.), Photosynthesis:from Light to Biosphere, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Amsterdam:529-532.5. Gauthier, F., Archibald, F. (2001): The ecology of fecal indicator bacteria commonlyfound in pulp andpaper mill water systens,Wat. Res.35(9): 2201-2218. Greenberg,A.E., Rhodes-Trussell,R., Clesceri,L.S. (1985): StandardMethods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater,Port City Press,Baltimore. Hamar J. (1995): Algologicai studiesof the Maros (Mureg) River. In: Hamar J., S6rk6ny-KissA. (eds.):The Maros/MuregRiver valley, Tisza Klub, Szolnok-Szeged- Tg. Mureg: 149-163. Jackson,M. B., Black, c. R. (1993): InteractingStresses on Plantsin a changing Climate,Springer Verlag, Berlin: 267-286. Kullberg, R.G. (1995):Decreased diversity caused by differentialinhibition among artificial phytoplanktoncommunities in an undisturbedenvironment, Eur. J. Phycoi' 30:267-272. 36 Munawar M. (2000): Bioindicators of environmental health, Backhuys Publ., Leiden Pugnaire, F. I., Valladares, F. (1999): Handbook of Functional Plant Ecology, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York l7l-194. Ray L.C., Gaur J.P. (2001): Algal adaptationto environmental stresses,Springer Verlag 8. Rompr6, A., Servais, P., Baudart, J., de-Roubin, M. R., Laurent, P. (2002): Detection and enumeration of coliforms in drinking water: current methods and emerging approaches,J. Microbiol. Methods 49:31-54. Schnell,R. (1994):Les Strat6giesV6g6tales, Masson, Paris: 1l l-l l7- LASZLO FODORPATAKI ANdJUDIT PAPP Babes-BolyaiUniversity Dept. Plant Biology RO-3400 Cluj-Napoca I Kogalniceanu st. 37 TISCIA monograplrseries (2002).6.39 44 PHYTODIVERSITYOF TRANSYLVANIAN HYDROGRAPHICBASINS ConstantinDrdculescu Abstract Based on field researchesaccomplished between 1991 and 1999 but also on all references,the presentpaper establishesa synthesison the aquaticand paludal flora from the main rivers' basins from whole Transylvania. The status of species encounteredin the red lists and the main naturalprotected areas are also concerned. Between23o/o and 32,8o/o of thc flora is considcrcdendangered in the specifiedarea. Keywords: Flora,vegetation, wetlands, Red List. Introduction This paper offers succint information about the aquatic and paludal flora of the Transylvanianhydrographic basins (Someg,Crig, Mureg and Olt), about the plant speciesincluded in the Romanianred list, the main wctlandswhere they grow and the protectedareas ofthese basins. Thc dataare the result of fiold rcsearchperformed, in the 199I - 1999period, and of bibliographyand herbariumsconsultation. These were publishedextensively in 1995 (Mureq), 1997 (Cri9), 1999 (Someg,OlQ. In the mentionedpapers, only the species which grow nearthe main rivers course(including thc sectorsbelonging to Hungary) were enumcrated, but in this paper the numbers render thc whole basins phytodiversity (excluding the sectorsbelonging to Hungary). The hybrids are not presentedin the paper.Concerning the red list of Romanianflora, only extinct (Ex), endangered(E), vulnerable(V) and rare (R) plants werc selected(excluding species with an uncertainstatus of integrationin one or anothercategory). The SomegBasin Phytodiversiry and red /rsL In the SomegBasin there were identified 2050 species (cormophytes),of which 455 are aquatic and paludal species.The flora is rich in JV speciesas a result of the river's courselength, which runs through severaldifferent forms of relief with differentgeological substrates and varied soils,as well as distinct climates. One important factor is also that the SomeqRiver has two components:the SomegulMic with the springs in the Western Carpathians,and the SomeguiMare that springs from the Eastern Carpathians.86 plants of these 455 aquatic and paludal speciesare on the red list. We illustrate this with the following examples:Achillea impatiens, Achillea ptarmica, Andromeda poldolia, Angelica archangelica, Aster bellidiastrum, Blackstoniaperfoliata, Calla palustris, Carex atrofusca, Carex bicolor, Carex loliacea, Cladium marisctts, Cnidium dubium, cochlearia borzaeana, Comarumpalustre, Drosera intermedia, Elatine alsinastrum,Eleocharis quinquefolia, Elisma natans, Empetrum nigntm, Euphorbia carpatica, Gla*r ntaritima, Hippuris vulgaris, [soetes lacustris, Ledum palustre, Liparis loeselii, Lttdwigia palustris, Montia fontana, Najas minor, Narcissus angustifolius, Pedicularis limnogena, Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum, Potamogeton coloratus, Ranunculus ophioglossifolius, Ranunculus pol,phyllus, Rhynchospora alba, R-uppia rostellata, Salix aurita, Salix bicolor, Salix rosmarinifolia, Scheuchzeriapalustris, Sparganium minimum, Stellaria palustris, Sv,ertiaperennis, Tofieldia calyculata, Trapa natans, Trichophorum alpinum, [Jtriailaria bremii, Valeriana simplicifulia, V"eronica scardica, Viola epipsila, Viola uliginosa, Zannichellia palttstris. Wetlands'. in the Somesul Cald Basin'. Barsa, Calcig, Padig, Sdvla, Cuciulata, Onceasa,Piatra Grditoare, Izbuc, Ic, Cdlineasa,Pietrele Onachii, Intre $imone,Doda, Gura Firii, Tdu Negru, Pdrdul Cdrbunilor, $ilica, Rdgca,Ciurtuci; inthe SomeSulRece Basin'. Mdguri, Dameg, Muntigoru, Cotul Someqului' Sub Zdpode, Ciunget, Balomireasa,Tdul ZAnelor,Mocirle, Tdul Cdpdt6nii,Bldjoaia; ir the SomeSulMic Basin: Sdlicea,Valea Morii-Feleacq in SomeSulMare Basin: Tinovul Cirnpeilor-Ilva Mare, Zagra, Nimigea de Jos, Budacul de Jos, $intireag, Mogoqeni; in the United SomesBasin: Hida, Mirequ Mare, Satulung,Homoroade, Ardusatl in LdpuSBasin: Tdu Ne gru, Recea-Ldpuqel,Gro gi ; in the Cr as n a B as i n'. Ecedea(disappeared). Protected wet sreasi Valea lzbucelor, Padig, Valea Morilor, Lacul $tiucilor, Sic, Budaculde Jos,Mogoqeni, Zagra,Baia Mare, RodnaNational Park,Apuseni National Park. The Crig Basin Phytodiversity and red list. The Transylvanian Criq Basin flora is estimated at 1850species, 361 speciesbeing aquaticand paludalplants. The diversttyis lower than that of SomeqBasin, due to its smaller area and its limited localisation between the WestemCarpathians and PannonicPlain. 60 aquaticand paludalplants are includedin the red list. Ex.: Acorus calamus,Alisma gramineum,Angelica archangelica,Carex lasiocarpa, Elatine alsinastrum, Elatine hexandra, Elatine hungarica, Elatine triandra, Fritillaria meleagris, Gladiolus palustris, Iris sibirica, Lindernia procumbens, Ludwigia paluslris, Marilea quadrifulia, Montia montana, Najas minor, Narcissus angustifolius, Nuphar lutea, Nymphaea lotus ssp. thermalis, Pedicularis limnogena, Potamogeton trichoides, Rartrnculus circinatus, Rhynchospora alba, 40 Sagiltaria subulata, Salix aurita, Scheucheria palttstris, Scirpus radicans, Sparganium minimum Stellaria palttstris, Strntiotes aloides, Succisella inflexa, Swertiaperennis, Trapa nalans, Trolliu.selffopaeus. Lltricttlaria ttustralis, Vallisneria spiralis, Veronicacatenata, Woffia aruhiza. LYalands: tn the CriSul Repede Basin: Calalele. Dambul Negru. Tdul Runcului, NegrugulFinciului, Murgag, Stdnade Vale, Remeli. Morlaca-Huedin,Pelea-Oradea; in the CriSul Negru Basin: Cefa, Rddvani, Martihaz, Maddrag,Salonta, Avram Iancu, Tulca; in the CriSul Alb Basin: Ineu, Bocsig, Beliu, Gurahon!, Sebiq, Pincota, Chigin5u-Crig,Vdrqand. Protectedt'et areas;Bdltile Gurahonl,Peiea-Oradea, Apuseni National Park. The Mureq Basin Phytodiversity and red /isL Due to the fact that the Mureg Basin is the largest hydrographicbasin of Transylvania,and the MuregRiver hastributaries in all Eastern, Southernand Western Carpathians.the phytodiversityis high. This basin's flora is estimatedat 2120 speciesof which 458 are aquatic and paludal plants, 86 of them being includedin the red list. Ex: Achillea impatiens,Andromeda polifulia, Angelica archangelica, Angelica palustris, Apium nodifolium, Apium repens, Barbaraea lepuznica, Betula humilis, Calla palustris, Carex brunescens, Carex chordorrhiza, Carex heleonasles,Carex limosa, Cniditm dubium, Elatine alsinaslrum, Epilobium alsinifolium, Epilobium nutans, Evonvmus nana, Fritillaria meleagris, Gladiolus palustris, Glctux maritima, Groenlandia densa, Hammarbia paludosa, Hottonia palustris, Lindernia proatmbens, Ll,simachia thyrsiflora, Marselia quadrifulia, Narcissus angustifolitts, Orchis laxdlora, Osmunda regalis, Pedicularis sceptrum- carolinttm, Pettcedanum rochelianum, Potamogeton alpinus, Potamogeton compressus, Ranunculus polyphyllus, Rhyncospora alba, Salix rosmarinifolia, Sulifraga hirculus, Scirpus radicans, Schoenusferrugineus, Seneciopaluster Spiraea salicdolia, Stellaris longiJblia, Succisella inflexa, Tararacum .fontanum, Trichophorumalpirutm, Utricularia australis, Utricularia minor, Viola epipsila. Wetlands: Voglobeni, Joseni, Borzont, Remetea, Tdrgu Mureg, Ideciu, Ocna Mure9, Pecica-tsezdin,Nddlag; tn the TdrnavaMare Basin'.Virgag, Dealu, $aeq;in the Tarnava Micd Basin: Praid, Pasul Corundului; in ArieS Basin: lerigoara, Dumitreasa,Izvorul $oimului. La Potcoavd, Muntelc Mare, Mluha-Ponor, Valea Cepilor, Valea Rdtdcitd-Sdgacea;in the .lebeqBasin: Tdrtdrdu, Sdlane,Oaqa, Prigoana; in the Strei Basin: Pui,Nucqoara Protected wet areasi Voqlobeni, PddureaMociar, Pui, NucAoara,Bezdin, Retezat NationalPark. The Olt Basin Phytodiversity und red list. Although we are referring only to the upper and middle Olt River Basin,due to the fact that only thesesectors are locatedin Transylvania,the 41 flora is the richest (2130 species)as comparedwith all the hydrographicbasins of Transylvania.This is becauscthe Olt River has tens of tributariesfrorn Easternand SouthemCarpathians and, in the sametime is the southestbasin of Transylvania.Of all thesecormophythes 445 spcciesare aquaticand paludalplants and 77 ofthem are included in the red list. From this list I am quoting: Achillea ptarmica, Acorellus pannonicus, Acorus calqmus, Angelica palustris, Apium repens, Armeria barcensis, Betula humilis, Betula nana, Calla palustris, Calamagrostisneglecta, Carex contigtta, Cladium marisctts, Cnidium dubium, Comantm palustre, Drosera anglica, Drosera intermedia, Elatine hexandra, Eleocharis ttniglumis, Euonymus nana, Fritillaria meleagris, Groenlandia densa, Hippuris wrlgaris, Hotonia palustris, Iri'g sibirica, Isolepis setacea, Isolepis supina, Juncus hulbosus, Ligttlaria sibirica, Lysimachia thyrsiJlora, Menyanthestrifoliata, Narcissttsangustifolitts, Nttphar luteum, Nymphaea alba, Pedicularis sceprum-carolinum, Peucedanttm rochelianum, Plantago maxima, Polemonium coeruleum, Primula farinosa, Ranttnculus rionii, Rhynchospora alba, Salix aurita, Salix rosmarinifolia, Saxifraga hirculus, Saxifraga mLttata, Schoenus ferrugineus, Scheuchzeria palustris, Scirptts radicans, Serratula wollJii, Sesleria uliginosa, Sparganium minimum, Spiraea salicifolia, Stellaria longifolia, Slratiotes aloides, Trapa natans, Trollius europaeus, Typha shuttleworthii, Utricularia bremii, Valeriana simplicdolia, Veronica catenata, Viola epipsila, Zannichelliu palusti't. Wetlands:Mdddrag, Racu, intre Olturi, Miercurea-Ciuc,Jigodin, Bors6ros and Lucs-SdncrIieni, Misentea, Biidos-Sdntimbru,Sinsimion, Vrabia, Tugnadul Nou, Mohoq-Tuqnad,Prejrner, Hdrman, Stupini, SAnpetru,Bod, Feldioara,Sdntion-Lunc5, Arini, Aita Mare, Micloqoara,Apafa, Ormeniq, Augustin, Comana de Jos,$inca Noui, DumbravaVadului, $ercdi1a,Toderila, Bdrcul Hurezului,RduEor, Mdndra, Arpaqul de Jos,Avrig, Bradt, Sebeg-Olt,Tumu Rogu.;inthe Rdul Negru Basin'.Estelnic, Mereni, Lunga-Ojdula, B6lv6nyos-Turia, Catalina-Ghelinla, Borqneul Mare-Zagon, Mestecinig-Reci,Malnaq-Bii; in the Baraolt-VarghiSBasin: Virghig, Bdile Ozunca, Bdile Harghita; in the Homorod Basin: Cdpdlnifa,Vldhila-Lueta, Ocland; in the Hdrtibaci Basin: Movile, Coveq, Birghig; in the Cibin .Basir: Sibiu (disappeared), $uvar5-Tdlmaciu,Cristian, Mag, Frumoasa,Iujbea Cacovei, Protected wet sress: Borsaros-Sdncriieni, Tinolul Lucs, Durnbrava Harghitei- Vlahita, Reci, Hdrman, Stupini, Mohoq-Tuqnad, Biidos-Sdntimbru, Prejmer, Dumbrava Vadului, Bdlea, Arpdqel, $uvard-Tdlmaciu, Cheile Bicazului-H[qmaq NationalPark, Bucegi National Park,Piatra Craiului National Park. Conclusions Observing the data included in Tab. l, we ascertainthat in the investigated hydrographicbasins, as well as in all Transylvaniaand Romania,16,60A-18,9%of the wet ecotops' flora is threatened,while 23,0%-32,8% of the integral flora is endangered. This means that there are in suffering more xerophylousand mesoxerophylous speciesthan hydro-, hygro- and hygromesophylousplants. Indeed, over 357oof the Romaniansteppe and sylvosteppespecies are includedin the red list. Comparingthe 42 flora of Transylvanianhydrographic basins, the data guide to the conclusionthat the richest phytodiversityis in the Olt Basin, follou'ed by thc Mureg, Someqand Crig basins,and this phytodivcrsity is tlre mostly threatencdin the Mureg and Someg Basins.For a morc exact estimationalso the extent of the basinsmust be taken into account, becauseat a certain surface the nunrber of species docs not increase proportionallywith the analyzedarea extcnsion. Tab. l. Comparatiyedata concerningeach hydrographic basin, Transylvanian and Romanian flora Bqsins Sutfaces in Number oJ' Species Threat Ilydro-, hygro- Species in Threat Transylvania species in the red degree of and the red list degree oJ Iist flora nezohygrophyle aquatic species and paludol flora )omes 15.015km'? 2050 520 25,40/o 455 86 89% Cris 14.120kmz I 850 460 24.90 361 60 6.60h Mures 27.830km? 2120 570 26.9% 458 86 u.u% Olt I3.340km'z 2130 490 23.0% 445 77 73% Total 70.405km'? 2830 780 27.6% 560 102 8.2% References Drdgulescu,C.,1995, The flora and vegetationof the Mureq (Maros) Valley, The Maros,MurcqRiver Valley. A study of the geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river and its environment,Tiscia monographserics, Szolnok-Szeged-TArgu Mureq, 41-111 Drdgulescu,C., Macalik Kunigunda, 1997, The aquatic and paludal flora and vegctationfrom the crigiKriros valleys. The criq,4(or 43 Pop,E., 1960, Mlagtinile de turbd din R.P.Romdnd(Swamps from R'P' Romdnd), Edit. Acad. Bucuregti Sdvulescu,Tr. (red.), Flora R. P. Romdni and Flora R.S. Rom6nia, I-X[I, Edit. Acad. Bucuresti, 1952-1976. Toniuc, N. and colab., 1992, Lista ariilor protejate din Romdnia (The list of protectedarea from Romania), Ocrot. nat. Bucuregti, 36, 1,23'33 DRAGULESCUC. Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania 3l Oituz St. 2400 Sibiu. RO 44 TISCIA monograph series (2002). 6, 45-50 VEGETATION DESCRIPTIONOF REPRESENTATIVE HABITAT COMPLEXES ALONG THE MAROS (MURE$) RIVER Marg\czi K., Drdgulesctt C., Macalik K. and, Mal'ra O Abstract Detailed identification and description of still existing natural or semi natural habitat complexesis necessaryto planning conservationstrategies, or restoration programsof deterioratedriverside habitats. The Maros River with its 768-km lengthis the most importanttributary of the Tisa River. Since 1991 Hungarianand Rumanian non-governmentalorganisations has started interdisciplinaryresearch to assessthe common river's environmental condition. On the base of this pilot research 4 representativeand highly natural areashas been selectedfor more detailedscientific investigations:(1) peat bog at Vasl6b/Voqlobeniin Giurgeu (Gyergy6i) basin, (2) lower Mureg/Marospass between Ilia and Deva, (3) Pecska/Pecica-Bezdinforest, (4) Maros sectionin Hungary. Cenologicalrelev6s were made in 5-6 representativeand naturalor seminatural vegetation stands. A descriptionand comparativeevaluation of the river valley vegetationwere madeon the baseof theserelev6s. Keywords: habitatcomplexes, river valley vegetation,Maros/Mureg, conservation evaluation. Introduction Easternand Central European rivers and related habitats play an important role in maintainingthe biological diversity of the biogeographicalregions, not only because of their corridor function,but becausethey are rich core areasof ecologicalnetworks (Gall6et al. 1995,IUCN 1995). European policy toward flood control is being revised, and provides major opportunitiestoward naturedevelopment or restoration(PEBLDS, 1996). Detailed identifrcation and description of still existing natural or semi-natural habitatcomplexes is necessaryto plan conservationstrategies, or restorationprograms of deterioratedriverside habitats. The Maros River with its 768-km length is the most important tributary of the Tisa River. It crossesseveral relief features with varying 45 lithological structuresand its valley includesseveral various habitat complexeswith rich flora, faunaand diversevegetation. Drdgulescu (1995) presents an enumerationof the flora and vegetationof the Mureg River valley. He refers 1846taxa of plants, I 74 plant associations,and points out, that the Maros valley is now moderatelydegraded by human activity. The rate of degradationincreases from the springs to the river mouth. Since 1991Hungarian and Romaniannon-governmental organisations have started interdisciplinary research to assessthe common river's environmental condition (Hamar& Srirkriny-Kiss,1995). On the baseof this pilot research4 representativeand highly naturalareas have been selected for more detailedscientific investigations. Materials and methods Botanicalfield sampling Cenologicalrelev6s were made in 5-6 representativeand natural or semi-natural vegetationstands. The areasof the plots were 5x5 m in grasslands,and 20x20 m in forests.The percentcoverage ofplant specieswas detectcd. A descriptionand comparativeevaluation of the river valley vegetationwere made on the baseof theserelev6s. The cenologicalidentification of plant associationwas madeaccording to ofBorhidi & S6nta(1999) and Sandaet al. (1980). 'r,., d tb '-\t--d"'J',.,- o,?r1 j/,i", .*-"L,, Fig. l. fhe study sites along the river Mureg/Maros. L Peat bog at Vaslib/Votlobeoi in the Giurgeu (Cyergy6i) basin 2. Lower Mureg/Maros pass betwecn llia and Deva l. P6cska/Pecica-Bezdinforest.4. Maros s€ction in Hungery 46 Study sites (Fig. l.) Studvsitc Year of field investigations Peatbos at VasLib/Voslobenin Giurgeu(Gverurtii) basin I 999 Lower Mures,Marosoass between Ilia and Dcva 20t)I P6cska/Pecica-Bezdinforest 2000 Maros section in Hunqary 2001 Results Descriptionof the studyareas Peatbog at Vasl6b/Voqlobeniin the Giurgeu(Gyergy6i) basin The severalstreams coming in to the basin formed a fen areawith two peat bog patche.s.A thick Sphagnunrlayer coversthese two patchesand a sparsestand of Picec ahies,and Betula pubescens trees grows herc.The pcat bog patchesarc surroundedby large sedges,which are rich in typical fcn plant spccies.The next zone in a slightly higherelevation is thc fen mcadow,used mainly by mowing. There are dry pasturesin the relativelyhighest areas ofthe basin.The vegetationofthe studiedarca is very rich and diverse.The compositionand pattern of plant associationsseems to be rather undisturbed. Investigatedhabitats: peat bog and fen (mainly Carici stellulatae and rostratae- Sphagnetumt,Curicetttm rostratae, Caricetunt .flavae juncosttm subnodulosi, and Filipendulo-Geraniettunpalustris), wet meadows(Molin ietwn coenileaeand Agrostio - Deschamltsietuntcaespitosae), and a dry pasfure(Agroslio - Festucetunrrubrae). ( 1) Lower Mureq/Marospass betwecn Ilia and Deva The rivcr vallcy is vcry narrow, a main road and a railway linc are driven here. Most of the area is under agriculturaluse; the ratc of natural habitatsis very low. Sevcralplant speciesofrnountain habitatsoccur occasionally in the river valley. Investigatedhabitats: riverside, speciesrich willow forest (Sa/icetumalhae- /iagilis), a wet meadow with furze willow (Salix cinerea, Ll,thrum salicaria, [nula helenium) an abandonedarable land, revegetatedmainly with non-weed, native species,a ratherdegraded pasture, and a mountainpasrure. (2) P6cska/Pecica-Bezdinforest The river is only slightly clrannelled;it builds and destroysshoals and banks. Different successionalstages of naturalhabitat types are well developed.Most of the forestsgrow up in naturalway aftercutting, the forestmanagement is not intensive. Investigatedhabitats: the oak-ash-elmforests (Fraxino pannonicae-Lllmetum) havehigh naturalvalue, with speciesrich, naturalundergrowth. The willow andpoplar forests (Salicetttnt albae-fragilis) are valuablc as well. The sodic oak forest and its 47 glade (Peucedanofficinalis-Asteretum seddolii) are such a habitat, which is highly protectedin Hungary. (3) Maros sectionin Hungary The river is artificially channelled;the dikes separatethe inundationarea. There are no forests outside the dikes. The planted forests in the inundation area are intensivelymanaged, the naturalundergrowth is eliminatedat plantationof the forests. The rate of hybrid poplar plantationis rather high. The rate of really old oak, white poplar and willow forest is rather low. The invasivetree speciesare abundant.Some native and protectedplant speciesoccur sporadically.Most of the inundationarea is under protection, and habitat reconstructionis planned. Investigatedhabitats: old poplar-willow forests (Salicetum albae-fragilis), several planted forests (Populus canescens,Populus x hybrida, Quercus robur), foxtail meadow (Alopecuretumpratensis), grasslandon the dike, forest belt. Discussion These 4 study sites do not representsall of the habitat types and the whole flora and vegetation of the Mureg valley, but they give a certain picture about the long and very diverse river from the upper section till the estuary. The peat bog and fen area at Voglobeni is a highly natural, rich and diverse. Detailed botanical descriptionof occuring habitatsis presentedby Marg6czi et al. (2000). The present human uses of the grasslands,that is moderategrazing and mowing, do not endangerconsiderably the natural values,but the nature protection and detailed mapping of this very important natural habitat is necessaryand urgent! A similar peat bog basin has been drained 50 years ago near to this place. The agricultural use of the area is not very successful,but the unique natural values have disappeared. In the narrow river valley in the lower Mureq pass most of the area is under agriculture, or serving the big trafhc, so the few semi-natural habitats are very important for maintaining regional biodiversity. The investigated secondaryhabitats seemedto be rather rich in natural plant species,the mountain speciesoften occur, the corridor function of the river seemsto be working. Comparison of the two study sites in the Romanian and Hungarian part of the Mureq floodplain clearly demonstratethe effect of human use on reverine habitats. The river is highly channelledin the Hungarian part, flows in a straight, artificial bed, so the natural habitat dynamics of the building and falling banks does not work. In the Romanian section a lot of different natural, successionalstages of riverine habitats develop. The other big difference is in the managementof forests. In the Hungarian part the forests are artificially planted and intensively managed.The main tree species is the exotic hybrid poplar. There are native oak, poplar and willow forests, but their grass layer is very poor. The unnatural inundation regime inside the dikes does not allow the survival of several natural species.In the Rumanian part the forests regrow 48 in a naturalway after cutting,and the hydrologicalsifuation is much more natural.The speciesrich and highly narural forests in the Romanianpart could be the reference sitesfor habitatrestoration experiments in Hungary. References Borhidi A. & S6nta A. (eds.) ( 1999): Vorris Krinyv Magyarorsz6g nciv6nyt6rsul6sair6l- Term6szetBriv6r, Budapest Dragulescu,C. (1995): The flora and vegetationof the Mureg (Maros) valley - In Hamar J., & Sdrrk6ny-KissA. (1995): The MarosrMureqRiver Valley. A study of the geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river and its environment.- Szolnok, Szeged,Tdrgu Mureq,pp. 47-112. Gall6, L., Marg6czi,K.. Kovdcs.E., Gyorffy, Gy., Kormciczi,L., andN6meth, L.: River valleys:Are they ecologicalconidors? - Tiscia 29, 53-58. Hamar J., & S6rk6ny-KissA. (1995): The Maros/MuregRiver Valley. A study of the geography,hydrobiology and ecologyof the river and its environment.- Szolnok, Szeged,TArgu Mureg , pp.257. IUCN (1995): River corridorsin Hungary:A Strategyfor the conservationof the Danube and its tributaries (1993-94), IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Budapest, Hungary, l24pp. Marg6czi K., DragulescuC. and Macalik K. (2000): Vegetation descriptionof representativehabitat complexes along the Maros (Mureq) River I. The upper section (Vasl6b/Voslobeni).In Gall6 L. & Krjrmoczi L. eds.: Ecology of River Valleys, Szeged. PEBLDS (Pan-EuropeanBiological and LandscapeDiversity Strategy)(1996) - Councilof Europe,UNEP, ECNC. Sanda,A., Popescu,A., Dolhr, M.I., (1980):- Cenotaxonomiasi corologia gir,;arilor vegetaledin Romania, St. si com. Muz. Brukenthal, Sibiu, St. nat., 24 Suppi. MARGOCZI K. Makra O. Departmentof Ecology,University of Szeged,Szeged, Pf. 5 1. H-6701,Hungary [email protected] szeged.hu DRAGULESCU C. Lucian BlagaUniversity, Sibiu, Romania 31 OituzSt.,2400 Sibiu, RO MACALIK K. Babes-BolyaiUniversity, Department of Ecology and Genetics 5-7 Clinicilor St.,3400 Cluj, RO [email protected] 49 -IlSClA rnonogra h series (2002), 6, 5l-62 SOMEASPECTS OF THE MODIFICATIONS OF THE AQUATIC OLIGOCHAETA FAUNA IN THE CRI$URI RIVERSBETWEEN I994- I998 Diana CupSa Abstract The aquaticoligochaeta were studiedin the Criguri Rivers between 1994-1998in two researchcampaigns. In this paper we comparethe resultsof the two campaigns and we apreciate the evolution of the oligochaeta fauna from the Criguri Rivers accordingto the environmentalmodifications. We observedthat in the rnost river parts the numberof the speciesdecreased and sometimestheir density increased.This fact is probably due to the higher organic pollution of the river portionsin certainperiods of time. Keywords: oligochaeta,benthic fauna, diversity. Introduction The composition of the living organism communitiesin a certain environment reflectsthe quality of this environment.The changesin the speciesassociation reflect natural or anthropic modifications in the environment, modifications which determine the settlementor the disappearanceofcertain species. The effectsof the modificationscan be short like oxigen depletionor longer like heavy metal pollution, and they determineinjuries of the zoocoenoses,which will resettlein a longertime (A. Szit6,K. M6zes, 1997). We tried to compare the aquatic oligochaeta fauna from the CriEuri rivers in the differentyears of study as follows: Crigul Alb 1994, 1997, 1998;Criqul Negru 1994, 1996, 1997,I 998 and Criqul Repede1995, 1996,1991, 1998.The materialfrom 1994 and 1995was collecte{by a campaignorganised by Tisza Klub (Szolnok,Hungary) and Liga Pro Europa (Tdrgu Mureg. Romania).The results of this campaignwere publishedin the Tiscia MonographSeries, The Crig/ Ktiros Rivers' Valleys, 1997.The materialfrom 1996-1998was collectedby myself. The sampling sites in the two campaigns were not all the same, so we compared the oligochaetafauna from the matching sites on eachriver. Thesewere the follows: Criqul Alb: Brad, Aciula, Chiqineu-Criq;Criqul Negru: $tei, Tinca, Zeind; Crigul Repede: $aula, Ciucea, Stdna de Vale, Vadu Crigului, 5l Alegd,Fughiu. The samplesites were describedin a previouspaper (A. S6rk6ny-Kiss. N. Gildean, N. Mihiilescu, 1997). The goalswere to apreciatethe modificationsof the aquaticoligohaeta communilv in the years of study, to appreciatethe effects of the environmental changes on the aquatic oligochaeta and to forecast the future evolution of the aquatic oligochaeta community. Material and methods The sampleswere takenby a hand net with 250 pm pore mesh size.The sediment was collected near the banks on the right and left sidesand in the main current. Each samplewas washedthrough a metal screenwith a pore mesh size of 250 pm after collection and preserved in 3-4o/oformalin solution. The oligochaeta were separated from the sediment under a stereomicroscope with a four to sixfold magnification.Animals werepreserved in 80% ethylalcohol. For the taxonomical identification the following works were used: Brinkhurst 1963;Brinkhurst and Jamieson 7977;Ferencz 1979; Pop V. 1943,1950. Results Crigul Alb River At Brad in 1994 the number of species and the density of the oligochaeta was bigger than in the following years when we found two species(7 in 1994) and a density under 1000 ind.im'. We found almost exclusively Tubificidae species. Limnodrilus claparedeianusand Potamothrix isochaetuswere dominant. Only in 1997 we found one Naidid species.'Spercaria josinae. At Aciu{a we also found in 1997-1998 fewer species (l-2) than were found in 1994,but the densityof the individualsis closerin the threeyears of study (Table 1). Dominant in 1997-1998 was Limnodrilus claparedeiantrs and in 1994 Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. At Chiqineu-Criq in 1997 and 1998 we did not find any of the species found in l994,but the densityand the numberof specieswere very alike in theseyears. The numberof speciesfounded along the total numberof samplesites of the Crigul Alb River(5 sitesin 1994and 12 in 1997-1998)were I I in 1994and 14in 1997-1998, from which 5 speciesare common in the whole period of study: Nars behningi, Nais pseudoptusa, Pristina rosea, P. bilobata, Limnodrilus claparedeianus. The diversity is the highestin 1994 in all three samplesites (Fig. 1). In the next period the diversity drops in all sample sites and in 1998 at Aciula it is zero, as well as in 1997 at Chiqineu-Crig. 52 0,7 0,6 0.5 )] a o 0.3 Brad Aciuta Chisinau-Cris l- tr% s trr? o j-rr8l samplingsites Fig.l, Comparative diversity of the oligochaeta fauna in the Critul Alb River as a living resource in 1994, 1997. f998. (Shannon-Wiener div. Index) Crigul NegruRiver At $tei in 1994 the highest densiry and number of species(2809 ind./m' and 6 species)was found (Table 2). The situationwas similar in 1996when we also found 6 speciesand their density was around 2300 ind,.lr#. ln 1997 and 1998 the density and the number of species decreasedvery much as co^mparedto the previous years situation,to 3 speciesand a densitybelow 1500ind./m'. At Tinca there is the only site along the river where in 1994 only one species Branchiura sowerbyi was found, but in the following y^earswe found 4 to 7 species with a high densityof the individuals,above 4500 ind./m'. At Zeind the number of speciesand the density of the aquatic oligochaeta were very similar in all the studied years, although the found speciesweren't the same ones in theseyears. The number of speciesfounded along the total number of sampling sites on the Criqul Negru River (9 sites in 1994 and 8 sites between 1996-98)were 16 in 1994 and 13 between 1996-98.The common speciesin these years are 8: Nais behningi, N. bretscheri, Pristina aequiseta, P. bilobata, Vejdovskyella comata, Branchiura sowerbyi, Limnodrilus cl aparedei anus, Tubifex newaensis. The diversity in the compared sample sites varies in the 4 years of study. At $tei the highestdiversity was in l99a (Fig. 2), in 1996the diversitywas almostthe sameas in 1994,but in I 997 it dropsto 0,142and in I 998 increasesagain. At Tinca in 1994the diversitywas zero, in 1996was as low as 0.054,but in 1997- 98 it hasimproved (Fig. 2). AtZerind the diversity is the most constant.0.3 in 1994,0.451 in 1996-97 and 0.384in 1998. 53 Table l. Quantitativ€ data of the Oligochaeta in the River Criqul Alb in 1994,1997, 1998. Brad Aciuta ChisineuCris Tot. Tot. Snecies 1994 199'7 I 998 1994 1997 I 998 994 t997 1998 So.94 io. 97-98 Amphichaeta + lewdioii Snercariaiosinae 106 + Nais behninsi 20 30 + + N. bretscheri + N. communis 386 + N. DseudoDtusa + + N. variabilis 2t4 ?ristinarosea r09 58 + . bilobata 686 241 il8 + + aequlseta + Uncinais 86 + rrncinata Limnodrilus l7t 399 302 680 1i06 40 + + L. hoffmeisteri L)t) 845 30 + L. orofundicola 428 l8l Isochaeta + Potamothrix t93 204 102 + isochaetus P. veidovskvi + Peloscolex + velutina P. speciosus + Rhyacodrilus + falciformis To,al (ind/m') 4284 299 603 I 589 798 I t06 100 109 160 Total so 7 2 2 5 2 I 3 I 2 li t4 54 Tabl€ 2. Quantitative data of the Oligocbaeta in the River Cripul Negru in I 994, 1996, 1997, | 998. Srei Tinca Zerind Iot. fot. Specii t994 t996 r997l 998 1994 t996 t997 l 998 1994 I 996 t997 l 998 ip ip. 96- )4 )R Naisbarbata 219 + N. behninei 203 803 201 351 557 + + N. bretscheri 619 9'I l0 + + \. communis + N. pseudoptusa + Pristina 251 52 10 206 + i P. bilobata l 106 198 r38 108 8l + + P. rosea + Vejdovskyella 49 + + Uncinais 109 + unclnata Slavina + annendicrrl Snercariaiosinae J)(' 616 106 t04 + Branchiura 59 501 406 + + sowerbvi Potamothrix 98 1405 486 I 105 92 + veidovskvi Isochaeta 48 4384 2893 199 399 + michaelseni Limnodrilus 401 347 104 2991 103 96 153 + + claoaredeianus L. hoffmeisteri 987 182 + L. orofundicola + Tubifex 198 + + newaensis T. tubifex 474 + Eiseniella + tetraedra Iotal (ind/m') 2809 /-t J -5 1252 402 59 5601 5675 4508 759 401 403 633 A Iotal species 6 6 3 3 I 7 ) 3 3 J l6 IJ 55 0,8 o,l 0,6 0.3 o 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 Stei Zerind @ samplesites as a living resourcein Fig,2, Comparative diversity of the oligochaeta fauna in the Crigul Negru River 1994. f996-1998. (Shannon-Wiener div. Index) t) > na o o,4 St. de Vale V. Cris Alesd Fughiu r 1995 E31996 tr 1997 r 1998 sample sites as s living resource in Fig. 3. Comparative diversity of the oligochaetr faune in the cli$ul Repede River 1995-1998.(Shannon-Wiener div. Index) Crigui RepedeRiver tn iggs the number of specieswas higher than in the following years-In the first 5 samplesites the differencesbetween the number of speciesare high, in 1995 there were found more than the double of the speciesthan in the following years.But the situation of the density is different becausewe registered sites (Ciucea, Vadu Criqului, Aleqd) were the density increased between 1996-1998, although the number of species decreased.Thesmallest difference is at Fughiu where except 1998,when we found only 3 speciesin the previousyears, the number of speciesis almost the same(between 8 and is much higher in 1996- t Oj lfaUte 3). At this samplesite the density of the oligochaeta 199dthan in 1995.The total number of speciesfound in all samplingsites along the river ( 8 in every year of study) was 25 in 1995 and 24 between 1996-98. The common specieswer; i3: Naisbarbata, N. behningi,N. bretscheri,N. pseudoptusa,VejdovslEella 56 comata,Stylaria lacttstris,Pristina bilobata, P. rosea,P. aequiseta,Branchiura sowebyi, Limnodrilus claparedeianus,L. hoffmeisleri,L. udekemianus. The diversity of the oligochaetain the four yearsof study varies, it is lower between 1996-98than in 1995 (Fig. 3) at $aula, Ciucea, Stdnade Vale, and Vadu Criqului. At Aleqd in 1996the diversity is higher than in 1995,but in the following yearsit decreases. At Fughiu in 1996 and 1997it is higher than in 1995,and in 1998it is lower. Discussion In the Criqul Alb River the high density of the oligochaeta at Brad in 1994 is probably due to the organic material content and the quantity of the inorganic phosphoruswhich determine the biomass of the primary production, the main food sourceof the worms (A. Szit6, K. M6zes, 1997). The decreaseof the density and the numberof speciesin the following yearsis probably due to the decreaseof the inorganic phosphorusquantity or a higher flow of the water which can wash away the phosphorus, the organicmatter and also the woffns. At Aciufa the number of species is lower in 1997-98, but we found the same speciesas in 1996, with lower densities.Here the river is cleaner than at Brad and the lower organiccontent does not allow the settlementof too many species. At ehigineu-Crig we found in the three years of study different speciesbut the same low density. This is due to the fact that in this sector the river banks are endammedand the riverbed is very uniform. Also, the muddy and sandy riverbed is moved by the current so the benthic fauna cannot consolidatehere. For this reason,the speciesfound here, in the different years are not the sameand their density is low. The existenceof only five common speciesfound in the different years of study, reflects the fact that the aquatic oligochaeta in the Criqul Alb River is not well consolidated,it varies a lot, due to the fact that the river crossesmany localities which ca;:rpollute the river with organic or inorganic materials, affecting the quality of the '*'atcrand the benthic communities. On the Criqul Negru River at $tei the quality of the water is poor due to the organic wasteseliminated from the locality in the river. This fact determinesa higher density of aquatic oligochaetawhich have good trophic conditions at this sample site. In 1998 the water quality seems to improve because the density of the oligochaeta drops abruptly (Table 2). At Tinca we found great differences between the oligochaeta identified in 1994 and 1996-1998,regarding the number of speciesas well as the density. In 1994 was found a single speciesBranchiura sowerbyi with a low density of individuals. This speciesis a thermophylic and pelophylic one and it was found in almost all research period. During 1996-98 the number of the specieswas higher (4 to 7 species)with a higher density, fact which is probably due to the higher organic content in the river in this period which offers a good trophic base to the oligochaeta. Some of the species could be carried here from upstream by the water from the regions where the water speedis higher and can wash the substratum,especially in the periods with high flows. At Tinca the water flows slower and the oligochaetacan be depositedin the riverbed. 57 in 1995-l998, Table 3. Quantitative data of the oligocha€t| in the River crigul Repede Saula Ciucea st.vale )a 2 Snecii 95 96 )7 )8 )6 t1 98 95 96 )8 3 lhaetogaster liastrophus 4 lh. lansi 106 296 \nercana loslnae 502 6lt 206 r50 Aulodriluspigueti A. pluriscta 2 8 Uncinaisuncinata 9 Nais barbata 325 1 N} 150 204 104 103 t02 402 N. bretscheri 138 207 ll0 12 .,1.commun is 274 380 t3 \. elineuis I 147 t4 N. oardalis 484 N. Dseudoptusa 30 573 N. variabilis Slavina aDDendiculata l8 Ophidonais 70 l9 r'ejdovskyella )omafa z\ itvlaria lacustris zl ?iguetiellablanci 98 96 22 Dero obtusa Pristina rosea to t09 1/ P.bilobata I t: P. aeouiseta l4 102 26 Rhvnchelmisso. J) 2'7Stylodrilus t4 herinsianur 28Tubifex tubifex 859 o 29Tubifexnewaensis 30 Branchiura JI Limnodrilus 328 58 103 144 205 99 205 -. hoffineisteri J{+J 98 l6 98 nrofundicola li 3A rrdeL 439 35Psammorycrtides momvicrrs 3( ?s.albicola )l Potamothrix veidowskvi Eiseniellatetraedra l5 lotal (ind/m') 5094 164 394 103 -) )h 796 109 I1182f40 459 152 915 4( fotal snecies 6 2 2 I 3 I l0 ) 58 I V.Cris Alesd Fuehiu fot. Iot. 2 )5 )6 )'7 )8 95 )6 )8 )5 )6 97 98 Sp.95 Sp.96-98 3 t0l + A 105 + 202 294 20I 196 108 191 506 608 + '7 + 7 L3 + 8 95 i 7 + + '795 t6 199 119 250 204 + + LI 312 l0l t295 + + t2 86 123 20 + IJ 53 + t4 l9 377 + 204 t03 + + l6 3 + + 7 )t + t! 103 3 98 204 + + 2A t2 88 + + 2l 496 351 803 + 22 + ZJ 3 396 209 108 968 + + 24 6 97 98 l7 7 311 791 + + 25 103 l0 105 401 + + 76 + 27 t 28 lf 46 3 l0r + ,q 803 750 + 30 3 + + 3l o 204 + + )/ 301 998 3402 2989 l'l + + 33 + 34 + + J) 103 550 795 + 36 t97 + 37 + 3t 3 00 + 581 703 1595 707 2259 t295 4653 4289 202 2670 3480 2080 4(. t2 6 4 l5 3 5 5 l0 8 a 3 25 59 but the At Zeilt.d the number of speciesand their density do not vary too much, is the same found specieswere different in the studied years. The reason for this fact substrate as mentioned at Chiqineu-Crig:the enbankmentof the river and the moving which doesnot allow the oligochaetacommunity to consolidate' periods, In the crigul Negru River we found 8 common speciesfor the two study the fact that which representhali of the total speciesfound in the river. This reflects up' the riverias a basic structureof oligochaetaon which the associationscan build decrease In the Criqul RepedeRiver at $aula the density and the nu1!9r of species are also between 1996-1998 as compared to 1995, but the Tubificidae species dominant, fact which reflects a high organic content of the water at this sample site' At Ciucea the sifuation of the number of speciesis similar to that found at $aula, the density increasesin 1996 and 1998,but here the Naididae speciesare dominant, fact which reflects an improving water quality comparedto the $aula sample site. At St6na de Vale uttd vudo crigului the number of species decreasesbetween 1996-98compared to 1995, but at vadu crigului the density increasesin the same period. At theie fwo sample sites the dominant oligochaetaare also the Naididae. Here ihe water quality is relatively good, with a small organic content' et eleqd the number of species decreasesbetween 1996-98 but the density is higher in Lggl ana 1998 than in 1995 and 1996.Here the dominantspecies are also the Naididae. At Fughiu the differencesbetween the number of speciesis not so high befween lggs-g17,iut it drops in 1998.The density is much higher between 1996-98than in 1995' The modifications of the number of speciesand their density along the crigul Repede River is due probably to the hydrological regime of the water, the great number of dammedportions which function as water reservoirsand from where the water is cleared out in the dry periods of the year to ensurethe water supply for the localities along the Crigul RepedeRiver. Thesemodifications in the hydrological conditionscan wash away a part of the oligochaetafauna and causethe mentionedmodifications. The total number of speciesfound in 1995 was 25 and between 1996-98it was only 24. The common speciesfrom theseyears in the river are 13. This reflectsthe faci that the oligochaeta communify along the Criqul Repede River has a basis of speciesaround which the associationsconsolidate' Conclusions Along the Criguri rivers we found during the mentioned study years great modifications concerningthe number of speciesand their density. These modifications are caused by the different levels of pollution in the different years, the different ofeach species. hydrological- -diversityregimes and the characteristicsofthe life cycles The of the oligochaetais generally low, in some places equal to zero in someperiods ($aula 1998, Ciucea 1997 ,Tinca 1994,AciuJa 1998, Chilineu-criq 1997). The number of speciesalong the rivers have a little variation between the years of study with the exception of the major part of the Crigul Repede River, but we found different speciesin different years in the same samplesites. 60 In the most upstreamriver portions the Naididae speciesare dominant,which reflects a betterwater quality than in the lower portions wherethe Tubificidae are dominant. Becausein the studiedperiod we did not registermajor environmentalmodifications in the rivers we consider that it is necessaryto follow the modifications of the oligo- chaetafauna during severalyears on a long term period, to find out all the factorswhich contributeto the modificationsof the speciescomposition and densityof the oligochaeta. References Botea,Fr., (1966): Cercetdriasupra faunei de oligochetelimicole din interstilialul Criqului Repede (Valea Porcului) (Investigations on oligochaeta fauna of the river Crigul Repede (Valley Porcului) from the interstitial water). - Lucr. Instit. Speol. "Emil Racovitd",5: 75-80. Botea, Fr., Ple9a, C., (1968): Cercetdri asupra faunei interstiliale din Bazinul Criqului Repede (Investigations on the interstitial fauna of the River Criqul RepedeValley).- Lucr. Instit. Speol."Emil Racovip", 8: 196-215. Brinkhurst, R. O., (1963): A guide for the identification of British aquatic Oligochaeta.- Freshwat.Biol. Assoc.Sci. Publ. 22: 1-52. Brinkhurst,R. O. & Jamieson,B. G. M., (1971):Aquatic oligochaeta of the world. - Oliver andBoyd, Edinburgh,1-860. Chapman,P. M., Fanell, M. A., Brinkhurst,R. O., (1982).- Relativetolerances of selectedaquatic oligochaetesto combinationsof pollutants and environmentalfactors. - Aquat. Toxyc ol., 2: 69-78. Cup;a, D., (1997): Aspecte privind compozilia specificd a faunei bentonice din bazinul superior al Crigului Negru (Aspects of the specific composition of the benthic fauna from the superior basin of the Crigul Negru River). - An. Univ. Oradea,Fasc. Biologie,4:56-63. Cupga,D., (1998): Aspecteprivind structuracomunitdlilor de oligocheteacvatice din rAul Crigul Repede (Aspects conceming the structure of the aquatic oligochaeta communitiesin theCri$ul Repede River). - An. Univ. Oradea,Fasc. Biologie, 5: 9l-100. Cupga, D., (2000): Some comparative aspects of the aquatic Oligochaeta distribution in the Crigul Negru river, during 1996-199'7. - Acta oecologica, Stud. comunic.Ecol. prot. med.,vol.VII , 1-2: 4l-48- Cupga,D., (2000): Contribugii la studiul oligochetelor acvatice din rdul Crigul Alb (Contributions to the study of the aqautic oligochaeta from the Crigul A1b River). - Stud.Cerc. $tiintif., Univ. Bacdu,5: 183-189. Draganovici-Duca,M., (1967): Cercetdribiologice privind calitateaapei unor rduri din bazinul Criguri, (Biological researcheson the qualiry of some rivers from the CriquriValley). - Stud.Prot. qi Epur.Apelor, 8: 70-83. Ferencz,M., (1979): A vizi kevessert6jiigynriisf6rgek (Oligochaeta) kishatfroz6ja (A guide for the identification of aquatic Oligochaeta) - Viziigyi Hidrobiol6gia, Budapest,7: l- 167. Marcoci, S., (1962): Utilizarea studiilor biologice pentru caracterizareacalitdlii cursurilor de apd cu aplicafii la rdul Trotug, (The utilisation of the biological studies 6l for the characterisationof the qaulity of the water courseswith aplications on Trotug River). - Metro. Hidro. Gosp. Ape.,:282-287. Marcoci, S., Duca, M., Botea, Fr., (1966): Consideralii asupra importan{ei oligochetelor in caracterizareastdrii de murddrie a apelor, (The importance of the Oligochaetain the determinationof the pollution level of the river water).- Stud.Prot. Epur. Ape., 7-2: 680-693. Mdl[cea, I., (1969): Biologia apelor impurificate, (The biology of the polluted rivers)- Ed. Acad. R. S. R., Bucureqti. Plega, C., Botea, Fr., Racovifd, Gh., (1964): Cercetdri asupra faunei biotopurilor acvatice subterane din bazinul Criqului Repede, I, Valea Migidului qi afluentii, (Researcheson the faunaof the subteranaquatic biotopes from the Crigul RepedeValley, I, MiqiduluiValley andits tributaries)- Lucr. Inst.Speol. "E.. Racovi,ti"3:36'l-396. Pop, V., (1943): Einheimischeund auslandischeLumbriciden des Ungarischen National-Museumsin Budapest.- Ann. Nat. Hist. Mus. Hung., 36:12-24. Pop, V., (1977):Neue Tubificiden (Oligochaeta,Annelida) ausRiimanien. - Stud. Univ. "Babeg-Bolyai",Cluj-Napoca, Ser. Biologia, 1: 47-52. Srirk6ny-Kiss,A., Gdldean, N., Mihdilescu, N., (1997): Description of the sampling sites along the rivers in the Criq/Ktiros Basin - TISCIA Monograph series, The Criguri/ Korcizs Rivers Valley, A study of geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river system and its environment, Ed. Sarkany-Kiss,A., & J. Hamar, Szolnok- Szeged-Tg.MureE, 7- 14. Szito, A., (1995): Macrozoobenthosin the (Maros) Mureg river - TISCIA Monograph series, The Maros/Mureq River Valley, A study of geography, hydrobiologyand ecologyof the river systemand its environment,Ed. Sarkany-Kiss, A., & J. Hamar,Szolnok-Szeged-Tg. MureE, 185-192. Szito, A., Mozes, K., (1997): The Oligochaetaand the chironomid fauna as pollution indicators in the Crig/Koriis river system. - TISCIA Monograph series,The Criguri/ Kriros Rivers Valley, A study of geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river system and its environment, Ed. Sarkany-Kiss,A., & J. Hamar, Szolnok-Szeged- Tg. Mureg 165-194. Szito, A., Mozes, K., (1999): The Oligochaetaand the chironomida fauna in the River someg system.- TISCIA Monograph series,The Someg/SzamosRiver Valley, A study of geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river systemand its environment, Ed. Sarkany-Kiss,A., & J. Hamar, Szolnok-Szeged-Tg.Mureq,pp.179-193- DIANA CUPSA University of Oradea Facultyof Sciences Departmentof Biology 5 Armatei Romdne St. 3700Oradea, Romania 62 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 6l-70 MALACOFALTNISTICALSTUDY OF THE FLOOD- PLAIN OF THE MURE$ RIVER IN THE ZAM REGION Domokos Tamds,Vancsa Kldra, Sdrkany-KissAndrei Abstract We have studiedthe malacofaunaof the flood-plain of the Mureq river in the Zam region,using samplestaken along a 300 m long transecton the left bank of the river. There were four characteristicbiotopes along the transect:Salicetum albae-fragilis, mowed meadow,unmowed meadow and Salicetumcinerea. There were taken eight samplesin eachbiotope, using the quadraticmethod. Our purposewas to find out, if the four biotopes can be differentiated taking into considerationthe malacofauna.In the same time, the migration of speciesalong the transectwas also examined.We found that along the transect two fluctuation zones can be differentiated: on the right side of the road, where the speciesdisperse due to the river and to migration, and on the left side of the road, where the speciesdispersion arises from the nearby forest. The malacofaunaindicates the microclimate of the different biotopes. We have representedgraphically the quantitativedistribution of speciesand ecologicalgroups, as well as the diversity of the four biotopes. Based on these results, we have establishedthe objectivesoffuture investigationsin the region. Keywords: Mureq River, floodplain, malacofaunisticaltransect. Introduction Our sfudy is part of a researchwith the target of surveying of the Mureq River valley as an ecological corridor. In the course of the research we accomplished, besides the botanical and the entomological surveys, the malacofaunistical examination of the sampling places, taking into considerationthat the malacofaunaof a biotope indicates precisely the morphological and the climatic statesof the area and gives information about the natural value ofthe surveyedarea. 63 Sampling site and method of collection The survey was accomplished in the flood-plain of the Mureg river in the Zam region, on the verge of Sdlciva village, along a North-South transectperpendicular to theriver, on its left bank. The transect encompassesfour homogeneous,separated botanical areas with a peculiarmicroclimate : a) 50 meters wide grove wood, situated right on the bank, which is rich in plant species,it is a jungle-like domain, interwoven by lianas and less accessible.Its microclimate is humid, cool and vaporous. b), c) beyond the grove there are cultivated lands, hayfields next to each other, on each side of the transect.On the right side there is the scythed field, which had been scythed a little before our sampling took place, therefore it is a relatively dry, bare area, with hardly sprouting grasses.The field situated on the left had not yet been scythedin the year of our sampling, so it is covered by a vegetationmade up of high- grown, aged, grasslandgramineae. Its microclimate is cooler, more humid than that of the grassland,because it is a closed domain. d) the fourth biotope is situated further along the transect,beyond the road which connectsthe villages Sdlciva and Pojoga. The furze-field is a mixed botanical domain: different species can be found there, from the swamp species, through the species living in the mountains,to the common grasslandspecies. Some time ago it was cultivated, but its cultivation was ceasedand therefore it has become a domain with high grass,bushes and sedge.Its microclimate is humid, cool. The furze-field closes the transect, but it is important to mention that beyond it there are grasslandsagain and finally the flood-plain is closed by the mountain slope coveredby forestsmade up ofalder and beechtrees. We took a total of 32 quadrates(25x25cm) of samples, 8 quadrates from each biotope. It is important to mention that the samplingstook place at two different times: on the first occasion the weather was sunny, dry and warn, on the second one it was humid and moisfy. Consequently,our resultswere not influenced by the weather. Because the four biotopes are botanically distinct, our target was to find out whether these differences can or cannot be reflected by the malacofauna.Along the transectwe also studied the migration of the speciesthrough the flood-plain. Results The sketch of the flood-plain can be seen in figures I and 2. The found species have been ranked in ecological groups. The classification has been performed on the basis of Lozek's work (1964). Merging the l0 groups used by Lozek, we have distinguished 5 groups of species:forest species,steppe species,mezophyle species, higrophyle speciesand aquatic species. In figure I the found speciesare indicatedby a continuousline under the biotope. A high number of forest specieshas been identified in the willow-grove on the bank and in the furze-field, but two specieshave been also found in the grasslands. 64 The foresrspeciesof the willow grove and those of the furze-field are completely different: in the willow-grove on the bank we have found euribionte species,well adaptedto the changesof the environment:Bradybaena Jrulicum, Helix pomatia, Perforatellavicina.These specieshave beenfound in the courseofour researchthat encompassedthe whole river-valley, in almost every sarr-rpling-point),whereas in the furze-field the found speciesare typically forest type, which live in areaswith a humid, cool climate and a closed vegetation (Cochlodina marisi, Euomphalia strigella, Laciniaria plicata, Perforatella bidentata, Rttthenicafilograna). The steppe-speciescan be found in the furze-field and in the grasslandsin increasednumber. Cepea vindobonensis is an euribiontespecies, similar to the above- mentioned ones. The abundantpresence of the steppe speciesin the furze-field indicatesthe opennessof the domain.The presenceof Pupilla muscorumonly in the hay-fields shows that theseareas are much drier than the furze-field. The mezophylespecies can be found mainly in the willow-grove on the bank.We have found referencein the literature to the fact that in the forest the proportion ofthe mezophylespecies is greaterthan in openareas (Domokos). The higrophyle speciesare presentin all of the sfudiedbiotopes, but they are the mostnumerous in the grove on the bank,because this is right besidethe water.Among the higrophyle speciesSuccinea oblonga and Zenobiella rubiginosa are also species with a good adaptability,and havebeen found throughoutthe whole river valley. The sole aquatic species(Lymnea stagnalis) was found in the furze-field, but the sub-fossilecharacter of the empty shell hints to the fact that it had been carried there by former floods. The band-diagramsin figure 2. illustratethe percentageof the species-groupsin the four biotopes. It indicates that in the willow grove the forest species, the mezophyleand the higrophyle speciesare presentin a nearly equal proportion.The forest-speciesdemonstrate the presenceof woody vegetation,the mezophylespecies prove the closenessof the vegetation, and the higrophyle species indicate the pfi:yimity of water and the humidity of the air. In the grasslandsthe steppespecies p!-*i"io11inu1",but the mezophyle,higrophyle and forest-speciesare also present,in a lowcr cxtent. This fact proves the migration of the species.In the furze-freld the proportionofthe forest-speciesis similar to that ofthe steppeone, becausethe areais bushy,but it is characterisedby open vegetationand the presenceof the higrophyle speciesindicates the humidity of the area. To demonstratethe differences in diversity between the biotopes, we drew the species-number-log.abundancegraph (fig. 3.), where every biotope is indicatedby a line. The steepnessof the lines indicatesthe uniformity of the distribution,i.e. the steeperthe line is, the greater is the difference between the numbers of the species within a biotope. The uniformity of the willow-grove and that of the furze-field are similar and so is the steepnessof the two lines of the grasslandbut in the cultivatedlands there are less speciesand the steepnessof the lines indicates the great difference in the number of the species.The diversity of the grassland is smaller than that of the more natural areas.Thediversity of the hay-field is the smallest. 65 MurqfloodPlain The road betweenSdlciua and Pojoga furze-field unmowed grassland willow-grove Mureg River s Forest sp. Bradybaena fruticum ------Cochlodina laminata - - - Cochlodinamarisi -- Euomphaliastrigella -- Helix pomatra- Laciniaria Plicata .- Perforatella bidentatia- Perforatellavicina ------Ruthenica filograna Steppesp. Cepaeavindobogsnsis -- Granaria fiusefltun .- Helicella obvia Monacha carnrsiara - Pupilla rnuscorum Vallonia Pulchella- Vertigo pygrnaeB- Mezoplrylesp, CochticoPatubrica - Punctum pygmaeun - Vihea crystallina Higroplrylesp- Oxyloma elegans- Succineaoblonga - Succineaputris - - Zenobiellarubiginosa =- Aqutic sp. Lymnaea sP, -.----- Fig. l. The 300 m long N-S oriented malacofaunistical transect on the l\{ure;/Maros floodplain (07-r2.08.200 r) 66 Uurqnooadein The road betseen Sllciua and Pojoga firfle-nen unmowed grassland willow-grove Mureg Rive.r Steppe Mczophyle ffiffiw Higtophyb =-= Fig.2, Band diagrams ofthe Lozek's species groups on th€ Mur€f/Meros floodplain brs€d on the trtnsect (07-12.08.200r) willow-grovc -----&-- mowedgrarsland oa c. d --{- unmowcdgrassland a € ----tl- firzo-fidd !b .9 1 5 Sp.numbcr Fig. 3. Species number - log ebundance graph. 67 Conclusions In the courseof the data analysiswe have come to the conclusion that there are two fluctuation zones along the transect, on both sides of the road connecting the grasslandsand the furze-field. Becausethe forest-speciesof the willow-grove and thoseof the furze-ficld are different,the speciesfound in the willow-grove nust have beencarried into this biotopeby the river, by the way of hydrochorexpansion. As we have already mentioned,these specieshave been found in many places along the whole river. The forest-speciesof the furzc-field must have come fron the neighbouringforest on the rnountainslope. In the courseof our researchthe hypothesisthat the malacofaunaclearly indicates the microclimateof the area has proven to be true, despitethe fact that the species' migration tends to merge the differencesexisting betweenthe biotopes,because the speciesin exhibiting a pronouncedecological resistanceare presentin most of the biotopes. Due to humanactivity, the diminution of the diversityof the malacofaunabecomes manifest.The diversity of the willow-grove and that of the furze-field (which is no longercultivated) are bigger than that ofthe hay-fields. Further tasks Our resultspoint to the necessityof furtherresearch and determineits line; - to examine in detail the fragmenting effect of the road; to take samplesfrom the grasslandsand the furze-fieldin thoseplaces that are closeto the road. By comparing theseresults with cachother. we can get an answerto thc questionsconceming the effectof theroad on migration. - to investigatein detail if the fluctuationpresent in sontebiotopes comes or not from the areathat we suppose; we should examinethe alluvial depositson the banks of the Mureg rive and we should expand the transect to the forest situated on the n-rountainslope. - to take samplesfrom the right bank of the river along a similar transect and to comparethe resultswith the above-mentionedones; on this basiswe could deducethe presence and effects of the hydrochor expansion and of the migration through the flood-plain. We owe thanks to dr. Liiszl6 Gall6, the head of the Department of Ecology at the Szeged University, for his material support given to our field-activity and to dr. Katalin Marg6czi for the botanical data. We thank to the Management of the Museums in County B6kes for their support and for the bibliographical data. 68 References Deli, T. (\997): A Praecarpathicum fejl6d6se az Alfoldiin a terrestris Molluscafaunaboigeogr6fiai 6s paleogeogrdfiaielemz6se alapj6n - Szakdolgozat, Szarvas. Domokos,T. - Varga, A. (1994):Az uszadekokr6l,kiil6nos tekintettel a Dr6v6b6l szArmaz6uszadek molluszka tartalmdnak vizsg6latir6l - Malakol6giai T6j6koztat6, Gy ANDREI SARKANY-KISS, KLARA VANCSA "Babeg-Bolyai" University, Faculty of Biology and Geography, Dept. of Ecologyand Genetics, 5-7 Clinicilor St.,RO 3400 Cluj-Napoca, [email protected] TAMAS DOMOKOS Munk6csy Mihdly Museum 6. Sz6chenyi 5600B6k6scsaba. HU 69 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 7l-80 ENDANGERED FRESHWATERMOLLUSC SPECIES FROM THE EASTERN TRIBUTARIES OF THE TISA RIVER (ROMANIAN TERRITORY) Ioan Sirbu and Andrei Sdrkany-Kiss Abstract Based on long-term researchthis paper aims to reveal the status of l0 highly endangeredfreshwater mollusc speciesfrom the eastemTisa River Basin.In all cases the adversehuman pressure (pollution, hydrotechnicalworks and drasticreduction of wetlands)is responsibleforthe present-daystatus ofthis fauna,several species having a highly patchy distribution,some becamerare or even extinct. Despite these facts sometrends of recoveryare also registered on the main rivers in Transylvania. Keywords: humanimpact, biodiversity, pollution ecology,malacology Introduction The freshwatermolluscs are relatively easyto be usedin a biomonitoringsystem, becausethey respondin a shorttime, and a very specificmanner, to the changesin the environmental conditions. This synthesis refers to the most endangered mollusc species from the eastem tributaries' hydrographical basins of the Tisa River (Romanianterritory). Its aim is also to draw attentionupon some speciesthat need special protection in the near future. Because of the long history (almost two centuries)of malacologicalresearch in Transylvania,it is possibletoday to trace the changesregarding the mollusc fauna that have occurred both in time and space.we consider in this paper those species that were once wide spread (according to the references),but became, because of human pressure (mainly pollution, habitat degradation,hydrotechnical works, desiccationof wetlandsetc.) very rare (living in a very few habitats), surviving through small-sized, highly patchy, scattered populations. The fact that a species is rare (i.e. seldom quoted) is not an enough criteria to considera speciesas endangered,because (as it happenswith most clams, spring-snails and cave-snails from Romania) their rarity is sometimes linked to subjective causes(lack of information from the past, insufficient present-dayresearch etc.). 7l The first more comprehensivelist of autochthonousmollusc specieswas published in 1843by MichaelBielz, and was followed by a cataloguepublished in 1851. Among the naturalistsfrom the TransylvanianSociety for Natural Sciencesin Sibiu, which was foundedin the middle of the past century,we highlight Albert E. Bielz, as one of the most remarkablemalacologists of that time. He publishedthe first monography regardingthe malacofaunafrom this territory in 1862.Another greatmalacologist was Mauritius von Kimakowicz, from the same society in Sibiu, but he was focused mainly on terrestrialsnails, and lesson freshwatcrspecies, having in this respectonly a few contributions(e.g. his paper published in 1885). Other contributionsto the knowledgeof the freshwatermollusc faunafrom the tributariesof the Tisa River were providedby c.A. westerlund (1886), S. Clessin (1887), C.F. Jikeli (1878), M. itotarides(1930), L. So6s(t942) andby A.V. Grossu(1941,1.962,1986, 1987, 1993). Most of theseauthors have quotedthe speciesand the samplingpoints, as A.E. Bielz mentionedthem, without verifying if the speciesstill live in the specihedhabitats and places.The mollusc fauna from Banat is better known through the works of A.V. b.orru (1942, 1976and others)and researchesaccomplished along the main rivers in the pastyears. Researchbackground A. S6rk6ny-Kiss performed an inter.rsiveresearch activity on the Mureg River, beginning with 1969 in some areas,and later, in 1978 and 1989 he extendedthe investigaiions on the whole river. In the frame of several Romanian-Hungarian multidisciplinary projects, organised by Liga Pro Europa, Tdrgu Mureq and Tisza Klub, Szolnokwith the participationfrom different universitiesand institutesof both countries, further investigations of the freshwater mollusc fauna were made, as it follows: 1991Mureg, 1992 Someq,1993 Mureq - the middle part and Tdmava Micd, - 1994 Criqul Alb and crigul Negru,1995 - Crigul Repede,Barcdu and Tisa, 1996 Someg and Ldpug Rivers. Both authors of this paper have worked together in the Someq,Olt and Mureq rivers basins(1996 - 2000), and separatelyin the rivers from Maramureq (lggg - 2001), namely lza, Mara, Vigeu and vaser rivers. They investigated also the wetlands from the Transylvanian Plain, during another research project. I. Sirbu has completedthe knowledgeregarding the freshwatermolluscs by ieveral field-investigations in Banat. In 1998 the Nera, Caraqand Danube rivers were researched,followed in 2000 by Bega, Timiq and Cerna rivers and other wetlands from this region, in 2002 (together with Monica Sirbu) the Danube sector from Banat, sectors of the Criq once again-Besides, b"*u, Timiq and Bega Rivers, and also the lowland rivers. after 1996 l. Sirbu gathereddata on the specified group from glacial lakes (Retezat, Fagdraq and Rodnei Mountains), from different other wetlands and rivers (like the Ier River, wetlands in the Crig Rivers Basin, Rdul Negru, tributaries fiom the Olt and Mure$ rivers basin, and others). In this paper we consider also some rivers that do not flow into the Tisa, like the Olt River and some rivers from the southern Banat, in order to obtain a sounder image of the present-day status of the endangered species. Besides this, some rivers, like Bega and Timiq, which were 72 originally ascribedto different basins,are connectedthrough channels,leading to the possibilityof faunaexchange. The samplingpoints have been selectedin order to cover the whole area,to find and evaluatethe effects of the human impact sources,and to identify the zonesthat still sheltera high diversityor some rare species.The adversehuman impact was followed both in spaceand time, the latterby comparingthe present-daydiversity and chorologywith all the availabledata frorn references. Resultsand discussion In the areathat could be ascribedto Transylvania,the Crig Rivers basin (Criqana), Maramureq and Banat 74 speciesof freshwater molluscs have been found until now (accordingto I. Sirbu 200I ; 5 I speciesof gastropodsand 23 of bivalves),and for the first time dispersalrnaps have beenplotted for theseareas, namely for the Unionidae (A. S6rk6ny-Kissand I. Sirbu, 2001), for clams and prosobranchs(I. Sirbu, unpubl. data). The present-daystatus of the freshwater mollusc fauna proves the great habitat changesof the last decades,mainly causedby pollution of large river sectors,by hydrotechnicalworks and the drastic reduction of wetland areas. Among gastropods,the prosobranchsnails group the most exactingspecies of this Class.The genus Theodoxuscomprised 3 speciesin the Romanian Easterntributaries of the Tisa River, namely: Theodoxustransversalis C. Pfeiffer, 1828, T. danubialis C. Pfeiffer, 1828 and T. prevostianus C. Pfeiffer, 1828. All these are exacting, rheophylous,mostly lithophyllouselements, with high oxygendemands. Some authors are quoting also 7. fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 but in the Tisa River basin from Romanian territory this species was not ever found, and it is a matter of future to establishits statuson the Hungarian territory. Although it was severaltimes quoted by different authors (in Tisa, Crig Rivers, Mureq River), it is almost surely mistaken with cther congeners,at least in the last two cases.T. transversallshad in the past the most extelisiverange in the Tisa Basin among the speciesbelonging to this genus.E. A. Bieiz (1867)quoted it in severallocalities from the Mureq and SomeqRivers and their tributariesand also from the Olt River (mostly in the middle sectorsof theserivers). L. So6s(1943), K. B6ba(1958), A. Grossu(1914,1966) still found rhis speciesin several localities from the specified areain the middle of the XXth century. The investigations accomplishedin the past 20 years have shown the disappearanceof this speciesfrom the whole length of the Olt, Mureq and Someg rivers, their tributaries, and from all quoted localities in Transylvania. Besides, it was not found in the Crig Rivers basin and in Maramureg region, being a matter of question if it still lives in the southern Banat, in the Danube and some of its tributaries that did not belong to the Tisa Basin. Theodoxus prevostianus is a termophylous relict species with a highly patchy distribution in Central and Eastern Europe. In the Danube basin it lives in some scatteredsites, like Bad Vtislau and Bad Fischau (Austria), several places in Hungary (So6s, 1943; Richnovsyki and Pint6r, 1979), and one certain place in Romania, at Rdbdgani(Bihor county; Crigul Negru River Basin). In the last place it still lives only in a short sector of a rivulet, with mesothermal water. This rivulet is used by the IJ inhabitants as cleaning source for the laundry and carpets and the source is also capturedin a swimming pool, all thesemaking it a highly endangeredhabitat. It is also to be noticed that T. prevostianus appearstogether with a rnelanic form of Esperiana acicularis (Ferussac, 1823) syn. Fagotia (Microcolpia) daudebartii acicttlaris (as it happensin Austria as well), and someother more exactingspecies. The latter species appearshere in the single point from the Romanian Crig Rivers basin. Some papers pointed out the presenceof T. prevostianus also in other sites from Romania, like the flowing mouths of the Danube branchesin the Black Sea, some few places in the Danube Delta, and another very important site, namely the Pelea lake (Bdile Episcopegti,hun. Piispokfiird 74 sites,and species,are endangeredbecause oftoo much "scientific" interestand lack of soundlegal protection. Another endangeredprosobranch gastropod is Valvata cristata O.F. Miiller, 1774. The authorsof the presentpaper checkedout all the Transylvanianquoted sampling pointsfrom the past.E.A. Bielz (1867) found the speciesin severalsites from Bragov, Sibiu and Mureg counties(middle Olt River Basin and Tirnava Basin),L. So6s(1943) quoted the speciesfrom the middle SomeqBasin (Cluj-Napoca county), Mureq River Basin (Alba county), A. V. Grossu(19'f q sampledit from severallakes and ponds from northern Banat. In the past 20 years this species was not ever found in Transylvania,and the presencein Banat is doubtful. Shrinking habitats, reduced ranges and patchy distribution are common pattems also for other prosobranchsnails. It is hard to say if the threat is greaterin stagnant ecosystemsthan in lotic environment. The most obvious examples in the former category are Viviparus contectltsMillet, 1813, Valvatapulchella Studer, 1820, Valvata naticina Menke, 1845,Bithynia leachi Sheppard,1823 and in the latter is Lithoglyphus naticoidesC. Pfeiffer, 1828. The last specieshas almost totally disappearedfrom Transylvania, but it still lives in high numbers in Crig Rivers, Bega, Timiq, and the southernrivers from Banat and in the Danube. Habitats' destruction affects also some more exacting basommatophoran pulmonatesin the same way. Anisus rotundatus Poiret, l80l was quoted once in Transylvania, near Bragov (8. A. Bielz collection XIXth century, in "Grigore Antipa" Natural History Museum in Bucharest) and found in very few sites in Banat, in swamps near Timiqoara town (A.V. Grossu, I94l) and in the Danube valley. It was not recovered again. Anisus vorticulus Troschel, 1852 was quoted near Timigoara (A.V. Grossu, 1941), in southern Banat (1972, 1974), and it still lives in some small- sized,scattered wetlands from the middle Olt River Basin (I. Sirbu et al., 1999),and near the Ier River at Rdduleqti(Criq Rivers Basin; I. Sirbu, 2001). Bathyomphalus contortus Linnaeus, 1758 was once widely spread in ponds and other stagnant wetlands,with rich vegetation,in the middle basins of the Olt and Mureg rivers (E. A. Bielz, 1867,M. Kimakowicz, 1883).As it happenedin othercases furlher papershave quoted this old records without verifying if the species still lives in that sites. In Transylvania there are only a very few sure records from the XXth century, namely at Rastolifa (Mureg River Basin), a single individual sampled once in a pond with vegetation (A. S6rk6ny-Kiss, 1989), and two sites (a marsh and a dead branch) in the middle Olt River Basin (I. Sirbu et al., 1999). The same pattern is valid also for Armiger crista (Linnaeus, 1758). Often sampled in the XIXth century, it becamevery rare in the past decades in Transylvania. In the last years it was quoted once at Ungheni in some ponds that were soon after desiccated(A. Sirk6ny-Kiss, 1989). It still lives in two wetlands in the Cibin River Basin (tributary of the Olt River) in Sibiu and $elimbdr (I. Sirbu and A. Curtean-Bdndduc,2002). It was quoted in Banat, near Timigoara (Bega River), in Aranca River, several ponds in northern Banat, and Crig RiversBasin (A.V. Grossu, 1941;L. So6s,1943). The most often encounteredmollusc association in the Transylvanian reaches of the major rivers, is formed today by some few highly eurybiotic basommatophoran snails. The prosobranchs usually inhabit stable and larger habitats, being far less 75 tolerant to environmental fluctuations than the basommatophoranpulmonate gastropods.The speciesfrom the last group tend to have a worldwide distributionand to be ubiquitous,a lot of them being highly eurybioticspecies inhabiting a broadrange of habitats(R. MacMahon, 1983).When the life conditionsare going down there is a switch from prosobranch-basommatophorancourmunities to pulmonate eurybiotic speciesdomination. The bivalves (naiadsand clams) show different patternsas answcrsto degraded and./orpolluted environment. Thc Unionidaeneed more stableand largerhabitats with a ccrtain quality of the abiotic factors,while the pisiids tend to group more tolerant, some even ubiquitousand curybiotic, species,capable to inhabit all kind of habitats, from glaciallakes and springsto lowland temporarypools or - on the other side- great deltas and estuaries.The apparentrarity of some clams in the area of referenceis mostly idle. Almost all speciesthat were rarely found in the past are consideredtoday much more frequent than it was assumed,because of better coverageof the field investigationsand betterresearch plans. Most old referencesconcerning the Unionidae from the easterntributaries of the Tisa River are out of date,because long sectorsof all rivers were exposedto a severehuman impact. The Unionidaeand somefreshwater prosobranchgastropods are more sensitiveto pollution than most other systematic groupsinhabiting the middlc and lower rivers' sectors.When the musselsdisappear, it means a serious damageof the self-supportingand self-cleaningcapacities of the rivers and the debasementof life-condition and community fitness. A synthesis regardingthe Unionidae from the Transylvaniantributaries of the Tisa River was published by A. S6rk6ny-Kiss (1997) and the hrst UTM distribution maps, highlighting the past and present-daydistribution of these specieswere plotted last year (A. S6rk6ny-Kissand I. Sirbu,200l). It was pointed out that in all cases,the communitieswere forced to reducetheir range and richness.Anyhow, in the past 10 yearsa trendofrecovery was also noticed. The temporaland spatialmolluscs communities' dynamics from the Mureg River can be usedas a casestudy. Until the 80's someUnionidae populated the whole river length (except the source region and one short hydro-geo-chemical barrier in the GheorgheniDepression). In the upperriver's basin Unio crassusPhilipsson, 1788 and Anodonta anatina Linnaeus,1758 were the dominant benthic species.In the nliddle and lower course there prevailed Unio pictorum Linnaeus, 1758, Unio tumidus Philipsson, 1188, Anodonta cygnaea Linnaeus, 1758 and - in a lesser extent - Pseudanodontacomplanata Rossmdssler, 1835. During the expeditionin 1991 not a single individual was found downstreamthe point wherethe TdrnavaRiver flows into the Mureg. The heavy metals originated from Copga Micd and dischargedby this tributary representedthe limiting factor that made the environmentunsuitable for this species and a lot of other systematic groups. This caused thc extinction of Psettdanodontacomplanata, species that inhabited the river's middle and lower course.Downstream the confluence there were registeredhigh concentrationsof Cd (2 mgll), Zn (147 mgll), Pb (30 mg/l), Cr (75 mg/l) in the water and also high contentsin sediments(Waijandt, 1995). This point was also the threshold for several other mollusc speciesmainly prosobranchgastropods. In the sameperiod the debasementof Unionidae communities was also resistereddownstream the town of Tg. Mures to the 16 confluence with Tirnava River, mainly because of wastewater discharges.The absenceof Unionidaewas considereda major proof of human impact on the river's ecological state. In the years 1999 and 2000 the authors have found a new spatial dynamics of the Unionidae species.In the upper course [/. crassusis still presentwith low densities,and - downstreamTg. Mureg, several other specieslike A. cygnaea,A. anatina and U. pictorum. These Unionidae have today a patchy distribution, in a spatialaggregate dispersal, both becauseof the availability of specifichabitats and of the pollution andballast excavations. In 2000 therewere found Unionidaedownstream the point where the TAmava River flows into Mureq. At SAntimbruand Vinfu de Jos, some few scatteredindividuals of Unio pictontm and Anodonta cygnaea have been found near the river-banks,proving a significantincrease in both water and sediment quality. In the river's lower courseone single individual of A. cltgnaeawas sampled near the town of Arad (leg. Doru Bdnddu:), and it is highly probable that in the fufure the populationswill regain some of their past range if the conditions are going to improve further. Regarding the Unionidae communities, however, shrinking ranges and patchy distributionsare still the most characteristictrends. The most threatenedspecies is Pseudanodonta complanata, which has disappeared from the main part of the investigatedarea. It was quotedby E.A. Bielz (1853) in dead-branchesin the Turnu- Rogu Gorges (Olt River) that have disappearedin time. It is considered extinct in Transylvania (in both Someg and Mureg basins), it is still present in the Criq Rivers Basin (A. S6rkSny-Kisset a1.,1997), in the Tur River at the dam lake from Cilinegti- OaE(A. S6rkriny-Kiss and I. Sirbu, 1998), and in some rivers of the northem Banat, some belonging to the Tisa River Basin and some tributaries of the Danube (A. Grossu,l94l; P. Bdndrescuand I. Sirbu,2002).Among the clams,the singleseriously endangeredspecies is Sphaeriumrivicuhtm (Lamarck, l8 I 8). It is not known from the Somegand Olt rivers basins,and is extinct in the Mureg River (last quoted at Gildulag, Subcetate;A. SSrk6ny-Kiss,1989). In the Crig rivers basin it is still presentin some few, scatteredareas (A. S6rk6ny-Kiss et al., 1997) and the same is valid for Banat (I. Sirbu,unpubl. data). Conclusions The poor mollusc fauna,indicating degraded environmental quality, was registered in the riverbedsof some sectorsof the main rivers from Transylvania (especially in the upper course of the Olt River, the middle and lower coursesof the Mureg and Someq rivers). The best ecological state was encounteredin Banat, and also in the springs, rivulets and glacial lakes from the CarpathianMountains. Despite the human impact, some scattered,small-sized wetlands have preserved their natural status, sheltering remnant mollusc communities that should be protected and that can serve in the future as natural sourcesfor repopulation. The present-daystafus of the freshwater mollusc fauna proves the great changes that have occurred in the past time, regarding the specific habitats and the quality of the freshwaters,in comparisonwith the situation registeredby the malacologistsfrom 77 the XIXth and the middle of the XXth Century. It is definite that the pollution and the hydrotechnical works, during the last 40 years, determine these changes.The aquatic molluscs have respondedto environmentalchanges in severalforms. Many Species have a patchy distribution; some becamerare or have disappearedfrom the main part of their former range. In these areas,the main trend is the prevailing of some eurybioticbasommatophoran puhnonates in correlationwith the debasementof most prosobranchsnails and of the Unionidaeassemblages. However, in the past 10 years we have encountereda trend of recovery,because of pollution reduction. Some species,namely Theodoxustransversalis C. Pfeiffer, 1828, T. prevoslianus C. Pfeiffer, 1828, Valvata cristata O.F. Mtiller, 1774, Melanopsis parreyssi Philippi, 7847,Anisus rotundatusPoiret, 1801,A. vorticulus Troschel, 1852,Bathyontphalus contortus Linnaeus, 1758, Armiger crista (Linnaeus, 1758), Pseudanodonta complanataRossmdssler, 1835 and Sphaeriumriviculum (Lamarck, 1818),are highly endangered,and need special attention and protection in the future. References Bindrescu, P.M., Sirbu, I., 2002 - Contribution to the knowledge of the Banat aquatic fauna. In Studiesin Biodiversify - West Romania ProtectedAreas, Timiqoara, May 9-10:108 - I15. B6ba. K.- 1958 - Die Mollusken des Inundationsraumesder Maros. Acta UniversitatisSzegediensis; Acta Biologica,Nova Series,IV (1-2): 67 - 71. Bielz, A.E., 1867, Fauna der Land- und Siisswasser-MolluskenSiebenbiirgens. Zweite Aufl ., Comissions-Verlagv. Filtsch, Hermannstadt. Bielz, M., 1843 - Aufzihlungen der SiebenbiirgischenLand- und Siisswasser- Mollusken. Kronstidter Zeinng Bielz, M., 185I - Verzeichniss der Land- und Siisswasser-Mollusken Siebenbiirgens.Verh. Mitt. Siebenb.Nat., Hermannstadt,2, 17 - 19. Grossu, Al.V., 1942 - Die Gastropodenfaunader Umgebung von Timigoara. C. r. S6anc.Acad. Sci. Roum.6 (l-4), 183- 187. Grossu, Al.Y., 1974 - Caracteristica gi asociafiile de gasteropodedin Banat in diferite ecosisteme."Tibiscus" - CentenarMuzeul BdndleanTimigoara, 95 - 106. Grossu, Al. V., 1962 - Mollusca; Bivalvia. Fauna R.S.R., 3, 3, Edit. Acad. Bucuresti. Grossu,Al.V., 1986- GastropodaRomaniae, 1; I. Caracterelegenerale, istoricul qi biologia gastropodelor;II. SubclasaProsobranchia qi Opistobranchia.Ed. Litera, Bucure$ti. Grossu, Al.V., 1987 - GastropodaRomaniae, 2; SubclasaPulmonata, I. Ordo Basommatophora, II. Ordo Stylommatophora (Suprafamiliile Succinacea, Cochlicopacea,Pupillacea), Ed. Litera, Bucuregti. Grossu,A1. V., 1993, The catalogueof the molluscs from Romania.Trav. Mus. Hist. nat. "GrigoreAntipa", 33, Bucuregti:291- 366. Kimakowicz, M.v., 1884-1885- Beitrag zvr Molluskenfauna Siebenbiirgens. Verh. Mitt. Siebenb.Ver. Naturw..Hermannstadt, 33: l3 - 83, 34: 57 - ll'7. 78 McMahon, R.F., 1983 - PhysiologicalEcology of Freshwaterpulmonates. The Mollusca, Ecology. Russel-Hunter,W.D., eds., Academic Press,Inc. Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco,New York, London, Toronto, Montreal, Sydney,Tokyo, Sao Paulo,6: 360-43l. Pauc5,M., 1936 - Les Mollusquespl6istocenes de Bdile Episcopegti.Bul. Soc. Rom.Geol., 3:130 - 142. Richnovszky, A., Pinter, L., 1979, A vizicsig6k ds Kagyl6k (Mollusca) Kishat6roz6ja.Vinigyi Hidrobiol6gia,6, Budapest S6rkdny, 8., 1917- Elcizetes tanulminy a Maros foly6 Unionidac kagyl6popul6ci6iravonatkoz6an. Aluta, Muz. Sf. Gheorghe: 2j3-28'7. S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., 1983 a contribulii la cunoagtereapopulagiilor gi asocialiilorde gastropodeacvatice din valea riului Mureq, sectorulIzvorul Mureqului - Tg.Mureq. Marisia,Stud.scient.nat., ll-12 105-l13. S6rk6ny-KissA., 1983 b - Note preliminare la cunoaqtereafaunei de moluqte dulcicolea vdii Murequluiintre Tirgu Mureq gi Arad. Marisia, stud. scient.nat. ll-12: S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., 1995 - Malacologicalsurvey on the Mureg (Maros) River. In Tl.reMaros/ Mureg River valley. Tiscia monographserics, Hamar (J.) & s6rk6ny - Kiss (A.) edit.,Szolnok - Szeged- Tdrgu MureE:193 - 201. S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., 1997 - The present-daysituation of the unionidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia) in the transylvaniantributaries of the Tisa River (Romania).Trav. Mus. Hist. natl. "GrigoreAntipa", 37 213 -224. S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., Bolo9, F., Nagy, E., lggl'- Freshwatermolluscs from the crig,4(drcisrivers. The crig/K 79 Sirbu, I., 2001 - The freshwatermolluscs from the Ier River, the thermal lake from Bdile Episcopeqti and Rdbdgani (CriE Rivers Basin). Acta oecologica, Univ."Lucian Blaga"Sibiu, VII (1-2):93 - 106. si.bu, I., 2002 - Freshwater molluscs from the Tdrnave Rivers Basin. Transylv. Rev. Syst.Ecol. Res.,2 (in Press). So6s, L., lg43 - A K6rprit-medence Molluska faun6ja. Magyar Tudom6nyos Akad6mia, Budapest. IOAN SIRBU "Lucian Blaga" University, Faculty of Sciences, Dept. of Ecology and Environmental Protection, 31 Oituz St.,RO 2400 Sibiu, [email protected]; ANDREI SARKANY-KISS "Babeq-Bolyai" University, Faculfy of Biology and Geography, Dept. of Ecology and Genetics, 5-7 Clinicilor St.,RO 3400 Cluj-Napoca, [email protected]; 80 TISCIA monographseries (2002),6, 81 92 COMMLINITIES' STRUCTUREAND HEAVY METALS CONTENT OF THE LINIONIDAE (MOLLUSCA, BIVALVIA) FROM THE DANUBE DELTA BIOSPHERE RESERVE Andrei Sdrkdny-Kiss,Nicolae Mihdilescu, Ioan Sirbu Abstract This paper presentsthe Unionidae assemblagesfrom some areasof the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.Among the 6 speciesof naiads, the most abundant is Anodontacygnaea L. 1758,and the most rare is Unio crassusPhilipsson, 1758. The adventivespecies Anodonta v,oodiana Lea, 1834is in full processofexpansion, being a potentialdanger for the autochthonousspecics. The contcntsof some heavy metals in watcr, sedimentsand bivalves(both in soft body and shells)are analysed.Although the mostly researchedareas from the DDBR are in pristine ecologicalconditions, the hydrotechnicalworks and pollution representserious dangers for the future. In many casesthe most hazardousmctals are above safety limits for theseorganisms. Keywords: DanubeDclta, Unionidae,heavy metals, communities Introduction The Unionidae from the Danube Delta BiosphereReserve are representedby 6 species,among them 5 are native (namely Unio pictontm L. 1758, U. tumidus Philipsson, 1788, U. crassus Philipsson, 1788, Anodonta cygnaea L. 1758 and Pseudanodontacomplanata Rossmdssler, 1835) and one (Anodontawoodiana Lea, 1834)is adventive.Once, another unionacean species was consideredto be presentin the DDBR and other areas of the Danube, namely Colletopterum letourneuxi Bourguignat1 881 (accordingto Grossu, 1962,p. I 85, Fig. 94'),but the authorsof this paper agreedthat it is an artificial species,being only a morph of A. cygnaea.Even Grossureconsidered his position,e.g. he did not include this taxon in the catalogueof the molluscsfrom Romaniapublished in 1993. The naiads are excellent bioindicatorsof environmentalstate and quality, both defined by their populations and assemblages'parameters and by the capacity of bioaccumulation,especially of different xenobiotics.Unionaceans are associatedwith 81 pristine conditions,i.e. unpollutedwater, natural-likehabitats, being thus a negative index of pollution. Among all bivalves these are the most affected ones by anthropogenicalteration of the waterways (Burky, 1986). Although the most part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve shelters habitats in good condition, some parts were disturbed because of hydrotechnical works. Channelization straightens and deepenswinding waterways,until they becomevirtual canals.This processis always correlatedwith density-decreasedpopulations, dispersal alteration, and high mortality rates of juvenile stages.Damming, on the other hand, is associatedwith parasitism, alterationof oxygenand tenrperatureregimes and siltation. Heavy metals are among the most dangerousxenobiotics, being responsiblein a high degreefor the disappearanceofunionaceans from somerivers reaches.The most toxic elementsare, in descendingorder: Zn, Cu, Hg and Ag (Fuller, 1914)'l. Sirbu et al. (unpublisheddata) exposed individuals of U crassusto I ppm Cu, Ag, Pb, Ni, and Hg. It was pointed out that the respirationrate was reducedto less than 1/10 in the caseof Cu and Ag, to l/3 in the caseof Hg, 112in the caseof Pb and Ni, compared with the control sample.It was also shown that the regressionbetween oxygen uptake and Log (weight) was altered;especially in the samplesexposed to Cu and Ag the highestrates of inhibition were recordcdboth in juvenile and old stagesof life. Higher concentrationslead to the disappearanceofunionids, as it happenedon long reachcsof the Someq,Ldpug, Tur, Mureg and Birzava rivers. This study aims to highlight some characteristicsof unionaceancommunities' strucfure and of their heavy metals contents in shells and soft body parts, both from the DanubeRiver and Delta. Researchmethods The Danube Delta BiosphoreReserve was intensely studied during a project of biodiversity inventory (1991-1999).During the field trips the freshwatermolluscs were studied mainly in the strictly protected areas,but also in the buffer zones and suffoundings. Unionids were sampled both manually and with dredges. Individuals were sampledfrom the Danube River and Delta, in order to analysetheir heavy metals content. Resultsand discussion As it is shown in Tab. l, the most abundantspecies in the DDBR is Anodonta cygnaea, followed by Unio pictorum and - in less extent - by Unio tumidus. This pattern is common among lowland wetlands. Unio crassusis a rare speciesin DDBR, being constrainedby the lack of specific habitats.It is also the single unionacean speciesincluded in the official Red List of the reserve(Sirbu and S5rk6ny-Kiss,2000, p.80- 8l). 82 O a2 OE d'- D- + + Eirp .: c , & c O & r $ ri a,ta N -a !> € c a a a a N od is 't + + + + \3 Srj o ..J r r € t + + ! S""\ o r r e "1 o + N n o: d r r s<^\" r + c.J ,aa + + + -x:i € a N 9. @ to' \ + + "l!i c O € N al N d r r r O O + + + + + + + + '\ ts\ e ..i O r N l c \:3o\ + N ,E E d c rc F c a F c c i o ! J F F E 'o c \ a c 6 F J ! a J z n o \ c F o o ; o a u c 6 i F J -l J ,l J JJ I J J U O f, 83 The most endangeredspecies among native naiads seemsto be Pseudanodonta complanata,which encounterslow abundancein severalareas, but it is widely spread inside the reserve.This speciesis endangeredin Inost part of the country becauseof habitat destructionand pollution, while in the DDBR it is still currently sampled. Anyhow, siltation and xenobioticsare seriousdangers for this exactingspecies. evcn in this reserve. The adventivespecies Anodonta woodiana, first sampled5 years ago, is in full processof expansion.In 1996the specieswas recordcdin the Balta Mare a Brdilei (a sectornear the town of Brdila), and in the samc year severalempty shells from the DanubeDelta were sampled(Marius Skolka pers. comn.r.).The first record of living individualsbelonging to A. v,oodiana,was done in 1998 by Orieta Hulea, who had found the speciesin severalpools and channelsfrorn the DDBR, namelyin the Babina Lake, CardonLake southof Popina,and also in the areasof Nebunu,Alb, Megterand Purcelulakes. It is remarkableto find this speciesin the sameyear in severalzones, consideringthe fact that the DanubeDelta hasbeen intensely researched, especially in the last 10 years.In 1999, I. Sirbu had found one single dead individual in Meleaua Sacalin,south of the point where the Sl)nfu Gheorghebranch of the Danube flows into the Black Sca.In the shallowwater of this place,the most dorninantspecics is Anodonla cygnaea,followed by Unio pictonmt. It is highly likely that A. woodiana will dcvelopin the future a large and abundantpopulation in the DDBR, as it doesin otherplaces soon after its appearancc(S6rk6ny-Kiss, Sirbu, Hulea, 2000). Anyhow, sedimentsand alluvial accurnulation,perturbation of waterflow and pollution are seriousthreats, fact that is proved by the small proportionsof young mussels in most of the researchedareas and by high values of recently dead individuals(sec Tab. l). Regarding heavy metals and other elements content, the highest values are registeredin the soft bodiesfor Ba, followed in descendingorder by Cu, Ni, Cr, Th, Co, Pb andZn.In the shellsthe contentsdescend in the following ordcr: Sr - Zn - Pb - Ni - Ba - Co - Cu - Cd. Analysing the rate bctweenthe contentsin the soft body and shells,values higher than I are registeredfor Cu, having the maximums 33,35 in Lr. pictorum, 7 in U. tumidusand 6 in A. cy2inaea,and also for Ba and Cr. In contrast, thereare no significantvalues in the soft body for Znand Pb, althoughthe sediments are in somecases heavily loaded.Regarding the rate betweenthe contentsin the soft body andthe upper layerof sediments,the highestvalues are registeredin U. pictorttnt (51,15), and in a less extent in A, cygnaea(especially Cr, Co and Ni). [J. tumidus seemsto accumulatein the body lessthan the other analysedspecies. Regarding the ratio betweenshell contentsand the upper thin layer of sedimcnts,the highestvalues are shown by A. cygnaea (Co, Pb, Sr). P. complanata seemsto accumulateespecially Sr, Co, Pb, Zn, (J. tumidusSr and Co, U. pictorum Sr and Zn. It is obviousthat in the same conditionsdifferent speciestend to accumulatein different rates the existing heavymetals. Analysing the most hazardousmetals for this species(Tables 2 - 5; Fig. I - 6), severalpatterns could be described.In all speciesthe contentof Cu in the soft bodics is higher than in shells.The contentsin sedimentsand soft bodies are directly correlatedup to a point, thereafterthe rate is reversed. 84 6 v-) X d ? o D N .q * c.! N r r r o I cl I ! r x d ? N O r 6 r d s € a = O N d N 6 d N N r U N n N N ) * R f: o d a: q d N 6 z n * N N \ N N N F { * c s c N r r c ** o c? O d c E E E = E o C o a o C I c ts F F c a s E 6 F I ! r :c p E q E c J v ;ia ,_l '6 o c Eh -s&fr a q E F g! >i U5 A:1 85 c o r E € = o E E a - ( - € o ! ! EE - N I c E (, ! (, F c 6l O < .t N N d Fl O r J € N r a O c 7 =j c N O OO N 6l .a r O 6 d 6 ? € r r a 5 a € 3 c O r o r c st 9 v O OO t a r € cc - ?? r r z r o o c d r r o 3 O z d { 6 + N ?. o a e a N O 6 N * 3 + r .'l 5 r r ) O r r o € I j € c c O r s r r N I o Q r CO \ q t s s t s \ \ c \ a i B E tl c c 4 o E \ \ o e \ e c c o c c t \ 5 \ \ - s I c -J O O I o a c O u o Q € = E FJ ,-] t I J o c e ! I I p ':, = = J e = E € E c ri o F L o o o o €fl c o - - - 86 E & C c a C at C a & d r U Q N N d N OO c N r NN r r r o x r z r r @ r r ol o N N r o r o o 6 r r r r { r ^ r U N d s c q t s I c \\ s s a c -co \ \ c \ o \ s .s \ d o x E c E E F ,t -v o ! E ; = a J tr c a € d F a 87 km 1044 km 1030 Fortuna Rosu I 0000 log ppnt Fig. 1. Content of Cu and Zn in the soft bodies and in shells of Anodonta cygnaea and in the upp€r thin laver of the sediments in RoSu and Fortuna Lak€s and in the Danube km t030 and km 1044.6. km 1044 km 1030 Fortuna 140ppm l'ig. 2. Content of Ni and Cr in the soft body and in shells of Anodonta cygnaea and in the upper thin layer of the sedim€nts in Roqu and Fortuna Lakes and in the Danube km 1030 and km 1044.6. 88 km 1044 km 1040 G;'"".-*l E zn-sheils I I km 950 u Cu-sedintent I j I N Cu-shells i r cu-softbodv Mesteru f l l0 t00 1000 10000log ppm Fig. 3. Content of Cu and Zn in the soft bodies and shells of Unio pictorum, and in the upper thin layer of the sedim€nts in M€lt€ru Lake and in the Danube River km 950, km 1040 and km 1044.6. km 1044 ffi Cr-sediment E Cr-shells km 1040 N Cr-soft body %Ni-sediment I Ni-shells km 950 r Ni-softbody Mesteru 200 ppm Fig. 4. Content of Ni and Cr in the soft bodies and in shells oI Unio pictorunr and in the upper thin layer of th€ sediments in M€steru Lake and in the Danube River km 950, km 1040 and km 1044,6 89 km 1030 ffi Zn-sedirnent km91l E Zn-shells N Zn-soft body %2Cu-sediment I F Cu-shells ] Cu-softbody km 866 I I I l0 100 1000 10000 logppm Fig. 5, Content ofCu and Zn in the soft trodiesand th€ shells of Unio tumidus rnd in the upper thin lay€r of the s€diments from the Danutre River. km 866. km 9ll and km 1030 km 1030 ilffiCr-sediment E Cr-shells N Cr-soft body km911 %ZNi-sediment tr Ni-shells I Ni-soft body km 866 50 t00 150 200 ppm Fig. 6. Content of Ni and Cr in the soft bodies and shells of llnio tumidus and in the upper thin layer of the sediments in the Danub€ River. km 866. km 950 and km 1030 90 The samecontent in sedimentis linked to higher values in the soft bodiesin [./. pictontm,less than U. ttrmidtts,followcd by A. cygnaea,while the contentin shellsare aboutthe same.In the shellsthe contentof Zn is higher than in sediments,and about in the same scale interval for all of the analysedspecies. With rare exceptions,the content of Cr in soft bodies is higher than in shells. In the same condition of sediments,the highest accumulationrate is showedby U. pictontm, followed by L cygnoeaand U. tumidils.In many casesthe contentsof the most hazardousmetals are abovethe safety limits for theseorganisms, proving that heavy metals are a senous dangerfor the future,both for naiadsand their environrnent. Conclusions Although most areas of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve are in a good ecologicalcondition, the age structure,the ratio of recently died individuals and the rarity of some unionaceanspecies prove a ceftain degradationof the habitats.High valuesofheavy metalsboth in shellsand soft bodiesofthese bivalvesare also threat indices.Pollution and habitatsdegradation, although still not obvious,are among the future dangersthat could affect the con-rmunitiesof this reserve. References Burky, A.J., 1983,Physiological Ecology of FreshwaterBivalves. The Mollusca, Ecology. Russel-Hunter,W.D., eds.,Academic Press,Inc. Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco,New York, London,Toronto, Montreal, Sydney, Tokyo, SaoPaulo, 6,281 - 330. Fuller, S. L. H., 1974,Clams and Mussels(Mollusca, Bivalvia). Pollution Ecology of FreshwaterInvertebrates, Hart C. W. Jr., Fuller, S.L.H. eds., Acad. Press,New York, SanFrancisco, London, 215 - 273. Grossu, Al. V., 1962 - Mollusca; Bivalvia. Fatrna R.S.R., 3, 3, Edit. Acad. Bucuregti. Grossu,Al. V., 1993 - The catalogueof the molluscsfrom Romania. Trav. Mus. Hi st. nat. "G r igore A nt ipa ", 33,Bucuresti,29 | - 366. Siirk6ny-Kiss,A., 1995- Contribulii la cunoagtereafaunei de rnoluqteacvatice din Delta Dundrii.Anal. St.Inst. Delta Dundrii, htlcea, 5 - 8. Siirkiiny-Kiss,A., Sirbu,I., 1998,- Connibugiila cunoaqtereaasociatiilorde molugte acvaticedin lacurile: Roqca,Rotundu, Belciug, Sarituri-Murighiol qi Merhei (Rezerva{ia Biosferei Delta Dundrii). Anal. St. Inst. de Cerc. Si Proiec. Delta Dundril, Tulcea. IV (1-2),p. 85-93. 91 S6rk6ny-Kiss,A:, Sirbu,'I., Hulea, O.,2000 - Expansion of the adventive species 'Central Anodonta woodiana'@ivalvia; Unionidae) in and Eastem Europe. Acta oecologica,Vfi (1-2), Univ- "Lucian Blaga'!, Sibira p. 49 - 57: ANDREI SARKA}.TY-KISS "Babeg:gs1t.i" University, Faculty of Biology and Geography, Dept. of Ecology and Genetics, 5-7 Clinicilor St., R0 3400 Cluj-Napoca, [email protected]; : NICOLAE MTHAILESCU Institute of Geology, l9 EcaterinaTeodoroiu St., RO 78108 Bucharest IOAN SIRBU "Lucian Blaga" University,Faculty of Sciences, . Dept. of Ecololy and Environmental Protection, 3l Oituz St.,RO 2400 Sibiu, srrbul@)yahoo.com; 92 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 9l 98 USING BIVALVES IN AN ALTERNATIVE TESTING METHOD OF FRESHWATERPOLLUTION WITH HEAVY METALS Sdrkdnlt-KissAndrei and Braun Mihdly Abstract In order to test an altemativemethod on freshwaterpollution with heavy metals, individualsof Unio crassuswere exposedin cagesin polluted reachesof the Someq River. Their time-relatedbioaccumulation was registeredand comparedwith control samples. Keywords: biomonitoring,bioaccumulation, pollution ecology Introduction The heavy metal contcnt of the natural waters and of the sedimentsreflects the geochemicalparticularities of the examined place; their quantitiesusually do not exceed the tolerable values for the organisms. Due to human influences, the concentrationof heavy metalsmay increasein the water, as well as in the sediment. The aquaticorganisms accumulate these elements along the trophic chain. Molluscs are particularlywell known as bioaccumulatorsof someof thesemetals (Fuller, 1974; Burky, 1983;Lakatos et al. 1990),taking them either directly from the environment, or indirectly through the food. The metals are stored in the soft parts of the body, as well as in the valves. It is known that the unionids molluscs are great plankton consumersand it was experimentallydemonstrated that unicellular algae are able to retain during 14 days 78 - 98 % of the heavy metal content(in positive relation with the concentration)of the culturemedia (Nagy-T6th, F. and Adriana Barna, 1982).Due to these qualities of the unionid molluscs, many authors suggest their use as bioindicatorsin this senseand recommendin a particular way the use of gills as indicator organsfor the heavy metal bioaccumulation (Sal6nki et al. 1991). Many shrdies demonstrate the sub-lethal and lethal toxic effects of these xenobioticsin different organisms,the modification of their metabolismQ'{agy-T6th, 1981), as well as the appearanceof certain malformations (Szit6, 1994) or other modificationsin the cells of differentorgans, or eventhe modificationsof the nervous system(Serfdz6, 1993). 93 The indicator value of the aquaticorganisms is more obvious in the caseof the temporaryand punctiform pollutions, in which neither thc water nor the sedimcnts contain an excessivequantity of pollutant, but the organismsstill bcar thc sign of modificationsproduced by then.r(Moore - Ramamoorthy,1984, ap. Dcvai, 1993). The Unionidaemolluscs accunrulate with a high intensityheavy metals, especially in gills. Becauseof their relative low mobility, these organismsare very good for testingthe pollution degreeof rivers with xenobiotics. The catastrophicaccidental pollution with cyanidesand hcavy metals causedby the Aurul industrial unit, from BozAntaMare, determineda drastic effect on the aquaticcommunities from the Somegand L6pugrivers. Invcstigating the consequences during the yearsof 2000 - 2002 we noticeda seriousload of heavy metalscontent in sediments.Afterwards the bioaccumulationwas also researched,by using those organismsthat are able to survive in lower reachesof the SomeqRiver, namely fish and vascularplants. The latter showedhigh levels of heavy metals,but this could be due to scdimentsand biotectonsettled on their organs,that are hard to be removcd during the chemicalanalyses. Regarding the experimentswith fish, in the year 2000 the metals'contents in the specimenscaptured in the exposcdriver sectorwere lower than thosercgistered in individualsfron, thc upper rcaches.This proves that the fish that once lived in the polluted river sector died out, and wcre replaccd after the environmentalrecovery, with other individualsbelonging to diffcrent specics.coming from upstreamthc rivcr and its tributaries.These are the reasonswhy we decidedto use bivalvesas an alternativemethod of biomonitoring,but in the lower sectorof the river this group is absentat present.Therefore individuals of Unio crassltsPhilipsson, 1788had to be brought from the LdpuERiver Defile and afterwardsfrorn thc Someq River Defile from licdu, which still shelter abundantpopulations of naiads, and exposedin underwatercages in thc SomegRiver. Materials and method In orderto accomplishthis cxpcriment,on 18Octobcr 2001 we collectedmanually 60 specimensfrom the LdpuqDefile (Ohabade Pdduresampling station). From these, 10 specimenswere used as control samples(dctcnnining their heavy metal content), the otherones were exposedin the SomegRiver at Meriqor,downstreatn the discharge of the LdpuqRiver. Thesewere held in plastic cages,and were removedfor analyscs in groupsof 10 individualsafter 7 days(on 25.10.2001),2l days(on 08.11.2001) and 147 days (on 14.03.2002).After 08.11.2001a very cold period followcd and the SomegRiver froze, so wc wcrc unableto sampleother individuals until the spring. The heavymetal contentof musclesand gills were determined. 94 Resultsand discussion The results of the gills' analysesdemonstrate a high bioaccumulationrate of copperand lead,in the first 7 daysand, in a smallerdegree, after 21, days. At this time uC. the temperatureof the water washigher, 7-8 Afterthis date,when the temperature of the water has fallen closeto 0'C, the musselsstarted to "hibernate"and catabolyze their own substances,so the heavymetal contentdecreased as well (Tab. I, Fig. 1, 2) until the spring. Table l. Heavv metal content of musselsin 2001 Sample Cu Pb Mussels Samplingsite Date ms/ks ms/ks Unio crassus/muscle control Laous - Defile 18.10.2001.14 Unio crassus/qills-control Lipus - Defile l8 0.200 t44 t4 U. crassus/eills Snmeq - Merisor 25.0.200 259 t9 U. crassus/muscle - Merisor 25 0.200 l0 U. crassusl'sills Snmpc - Mericor 08.I I .200 t7l 27 U. crassus/muscle Somes - Merisor 08.1I .200 5 U. crassus/muscle Somec - Merisor 14.03,2002. 8 Somesat Merisor- 14 Mar.2002 Somesat Merisor- 8 Nov. Somesat Merisor- 25 Oct. control- l8 Oct. mg/kg dry trssue Fig. 1 The dynamicsof h€avymetal bioaccumulation in gills 95 In a very sharpcontrast, the analysesof musclesillustrates anotherpattern, namely that all samples,despite the period, showedlower contentsof heavy metalsthan the control.Led is continuouslydecreasing, while the copperregistered an increascdvalue in spring 2002, comparedto the fall of 2001. Thesepeculiarities suggested that the gills aremuch sensitivein heavymetals monitoring than muscles. This first experienceproved that the method is applicable only in the warm seasons,during which the bivalves are active. During the summer of 2002 the study was repeatedin a similar manner but, finding out that the controls already have a certain amount of heavy metals, becauseof the residual mining waters discharged from the upper sectors,we used individualsfrom the Jicdu Defile, the Somegreach upstreamthe confluence with the Ldpug tributary. The results are not available yet, but during the summerin only 9 weeks 60 o/,of thesebivalvcs died, and the otherswere seriouslyweakened, having a pale colour of the tissues,as comparedto the control samples. Is worth mentioning that after the hrst 7 days the Sr content of the gills has increased.According to Coote& Trompetter(1995) one of the possiblereasons of this increaseshould be the effect ofstress. Somesat Merisor - 14 Mar.2002 Somesat Merisor - 8 Nov. r;l lr .,1 Somesat Merisor - 25 Oct. control - l8 Oct. mg/kg dry tissue Fig. 2. The dynamicof heavymetal bioaccumulation in muscle 96 Acknowledgement The studywas supportedby the Inco CopernicusProject ICA2-1999-10065 References Barna, A., Nagy-Toth, F. (1993) - Analize ficofiziologice in zona Zlatnei. (Pshycophysiologicalanalyses in the Zlatna zone) - St. cerc.biol., Seriabiol. veget., 45,t, 107- t]. Burky, A.J. (1983)- PhysiologicalEcology of FreshwaterBivalves. The Mollusca, Ecology, cds. W.D. Russel-Hunter,Acadernic Press, Inc., Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco,New York, London,Toronto, Montreal, Sydney, Tokyo, SaoPaulo, 6,281 - 330. Coote, G.E. and W. J. Trompetter(1995): Proton microprobestudies of fluorine distributionin mollusc shells.Nr.rclear Instruments and Methods in PhysicsResearch B. 104.333-338. D6vai,Gy., D6vai,I., Czlgtny,I., Hannan,B.. Wittner,I. (1993):Abioindik6ci6 6rtclmez6si lehet6s6geinek vizsg6lata ki.ilonboz6 terhelts6gri 6szakkelet - magyarorsziigivizterekn6l. (Studies on the interpretationof bioindicationphenomena.) - Hidrol6giaiKozkiny, 13, 4, 202 - 211. Lakatos, Gy., M6sz5ros, I., Nagy, D., S6ndor, i., Szrics, L. (1990): Use of freshwatermussels (Unio tumidusRetz.) to biornonitorthe metal loading of river Saj6 in Hungary - Proc. Intern. Symp. Ecox. Munich (Edits. C. Steinberg& A. Kettrup), 203 -211. Nagy - T6th, F., Barna, A. (1982): Analiza algofiziologicd a unor ape nretalopoluate.- St. cerc. biol., Seria biol. vcgct.,34,2, 134- 139. Nagy - T6th, F. and Barna, A. (1981): Phycophysiologicaland toxic eff'ectsof sometrace elements and heavy metals.- StudiaUniv. Babes- Bolyai, Biologia, 26, 1, 12- 2t. Sal6nki,J., Tupaev,T.M. and Nichaeva,M. (1991):Mussel as a test animal for assessingenvironmental pollution and the sub - lethal effect of pollutants.- Reprint. F.: Jeffrey,D.W. and Madden (cds.),Bioindicators and EnvironmentalManagement., Acad.Press, London. 235 -244. S6rk5ny- Kiss, A. (1992): The mullusk faunaof the river Muregas bio-indicator of pollution. - Abstr. 1lth Intem. Malacol. Congr., Siena 1992 - F. Giusti & G. Manganellieds., 502 - 503. S6rkriny-Kiss,A., Fodor, A., Ponta,M.. 1997,- Bioaccumulationof certainheavy metals by unionidae molluscs in Crig/Krircis rivers. Tiscia - Monograph series, Hamar, J. & Sdrk6ny- Kiss, A. edit., Szolnok- Szeged- Tg.Mureg,209 - 219. S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., Macalik, K., 1999 Bioaccumulationof certain toxic n-retalsby fish and unionidaeshells in River Someg/Szamos.Tiscia monographseries, Sfrkdny - Kiss, A. & Hamar,J. edits.,Szolnok - Szeged- Tg.Mureq,269 - 273. 91 Serf6z6, J. (1993): Necrotic effects of the xenobiotics accumulation in the central neryous system of a crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschz.). - Acta biol. Szeged,39, 23 -38. Szit6, A. (1994\ - Monitoring in aquaculture. - First Dutch - Hungarian Course on Biomonitoring in Hungarian Waters: Application an Training, Giid' Hungary. Wachs, B. (1985): Bioindicators for the heavy metal load of river ecosystems.- in - Heavy metals in water organisms@d. Sal6nki, J.), Akad. Kiad6, Budapest, 179 190. ANDREI SARKANY-KISS "Babeq-Bolyai" University, Faculty of Biology and Geography, Dept. of Ecology and Genetics, 5-7 Clinicilor St., RO 3400 Cluj-Napoca, [email protected]; BRAUN MIHALY University of Debrecen Departmentof Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry H4010 DebrecenP.O.Box 21, Hungary [email protected]. hu 98 TISCIA nronographseries (2002),6,99 148 THE ECOLOGICAL STATE OF THE TISA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES INDICATED BY THE MACROINVERTEBRATES Andrds Szito Abstract People start to be aware of the possibility to use the tolerant species as environmcntindicators. Covering up the ecologicaldemand of different species,we would be able to understandmore and more from their signals and to use them in qualificationof the ecologicalchanges. The ecological qualification may be on a specieslevel only. The upper species categoriesare not enoughfor this work. The lack of benthicinvertebrates may be often due to the lack of the sediment,like in thc UpperTisa Region. The high individual densityof a speciesmay be causedby the optimal food source for them, but extraordinaryhigh in hypertrophicsituation sometimes.Oligochaete speciesoften produce extreme high individual density, but the speciesrichness is reduced to one or two species only. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri is the most tolerant speciesin our investigatedregions, it is presentin hypertrophicrelations. The lack of the tolerantindicator species in an ecosystemmay indicatecontinuous or temporaryoxygen depletion,moreover high organicmaterial pollution or chemical poisoning. The monitoring data show a temporarypicture about the stateof the investigated ecosystems.The continuousand complexworks may detectand presentthe ecological changes. Cleanwater indicator,moderate tolerant and tolerantspecies were identified. Keywords: river ecology,invertebrata, benthos, indicator species Introduction The biornonitoringis a continuousquality investigationand control system,which shows the environmentalquality changesby the speciescomposition and individual density changesin the communities.The scientific backgroundof the monitoring is the fact that environmental factors affect the plants and animals. The affecting 99 biologicaland abiotic environmentalfactors provide thernwith the opportunityto find their essentialconditions, to settledown and to reproduce. The biologistsalready recognizcd more than 150years before that the demandsof the organisms for the environmental factors are different. The rnost sensitive organisms were used as environmental quality indicators, becausc the positive environmcntalchanges are productivefor their presence,reproduction and individual density.Their responseto negativeeffects results in their individual decreaseand the disappearancefroln the ecosystem.This realizationis used by the specialistsfor the qualification of different water ecosystems.The qualification of the different water ecosystensby indicator spcciesis a complementary,but important method for the chemicalanalyses. The quality of a water ecosystel'uis detcrmined by chemical and biological parametersof the water and scdiment,but their complcx effect could be indicatedby the quality and quantity changesof the con-rmunities-The biomonitoring produces temporary information about the state of the investigated ecosystem,but this periodicaldata collection offers a continuouspicture. The presenceof species,their individual dcnsity or disappearanceare such infonnations which can be used for qualification of the changesin the community structuresand the ecological state changes.If we know the environmcntaldemands of the species,we are able to describethe quality ofthe ecosysten.rby their presenceor disappearance. We usea lot of plant and animalspecies as environmentalindicators, espccially the steno-types,because they indicateone or two environmentalfactors only, which are as follows: pH, light, temperature,food, water curency, chemicalpollution. The eury- type species can survive the extremc effects, thercfore they were not used as indicators. In the last years scientiststry to use the taxons over the species(genus, fantily etc.). Thesepeople don't think that it is a mistake.The reactionsof the speciesare different to the enviroruncntalfactors inside a family or a genus.For examplc:there are Oligochaeteand Chironomidspecies which indicatethe cleanwater, the othersthe polluted waters,moreover a lot of Oligochaeteand Chironomid specieslive only in standingwaters, in running waters,but we can find some other speciesliving both in standingand running waters.The qualificationof the ecosystemsby the presenceor disappearanceofthe taxonsover speciesis an ostrichismonly, insteadthe relationsof the educationand training of specialiststo solve this complex educationproblem at statelevel (Szit6, 1998a). If the river was able to eliminatethe organic and inorganicpollutants, the species composition of the community signalizedthis processdownstream (Nuttall et al., 1974). The species composition and strucfure of macrobenthoswas used for evaluatiorrof water quality of Scioto River System (Olive et al., 1975). The Chironomids were used at Hungary in the River Tisa monitoring similarly (Szilri, re81). The big and continuous,organic pollution results in oxygendepletion on the sedimentsurface in the big rivers too, thereafterthe macrobenthoscommunity disappears(Dratnal et al., I9B0). 100 The tolerant species of the macroinvertebrateswere used for indicating the environmentquality changesby the hcavy metal pollution (Waterhouseet al., 1985). Increasingthe nurnberof privatc farms rcsultedin the pollution of the srnall streams with organicmaterials, in which a new macrobenthoscommunity fonned with tolerant species(Schoficld et al., 1989).The community structureof a river changedhard in the town part. Thc scnsitivespecies for environmentchanges disappeared from here and only the tolerantones were present.The faunarcgenerated slowly downstreamthe town (Hyneset al., 1989).Similar changesof the macroinveftcbratecommunities were recognizedin thc Transylvanianrivers and river systems(Szit6, 1995, Szit6 et al., 1997; 1999;Szito, l998a,b; 1999a-c,2000a-c). Increasingthe trophic levcl by non-point pollution effects of the agriculture, thereforethe individual density of the macrobenthoscommunity increasedtoo. The consumersdid not follow the hard developedepilithic algae in individual densities (Delonget al., 1998). The speciesnumber was much lowcr on the chernicallyor physically disturbed parts, than on the undisturbedsitcs. The larvae driftcd from the drifted parts to the nondisturbed sites. The specics cornposition showed better the disturbance downstreanr,than the changesof the heavymetal concentration (Rz.se et al., 2000). Our rnonitoringwork n.raygive up-to-datepictures about the environtnentquality changesin different rivers and the recommendationshelp the modifications of the ncgativcprogrcssions. Material and Methods Qualitativesamples were taken from the surfaceof the stoneand gravel piece by washing into a drifting net in eachprofiles. Samplingsites were at various distances from the left, the right bank and in the main currentas well when it was possible. Each samplewas washedthrough a metal screenwith pore mesh size of 250 pm and preservedin 3-4 %oformol solution. The retained material was separatedinto groups of Oligochaetes.Chironor.r.rids and other groups of anirnals with a Zeiss stereornicroscopein the laboratory,with a 4 to 6 times magnification,and animals were preservedin 80 % ethylic alcohol. For taxonomic identification the following works were used: (Brzri, I9Bl; BrinkhurstandJamieson, 197 1; Cranstonet al. l9B3; Ferencz,1979, Fittkau, 1962; Fittkatret al. 1983;Pinder et al. 1983:Pop, 1943, 1950). Resultsand Discussion The speciespresence, disappearance, individual density Dikerogammarus haemobaphes fluviatilis and Rivulogammarus balcanicus dacicus (Amphipoda) formed the shrimp fauna in the River Mureg/Marosin 1991. This specieswere presentbetween the regionofsource and Suseni.The effectsofboth the reservoir upper Tdrgu Mureq and the sewagewater of the town resulted in a big l0t change in the speciescomposition. Downstream TArgu MureE, the tolerant Caenis sepcicsappeared near Sintimbru only. when the quantity of the pollutantsdecreased becauseof the self purihcationof the river (Table I). Oligochaete were tolerant to pollution and the environment quality changes therefore its speciesrichness was high. Limodriltts profundicola by Tdrgu-Mureq, Isochaeta virulenta by Deva and Limnodrilus hoffmesiteri by Deva had high individual density and showedhypertrophic environr.nent in this river part. The deep sedimentwas rich in organicmaterial, too (Table2). The presenceof predator Chironomid speciesdepended on the food source, thereforethey indicatedthe environmentquality only indirectly. The epiphytic Chironomid specieswere rare between the source region and Rastolitain this cleanriver part. The epilithon was very poor on the surfaceof gravels and boulders,the food sourcewas poor. No speciesappeared between Tdrgu-Mureg and Alba Julia, in spiteof the river bed coveredby gravelsin this river part(Table 3). Benthic Chironomid speciesappeared first in Rastolita,because some sedirnentwas found here. Microchironomus bicolor, Microtendipes chloris and Polypedilum convictttmindicated the cleanriver part by Rastolita.Chironomus thummi (luviatilis), Chironomus riparius, Chironomus plttmostts, Chironomus semireductus, Dicrotendipes nervoslts, D. pulsus and Puratendipes albimanus needed eutrophic environment, therefore they were tolerant to organic pollution. Some tolerant Chironomid species disappcared between Gura Aries and the influent, Cryptochironomtts redekei, Paracladopelma camptolabis, Tripodttra (Polypedilum) scalaenumand Robackia demeijerei were present(Table 3). The control investigationsshowed in 1999 that both the speciesrichness and individual density of Oligochaeteincreased between the sourceregion and Senetea, betweenUngheni and Sintimbruthey decreasedand they increasedby Pecica(Figure 1). Both the speciesrichness and the individual density of Chironomid increased betweenthe sourceregion and Senetea,which was the cleanriver part in 1991,which fact indicatedsedimentation and pollution in this area,too. The epilithic Chironomid fauna increasedby Senetea,9 specieswere found here and they were present in samplingplaces downstream. The number of benthic Chironomid specieswas 5 in Senetea,and I I in Pecica (Figure 1). Both the speciesrichness and individual density indicated rich food sourcesand eutrophicrelations. The speciesrichness with 9 and 12 epilithic speciesin Seneteaand Salard area was that same as in Vintu de Jos, but the high species abundance was formed by benthic Chironornids by Pecica. Presence of Cladotany'tarsus,Dicrotendipes, Chironomus and Einfeldia speciesindicated standing water relationsnear the river banksand high diversity of the investigatedriver parts. The lack of Beckidia zabolotzkvi, Paralauterborniella nigrohalteralis, Paratendipes albimanus, Paratendipes (intermeditts) nudisquama indicated that the River Mure;,Maros had communal and industrial pollution from Tdrgu-Mure$ to Pecica (Table4). During the investigationsof the Someg/SzamosRiver System between 1-22, August, 1992,the presenceof Isochaetamischaelseni indicated clean water river part. while its disappearanceshowcd the increaseof organicand otherpollutants. Eutrophic 102 and hypertrophicrelations were indicatedby Limnodrilusho/Jnesiteri, Tubifex ignottts and Psammorvctidesmoravicus bctween Cluj and Gherla. Data show that the self purification of the river was not effective enoughon an about 50 km long distance. The pollution level was lower betweenBeclean and thc mouth, than on the upperriver part(Table5). Anatopynia plumipes and Apsectrotanypus trifascipennis (Chironomidae, Tanypodinae)indicated clean and cold water river part. Speciesof Orthocladiinae were found as living in epiphytonand epilithon. Their speciesrichness showed the high diversity of thc investigated river part, but low individual density of Ettkiefferiella brevicalcar, Eukiffiriella coentlescens,Ettorthocladius (Orthocladius) thienemanni, Orthocladius saxicola, Propsilocents paradoxus, Psectrocladius harbimaruts, Psectrocladiu.s obvius, P. sinrttlans, Monodiamesa bathiphyla and, Corynoneurascutellata indicated clean water in thc SomegulCald/Meleg Szamos River and R. Somequl ReceAlideg Szamos, and upstream Cluj. The phyophyle Chironomid speciesdisappeared between Cluj and Ghcrla becauseof hypertrophic relations(Table 6). Continuous increasing of the number of benthic Chironomids upstream Cluj indicatedthe sedimentationprocess and somefood sourcefor them. They disappeared betweenCluj and Gherlabecause of hypcrtrophicenvironmcntal relations in sediment, their both low speciesrichness and individual density showed a polluted river part from the confluencewith Arin brook to thc mouth (Table 6). The ecologicalstate of thc Crigul Alb/Feh6rKoros River was investigatedin 1994. Regarding the Oligochate fauna, Limnodrilus claparedeianus, Limnodrilus hof/inesiteri and Limnodrilus proJilndicola indicated eutrophic relations between Brad and Ineu, the pollution ievel decreascdby Chigineu Criq because of the self purification (Table I. The Chironon.ridfauna indicated eutrophic relations, the organicmaterial content of the sedimentwas moderate,the faunawas diversebecause ofthe high speciesabundance (Table 8). The complex evaluationof the ecologicalstate of the Crigul Negruffekete Korcis River was made in 1994. Both the species richness and individual density of Oligochaete and Chironon-ridsindicated eutrophic relations bctween Poiana and Sarkad.The presenceof the only one speciesof Branchiurasowerbyi and the lack of other speciesshowed the temporaryoxygen deplction(Table 9). The specicsrichness of benthic Chironomid fauna was high only in Tinca, but the larvae of this species lived in epilithon,like in Poiana,$tei (PetruGroza) and Borz (Table l0). The ecologicalstate of the Crigul Rcpede/SebesKriros River was investigatedin 1995. Oligochaete appearedin gaula, 3443 ind.lm2 of Limnodrilus ho/fmeisteri indicated eutrophic relations here, but the individual density of Limnodrilus claparedeianus, Lintnodrilus udekemiaruts and the Tubfex sp. confirmed our conclusion.The individual densityof Oligochatewas low betweenCiucea and Fughiu, they disappearedby StAnade Vale, but showedeutrophic relations by Cheresig(IaDle I r). The phytophyle Chironomid fauna showed n.roderateeutrophic rclations. Orthocladius saxicola and Cricotoptts lrifasciatus indicated the clean water paft (Springarea, Alegd, Ciucea, Ogorhei). The individualdensity was low for all species. 103 Chironomidaein periphyton BenthicChironomids lzv- Mures Senetea Ungheni Gura Aries Sintinrbru Pecica Fig, l. Inyertebrata sp€ciesnumber in the River lllurep/Nlaros The bcnthic Chironomid fauna showed diverse relations. Chironomus sp., Cladotanytarsusmancus and Ctyplochironontusredekei were frequent in the sediment near the banks, Paratendipes (intermedius) nudisquama and Paracladopelma rolli appeared,indicated the rivers,which were found in Mureg/Marosearlier (Table l2). A very importantdata collection was made in the intemationalexpedition, to cover up the Oligochaete and Chironomid fauna on the Upper Tisa Region and its tributaries,because there were no similar dataand informationfrom here. 104 Speciesdensity n Epiph., epilit. Chir. r Sedim.livinr Chir. C **..oio *"'o"$-r*" *.'"_.'." r..- *J*"*."""-,o.-of*S *S "."-rg".$..""..* ."*-:.".:**.:"':i_l.-'"SlE:l;-:r\:.".-'":):-tJ."l.'4P;*'"."'$ \' r$ +s .ug'].r:",{"o';.'*ue]*u*\.1. n-:a" b :"%:.J =. S \- $ "f Fig.2. specics rauna,lroo"r'tisa Region (r0-le sep.,2000) "".0"1,,,"'"r.r".r,.;i]id The river beds were coveredby bouldersand gravels,sediment was found only rarely and it was not characteristicof this region. That was the reason why the macrozoobenthoswas poor in speciesand individuals,too. The speciesand individual richnesswas biggerin the epiphytonthan in thc sediment. Pollutantscannot concentrate because of lack of the sediment,but thesematerials were transportcddownstream and diluted. Anthropogenicpollution effects were not detectedduring the expedition,but the Chironomid specicsProdiamesa olivacea was not presentin the river at Rahiv. The disappearanceof this speciesshowed that some pollution effectsexisted periodically in this river region(Figure 2). The investigationsand thc indicator speciesshowed that Ung, Latorica, Ondava, Laborec Rivers and Bodrog River were mostly clean. The rivers were polluted on somesampling areas as follows: The River Latoricahad no benthosby Chop upstream@lace 6). The River Ung by Pavlovce(place 7) was rich in food sourcesfor benthos.l8 individuaisof Chironomtts riparius, 12 ind. of Polypedilumnubifer and 13 ind. of Tripodura scalaenumwere presenthere. The presenceof Chironomusriparius and Polypedilumspecies, and their individualrichness showed a probabilityof ternporaryhuman pollution (Table 13). River Latorica by Velky Kapusany downstream:the sedimentwas deep, ciay Limnodrilus holfmeisteri(Oligochaeta) and Chironomusriparius was presentwith 12 ind./m' and indicatedcommunal pollution. The presence of 6 individuals of the predator chironomid Apsectrotanypus suggesteda food richnessfor them in the Laborec River by Koskovce downstream (place 9). Those Chironomid species which were commonly living both in the periphitonand sedimentwere prssent. 105 Thc LaborecRiver was poor in speciesby Stretavkadownstreatl (place 11). The deepand organic materialrich sedimenthad a poor zoocoenose.6 individualsof the tolerantLimnodrillus ho.ffmeisteri,8ind. of Chironomusriparius, and 4 ind. of both the Polypedilum nubifer and Polypedilum conviclum showed an eutrophic environmenton the left bankriver side(Table 14). The sedimementof Latorica River was rich in organic material by Zlatin (place l2), but thc lcft river bank side was bad in species.6 ind. of Limnodrilusho.ffmeisteri, 8 ind. of Chironomusriparius, and 4 ind. of both the Polipedilum convictum and Poll,pedilumnubi,fer were presenthere. Both the specicsand their individual richness indicatedthc probability of the richnessof the organicrnaterials in the scdiment(table r4). River Bodrog by Vinicky showed deep muddy sediment(place l3). Only one individum of Branchiura sowerbyi(Oligochaete) was found. It was the only one from the investigatedarca during the expedition.Wc do not know its earlierdata from thesc rivers,and its prcsenceindicated the food richnessin sediment,as well as Limnodrilus holJmeisteri,which was presentwith 13 individuals,too. Thc Corethra;tlumicornis and Clotjon dipterunrwere also presenthere. Moreower, 5 chironomid specieswere detected,the presenccand high individual richnessof Chironomusriparitts showedan eutrophicsediment (Table 14). The n.routharca of River Ondavaby Brechov had deep sediment.The Gomphus flavipes was the only species here. Some species presenceof Oligochate and chironomidwould be prognostizedwith high individual richncssby the cnvironment, but we dont know the causeof their lack. River Bodorog by Bodrogolaszi(place l9). The sedimentwas rich in organic materialsby right side of the rivcr bank. The very tolerantLimnodrilus holfmeisteri (Oligochaete) species was present only, but the tolerant chironomid species disappeared. River Bodrog by Fels6berccki(place l8). The sedimentwas deep, with aerobic surface.The lack of the faunawas surprising(TableI4). River Bodrog by Bodrogkereszffr,tnouth area (place 20). lt was rich in organic materials.4 speciesfound. The Limnodrilus hoflmeisteriwas the only Oligochactc speciespresent here, 3 chironomidspecies were presentwith 1-2 individualsonly. The faunawas poor both in spcciesand individuals(Table 14). The sedimentfauna was fomred by Perla sp and l0 chironomid speciesin River Laborec by Certizne upstream, in spring area. All the specieswere clean water indicators. The presence of 6 individuals of the predator chironomid Apsecffotanypus suggesteda food richnessfor thcm in River Laborecby Koskovcedownstream (place 9). ThoseChironomid spccieswere presentwhich werc commonly living both in the Iitoph iton and sediment. 106 Tables t01 Tabl€ l. Changes of th€ speciesand their individual density from the spring to the estuary of the River Mures/Maros I Profile (section) 2 3 4 5 , Samplingsite Izv - Senetea Suseni Sirmag RAstolila 3 individ/m' n lrustacea 5 Amphipoda 6 Dicerogammarushaemobaphes fl uv. Mart 564 ro( 24 7 Rivulogammarusbalc. dac. Dobr.-Man. JO 72 24 8 Insecta 9 Ephemeroptera I Siphlonurusarnatus Etn. l8 Iu( 114 il Siphlonuruslacustris Etn. t2 t2 12 Siphlonuruslinneanus Etn 54 6 t3 Ameletusinopinatus Etn. 2t t4BaEtisatrebatinus Iltn. t5 Baetismuticus L. t2 16Badtisniger L, t7Baetisrodani Picl t) 18Baetispumilus Bum. t2 18 l9 Badtisscambus Etn. 8t 72 18 20 Ecdyonurusinsignis Etn. 54 6 zl Ephemerellanotata Etn -)r 22 laenis horaria L. 42 /J Jaenis macrura Steph. o 24 laenis moestaBengtss. 25 laenis rivulorum Etn. T2 26 laenis robustaEtn. 6 27Potamanthusluteus L. t2 6 28Simuliidae 29Simulium omatumMeig. 204 30 Simulium sublacustreDavies o 3t limulium equinumL. 6 r08 I 8 9 IC ll t2 IJ 14 l5 1 Tdrgu Ungheni Gheja Gura Sintimbru Alba Deva Zam Pecica Szeged Mures Aries Iulia 3 A ) 0 9 l0 li 12 l3 t4 t5 t7 z\ 21 22 t) 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3l r09 Table 2. Oligochaeta speciesand their individual density in the River Mureq/lllaros (in l99l) 1 Samplingsite lzv. Senetea )usenl )anna$ Restolita Mrrres 2 )ligochaeta Ind./m' 3 4urodri I us limno bius Bretsh. ^ Branchi Liras owe rby i Bedtl. 5 \iseniella tetraedro Mich. 6 Isochoe la viru I en ta Poin t. 7 r,imnodrilus claparedeianusRat. 8 Limn odrilus holfme is teri Clap. 9 t imnodri lus pro lind icola Brin kh. 6 6( t-imnoclrilus 0 udeke mianus C I a p t umbricillus lineatus Mich. 2 Deloscolex speciosusHrabe 3 ootamothrix hammon ie ns is Brinkh. Potamot hrix vejdows kyi H ra be t2 5 Tha I ass odr i lus pros ta tus Kn - I l. 6 6 Tubifex ignotus Stolz 6 Tubifex nevaensis M ic h. Ind. 12 12 t2( Speciesrichness 2 0 2 110 I TArgu Ungheni lherla Gura Sintimbru \lba Jeva Lam Pecica izeged Mures Aries ulia 2 3 5 12 4152 6 8 A 804 180 48 t2 6l 30856 894 )ll 7 152 348 30 t0 t2 6 18 JI 30 u t2 4[ t3 12 6( T4 t2 t2 /of l8 30 6 z4 1/ 48 7206 882 564 t68 84 6l 35894 918 72 l6c l! 3 , 3 2 A nt Table 3. Chironomid speciesas environment indicators (Mureg/Maros, l99l) 1 Profile(section) 1 Samplingsite lzv. Senetea Suseni Sdrmag Rdstolita Mures ind./m' A Chironomidae Procladiuschoreus Meig. 1 6 fanypus punctipennisMeig Thienemannimyialentiginosa Fries B fhienemannimyianorthumbrica Edw. I fhienemannimyiasp. 0 3rillia modesta Meig. )ricotopusbicinctus meig. 24 )ricotopussylvestris Fabr. Metriocnemushygropetricus Kieff rrodiamesa olivacea Meig. o 3€ ( lhironomusfl uviatilis Lenz 6 lhironomusolumosus L. 7 lhironomusriparius Meig. I lhironomussemireductus Lenz 9 )ryptochironomusredekei Krus. 24 20 )icrotendipesnervosus Staeg, 21 )icrotendipespulsus Walk. 22 infeldiaoectoralis Kieff. 23 Microchironomusbicolor Zett. Microtendipeschloris Meig. 18€ 25 )aracladopelmacamptolabis Kieff 26 )aratendipesalbimanus Meig. 27 )olypedilumconvictum Walk 114 28 rolypedilumnubeculosum Meig. 2A fripodura(Polypedilum) scalaenum Schr. 30 Robackiademei.jerei Krus. 112 1 o U I 1C 11 12 13 14 15 ; z T619u UngheniGherla Gura Sintimbru Alba Deva Zam Pecica Szeged Mrrres Aries lulia A 102 o 6 8 1 tl 12 13 14 15 12 '16 192 aa 7B 1B 19 20 21 I 22 6 24 25 6 2( 27 2t 312 2S 96 6 6 12e 1 JL 1 113 Table 4. Benthic and epilithic Chironomid species and their individual density in different parts of th€ River Mures in 1999 Izvorul Senetea Sdlard Ungheni iintimbru Gura Sintimbru Vinfu Pecica Mures Arieg de Jos 2',7.0727.O'7 2'7.07 02.09 15.09 06.09 26.09 19.09 21.09 Species nd./m Nematoda 4 Oligochaeta Amphicaeta leydisii Tauber Ophidonais I IJ sementinaMiiller Enchytraeus 3 buchholziVeid. Limnodrilus JJ 8C 163 L) l0 hoffmeisteri Clana16de Limnodrilus 27 profundicola Verrill Potamothrix 63 I LJ veidovskviHrabe Pristina bilobata 55( 27i LJ 2387 r7 Bretsch. Stylaria lacustris zl z'1 Linnaeus Tubifex nevaensis 34( JJ t2t )J 227 420 Mich. Cligochaeta 57( 72i 7A t7t, JT l6( 277'7 460 60 'ind./m2) Oligochaeta 3 3 3 3 3 (soeciesrichness) Chironomidae Tanypodinae Psilotanypus 7 imicolaKieff, fanypus 17", 68i t43 runctioennisMeis (renopelopia 5( IJ 2A 10 rinotataWied. Jorynoneurinae Jorynoneura ralidicomisKieff. Jrthocladiinae Acricotopus lucens 3 Staeg Briophaenocladius 3 nitidicolisGoetsh. Cncotopus 8t 22 70 77 bicinctusMeie. l14 Table 4. (continued) zvorul Senetea Salard Ungheni J intimbru Gura Sintimbru Vinfu Pecica !4rr res Arieq deJos 1.0'1 27.07 27,07 02.09 15.09 06.0926.09 19.092t.09 )pecres Ind./m' Sricotopus t57 7( 3 :vlindraceusKieff. Cricotopusfuscus Kieff. Eukiefferiella brevicalcarKielf Eukiefferiella 6( claripennis Lundbeck Eukiefferiella 37 coerulescensKieff. Eukiefferiella 41 devonicaEdwards Heleniella t7 3 2( 7 thienemanni Gowin Monodiamesa 3 120 bathvohilaKieff. Nanocladius 3 20 bicolorZett. Orlhocladius barbatusCindea Orthocladius 7 olivaceusKieff. Orthocladius 60 rivulorumKiefl Orthocladius 153 t527 140 3i 750 180 saxicolaKiefL Parakiefferiella 17 bathonhilaKieff. Prodiamesa l3 olivaceaMeis. Prodiamesa rulovittataGoetuh. )sectrocladius 47 26(. 300 rsilooterusKieff. frissocladius 39'7 rrevinalnisKieff. Zavrelimyianubila 6[ l4eig 23 '.€g T ,' ].87ilil1i;:.;;::iSfl J OOi ;;;;i;''r.';r ,:!J,l.:;:a.;.: ''j:i:t{ I /lql&toglltl49.lf l i iiii$i (*;". 1J::i* "i"tr*;i{ lhironominae lhironomini 115 Table 4. (continued) Izvorul ienetea Silard Jngheni Sintimbru Gura Sintimbru Vintu Pecica Mures Arieg de Jos 2'7.07 ,_7.07 2'7,07 )2. 09 15.09 26.09 19.09 21..09 Species nd./m' lhironomus 'ioariusMeis. lhironomus ;alinariusKiell Jryptochironomus 3 edekei Krus. Jryptotendipes J )seudotener ioetsh. )icrotendipes terunsrrs Sfaeo Einfeldiadissidens l0 Walk. Einfeldia pectoralis Kieff. Parachironomus 3 tenuicaudatus Mall. Paracladopelma J-l t23 JJt 20'7 520 camptolabisKieff. Polypedilum l0 l-l 2 760 convictumWalk. 116 Table 4, (continued) Izvorul Senetea Silard Ungheni iint imbru Gura Sintimbru Vinfu Pecica Mrrres Arieg CeJos 27.07 27.0',72'7,0',7 02.09 r5.09 06.09 26.09 19.092t.09 Species Ind./m Polypedilum nubeculosum Polypedilum 3 95( 3 sordensv.d. Wulo '7 Tripodura 80 167 scalaenumSchrank Tanytarsin i Uladotanytarsus 3 t) mancusWalk. Rheotanytarsus 2( 27 1J 33 40 curtistvlusGoetgh. I'anytarsus I :urticomis Kieff, Ianytarsus J, rresarius Kieff. Simulida IJ j',i -50 T5:tr*;i ,'?''' *o:: :rii ,;i?ffiitil 1,4ffir'"1 t:i+;$$il r" '';.;,';1 tt7 Table 5. Oligochet fauna and the individual density in the Somet River System (l-22 August, 1992) 1 EiseniellaEnchytraeu Isochaeta Limno. Limno. Pelosc. Pelosc. Pot. tera. buchholzi michaelsenihoffm. udek. speciosus ferox hamm ind./m2 l. SomeECald. 4 7 2. SomeqRece 34 2l 3. Upstr.Cluj 2 I 4. Downstr. Cluj 900( 5. Upstr. Gherla 7661 30r 6. Confl. With 5 I 4 Arin brook 1 7. SAngeorziBii 4 4 118. Downstr. N6siud lz 9.Downstr. 683 Beclean IJ 10.Downstr. Dei 14I l. Someg I Odorhei 1512. Sdlsig 2A 1613.Pomi I 1714.Piulegti l1 1815.Vetig 65 1916.V. nam6ny 9C 20Frequency (%) I 22.8 ).2 ).2 J.Z 118 1 Potam. Psammoryct. Psammoryct. Stilodr. Stylaria Tubifex Tubifex Tubifer Species ; vejd. morav. barbatus heringe. lac. nevae. ignotus tubifex 0 0 0 5 1l 0 0 o 2 I 7 100( B t204 340( 1C 11 2 12 33 )52 1 9 t7 14 7 3 1 I 5 I 68 3 5 II t2 / 1 J 3( 2 3 2C I ).L t5.t 18.? )-L 119 Tabl€ 6. Chironomid speciesand their density in the Somet/SzamosRiver System (l-22 August, 1992) Sanrplingsites 2 Feeding L 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. S. S. Jpslr. I)ownstr. Upstr. Confl. SAngeorzi Cald Rece Jluj Cluj Gherla with bal Species nd./m' 4 Ianypodinae Pre- Anatopynia p lunilpes ( Fr i es, 2 1823) dators Aps ectrollnvpus tr ifasc i pe n n i s 2 lzett.. 1838) 7 Macropelopia notata Meig. I Natarsia punctata Fabr. I Procludius choreus Meig. 1 Tanypuspunclipennis (Meig., l8t8) 11 Orthocladiinae 1 P Brillio lonyi.lit.sca(Kit[t:, lS) lt I 1 n B ryo p h a enoc I ad ius n i t itl i c o I I is Goetyh. 14 v Cricotopus bicincnts Meig. ll 1 I Cr i c o top usfus c us Kieff. 16 o Cricotopus trifascia 17 p Eukiefe r ie I Ia bre vi ca lc ar K ieff. 2 I 1 h Eu kie ffe r ie I la c lypea tu Ki elf. 1 i Eukielle rie I la coe r ules ce ns I Kiefl. 2C Eukieffe rie lla grace i (Edu I 929) 21 Eu ki elfe rie I Io Io bi fera Goe t gh I I t) \ukief[erie Ila si nil is Goetgh. lt 5 I ZJ \uort hoc I ad iu.s ) Ort hocla d ius I 'hienenanni Kielf. aA s0cladius (Cri cotopu.sl I vlveslri.sFabr. 25 U Va n ot ladius h i t ol or Ze t t. I 2E n )rt hoclad i us suxicola Kiefi . 27 )rthocladius sp. 28 DaracIadiusconversus llaIk. 29 DropsiIocerus danubiali.s (Botn. I 1 Albu. 1956) 30 oropsilocerus paradorus I ',undslr. 31 Psectrocladius bar bimanus I Edw. t20 1 t0. Il 12. 13. t4. 15. 16. )ownstr DowDStr. Downstr.Dej Some$ Silsig Pomi Pdulesti Veti$ V.nam€ny ,{dsdud Beclean Cdorhei 6 8 Y 1C 11 tz 13 14 t2 39 t2 15 16 1 18 2 3( zl 5 22 19 2C 2 21 22 2 2 24 25 t6 26 27 28 3 29 2 30 31 121 'I'able 6. (continued) 1 Samplingsites Feeding l. 2. 4. 6. 1. tYPe S. UOro. Dowlstr. Jpstr. Contl. Sdngeorzi 3ald Rece Cluj Cluj lhcrla rvith bal hrook Psectroclodi us obyiu.s( Ll/aI ker. 1U56) 3: Psectrocladi us simu Ians 3 34 Sntiltia alenina Meig. 3t Thi enerna nn i a gra c i Iis (Ki e/1., I 909) 3( Za Iu rs, hia il urt'otruta ( Bru nJiil, I 949) 31 Diamesinae 3t Mo n od i ames o (P rotl ia nte sa) 2 bathvoilo Kiell.. I9I tt) 3S Prodianesa olivacea llleig I 7 4( Pseutlod iun csu bru n i c h i i n"uu 41 Corvnoneurinae Corynoneuru,cute I Iota Win. A 4i Ind, density of phytophile zt 45 9 fauna : 12 ? 44 Speciesrichness I lhironominae 4r Chironomini 47 B Chirotnntus ann ul arius Me ig. 22 4t Chironomus riparius h{eig. _t I 49. n Crtpt och irono nrustl ek ctus 2 Kieff. 5C t Cn' pt och i ro nonnr s hoI s a t us I ([,enz.] 959) 51 n C u^pt o c h i r o n o n u s r ed e k e i Kru,s. 52 I Endoc hirononnts tendens (Fabr.,1775) c l\|icrot en dip es c h lori s (Me ig., l0 t8t8) FA Microtenrlipts l,cdellut J. Gecr 20 55 I \,[i cro t end ipes to rs o I i s I|'a I k 8 56 Parac I od ope I ma c a mp to la b is o Kiell.. 1913) 57 u P o Iype d i lu n c o nt'i c t um lVa I k. 58 Polyped il um laetunt Meig 2 59 SI i c toc h i ron I nnu,t cra.s.si frn'ce p.s 38 Kieff. 122 1 a d. 9. t0. il. 12. 13. t4. 15. t6. Dorvnslr. Downstr. Downstr.Dej Someq Silsig Porni Pduletti Vetii V.nam6ny Ndsdud Beclean Cdorhei 32 JJ 6 35 36 37 38 4( 41 ,a 28 l^l 5( t27 at 2", 44 z 1 t 1 I AE 4( 41 4t 4S 5( 2 2( 3 Fa 5: 54 5[ 5( 57 I 5S I rz) Table 6. (continued) I Samplingsites z Feeding l. 2. 3. 4. 5. J. 1. rype S. S. Upstr.Downstr Upstr. Confl Sdngeorzi lald Rece Cluj Cluj Cherla with 6Al Arin 6C Trip od ur a ( Po lvp ed i lum) A< scalaenum(Schrank. I 803) ot Zavreliella marmorata (v. d. ll'uln. 1858) oz fanytarsini 63 Microps ectrl apposi ta (Wa I ker, I I 856) 64 Micropsectra junci (Meig., 2 1818) Paratanytarsus Iaute rbo rni Kieff. 66 Rheolanyt ars us curtis tvlus I Kieff. ot Tanytarsusgracilentus 2 (Holmsr.. 1883) 68 Tanyta r su s gr ega r iu s K i eff. 43 o 1n 69 Ind, density of Chironomini 44 59 IOf I t 70 Species.richness J rl I I 71 Total ind. density 6t 7( I 22 72 ipeciesdensity IJ Jt, I 124 9. t0. I l. t2. 13. t4. 15. t6. )ownstr. Downstr. Downstr.Dej Someq Silsig Pomi Pdulegti Veti$ V.nam6ny ,,ldsiud Beclean Odorhei 6C 5 2 61 62 OJ 64 6€ 67 68 J{ a 7l t 4 I II JI l5 90 138 t2 38 24 IJ J1 4 5 2 3 5 125 Table 7, Quantitativ€ data of the 0ligochaete in the Rivcr Feh6r Kiiriis (Crisul ..\lb, in | 994) Samplingplaccs -n$ Brad Aciula Ineu Ch. Crie Species ind./m' Limnodri lus cla 1ta re d e iu nus t7l 302 3006 4l Limnodrilus hoflmeiste ri l)l) 845 306 Linnodri Iusprofundicola 428 181 982 3t Table 8. Chironomid fauna in lhc River Crisul Alb ( Feh6r Kiiriis. io 199.1) Spring Brad 3h. Criq Acruta lneu .iyula area Species maln near fresh navvy river cutTent the alder holes bed bank Ieaves in ind./m- D Brillia longifusca K. t9 h Cladopelno t! il Iaccophila K. v Cri cot opus s vI ve,s I r is 8 Fabr. t Eukielferiella 4 coentlesten,sK. o Limnophies l5 orolonpalu.sK. p )rthocladius il ilivaceus K. h irthocladius 4 l9 ;aricola K- I ParakieJferiella l9 hathophila K. I Paralauterborniella 4 niarohalteralis Mall. P,sectrocladius 446 A barbinnnusEdw. KheocricotopLts 8 zf/usus Lt/alk. S S1'ndiamesahranickii 4 Now. Thienernanniel la 4 llavescens Edu'. Thienemannintyia 79 38 t32 4 87 /a lenlipino.saFrie.s c. Ind. density 9l 76 /J l)l 450 t2 t14 6t 19 Speciesnumber z o 2 2 2 2 2 t26 Table 8. (continued) Spring Brad Jh. Crig Aciuta Incu G1'ula area 'lavvy 'lver Species raln near fresh lurreni the alder roles red bank leaves ln B Chirononusthunmti ll (fluvialilis Lenzt e Chirononuts 8 4 pluntosu.sLinnaeus n Cladotanylarsus 4 4 mancus Wulk. t Conchapelopia l5 rtnllidrtla M<' h Cryptochironomus 49 defectusK. i Cryptochironomus 4 38 redekei Krus. c Cryptotendipes 57 4 4 anonrulusK. Dicrotendipes l9 neruosusSlaes S Dicrolendipes pulsus 8 Il'alk. n Dicrotendipes 4 tritomus K. e Eiilbldia insolita K. c Einfeldia pectoralis A K. I Enclochironomus 1l intextus Walk. Krenopelopia binotata ll'ied. S Macropelopia A 42 nehulosaMs. Micropseclra ll 6 praeco.r Mp. Microp.sectra 8 triviolis K. Microtendipes 4 chloris Ms. Parachironomus LJ arcuatus Goetqh Parachironomus 1l monochronntsv.d. Wuln Paratanytarsus 4 4 4 Iauterhorni K. Pentapedilum 4 8 34 J(, sordens v. tl. Wulo 121 Table 8. (continued) Gyula Spring Brad Jh. Criq Aclufa Ineu area Species maln near fresh navvy nver current the alder holcs bed bank leaves IN water ll L) Polypedilunt 0 34 minutum Krug. I] Polypedilum + nubeculosuntMg. Polypetlilum nuhifbr 8 Skuse A 4 Tripodura II 64 (Polypedilunt) scalaenuntSchr Procladius choreus 1 Ms. Robackia demeijerer Krus. Tanypus l9 nunrlinennit Mg 4 ll Tonvl0rsus 8 ll cttrticornis K. A Tanytarsusgregarius K 23 64 A< nd. density 64 257 l7t A d ipecies numbet 9 o IJ 8 J4 r78 106 IotaI ind./m2 242 li t4 408 64( 10 tl Speciesrichness 1) l0 Tab|eg.SpeciesrichnessandquantitatiYcdataoftheOligochaeteintheRiverFeketeKiirtis(Criqul (August l0-17' 1994) Negru), River Kettijs Kiiriis and River H6rmas Kiiriis S""rpl-g p1".". Sarkad B6k6s, Jsong16cl, Species Poiana gtei ]orz. finca Zerind Gyula R. Kett6s K. 1. Hirmas K. Ind./m' 5 Branchiura 59 sowerbyt Eiseniella 200 5l Limnodrilus 401 rlnnnredeiontts 44 Limnodrilus 987 89 182 128 Table 10. Chironomid fauna in the River Crigul Ncgru (Fekete Kdriis, in 199.1) )oiana Stei Borz Tirrca 4erind Sarkad Species DANX grareis sandy rravels gravels ieolmenl iedlment rhyto- clay eclon sedim€nt P Brillia Iongifusca 8 K h 9rillia modestu ^ Vr,, v 9riophaenocladiu.s 4 titidicolli.r Gnctqh 'Jricolopus { 4 ticinclus L{g. Cricotopus 4 trifoscia Edw. P Eu kiefferiella 8 lonsiculcar K. n Eukiefferiella 8 similis Goetsh i Eukiefferiella 106 t.:hernovskiiPankr. tinnophies 4 'tusillus Eaton l[etriocnemus 6 lv4r]petricus K. Orthocladius olivaceus K. Orthocladius t) saficola K. Y Parakiefferiella 4 bathophila K. Paralauterborniell A 8 A 8 a nigrohalteralis Mall. c Potthastia Ioncitnana K. i Prodiamesa 8 A olivacea Mc e aropsilocerus 1t lanubialis 9otnariucet Albtr Dsectrocladius S I tarbimanus Edw. Synorthocladius 8 gemivirensK. Thienemanniella :lavicornis K. Ind. density 98 30 4 tor 11 0 Spec.number 4l 5 I I { t29 Table 10. (continued) Poiana Stei Borz Tinca Zerind iarkad Species ranl Iravels iandy :ravels gravels scdiment phyto- luy iedimenl tecton D Arctopelopia sp. 4 Chironomus /luviatilis Lenz Chironomus t Cladotan),tar.sus ll l9 nnncus Wolk. h ?onchapelopia t5 mllidula Ms. i lryptochirononus 4 "edekeiKrus. lryplotendipes 4 249 momalus K. Demicryplochironr t9 nus vulneratus Dicrotendipes neruosusStaes p Macropektpia 4 nebulosaMs. Micropsectra ^ oraecox Ms. Micropsectra 2 tt"ivialis K. i Microtendipes 4 chlorir Mo Microtendipes l5 pedellLts de Geer Paracladopelnn A camptolabis K. Paratanylarsus 8 Iauterborni K. Pentapedilum 34 ll 4 sordens v. d. Wuln Po\-pedilum ll 42 34 t2 minulumKrup Polypedilunt 634 8 nrtherttlncrtn Mo Procladius choreus z) q Mo orolanvpus morio 8 7-ett. Tanypus 4 l1 nunrlinennit Mo Tanytarsus qrduen.gi.t Goctqh Tanytarsus 4 curticornis K. 130 Tatrle 10. (continued) Poiana $tei Borz Tinca Zerind iarkad Species )ank Iravels ;andy gravels gravels ;edimenl redimenrphyto- :lay iedimen tecron Tanylarsus gracillentus Holnsr. Tanylarsus 8 sre,zarius K. Thienennnnimyia 102 1l Ientiginosa Fries Tripodura 53 (Pol;,pedilwn) scalaenumSchr. Trissopelopia lonsimana Slaep tnd. denSity 944 208 3lc l5 Spe.number 8 t2 2 z 2 Total,ind. tf/.z 2t8 2ll 1fJ2 Jll f1 38 a $peci.e*:richness l4 tt I L4 Table 11, Oligochaete and th€ir quantity in the River Criqul Repede (SebesKiiriis, in 1995) Samplingplaces jaula liucea Bologa itdna de Vadul Alegd Fughiu Cheresig Vale CriEului Species Ind./m' Limnodrilus 328 6 26( clnnnredeinnrc Limnodrilus 3443 56 561 l2 t7 566j hoffmeisteri Limnodrilus u profundicola Limnodrilus 439 27 54 udekemianus Tubifex tubiJbx 859 0 53 l3 46 3 1A' lJ I Tabl€ 12. Chironomid fauna of the River Cri;ul Repede/SebesKiirits in I 995. 1 Spring area Ale$d Bologa Downstream Ciucea 2 bank matn bank 2ms rarrk 26 ms rank 2 nrs maln nghl naln cft bank current liorn from frorn curtenl bank :urrenI the the the bank Species nd./m' P urdio<:lutlius 'scasK h :ri.:otopus rlhifor<:epsK 6 v ,ricotopus 4 4 tlcarun K 7 t Iricotoptrs 8 o :ricotopus )icinclus Mg iric0topus 'irscus K. h :ricolopus 11 i :ric0topLts 8 Cricotopus I l5 8 4 trilesciatus Edw. 'l lukief.feriellu trevicalcar K. 14 Eukialferiella l! quadridentata Tshern. 1 S Eukielferiella ts hernovs ki i Pankt. to p timtrophies ?rolonpqtus K. 17 Limnophies 8 ousillus Eaton 1 c Melflocnentus hygropelricus K. i Nunocladiu bicoktr Zett. 2A irthocladius ll 90 n iaxicola K. 21 S )rthocladius ll 3 'hienemanniK earacladtus :onversus Ilalk. 23 Parakielleriellu ) bqthophila K. 24 Potthesli0 gaedi Ms. za Drodiamesa 4 tlivae:eq Mg 132 UpstreamOgorhei rughi Cheresig Szeg- I 2 2ms bank rank oms maln 6ms 2ms rank maln bank 2ms matn maln 2ms from side ;ide from current from from ;ide cunent side from cu[ent curenI from the the the the the the bank bank bank 3 4 0 l5 5 4 6 4 7 8 ll I 8 10 't1 tc 'l 8 14 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 ll 8 4 u It 21 1t 8 ll 2t 8 2i 24 2( 2t 7t IJJ Table 12.(continued) 1 jprrng area Alesd Bologa Downstream rank mal n bank 2ms )ank 26 rns ;ank 2 nrs naln right n am lefi bank current from from from ;urrenI bank rurtenl the the :he )ank ipecies Ind./m' 2( osectrocladius tsrbimanus \tlw. 2i l'Seclro(:ladtus t25 4 dilalatus v. d. Wuln 2t Symposiocladiu s licnicola K. 29 Thienemanniell a vittata E(lw. 30 Trissocladius 3 lluviatilis Goeteh. 11 '4 ind density 2M Iar z) 6\ 8 32 Speciesnumber 7 3 _) -l 34 B Apseclrolan)'Pu s trifascipennis 35 Chironomus (luviatilis Lenz) 36 n Chironomw 3'7 t Cladopelma Iacr:oohila K. l8 n Cladolanytursu: 155 465 4l 4 nancus I4alk. 39 i Clinotonypus 40 c aorynoneur4 :eleripes llin 41 Co4,noneura lemnae Frauenfeld A 42 S Cryplochiron0m 3 72 l5 4 cs re.lekei Krus. p :rypl0lendipes momulus K. )emtcryplochu' lt ,nomus 'ulnerqtus Zett. 45 c )icr0tendipes rcmosus Staes. 4( I )rcrotendtpes ritomus K. 41 iideldia 4 18 S Jlyptotendrpes 134 Upstreanr Ogorhei Fughi Cheresig Szeg- halom 2ms bank bank b nrs natn 6ms 2 rns bank matn banl< 2ms naln maln 2ms from side srde from )urrenl from from side cuffert side from urenl cunent from the the the tlre the tlre bank bank bank 26 27 A 28 t5 29 4 30 31 l5 3( ol l6( 6 0 It 0 z -f I 0 Z I 33 l5 l4( 8 4 36 l5 4 38 8 A )t 34 39 40 4l 42 lt l5 Ar 49 4 44 45 ll ll 8 72 46 8 ll 125 + 4l lJ) 'fable I 2.(continued) 1 Springarea AleSd Bologa I)owDstream DANK maln )ank 2ms rank 26 ms bank 2ms natn right n atn ell bank current from lrom from )urftn bank ruffenl the tlre the ipecies nd./m' 49 Yielferulus endipetliJttrmis ',enzia 50 .llavipes Daraduclopelm 5l il (t camplolabis )t "aracladopeltn t rolli Kirp. 53 Macropelopia 54 Vicropseclra A 5 14icrotendipes 8 'hloris Me. 56 Parschironomtt t atcuotus Goptoh 51 Paralerulipes 4 intermeditts Tsh. 58 59 Penlapedilunt 4 ll l5 sordens v. d. II/u ln 60 Dolypedilum 4 Dolypedilum 6l IJ utbeculosum ol Polvpedilunr LO 4 4 196 v,'lnDh,"h \.h" OJ ll 2( :horeus ll,ly. 64 Proc:ladi&s conversus Walk. 65 Camploc'hirono uus lenl4ns Fabr. 66 Thienemunnimy A t1 ia lentiginosa Fries Tanypus 4 ounctrpennts Ms. 68 Tsn.ytursus curlicorilis K. 136 1 Jpstream Ogorhei Fughi Jheresig izeg- 2 2ms bank rank )ms matn 6ms 2ms bank maln bank 2ms natn natn 2ms from side ;ide iom tunenl from from side cument srde from )unent :urenl liom the he the the the the rank hank bank hank 49 4 50 q 5l 4 52 8 53 4 3( l5 ll 4 4 55 + ll 56 57 l! 58 59 n l! Jt 8 60 ot A l5 4 4 8 4 6 ll 64 45 98 83 242 l2tt 491 30 6l 4 64 4 65 4 trC 4 4 4 4 6: bt 4 8 l t3 t Table 12.{continued) ipring area {leqd )ologa )ownstream liucea 'ight rank naln rank ,MS bank 26 ms )ank 2ms n aln naln fi bank )urrenl iorr from from :uIenl )ank rulrenl lre Ine the bank Species lnd./mr 69 Tanylursus 19 qracillentus Holmsr. 70 Tanylarsus 4 qregarius K. '71 Ind; demity q'l 4 230 1 58: 6( z) I 38 72 Snecie*.,:rg4ber 4 t J :, 5 8 74 Total ind./m' 261 13t 253 8t 585 68 ll 1l 227 75 Speciesrichness It 8 I 8 4 ) 3 8 r38 1 Jpstream Ogorhei Fughi Sheresig Szeg- u halom 2ms bank )anK 6ms lnaln 6ms 2ms bank main banl 2ms natn naln 2ms from side ride from curent from from side cutrent side from :unent tument from the the the the the the bank bank bmk J 69 '70 42 4 t9 3I 94 45 t4t 21 I 461 212 42 91 291 19t 661 45 ,/ 72 4 J ll 73 74 53 t25 )/ I4 30 I 53( JJ 208 98 29l 21 68( 4) '75 7 l0 ll 2t il J / r39 Table 13. The macrozoobenthos in Riv€r Bodrog and its tributaries (2-16 August, 1999) I Uns Uns Jne Jnc Un'r Jnr LJne 2 Sanrplingsites L 2. r,levicke Nevicke 3. Uzhok 3la Storozhnica Nevickeupstr. upstr. l 5pecres sngnant )urrent he main nudv nearbank spnng Stavne area unslr. Individualsin samnles Chirottomus Lnthrocinu.s kr.) )hironomus riparius 5 l5 'Meisen 1804) Chironomus lacunarius Ql/iilker I 973) ',hironomus 8 aprilinus I 'Meisen 1830) ) )ryptochironotnus 2 I lefecnts (Kieffer l9l3 10Lr))plochironomus 2 "edekei(Kruseman I 933) II 3lyptotend ipes pal Ie ns 'Meisen 1601) I2 Demicryptochirononur s vulnet'alus (Zetlerstedt1838) l3 Einfeldia carbonaria I (Meisen I804) I4Endochironomus tendens(Fabricius 1775) Microtendipes chloris I (Meisen I8l8) I Cladotanvlarsus 3 ntancus (Walker llJ56) 17Constempellina brevicosla (Edwards t937) l8Micropsech"a atroflsciata (Kieffer 19tt) t9Micropsectrajunci (Meieen 1818) 20Rheotanytarsus cto'ti,r ly Ius (Goetchehuerl92l 21 Tanytarsusgregarius 2 2 (Kieffer 1909) 22 Tanytarsusgregarius (Kieffer 1913) Dicrotendipes T4 nervosus(Staeger I 838) 140 Latorca Latorca -atorca Uns Latorca Laborec -aborec Laborec 2 4. 5. l. 7. Pavlovce 8. 9. 9la 10. Pidpolozja Pasika Jhop upstr. Velk. Certizne Koskowce Petrovce Kan. uDStr. downstr. downslr. l the main current sprrngarea 5 I 6 I t2 7 8 9 1l t2 l3 t4 8 2 2A il 2l 2 22 I L) 4 t41 Table | 3. (continued) I Jng Ung Jng Jng Jnr Uns 2 iampling sites l. 2. Nevicke Nevicke 3. Uzhok 3/a Storozhnica Nevickeupstr.upstr. upstr. 3 )pecles ;ragnanr currenl the main mudy nearbank spnng Stavne current unstr. A Individualsin samnles 24 )icrotendipes trilomus 5 'Kieffer l9l 6) 25 Darachironomu.s ucuatus (Goelghebuer |9t9) /o Paracladopelma I nigritula (Goetghebuer 1942) 27 Daralaulerborniella igrohalteralis 'Malloch1915) 28Poll,pedilum :onvictum (lYalker I 856) 2 Dol.,-pediluntlaetum 2 'Meisen l8l8) Dolypedilum tll nubifer 'Skuse1889) 31 Tripodura scalaenum 5 I (Schrank1803) Pentapedilunt sordens (van d. LI/ulo 1871) JJ Sergentialongiventris (Kieffer 1924) t4 Ephemeroptera JJ Badtispunilus (Burmeister1839) 36Plecoptera Perlodes microcephahrs(Pictet 18-13) 38Perla sp. 39 ipecies no. l3 l3 8 l( t4 tAa L+L w ii I Latorca Latorca -atorca Uns Latorca Laborec -aborec Laborec 2 5. o. 7. Pavlovce 8. 9. 9/a 10. Pidpolozja Pasika Chop upstr. Velk. Certizne Koskowce Petrovce Kan uDStr. downstr. downstr. 3 :hemain current spnng area 4 24 25 2 26 2'/ 2 28 I 2 3 29 I 30 l2 I JI JL 28 4 JJ 34 35 2 36 38 I 39 6 I 2 ll t( 143 Table 14. The macrozoobenthosin River Bodrog rnd its tributaries between August 2-16.1999 Laborec Larorca Bodrog Jndava Undava Jnoava tsodrog lJod- Llodrog ork. vid :og I l. t2. |]. t4. l"l'*'16. 17. 18. t9. zo. Stretawka aatin Vilicky \izny ti:rcava Horovce Brehov F-els6- B, Bodrog- lown- VilosorvlL lerccki rlaszi kcresztur itream I !Decrcs ipring a Jlisochaeta IndividLralsin samnles Jranchiura owerbyi (Beddard t892) [,imnodrilus 8 l3 hofnesiteri /Claoardde 1862 Tubi"fexnevaensis 8 /Michaelsen I903) Chironomidae Tanvoodinae Anatopynia olumipes (Fries 1823) 4psectrotanypus t2 'rifascipennis /ZetterstedtI 838) Proclacliuschoreus 1 (Meisen 1804) Crthocladiinae Cricolopus 3 1 bicinctus (Meigen t8t8) ?ricotopus lavocinctus 'Kieffer I 924) lukiefferiella trevicalcar 'Kieflbr 191I ) Lukielleriella clypeata(Kieffer I 923) Prodiamesa I clivacea (Meigen I 818) Rheocricotopus :/fhsus (Ilalker I 856) lhironomini Chironomus T2 "iparius (Meigen I 804) )aracladopelnn :amptolahis 'Kieffer 1913) t44 Table 14.(continued) Laborec LaIOrCa FJodrog Undava Undava Boclrog Bod- t odrog Itlnclava lork. vid. rog Il ["* 12.. 13. 14. |16. t7. 18. 19. 20. Stretawka Zari\ Vinicky !.Jizny lii.,,, Brehov I-'elsri- B. Bodrog- down- \,lilosow lerecki claszi keresztur strcam I lHorovce )Dectes ipnng a oaralauterbornielI t nigrohalteralis 'Malloch 1915) Pentapedilunt 22 I sordens (van d. llulo 1874) Polypedilunt 4 cortvictuntQl/alker I 856) Polypedilunr nubi"fer(Skuse I 889) Tripodura 2 I scalaenunt /SchrankI 803) fanVtarsini Tanytarsus gregarius (Kieffer I 909) \nrphinoda )ikerogammants a/ 2 taemobaplrcs 'luviatili,s 'Murtinov I9l9) )donata Gontphusflavipes /Clnrpentier I82-i) Ephenlcroptera BaAfispunilus (Bunneister1839) Jloi!on dipterunt 2 I 'Linnaeus l76l) Tabrophlebia usca (Curtis l83l) lulicidae -;haoboru.g :rystallinus (De ipecieqrichncss 4l 8l sl 6l 7l T 4 r45 References Ashe, P., Cranston,P. S., 1990: Chironomidae.In: So6s (ed.) Catalogueof PafaearcticDiptera. Akadtmiai Kiado, Budapest,I I3-441- Bir6, K., 1981: Az 6rvasainyogl6rv6k(Chironomidae) kishat6roz6ja.ln: Felfoldy (szerk.) VHB I 1: I -230, VIZDOK, Bp.. Csernovszkij, A. 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Hirvenoja, M., 1973: Revision der Gattung Cricotopusvan der Wulp und ihrer vervandten(Diptera: Chironomidae). - Ann. Zool. Fenn.,10: I-163- Hynes,H. B.N; Harrison,A. D; Berhe,T., 1989:Degradation of a StreamCrossing the City of Addis Ababa,Ethiopia. - TropicalFreshv'ater Biology, 2, I : I I2-120. Nuttall P. M., Pur-ves,J. B., 1974:Numerical Incides applied to the Resultsof a Surveyof the MacroinvertebrateFauna of the Tamar Catchn.rent(Southwest England). - Freshw.Biology, 4, 3: 2 I3-222. Olive, J, H; Smith, K. R., 1975; Benthic Macroinvertebratesas Indexesof Water - Quality in the SciotoRiver Basin,Ohio. Bulletin of the Ohio Biological Sttt'vey,New Series.5. 2: 124. Pinder L.C.V. & Reiss. F.. 1983: 10. The lanrae of Chironominae(Diptcra: Chironomidae)of the Holoarctic Region. - Keys and diagnoses.- Ent. Scand.Suppl. 19:293-435. Ruse.L. P; Herrmann,S. J; Sublettc,J. 8., 2000: Chironomidae(Diptera) species distributionrclated to environmentalcharacteristics of the metal-pollutedArkansas. - I{est.N. Am. Nat.. 60. I: 34-56. Schofield.K; Whitelaw. K; Merriman, R. P., 1989:The Impact of Farm Pollution - on River Quality in the United Kingdom . River Basin Management--V.Advances in Water Pollution Control: A Series of ConferencesSponsored by the IAWPRC. - PergamonPress, Inc., New York,219-228. Szit6, A., 198l: Environmentalfactors influencingthe abundanceof Chironomid larvae. - Tiscia (Szeged)XVI: 191-203. 146 Szit6,A., 1995:Macrozoobenthos in the Maros (Mureq)River. - In: Hamar,J. and S6rk6ny,K. 8., (eds.):The Maros/Jvlure$River Valley. - TISCIA monographseries, 185-191. Szit6,A., i998a: Uled6kfauna,fajok, 6l6heiymintisit6s. - Hidrol6giai Kdzlc;ny,78, 5-6: 320-322. Szit6,A., 1998b:ALovasi - s6d,a Csopaki- s6d 6s a Koloska patak 6rvaszrinyog fauniijAnakszezonilis dinamikSja,biomassziija 6s diverzit6s 6rtekei. - Hidrologiai Kdzldny, 78, 5-6: 323-324. Szit6, A., i999: The Oligochaeteand the Chironomid fauna of the Uppcr Tisa Regionand its tributaries.- In: Hamar,J. and S6rk6ny-Kiss,A. (eds.):The Upper Tisa Valley. - TISCIAmonograph series,401-407. Szit6, A., 2000a: Az Orvenyesi-. az Asz6f6i-, 6s a Sz6l6si s6d 6rvaszunyog faunija, biomasszdja6s diverzit6sert6kei. - Hidrologiai Kozlc)ry,80, I : I : 41-44 . Szit6, A., 2000b: Az Egewiz, a Tapolca- cs a Bum6t patak Oligochaeta6s Chironornida fauniija. - Hidrol6giai Kozlony 80, 5-6: 388-390. Szit6, A., 2000c: The macrozoobenthosof the River Bodrog Region and its tributaries.- in: Gall6,L. and Kdrnrriczi,L. (eds.):Ecology of River Valleys. - TISCIA monographseries, (Jniv. Szeged,189-195. Szit6,A., and M6zes Katalin, 1997:The Oligochaetaand the Chironomidfauna as pollution indicatorsin the Crig/Krirrisriver system.- In: S6rk6ny-Kiss,A. and Hamar, J. (eds.):The Criq,/KiirosRivers' Valleys. A study of the geography,hydrobiology and ecologyof the river systemand its environment.- TISCIAmonograph series, 165-194. Szit6.A., and M6zes, K., 1999:The Oligochaetaand the Chironomidfauna in the Someq/SzamosRiver system. - In: Sdrrk6ny-Kiss,A. and Hamar, J. (eds.): The Someg/SzamosRivcrs' Valleys. A study of the geography,hydrobiology and ecology of the river systemand its environment.- TISCIAmonograph series, 179-191. Waterhouse,J. C; Fanell, M. P., 1985: Identifying Pollution RelatedChanges in Chironomid Communitiesas a Function of Taxonomic Rank. - CanadianJournal of Fisheriesand Aquatic Sciences,42,3: 406-413. SZiTO A. Institutefor Fisheries Aquacultureand Irrigation,Szarvas Anna-liget8.j H-5540 Szarvas Hungary 147 TISCIA monographseries (2002),6, 149 166 THE PRESENTSTATUS OF THREAT TO THE CADDIS FLIES (TRICHOPTERA)FROM THE RIVERS $OME$, MURE$ AND CRT$URICATCHMENT AREA IN ROMANIA Uivdrosi Lttiza Abstract The distributionof Trichopterawas analysedat 3 I samplingsites distributed along differentwater courses,tributaries of the rivers Sorneg,Mureq and the threeCriguri, in order to determinecharacteristic associations of caddis flies speciesin the different sectors of these rivers. Beside the personal observations,the author's aim is to summarizemost of the publishedinformation, as well as resultsof personalcollecting dataconcerning caddis fly taxa which are vulnerable,endangered or alreadydestroyed by human activities, with notes on altered, endangeredor vulnerable habitats of Trichopterafrom thesecatchmcnt areas. Altogether 193 speciesof caddis flies have beenobserved since 1898along rivers.A numbcrof I I specieshave becorne extinct in the areainvestigated, mostly from the large rivers and eutrophicor oligotrophicpools, in the catchmentsarea. The other 184 speciescan be categorizedinto five groupson the basisof their conselation status:unknown (or insufficientlyknown), endangered, vulnerable,presumed lrrlnerable and not threatened.The unknown (or insufficiently known) are thosethat havebeen collected before the nineties,the recentstudies do not confirm their prcsencein the area investigated,but they could bc still present.Their habitat must be studiedin the future. The endangeredspecies have a few, small and isolatedpopulations, n.rost of the endemicand relict speciesalso belong to this group. Most of the endangeredspecies are living in sources,mountainous brooks and hilly streams. The situation of the threatenedcaddis flies can differ from a river systemto an other. The nunrberof speciesdwelling in the springsand brooks in the rnountainous and sub mountainousarea is still very high. The caddisfly community of the lower sector of theserivers is rather poor and uniform in relation with thc sectorsin the mountainousand hilly areas,with specicshaving wide ccologicaltolerance. Probably a certainimprovement of the watcr quality of theserivers is responsiblefor this. Keywords: Trichoptera, faunistical list, Someg, Mureg, Criguri river systems, endangeredspccies, extinction. conservation t49 Introduction The presenceor absenceof organismsis rclatedto biotic and abiotic factors.The repeatabilityof thescrelationships can be usedfor markingwater typologiesand water quality assessments.Organisms and communities,like caddis flies, function in this way as bioindicators.Mereover, human activities have their impact on streamsand rivers, causing changesin the original circumstances.Under the new conditions, aiterations in the composition of the community are observed, and here again organisms can act as bio-indicators of thc new situation or maybe even of the alteration(HIGLER and TOLKAMP, 1982).This required a long term study of the water bodies,and a comparisonof the publisheddata with the personalobservations is also necessaryfor underlinethe evolutiontrends of the community and the possibility ofrestaurationofthe endangeredor distroyedhabitats. The main tributariesof Tisa in Romaniaare the rivers Someg,Mureg and the three Criguri,with a cathcmentarea which coversalmost the whole Transylvania,divided in mountainous, hilly and lowland sectors. These three rivers receive numerous tributariesin the catchmentarea (UJVARI, 1972). The Someqriver systemhas a total surfaceof the catchmentarea of 15 217 km, and is found in the northcrnpart of the Transylvanianbasin, the origins of the water courseswich form the spring sector are in the Apuseni, Gutdi, libles, Rodnei, B6rgdului and Cdlimani Mountains. The largest tributaries are SomegulMare and SomegulMic. The three Criguri rivers and its tributaries come from the northern, westem and southernpart of the Apuseni Mountains,the whole river systemhas a surfaceof l4 880 km in Romania. The largest tributaries are the lerul, Barcdul, Crigul Repede, CrigulNegru and Crigul Alb. The Mureq rivcr systemspreads over on a surfaceof 27 919 km in Romania.The majority of the tributaries came from the Eastern and Southem Carpathiansand from the Apuseni Mountains. The largest tributaries are: Tamava Mic5, Tdrnava Mare, Luduq and Arieq. The total nurnberof the Romaniancaddis fly speciesis uncertain.CIUBUC (1993) listed 267 caddis flies. In addition BOTO$ANEANU (1993) cired other 12 species new to the country fauna,two yearslater (1995) the sameauthor published important new data and commentedon the presenceand absenceof a number of species, previouslycited from Romania.Based on the last few years' intensiveinvestigations, made by the author mainly along the mountainsbrook on the EasternCarpathians, other six new speciesfor the country's faunahave beenrecorded (UJVAROSI, 1995, r997.r998. UJVAROST. NOGRADT. l9e9). Up to the presenta numberof 193 speciesofcaddis flies havebeen recorded from the Romanian section of the rivers Someg,Mureq and Criguri catchment area, wich representabout 65-70 oh of the whole Romanian fauna. 150 Material and methods Adults of trichoptera were sampled along the rivers Someq,Mureg and the tirree Criguri and their tributaries.Three customarycollecting methods were applied in our fieldwork, between 1994-2000.Daytime sweepingresulted in a small material,but a few spccieswcre collectedonly by this way. Night personalcollecting ("lighting") was usually very fruitful. We ahvaysused mcrcury-vaporbulbs (160 or 250 Watts). Theselamps were poweredby a portablegenerator (Honda EM650 or EG550 types). In addition in 1994 and 2000 fwo light traps were operated,one in Floregti, near the left side of the river SomequlMic, tributaryof Somegand anothernear the Valea Ierii village, in the Iara Valley, along the Iara brook, a small tributary of Mureq from the Apuseni Mountains.We did not collect and study immaturestages as they are rather unsatisfactorilyknown, especiallyin the caseof the rare and endemicspecies. A number of 129 specieswere collectedand exarnined,wich represent66,83 % from the total numberof speciesrecorded from this area. Sampling sites The samplingsites, situatedmostly along the tributariesof the rivers mentioned above,were locatedat different altitudes(from I l0 to 1400 m.a.s.l).The collecting sitesare presented according to the following list (Fig. l): River Somescatchment area: Sl. Arcalia, $ieu stream,tributary of SomegulMare river, 330 m 52. Cluj town, SomegulMic, 340 m 53. Floreqti,Somequl Mic river, 350 m 34. Chinteni,artificial pondsand channels,380 m 55. Doda Pilii, SomegulCald river, 940 m 56. Ic Ponor,Somegul Cald river downstreamto the gorge,950 m 57. Cheile SomequluiCald, 1070m S8. CetateaRddesii, a natural cave in the spring sector of the Somegul Cald river, il00m River Mureq catchmentarea: Ml. Reghintown, 390 m M2. Rimetea,Piatra Secuiului, springs in rocks,Arieg catchmentsarea, 400 m M3. Tureni, Tureni gorge, Turului stream,Arieg catchmentsarea, 410 m M4. Subcetate,Tdmava Mare river, 465 m M5. Rdstolifa, brooks near Mureq river, 490 m M6. Androneasa,near Mureq, 500 m M7. Poru{, Iara stream,500 m 151 M8. Pogagade Sus, Sc6rita Belioara Naturc ReserveArea, Arieq catchmentsarea, 520m M9. Praid,TArnava Mici river, 550 m M10. Valea Ierii, Iara river, Arieg catchmentsarea, 570 m M I l. Remetea,Gheorgheni Depression, 730 m Ml2 Voglobeni,Senetea, eutrophic pools and moorsnear Mureq, 780 m M13 Retezat,()ura Zlata,mountainous brooks, 800 m M14 Ariegeni, springs systemson the sotuce of the ArieE river', 840 n M15 Biigoara,mountainous springs at 1385m River Criguri catchmentarea: C1 Cefa,fischery ponds, I l0 m C2 Vadul Crigului, Crigul Repcdegorge, 260 m C3 Aciu{a, Crigul Alb river catchmcntarea, 300 m C4 Awam Iancu, Crigul Negru river catchmentsarea, 330 m C5 Valea Drdganului, Drigan stream,tributary of Criqul Repede,400 m C6 ValeaIadului, mountainousbrooks at 420m C7 Blijeni, Crigul Alb river. 470 m C8 Vlddeasa,springs and brooks in spruce fir forest, 1400 m F-l- -\--- I ! I so"rtt RIVERSYSTTH I : I \ / ,J -6 un-. =t55, --Uaa\ oc? .fi.,-";_i FI? \ .; cR$URl '"'*t!ft'P.t-'lt o$l / RrveRsYsrrH ", 4"" /\ ,'1 {-Ji il o,l,'J!}r,,n ?,,, \ r6a-'--*-? O--,- \/ -- -.. -\,-|.t -n--/ I rf'-., - -' Oru ,rt l./ te 21.0E 21.5F. 22.0F- 22.5F. 23.OF. 21.5F. 24.0E 24.58 2_s.0E 2_s,-sE .Frg. .1.Sanpling sites in the area investigated (erplications see in the tert). 152 Resultsand discussion The total number of trichoptera speciesis 193, from which a number of 129 speciesresult from personal investigations.A number of 3l collecting sites was sfudied.A number of 9 trichopteraspecies are recordedfor the first time from this area:Allotrichi pallicornis, Tinodeskimminsi, Limnephilusflavospinosus, Limnephilus incisus, Anabolia furcata, Annitella obscurata, Lithax obscurus, Oecetis notata, O. testacea.The presenceof another species have not been confirmed during our investigations. Thcse species are: Rhyacophila fttrcifera, R. philopotamoides, S),nagapetusarmatus, S. iridipennis, Agapetusfttscipes, A. rectigonopoda, Stactobia maclachlani, Ortotrichia angustella, H),droptila sparsa, Wormaldia subnigra, Hydropsyche botosaneanui, H. bulgaromanonrnt, H. ornatttla, H. tabacarui, Polycentropus excisus, Holocentropus picicornis, Lipe phaeopa, Tinodes rostocki, Trichostegia minor, Phryganea bipwtctata, P. grandis, Oligotricha striata, Oligostomis reticulata, Brachicentnts montanus, Ol igoplectrum maailatum, Apatania carpathica, Drusus biguttatus, D. buscathensis, Dntsus triJidtts, Limnephilus binotatus, L. fuscicornis, Grammotaulitts nitidus, Glyphotaelius pellucidus, Phacopteryx brevipennis, Potamophylar milleni, Chionophylax mindszentyi, Melampophylax polonicus gutinicus, Isogamus aequalis, Anisogamus dffirmis, Micropterna sequax, Chaetopteryx polonica, C. sahlbergi, Psylopteryx psorosa carpathica, P. p. gutinensis, P. p. retezatica, Chaetopetygopsismaclachlani, Lithax niger, Crunoecia monospina, Athripsodes albi,frons, A. cinereus, Ceraclea annttlicornis, C. fulva, C. senilis, Ylides kawraiskii, Y. simulans, Oecetisfur-va, O. tripttnctata, Setodesviridi.s, Leptocerus interrupttts, Adicella filicornis, Sericostoma personatum,Beraeodes minutus. Some of thesespecics are vanishedor extinct from theseriver systems. The list of caddisfly speciesfrom the Someg,Mureg and criguri rivers and their tributariesis presentedin Table 1. The speciesare presentedwith their ecological requirementand the presentstatus of threatin the threeriver systems. The caddisflies communitiesof the upper and lower scctorsof theserivers show considerabledifferences. The mountainousregion is rich in species,the numbervaries from 71 (Someqriver system)to 141 (Mureq river system),containing a largenumber of rare and endemicspecies. Some of thesespecies are charactheristicto one or two river systems,they do not occur elsewhere,only in the spring sectoror they are very rare, ex. Rhyacophila aquitanica, R. laevis, R. orghidani, Wormaldia pulla, Hydropsyche tabacarui, Plectrocnemia brevis, P. kisbelai, Micrasema minimum, Drttsus romanicus, Rhadicolepttts alpestris, Potamoplrylax jungi, P. pallidum, chaetoptewxbiloba, oecetis testacea,etc. Someof thesespecies can be found herein high number. In the lower reachesof these rivers the diversity of the Trichoptera communityis considerablyreduced, it becornesrather unifomr, and only a few species with wide ecologicaltolerance remain here. In the Mureg river systemwe can mention only the followings: Hydropsyche bulgaromanorum, Grammolaulius nigropunctatus, Halesus digitatus, Setodespunctatus. ln the Someqriver systemsthere were collected: Hydropsyche contubernalis, cheumatopsychelepida, Ecnomus tenellus, Limnephilus griseus, Leptocerus tineiJbrmis, Notidobia ciliaris. The apparently high number of l)J speciesin the three Criguri river systems(33) could be lower in the prcsent,because the bulk of information camc from oldest publications (MOCSARY, i900; KERTESZ,1902; MURGOCI, 1951,1953),and species like Giossosomaintermedittm, Hydropsyche angu.stipennis, Orthotrichia striata, Brachicentrstt subnubilus, Potamophylax latipennis, Parachiona picicornis, Stenophylaxpennistus, Silo piceus, Sericostoma.flavicorne, S. personatunt,Berae pullata, Beraeodesminutus are absent in the upper sector of these rivers. Our investigationscover only the mountainous sectorof theserivers, a more intensivesampling along in the lower sectorit is also necessary. The most diversecaddis f'ly communitieswere collectedin the Mureg catchment areawith 164 trichoptcraspccies, with a high numberof speciesin the mountainous sector (141 species).In the hilly region, with intensive agricultural and industrial activity, the numberof speciesincreased to 57. In the lower sectoronly 5 specieswere recorded. The aquatic communitics were almost distroycd or significantly impoverished. The situation along the Someqcatchment area is simiiar to those of the Mureq systems,with 113 species,but in the mountainoussector there were identifiedup to the presentonly 7l species.The hilly regionhas still a rich fauna,with 6l species,but the lower scctorcontains only 7 ecologicalwidespread spccies. In the three Criguri river systemsthe total number of caddisfly specieswas 103, most of these speciesbcing found in thc mountainousregion (82). Hsre the hilly region containsthe lowestnumber of species,only I l, but the lowland courseshave a relativelyhigh diversity(30 species)as comparedwith the two previousriver systems. Categorization of the threatened species The most importantnlention in speciescategorization must be donehere. After thc very intensive investigationof the caddis fly fauna of Romania, made mostly by BOTO$ANEANU (1952-1975)and MURGOCI (1951-1959),no tuthersresulrs have beenpublished for almost30 years.Only in the ninetiessome impofiant contibutions were published(CIUBUC,1993, BOTO$ANEANU, 1993, 1995),mostly basedon older collecteddata. The authorstarted to examinatethe caddisfly faunaof theseriver systemsin the year 1994. Some of these result have already been published.The intensityofour collectingactivities was not uniform along the differentrivers, but the quantityof the collectedmaterial helps us to draw someconclusions. In this situation, the list ofthe speciespresented in eachcategory must be taken carefully.The author's aim was to gatherall the informationwitch can servein the protectiveand restoration activitiesin the river systemsinvestigated. In the presentno speciesare protectedby law in Romania. The category used is based on works of KLIMA, 1994, 1998, UHERKOVICHand NOGRADI, 1999. 0 Unknown (insufficiently known). A large number of Trichoptera species from eachriver systemscan be introducehere, due to the very few recentpublications in the last 20-30 years.Our collectingdata cover only a part (mostly mountainousand hilly r54 sectors)of theseriver systems,of all thesepreviously records should be reconsidered in the future. We can mention here a number of 40 speciesfrom the Somegriver system,46 from the Muregriver systemand 65 from Criguririver system(see Table 1). 7. Extinct or vanished.Here we can mention specieswhose fortnerly known habitatshave been anihilatedor heavily injuried, and authenticspecimens have not been collectedin the last 40-50 years.A large number of river dwelling trichoptera haveno recentdata, even if the identificationcould be valid. The majority of eutrophic pools,for ex., from the suburbanarea near Cluj, in the Somegriver system,have been alreadydestroyed by humanactivities. This was the only known previouslyrecord for Trichostegiaminor in the areainvestigated. We can mention here a number of I I speciesfrom the Someqriver system, 16 from the Muregriver systemand 1l from the Criquririver system(see Table l). 2. Endangered Thesespecies have few, isolatedpopulations, generally, with low abundance.Due to the favorablelocal conditions,the number of specimensin some localitiesinvestigated by us may be high. In this categoryenter the majority of our endemictaxa and some rclict or rare species,with diminishing populationsall over Europe. We can mention here a number of 4 speciesfrom the Somegriver system, 16 from the Muregriver systemand 4 from the Criguririver system(see Table 1). 3. Vulnerable. The recent quantity data of these species show diminished populationsin comparisonwith the previousrecords, or the distributionarea of ceratin speciesare limited becauseof unfavorablechanges in the environment.They have beenobserved nowadays sporadical in someplaceses. We can mentionhere a numberof 8 spcciesfrom the Someqriver system,21 from the Muregriver systemand 2 from the Criguririver system(see Table 1). 4. Prestmably vulnerable.At the presentthey have strongpopulations in the river systems investigated,althought these populations may decline and shrink due to degradationof thcirhabitats. We can mention hcrc a number of 22 speciesfrom the Somegriver system,39 from the Murcg river systemand l0 from the Criquririver system(see Table 1). The rest of the speciesare not yet threatened.These speciesare able to adapt themselvesto degradationand pollution. Relativelyfew ceratinspecies of trichoptera belong to these(more or less discussable)group, and the reactionsto the sourceof pollutionsmust bc investigatedfor eachspecies in the future for a correctevaluation. We can mention hcrc a number of 30 speciesfrom the Somegriver system,29 from the Mureq river systemand I I from the Criguri river system(see Table 1). The majority of thesespecies are streamdwelling speciesin the mountainousarea, where the water quality is still good or acceptable.This situationshould be changedin the 155 future, if we do not make efforts to keep the recenthabitats of thesespecics clear and unpolluted. Table l. River systems: S Someg riyer catchmen( area, M l\Iureq river catchment area, C - Crigul river catchment area, llto - montainous area, H - hilly region, L - lowland sector Ecology:Ll,G - all types ofrunning water, K-crenal, R rithral, P potamal, L-standing wa(er, Nl - marches.H - hlgropteric biocenosis. * Source of inforn,ationi only personal collecting data, " only bibliographical quoted drta, published before 1975, . - up to the present have no published data from that river system,+ - prcsent. - absent The presenl stslus of trcath: 0 - unknorvo or unsufficientll' known; I - exticn{ of vanished; 2 - endangeredi3 - vulnerable;4 - presunredvulnerable; n - not threatened E S Mc I{ M H L C Mo HL RHYACOPHILIDAE I Rhl,acop hila aquitanica R + -t McLACHL..1879 2 Qhvaconhila fa-rci rta I IAGEN- 1859 R,P n n 3 Rh 1, a c on 1t,, o .ru, ife r a KL AP ALEK, R J 1904" " + Qhvacophila/aevis PICTET. I 834 K 4 .i 0 + 5 Rhyacop hi Ia rnocsaryl KLAPALEK, R + 4 + 0 1898 o Rhvacophila notasi K,R l- 0 t- 0 + BOTOSANEANU.I957 7 Rhyacophila nubila (ZETTERSTIII)T, R.P + l- n 1- + n + l. I 840) 6 Rhyacop hila obli tera ta R + F n + + n l McLACHLAN. 1863 9 Rhyacophila orghidani R + -t 0 F BOTOSANEANU. I952 l0 Rh;taco p h i la p hi I opo tunro ide s K,R + 0 I- McLACHLAN.1879" ll Rhyacophilapolonica R + 4 t- 0 I VIcLACHLAN. 1879 T2 Rhyacop hi Ia Io rrent iLonPICTET, R 0 + 4 + 0 -t- I 834 t3 ?hvacophilorrrtrs PICTIT, | 834 R 0 + 0 + Clossosomatidae 4 ilo.rso.sonuboltoar CURTIS. I 814 R.P + + 0 + (i l5 Ios so s oma corlozus NEBOISS, R 0 + J + 0 + 1963 t6 GIossosoma discop horurn R 0 + 0 + KLAPALEK, I9O2 L7 Glossosoma inlennediunt R ) + I I KLAPALEK. l892 l8 Synago pe n s arm atus (McLACHLAN, K 0 + 1879) " 19 S))nagapelusiridipennis K,R 2 + |McLACHLAN. 1879)" z0 Synago pet us rrosclr.( LILM F.R,| 938) K.R 2 2l Agapetus de I ica tul us McLACFILAN, R,P 4 + + I 884 22 4gapetusfuscipes CURTIS. I 834. K.R 0 + 4sapetuslaniyer (PICTET. |,834t R.P + n + + (l 156 Table l. (continued) E S Mo H M HL CH 24 4gapetusochripes CLIRTIS. I 834 R.P n 25 lgapetus rectigonopoda R.K 2 + ]OTOSANEANU.I957" Ilydroptilidae 26 Stac t o b i a m ac I a c h I ani KIMMIS, H 0 + 1949" 27 Ort hotric hia angustella R,P,L 0 + 0 + McLACI{LAN. 1865' 28 Uryethirallavicornis ( PICTET. I 834 P.l n + 0 + 29 (tytrichia lanellaris EATON. 1873 R.P 0 + t7\'droptila 30 lroripota (EATON. I 871) R.P n n + + n + JI 1vdroptil + a /oterrsrsMOSELY. I 93C) P.R 0 J + + 0 + Vvdroptila sirnulans MOSELY. 1920 R.P 0 I t[droptila 33 sparsaCURTIS. 1834" P 0 + 34 4gra.vlease.rmaculato CURTIS. |8 j4 L n 0 J) 4I Io ti chia pa II icorzn (EATON, R,P -t + I873)* Philoootamidae 36 Phi lopotamus montanusDONOVAN, R 0 + n + n + 1813 Ph i lopotamus variegatus (SCOPOLI, R n + 0 + 0 + I 763) 38 Wormal di a occipita lis (PICTET, H,R 0 + 4 + + 0 + l 834) 39 ll'orma ldi a p ull a (McLACHLAN, K,R 0 + 2 + l 878) 40 ll/ctrma ldia subnlgra (McLACHLAN, R,P 0 + 1865). llydropsychidae 4l Hydropsyche angustipennis (CURTIS, R,P n i n + + l 834) 42 Hydropsychebotosaneanui R 0 + MARINKOVIC, I966" 43 Hy clro p syc he bul b ife r a R,P n + n + + U + McLACHLAN. 1878 44 Hvdrops; che hu I ga ro mano r unr P 0 + 0 + MALICKY. I977" 45 Hldr op sy ch e con t tbe rn aI i s R,P n + + n + + II f + + McLACHLAN. 1865 I 46 IyJropsyc he fulvrpes CURTT S. I 8j4 R 0 + 0 + 47 Hydropsyc he instabi I is (CItRTIS, R n + + n + l 834) 48 Hydropsvcle modesraNAVAS. I 925 R.P n + n + n + 49 Hydropsycheornarala McLACHLAN P,R 0 + I 878" ps1'che 50 Hvdro pel luci dul a (CIJRTIS, R,P n + n + n + + I 834) 5l Hydropsycfts s666ai6o R,P 4 + 4 + + 0 McLACHLAN. 1884 52 Hydropsyche tabacarui R 2 , + BOTOSANEANU, 1960' t57 Table l. (continued) E S LM H C Mo H 53 Cheu m a r opsyc he Ic p ida IPICT ET. R,P n + + 4 + +. 4 + I 834) Pnhcentrnnolidoc 54 Neureclips is bimacu I a to (LINNE, P,R 4 4 + 1758) 55 Plec lroc nemia brevrs McLACHLAN, K,R ^t + 1871 56 Dlec t ro cnenia c o nspe rs a (CURTIS, K,R + 4 + I Ri4) 57 Plectrocnemiu kisbe lai R 2 + ROTOSANEANU. 1976 58 Po lltc e ntro pus e-rcisls KLAPALEK, R 0 + 1894" + + t 59 Polyce n tro pus fl avomoc ul a tus G 0 4 0 (PICTET. 1834) 60 Po lyce nlro pu s i rroratus CURTIS, R ) + l 835 61 Ho locenlropuspicicornk L.M 2 + (STEPHENS.I836) " 62 lvrnus lrimaculalr,stCURTIS. | 834) I,.P.R 4 0 + Psvchomviidae + + OJ Psychomyiapus i//a (FABRICIUS, P.R.L n + + n + + n 1781) 64 Ltoe nhaeooa(STEPHENS. 1836) " L.P.R 0 + 65 Lvoereducta (HAGEN. 1868) R.P 0 -) + + -+ 66 Tinodeskimntinsi SYKORA. lq62* K 2 o/ Tinodes ro st oc ki McLACHLAN, R.K 4 + 4 + I 878" Ecnomidae 68 Ecnomus tenellus (RAMBUR, 1842) L n + -t- n + Phrtooncidup 69 Trichostesianrlnor (CURTIS. 1834)" L.P + 70 4sryonia Daselana CURTIS. I 835 L 4 + 71 4prvonia varrc (FABRICIUS. I 793 L.1\{ n + n + + 72 Dhryganea bipunctat a RETZIUS, L I + l 783' Dhrusaneasran.irs LINNE. 1758' L I + + 0 + 74 )li,Lotrichasrriald I LINNE. | 758) o L 0 + + 0 + I + + /) Oligostomis reticulata (LINNE, 1761) G I + Rrnrhrepntriinp 76 Brac hice ntrus mont an us KL AP ALEK R 1 + 0 + 1892" 77 Brac hi centrus s u bnu b i lus CURTIS, P 4 + 0 + 1R?4 78 Oligoplectrum maculalunt P,R 0 + 0 + + GOURCROY. 1785)' 79 Micras e ma mi nimum McLACHLAN, R 3 + 0 + 1876 Limncnhilidne 80 'ronoquiadrDia (STEPIIENS. l8l7) R -t + + r58 Table l. (continued) E S Mo H M Mc H C Mc H 8l 4parania carlnt hic a (SCIIMID, K,R 0 + r9s4)" 82 Drusushisuttatus (PICTET, 1834) R.K 0 + 83 Drusushrunneus KLAPALEK. I 898 R.K 0 + 4 + 84 Drusus buscathensis K,R 2 + BOTOSANEANU, I960" 85 Dnrsusdiscolor (RAMBUR, 1842) R 0 + 0 + 86 Drususromanicus MURGOCI & R 2 + 0 + BOTOS..1954 87 Drusustenellus (KLAPALEK. 1898) R 0 + 0 + 0 + 88 Drusustrifidus McLACHLAN, 1868" K.R 0 + 89 Ecclysopteryxdalecarlica R n + n + n + KOLENATI. l848 90 Ecclysopteryx madida R 0 + 4 + 0 + + (McLACHLAN. 1867) 9l Limne o hi lusaliinls CURTIS. I 834 G n + + n i + 0 + 92 Limneohilusauricula CURTIS. 1834 L n + + n I- 0 + + 93 Limnephi lus bi nolatas CURTIS, L I + I 834' 94 Limneph i I us bipunclarus CURTIS, L,R 4 + + + I + + + r834 95 Limnephiluscoenosus CURTIS, 1834 R.M + + 96 Limneph i lus clecrpfens(KOLENATI, L,R 4 + n + 4 + r848) 97 Limnephilus extricatus G n + + n + + 4 + McLACHLAN. 1865 98 Limnephi lusfl avlcornrs (FABRICIUS, L 4 + + 0 + 4 + + 1789) 99 Limnephi lusfl avosp ittosus(STEIN, L 0 + 1874) + 100Limnephi lus.fuscicornrs RAMBUR, L I + 0 + + 1842" t0l Limneohilus srrieas (LINNE. 1759) c n + + n + + 0 + + 102 Limneohilus hirsunts (PIC'fET. I 834) L.P.R 4 + + + 103Limnephilus lgnavu.sMcLACHLAN, L,R 4 + I 865 104Limnephilus lncisrs (CURTIS, I 834) L 0 + t05 Limnep hil us /unarr.rsCURTIS. I 834 L n + + n + + 0 + 106 Limnephilusrhombicus LINNE. I758 G n + n + + 0 + t07 Limnephilussparsus CURTIS. I 834 G n + + n + t08 Limnephilussticnra CURTIS. 1834 G 4 + 0 + 109 Limnephi lus vlllalm (FABRICIUS, L,R n + + n + + 1798) I l0 3rammota ul ius nigropunctatus G 4 + + 4 + + + 0 + + RETZIUS,I783) Ill Grammotaulius nilidas (MU LLER, L,P + t'764\" n2 Glyp h o t ae I i us p eI Iuc i d us (RET ZIU S, G 0 + 4 + 0 + I 783)' I 13 4nabo I ia furca ta BP.AIJER- I 857 + ,.P 4 + 159 Table 1. (continued) E S Mo HL M Mc FI c Mo H 1t4 Asynarchuslapponicus R,I\I + ZETTI]RSTEDT.I848* ll5 Phacopteryx brevipennis (CURTIS, L.IlI 0 + J + l 834) " I l6 Rhadicoleptus a Ipestris (KOLENATI, R.M.K -t l J + 0 1 I 848) 117 Po t am o p hyI ar ci ngu I a t u s R + 4 + 0 i (STEPHENS.I837) uotantophrlar 118 itrlgi MhY, 1976 R + 2 lt9 ao t antop hv I tr Iat ipen n i s (CIJRTIS, R 4 + 0 + l 834) 120 Potamophvlaxluctuosus (PILL. & R 4 + 4 I MITT.. 1793) 121 Potamophyl at ntil I eni (KL APF,LEK, R J I + I 898) " 122 Pot antop hy I cu ni gr icor nis (PICTET, R -t 0 + I 834) 123 Pot amt> p ht Iu pallldrs (KLAPAL EK, R J + 0 + I 900) 124 ihionophvlat ntindszentvi SCI{MID, K,R 0 + 0 + 0 + 1951" 125 lalesustlicitatus {SCIIRANK. I 78I R.P.L 0 4 + 'lo t26 I et tt.sr t'.s.seln I u.s ( RA M B U R. 18-+2 C 4 I 0 + t27 Meluntpop hvlar nepos triangu li lbro K.R -t + BOTOS..I957 128 Ve I amp op h.vla.r po lo n i c us gu I i n i cu s K,R 2 loTos.. 1994" t29 lsoganutsueq ual is (KLAPALEK. R J + 1907) " 130Aniso gamus di /fornrs McLACHLAN, R l l 875" l-lt Parachiona p iciconrn (PICTET, K -t t J + I + + | 834) t)l M ic rop tern a nyc t e ro b i a R,K n + + n + + 0 + McLACHLAN.1875 l-rl Mi croptern a sequar McLACI I LAN, R 0 + 4 + 0 f I 875' 134 M icro p I em a lestacea (GMEL [N, R 0 I (, + 0 I 790) 135Stenoph.v lax perntistus R n + + n I + McLACHI-AN. 1895 36 |tenophvlaxyrber (CURTIS. 183;l R 0 + 0 + Alloyonut ouricollis { PIC'T[T. llJ34] R 0 + Allosamusr/acicrs SCHMID. 195 R + 39 AJ L'tu nt u.t rrnt'atu.s (BRAUIR. I E57 R 4 + 0 140 Chaelopteryr biloba R.K 2 + 0 + BOTOSANEANU,I960 l4l C h ae t opte r.y.r b os nia ca c issvI va n i c a R 0 -t- 0 + 0 BOTOS.. 1994 142 Chaetoptervx polonica R -t + DZIEDZIELEWICZ. I889" 160 Table l. (continued) E S Mo H I MH C I{ L 143 Cha e to pteryr sa hl bergi R + McLACHLAN. 1876' 144 Psl,lopteryxcurviclavata R.K 0 + ) + 0 + BOTOSANEANU. I957 145 DsyI opt cr.vx p.soro.\a (u rpo I hi(u K,R 0 + JCHMID. I952" 146 Psvlopleryxpsorosa gutinensis MEY K,R 0 + & BOTO., 1985. 147 Ps1-lopleryx psorosa retezatico BOTC) K,R 0 + & scHN..l978. 148 Chae topte r-ygopsi s nnc I ac h I a ni R,K 2 + sTEtN.1874" 149 AnniteI la lateroproducta R J 4 + 4 (BOTOSANEANiJI. I952 150 Annitel I a obscurata (McLACHLAN, R,P + I 876) * Goeridae 5l Goeraoilosa (FABRICI[JS. 1775 R.P.L 0 + + 4 + 52 LirhaxnisL'r (HAGEN. 1859)" K.R 0 + 0 + )-i Lithar obscurus(HAGEN. 1859) * K.R 0 + 54 Silo praellsi PICTET. 1865 R n n + 0 + 55 \ilo pallipe.s(FABRICIUS. l78l R -t + fo Sr/opicars BRAUER. 1857 R 0 + 4 + + + Lepidostontatidoe l5'7 Lepidostoma hirtum (F AB RICI US, P,R 4 + + + 1775) 158 Lasiocephalabas alis (KO L E NA TI, R,P 3 + + + t 848) 159 lrunoecia monospina R,K 7 + qOTOSANEANU, 19600 Leptoceridae 160 Athripsodesaf bifrons &INNE. 1758)' R U l6l Athripsodesbilineatus (LINNE. I 758) R.P + 162 Athripsodescinereus (CURTIS, I 834) L,P + 163 Athripsodescommutatus (RO SfO CK, R,P + + 1874) 164 Ceracleaannulic ornis (STEP II ENS, L,P t + I + 1836)" 165 Ceraclcadissimilis (STEPHENS, L,P 0 + n + I 836) t66 Ceracleafulva (RAMBUR. 1842) LI -f t67 Ceracleasenilis (B UR lvt E I STER, L 0 + I 839)o 168 Vystacidesaz.urea (Ll NNE. I 76I ,.P 4 4 + + 169 \4ysracideslongicornis rLI NNE.I 76I t L n + l + 170 Mystacidesnil.JIa (LlNNE. I 761 L 0 + + 170Ylodes kawrauskii (MA RTYNOY, P,R t + 2 + 1909)" o 72 Yfodessimulans (TJEDER, 1929) P.R ^t + o t73 lecetis furra (RAMBUR. 184:) L I + t6l Table 1. (continued) E S Mc HLM Mo H C Mo HL 74 lecetis lacustrisPICTET. 1834) L 4 'I 75 Jecetisnotata (RAMBUR. 184: P,L 0 I 76 Jecetisochracea (URTIS. 1825 L n + tl + 77 Jecetistestacea (CURTIS, 18.14)* L,P 2 178 )eceris tripunctata (FA BR I CI US, L,P I + I 793) " 179 Setodespunctatus (FA B R IC IUS. P 0 + 0 + + 0 1793) 180 Setodesviridis (FORUCROY,1785) " P I + l8l Lcptocerus interruptus (F A BRIC I US, R,P 1775)" t82 Leploceristineilbrmis (-URTIS, I 834 L n + n + 183 Adicclla filicomis PICTET. 1834) o K 0 + 0 + lericostomdidae 184 {otidobia ciliaris LINNE. 1761 R.L n + + 0 + 0 + 185 lecismus monedulaIHAGEN. 1859) R 3 + 3 + 186Sericostonraflavicome SCHNE I D ER, R,P n + I + + 1845 187 iericostoma personatum(KIRBY & R,K 0 + t ]PENCE, ]826) O Bereidae 88 Beraeapuf fata rcURTlS. I 834) G + + -t + + + 89 Beraeodesminutus /LINNE, I 761) " c 0 + + 90 Emodes articularis (PICTET, 1834) K.R 0 + -t o1 Ernodes vicinus (McLACHLAN, 1879) K z + Odontoceridae 192 Odontocerum albicome (SCOPOU, R 4 + 4 + t 763) 193 Odontocerum hellenicum MALIC KY, R -t + 0 + 1972 Conclusions The Someq,Mureg and Criguririver systemshave a rich trichopterafauna. Because ofthe differentgeographical and geologicalconditions, as well as the differentsources of pollutions wich act along the river vallyes, the present status of threat of the trichopteracommunities in these rivers can differ strongly. The trend of changesis directedtowards the impoverishmentof the caddis flies, with specific situationsin each river sectors.A large number of streamdwelling trichopteracaddis flies in the mountainousarea have strong populations,althought these populations lray decline due to the degradationof habitats,mostly near localities(villages, towns). The high scientificvalue of thesehabitats consists in a largenumber of endemicor relict species developedin the spring sectorswich are strongly endangeredby the wood-cutting actionshere. In the mountainousarea the constructionof the dam-lakes(ex. in valleys of the SomegulCald and SomegulRece rivers) modified the water flow in theserivers. In addition, the unregulatedtourism and construction of cottages can acceleratethe t62 disappearanceof some suitable habitatsor sensitivespecies. The large agricultural crops in the imrnediatevicinity of the river banks, mostly in the middle and lower sections,pollute seriouslythe water with fertilizersand pesticides.The communaland industrial sewage-productionof the industrial establishmentsalong the middle and lower sectorof theserivers is so intensethat in some sectorsit dcstroysthe original fauna, some specieshave disappearedcompletely. The lower sector of theserivers becameuniform, with a few ecologicallyindifferent species. References Botoqdneanu,L. (1952): RhyacophilafurciJbra (KLAPALEK) BOTOS. syn. Rhy. Mayer i var.furc ifera KLAPALEK, 1904.Comun. Acad. R.P.R.,2, 91 1 0 : 547 -5 5 0. Botoqdneanu, L. (1952): Rhltacophila orghidantti n.sp. (Trichcoptera, Rhyacophilidae)din Munlii Apuseni qi R.P.R.,Comun.Acad.R.S.R., 2,11-12: 721- 724. Botogdneanu,L. (1955):Note trichopterologiceI. Bul.gtiin!.Sec!.$ti.Biol., 7,3: 191-802. Botogdneanu,L. (1956): Contributionsa la connaisancedes stadesaquatiques des Trichopteres crenobiontes: Rhyacophila laevis Pict., Wormaldia triangulifera Mcl-ach., Drusus romanicus Murg. et Botosaneanu., Silo varipilosa Bots. (Trichoptera).-Beitr.Entom . 6:590-624. Botoq6neanu,L. (1957): Recherchessur les Trichopteres(imagos) de Roumania. 'Ijdsch. Ent.,100,2: 179-194. Botoqdneanu,L. (1957): Quelquestrichopteres nouveaux de Roumanie. .;-dsch. Ent.100,2:598-603. Botoqdneanu,L.(1957): Neue TrichopterenArten ausRumanien. Senckenbergiana biol.,38, ":61-65. Botogdneanu,L. (1958): Sur quelquesTriaenodes (Trichoptera, Leptoceridae) du groupeconspersa CURTIS. Opusc.Ent.28: 123-128. Botoqdneanu,L. (1959): Cercetdriasupra trichopterelordin Masivul Retezat qi Munfii Banatului.Biblio. Biol.Anim.,Ed.Acad.R.S.R., I : l-166. Botogdneanu,L. (1959): Recherchessur Trichopterescavernicoles, principalment sur ceux collections"Biospeologica". Archs. Zool. Exp. et gener.Notes et Revue, 9711:32-50. Botogdneanu,L. (1960): Revisionde quelquesespecies de PhilopotamusLeach et de llormaldia McL. (Trichoptera,Philopotamidae).-Acta.Soc.Entom.cech osl. 57:223- 228. Botoglneanu,L. (1960): Descriptionde quatrenouvelles especies de Trichopteres de Roumanie.Ann. Mag.Nat. Hist.,13,3: 113-120. Botogdneanu, L. (1960): Drusus buscatensis n.sp. (Trichoptera, Ecclysopteryginae).Cas.Ces. Spol. Ent., 57:36-310. Botoqdneanu,L. (1961): Materiaux por servir a'la connaissancedes Trichopteres d'Europeorientale et centrale.Folia Ent. Hung., Ser.nov.14,2: ll-91. loJ Botogdneanu,L. (1965):Neue trichopterologischeFange in Poland,Rumanien und Bulgarien.Latv. Ent., 10: 53-60. Botogdneanu, L. (1966): Genurile Stenophylax 9i Micropterna STEIN (Trichoptera)in RomAnia.Prezentare cu caractersistematic. Lucr. Inst. Speol. "E. Racovild",5:99-114. Botogdneanu,L. (1967): Sur quelquesPlectrocnemia des Carpatesde Roumanie (Trichoptera,Polycentropodidae), Reichenbachi a, 8,23: 269-21 3. Botogdneanu,L. (1972): Pour une milleure connaissancedes Micrasenlc d'Europe (Trichoptera,Brachicentridac).-Fragrnenta Entomologica I 0(2): 65-I 06. Botogdneanu,L. (1973): Les Trichopteres (lnsecta, Trichoptera) de I'espace carpato-balcaniquc,fournisseurs de documntes pour l-evolution. Riv.Idrobiol. (Perugia),12, 213: 119-1 52. BotoEdneanu,L. (1975): Die endemischemTrichopteren der Karpaten. Verh. SechstenInt Symp.uber Entomofaunistkin Mitteleuropa:9l-103. Botoqdneanu,L. (1993): A new caddisfly speciesfrom Romania and several speciesnew to the country'sfauna (Trichoptera). Ent. Zeitsch.103/21:399-404. Botoq[neanu, L. (1995): Additional documentes to the knowledge of the Trichoptera of Roumania, with data on Europeantaxa from outside this country (Insecta,Trichoptera). Faun. Abh. Mus. Toerk. Drezden20,6:57-88. Ciubuc,C. (1993): Checklistof RomanianTrichoptera (Insecta). Extr. des Trav du Mus. d'Hist.Nat.Gr. Antipa, Bucuresti,23: 11-141. Higler, L., Tolkamp, H. (1982): Hydropsychidaeas bio-indicators.-Environmental Monitoringand Assessment 3: 33l-341. Klima, F. (199a):Die aktuelleGefahrdungsituation der KocherfliegenDeutchlands (Insecta,Trichoptera).-Naturund Landschaft69( 1 I ):5I I -5 I 8. Klima, F. (1998): Rote Liste der Kocherfliegen (Trichoptera).In: Binot A et colab.: Rote Liste gefarderter Tiere Deutschlands.-Schriftenreichefur Landschaftspflegeund Naturschutz55: I 12-118. Murgoci, A. (1951):Contribufii la cunoagtereatrichopterelor din pegterileMunlilor Apuseniqi din regiunileHuniedoara gi Severin.Bull. Sec!.$ti.Biol, 3,4:751-764. Murgoci, A. (1953): Cdteva genuri qi speci noi de trichoptcre pentru fauna Romdmiei.Bull. Sec{.$ti.Biol, 5,1:29-36. Murgoci, A. (1959): Donnes sur les imagos et les larves des Leptocerides (Trichoptera)de la R.P.R.Lucr. Ser.$ti. StaliuniiZool. Mar. Agigea: 445-452. Uherkovich A., N6grSdi S. (1999): Protecetd and threatened caddisflies (Trichoptera)of Hungary. Proc. of the 9th Int. Symp. on Trichoptera,Chiang Mai: 291-297. Ujv6ri J. (1972):Geografia apelor Romdniei. Edit. $tiinf., Bucureqti. Ujv6rosi L. (1995):Two new and some rare trichopteraspecies in the Romanian fauna.Bul. inf. Soc.lcpid.rom.,6(l-2): l5l-155. Ujv6rosi L. (1997): Study on the Trichopterafauna in the Romaniansection of the River Crigul Alb catchmentarea. Tiscia monographseries. Szolnok-Szeged-Tg.Mureq, pp.295-299. Ujv6rosi L. (1998):Trichopterele (Insecta: Trichoptera) din zonaCheile Someqului Cald (Ic Ponor).Bul. inf. Soc.lepid.rom., 9 (3 -4): 265-268. lt)4 Ujv6rosi L. (1998): Four Trichoptera speciesnew in the Romanian fauna. Entomol. Rom.3:73-78. Ujv6rosi L., N6gr6di S. (1999): The female of Potamophylaxjungi Mey, 1976 (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae). Braueria (Lunz am See, Austria) 26:24. LUJZAUJVAROSI "Babeg-Bolyai" University, Faculty of Biology and Geography, Dept. ofZoology, 5-7 Clinicilor St., RO 3400 Cluj-Napoca [email protected] 165 TISCIA morograph series (2002\,6, 167-172 SPECIESAND SUBSPECIESOF FISH AND LAMPREYS ENDEMIC OR ALMOST ENDE,MICTO THE DRAINAGE ARE,AOF THE TISA RIVER Petru M. Bdndresctr Abstract Endemic to a small therrnal pond in the Tisa basin is Scardinius racovilzai, probably a recent offshoot of S. erythrophtalmus:almost endemic is the predatory residentlarnprey Eudontomyzon danfordi, ofa genusdisplaying a disjunct European- EasternAsian range.The subspeciesSahanejewia balcanica radnensisis endemicto the upper sectorof the tributaryriver Mureg; the populationsof the middie and lower reachof this river,'which are morphologicallycloser to the subspeciesbalcanica are geneticallycloser to radnensis. Keywords: fish, lampreys,endemics, Tisa River basin The Tisa river is the largesttributary of the Danube.Two speciesof lampreysand eight of bony fish, or ten, if we consider the Macedonian subspeciesGobio uranoscopuselimeitts atd Zingel streber balcanictts as specifically distinct from their Danubianrelatives, are endcmicto the catchmentarea of the Danube,but only threeof these fwelve speciesare widely distributed throughout thc entire Danube basin, including the Tisa River and its tributaries'.Gobio tranoscopLts,Gymnocephalus schraetser and,Zingel streber. The lamprey Eudontomyzon vladykovi and the fish speciesRutilus pigus andSabanejewia romanict arepresent in a small areaof the Tisa drainage,but the largestpart oftheir rangeincludes sectors ofthe Danubeoutside the Tisa River system.Four other Danubebasin endemicsdo not livc in the Tisa River system. Finally, one fish, Scardinius racovitzai is endenlic, and the lamprey Eudontomyzondanfordi is almost endemicto the Tisa system,while the subspecies Sabanejewia balcanica radnensis is endemic to the system of the rivcr Mureq, the largesttributary of theTisa. The rudd Scardinittsracovitzai has been describedby Miiller (1958) from a small thermal pond at Biile Episcopegti(formerly Piispok-Fiirdri,Bischofsbad) on the rivulet Pelea,tributary of the Crigul RepedeRiver, Tisa drainagearea. Bdndrescu (1964) consideredit only a subspeciesof the widely ranging, Central EuropeanS. erythrophlalmus. New studies demonstrated that there are not only slight morphologicaland strongerphysiological differencesbetween the two species,but t61 also behavioral ones (Crlciun, unpublished PhD dissertation). S. racovilzai deserves thereforea specificrank (seealso Kottelat, 1997). Mriller (1958) considers,in the original descriptionof the,S. racovitzai,that this speciesmay have an old, possibly a Miocen origin, deriving from the fauna which inhabited Europe when the continent enjoyed a subtropical climate. i pcrsonally believethat this spccicsis a recentderivative of the Central Europeanoommon rudd, S. erythrophtalmtts.A thoroughcomparison, using also molcculartechniques, of bclth speciesand of the three othermembers of the gcnus(an Italian andtwo Greekspecies - Kottelat, 1997)is necessaryfor clarifying the problem. Eudonlontyzon danftrdi is a predatory species of lampreys present in the upper 'Iisa strctchesof the and of all its tributarieswhich have a montanesector, except the southernmostone, the Bega in the Banat (fig. I - note that the spccicsinhabits all tributaries of the Tisa in Slovakia, but is absent from all direct tributaries of the Middle Danube).Outside the drainagearea of the Tisa,E. danfordi is presentalso in one or two rivers in the Banat: the Timig (wilh its subtributaries)and. accordingto infbrmationwhich needverification, the Cerna(flg. 1) It is worth mentioningthat E. darfordi is, besidesE. morii and the threespecies of Ichthyonyzon,one of the few predatorlampreys sedentary in riven; most of the other predatoryiampreys arc migratory (anadromous)and all other sedentaryspecies are nonpredatory (contributors in l,eeet al.,eds, 19ti0, Hardisty in FIolcik,ed., 1986). Fig. 1- Distribution of the predatory lamprey Eudontoml:ion danfordi 168 The genusEu dontotryzon comprises four otherspecies: 1. the non-predatoryE. vlad,vktviin the drainagearea of the upper and middle Danube (sympatric with .E'.danJbrdi in Timig River and its tributaries) (Banirescu, 1969): 2. the non-predatoryE. nariae in the drainagearea of the lower Danube,in the more easternrivers on the northern watershedof the Black Sea (Dnjestr or Nistru, Dnjepr or Nipru etc.), in the river Vistula (Baltic Seawatershed), possibly also in the Vardar (AegeanSea watershed) and the Drin River (Adriatic SeaWatershed); l ooo /t.. 3lllll 4xxx 5xxx Fig. 2. Distribution of the subspecies of Sabanejewia Bslcanica in the drainage area of tlte Tisa River and in the rivers from the Banat. I - S. bslcanicq bulgarica; 2 - S. balctnica balcanica;3 - intergrades betweerr the subspecies balcanica and bulgarica; 4 - S. balcanicu radnensis',5 - populations morphologically closer lo S. balcanica balcanica but genetically closer lo ,L balcunica radnensis. t69 3. the non-predatoryE. hellenicttsin the rivers Strymon or Struma (Aegean Sea watershed)and Louros(Ionnian Seawatcrshed) (Renaud, in Holcik, 1986); 4. the little-known,probablly predatoryE. morii in the river Yalu, Korea (Holcik, in Holcik, 1986). The zoogeographicposition of.E. danfordi, and ofthe genusEudontomyzon cannot be establisheduntil the relations between the EasternAsian E. morii and the four Europeanspecies are clarified. The subspeciesSabanejew,ia balcanica radnensis is endemicto the upper sectorof the river Mureg, befween the headwatersand the town Reghin. The populations from the middle and lower Mureg, downstream Reghin and the tributaries are morphologicallymore similar to the subspeciesS. balcanicabalcanica, which lives in the other tributariesof the Tisa, Tur, Someq,Crig and in the rivers from the Banat (Bega, Timig) than to radnensis and are therefore reported in the literature as balcanica(Bdndrescu, 1964; Bdndrescu et al., 1973). There is, however, an impoftant difference between the presumedbalcanica from the middle and lower sectors of the Mureg and the true balcanica from the rivers Someg,Timiq etc. ln the lowcr sectors of the latter rivers a gradual and continuoaus intergradationtakes place befween the "typical" balcanicafrom the upper and middle sectorsand the subspeciesS. balcanicabulgarica, which lives in the Danubeand Tisa, the specimensfrom the lowermost stretchesof these rivers being almost typical bulgarica ( e2). No such intergradation takes place in the lower sector of the river Mureq. The populations remain morphologically unchanged frorn the middle sector to the confluenceof the river with the Tisa.At the confluencethey meeton a lengthof about 70 km with specimens of bulgarica, living sympatrically with these, without any intergradationor hybridization,like "good" species.This proves that the presumed balcanica inhabiting the other tributaries of the Tisa is genetically closer to S. balcanica radnensis. The complex "true radnensis" and "middle-lower Mureg balcanica-like form" build a monophyletic taxon, endemic to the entire Mureq River system,i.e. to a part of the Tisa River drainagearea. References BANARESCII, P., 1964 - Pisces.Osteichthyes. Fauna R. p. Romdne,13, Edit. Acad., Bucuregti, | -9 62; BANARESCIJ,P., 1969 - Ciclostomatagi Chondichthyes.Fauna R. S. Romdnia, 12 (1), Edit.Acad., Bucureqti, l-103; BANARESCU, P., NALBANT, T., CHELMU, SLVIA, 1972 - Revision and geographical variation of Sabanejewia aurata in Romania and the origin of S. bulgarica andS. romanica(Pisces). Annot. zool. botan.,Bratislava, 75, l-49; HOLCIK, J. (ed.), 1986 - The Freshwater Fishes of Europe. Aula Verl., Wiesbaden,l, l-314; KOTTELAT, M., 1997 - EuropeanFreshwater Fishes. Biologia, Bratislava,52, suppl.5,l-271; 110 LEE, D.S., GILBERT, C.R., COHUTT, C.H., JENKINS, R.E., McALLISTER, D.E., STAUFFER Jr, J.R. (eds.), 1980 - Atlas of North American FreshwaterFishes. North Carolina StateMuseum ofNatural History, 1-870; MULLE& G., 1958 - Scardintus racovitzai n. sp. (Pisces, Cyprinidae), eine reliktare rotfeder aus Westrumanien.Senck. biol.,3O, 165-168. P. M. BANARESCU ResearchInstitute of Biology Departmentof B iosistematics Splaiul Independenlei 296 79651 Bucuregti Romdnia t7l FISH SPECIESWITH RESTRICTEDRANGES IN THE TISA RIVER DRAINAGE AREA Petru M. Bdndrescu Abstract Among the native fish species from the Tisa River drainage area some are restrictedto a certainpart, or have a disjunct range.The most obvious pattemsand historiesofsuch distributionsare discussed in the presentpaper. Keywords: zoogeography,ranges, phyletic relations. Discussion The Tisa river is the largesttributary of the Danube.Two speciesof lampreys,five of sturgeons- threeof which are migratory/ and 53 of bony fish - gobiesof brackish water with Ponto-Caspianorigin, even if fully adapted to freshwater,being not includedin this figure, arenative to the drainagearea of this river. None of these speciesoccurs throughout the entire drainagearea of the Tisa. Montane species- Salmo trutta, Thymallus thyntmalus, Cottus gobio etc. are present only in the upper sectors of the Tisa and its tributaries;many others - Abramis ballerus, A. sapa, Gymnocephalusschraetser, G. baloni etc. are confined to the Tisa River and to the lower sectorsof its tributaries.The restricteddistribution of these species has ecological bases, being not significant in genetical or historical biogeography. Significantare the speciesrestricted to a part ofthe Tisa basin,although they have adequatelife conditions also in other parts. Two species,the eastem sculpin, Cottus poecilopus, and a dace, Telestessouffia, occur only in the upper Tisa and the upper stretches of its tributaries, northern (Ukrainian) and southem (Romanian) as well. Their ranges in the Tisa basin are the same,but their generalranges, i.e. their biogeographicalpositions are quite different. C. poecilopu.s is a northern, cold-adapted species, ranging from the Scandinavian Peninsulaand north-eastemEuropean Russia to the nofthern and easternCarpathians in the drainage areasof the Danube, Nistru and Vistula. Its range in the Danube basin encompassesthe upper sectorsof the tributariesof the middle Danubein Slovakia,the I IJ upper Tisa River and its tributariesand the northerntributaries of the rivers Siret and Prut (Fig. 1) (Antipa,1909; Vladykov, 1931; Bindrescu, 1964;Harka.1997; Holcsik, personalinformation), the populationsfrom the southerntributaries of the Tisa and from the tributaricsof the Siret being the southernmostones. This spcciesobviously hasa northernorigin andprobably entered the Carpathianrivers duringthe Ice Age. Contrary to C. poecilopus, Teleslessotffia has a rather southern distribution; it inhabitsthe drainagearea ofthe Rhoneand of other rivers in southernFrance, that of the upper Rhine, the river Soca or Isonzo in the Istria Peninsula,possibly also other rivers on the wcsternBalkan watershed,as well as the south-westerntributaries of the Danube,fiom Germanyto Croatia and Bosnia;a distinct subspeciesor closelyrelated species:T. muticelluslives in northernand centralItaly (tserg,1932; Vladykov, 1931; Bianco,1979; Lcrnor and Popovic, 1981; Allardi andKeith, eds., 199 l). The rangeof the speciesis hencewidely disjunct,the populationfrom the upper Tisa being quite distant from the main range of the species(fig. 2). These populationsare also the northern-most ones, contrary to those of Cottus poeci.loput;,which are the southern- most onesof their species. It is worth mentioning that the two other speciesof the genus have southern ranges,too: I polylepis is confinedto a few snall tributariesof the river Sava,the south-westernarea of the Danube drainage and T. nn'slg,iis endemic to the river Cikola on the westernBalkan waterched (Bdnirescu and Herzig-Shaschill,1998). Fig.1.Distribution oI Cottus poecilopus (l) and ,Rslilss pigus (2\ in the basin of the uiddle and Iower Danube t74 The disjunct distribution of any speciesor monophyletic superspecifictaxon - excepting some specics with strong dispersalabilities derives from a wider and continuousrange followed by extinctionin a part ofthis range.It is thereforeobvious that T. soufjia had once a wide and continuousrange throughout the drainagearea of thc middle Danube,or even throughoutthe entire basin of the Danubelater, perhaps during the Ice Age, bccoming extinct from thc areabetween the upper Tisa and the River Sava,a south-wcsterntributary of the Danube. Restrictedto a small area of the Tisa drainageis also the loach Sabanejewia rornanica,present only in six of the scven south-wester:ntributaries of tlre Mure5 River: Sebeq,Cugir, Beriu, Slrci, Cema Hunedoreaniand Dobra (Bdnh'escu,1953, 1964 and recent field investigations;fig. 3). The spccicsis absentfiora the seventh south-westerntributary of the Mureq, the river Pian that flows between Sebegand Cugir, as well as fiom the south-easternand northernones. Besides the tributariesof the lower Danube: Topolni{a, Jiu, Olt (both in Transylvania.and south of the Carpathians),Vedea and their subtributaries,being absentin the more easternones (fie.4). llence, the range of this speciesis disjunct,too, since there is no direct contact betweenthe southernhibutaries of the MLregand thoseof the lower Danube. For explainingthis disjunction,and the zoogeographicposition of S. romanica,it is necessaryto determineits phyletic affinities. Two alternativeoptions havc been proposedin this problem: \l\ r*' Fig. 2. Range oI Telestes soufJia (l\ and its closest relaive, -l muticellus (2), according to the data of Vladykov, 1931, Berg, 1932 and Bianco, 1979 175 Fig. 3. Distribulion oI Sabanejewia romanica in the tributrrie of the Mureg River- M - Mureg; T - Tlrnava;Ar-Arieq;Sb-Sebef;Pian;Cu-Cugir;B-Beriu;St-Strei;RM-RilulMare;Ce-Cerna Hunedoreanal D - Dobra (according to own field inverstigations) Fig, 4. General rrnge oI Stbanejewia romsnica (rccording to om field investigations) 176 1. This speciesis morphologicallyvery similar to the widely distributedS. aurata, a speciessubject to a strong geographicalvariability, especiallyin the Danubebasin. The S. aurata subspeciesis more similar to S. romanica is S. aurata vallachica from the southern and south-eastemtributaries of the Danube in Romania, the populations most similar to S. romanica being those from the rivers eastof the range of the later species.Based on this similarity, Blndrescu et al. (1972) concludedthat the ancestor of S. romanicawas a subspeciesof S. aurata, closestto S. a. vallachica.Preliminary, unpublishedelectrophoretic studies of C. Tesio confirm the phyletic affinitiesbetween S. romanica and S. c. vallachica.In the light of this opinion, S. romaniacaoriginated south of the Carpathiansand reachedthe tributaries of the Mureq by means of a river captureeither between the headwatersof the Jiu and thoseof the Strei,tributary of the Mureg, or between some Transylvanian tributary of the Olt and the Sebeg,another tributary of the Mureg. 2. Perdices et al. (in press) consider, using mitochondrial DNA techniques concluded that S. romanica and S. balcanica (which includes the subspeciesformerly in S. aurata) are not very closely related,the closestrelative of the former species being the Italian S. larvata. The group larvata-romanicats believedto have an older age than the balcanica-vallachicacomplex. Accepting this opinion, it meansthat the restrictedand disjunct range of S. romanics is a relictar, having resultedfrom the reductionof a formerly much wider one. Two other species,both endemicto the upper-middleDanube drainage area have restrictedranges in the Tisa Basin: Rutilus pigus, recordedonly from the lower sectors of the Tur and Someq-Szamosrivers in Hungary and Romania (Bandrescu, 1964; Harka, 1997; frg. 1) and the lamprey Eudontomyzon vladykovi, present only in the headwaters of the river Bega, the southernmost tributary of the Tisa (Bdndrescu, t969). Finally, a speciesof rudd, Scardinius racovitzai is endemic to a small thermal pond in the systemof Criqul RepedeRiver, tributary of Tisa. This speciesis discussedin anotherpaper. References Allardi, J., Keith, P., 1991- Atlas preliminairedes poisson d'eau douces de France, Mus.Ntl. Hist.Nat., Paris, pp: l- 232; Antipa, G., 1909 - Fauna ithtiologicd a Romdniei, Edit. Acad., Bucuregti,pp: l- 294; Bdndrescu,P., 1953- Contribufiuni la studiul faunei ithtiologicedulcicole a R. P. Romdne.Stud. Cerc. $t., Acad. Romdnd,Filiala Cluj, 4 (l-2), pp: 153- 187; Bdndrescu,P., 1964- Pisces- Osteichthyes.Fauna R. P. Romdne,13, Edit. Acad., Bucureqti,pp: l-962; Bindrescu,P., 1969 - Cyclostomatagi Chondrichthyes.Fauna R.S. Romdnia, 12, Edit.Acad., Bucureqti, pp: l-103; 177 Bindrescu, P., Herzig-Straschil, Barbara, 1998 - Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Leuciscus - Untergattung Telestes Bonaparte (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Ann. Naturhist. Mus. lTien,l00 B, pp:406-424; Berg, L.S., 1932 - Ubersicht der Verbreitung der SiisswasserhscheEuropas. Zoogeographica, l, pp'. l0i -208; Bianco, P.G., 1979 - La distruziona del vairone (Pisces,Cyprinidae) in Italia e suo rinvenimento nel fiume Biferno nel Molise. Bull. Mus natn. Hist. nat. Paris (4" ser.), sect.A, 3,pp:827-832; Harka, A., 1997 - Halaink. Kepes hatarozo es elterjedesiutmutato. Budapest. Leiner, S., Popovic, 1984 - Rod Leuciscus (Cyprinidae, Pisces)udama jadranskog sliva sosvrtomnanalaz: L. svallize (Heckel i Kner, 1858) i L. soffia Risso, 1826 u Cetini.Ichthyologia, Beograd, 16(l-2), pp: l-1894; Vladykov, V., 1932 - Les poissons de la Russie sous-carpatique (Tchecoslovaquie). Mem. Soc. Zool. France, 29, pp: 211-37 4. P. M. BANARESCU ResearchInstitute of Biology Departmentof Biosistematics Splaiul Independenlei296 79651Bucuregti RomAnia 178 TISCIA monograph series (2002),6, 179-186 MODIFICATIONS OF THE FISH FAITNA IN THE UPPERTISA RIVER AND ITS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN TRIBUTARIES L C. Telcean and P. M. Bdtfirest'u Abstract In the upper Tisa and its main tributarieson the left shore:Viqeu, Iza, Sdpinla, Someg,Barcdu, Crigul Repede,Crigul Alb, Criqul Negru and Mureq, there were identifieda numberof64 fish speciesand one oflamprey, Eudontomyzondanfordi. A numbcr of 54 fish are native species, including an additional endemic species (.Scardiniusracovitzai), and 11 fish speciesare allochtonous.Some of them havebeen recolonisedin some of the rivers where thcy were formerly abundant.In the caseof many of thesespecies, the data representthe last resultsof our field researchcarried out along the rivers (during 1992-2001),pointing out that considerablechanges ofthe ichthyofauna occured. In the last decadeswe attend to the alarming numerical decreaseof the number of fish species,or the range and numericalmodifications of fish from somerivers' sections.For the presentday a numbcr of l7 native speciesare undergoinga numericalregression or have becomealmost extinct, and 8 fish species have been favoured by the modification of the aquatic biotopes.The natural life conditionschanged in the rivcr bed, modifying the fish communities,especially in thoselocated downstream to the towns. According to the ecologicalrequiremcnts of the fish speciesand their adaptive resources,we propose a number of four fish categorics,living in many of the studiedrivers. Thc presenccof thesefish categories along the affected stretchesof the rivers representsa measurefor the fish fauna changes. Keywords: Fish fauna;Tisa River basin;rangc and numericalmodifications. Introduction The first recordsabout the fish speciesfrom the upper Tisa and its main tributaries on the ieft shore(the Transylvanianbasin) belong to Fridvalsky(1767), Benk6 (1i.78) Bielz (1853,1888), Herman (1887) and Vutskits(1918). The datapresented by these authorsmentioned the occurenceof the fish speciesfrom the entire Transylvaniaand some of the tributariesfrom Hungary.Many of theseauthors published those papers without mentioning the localities where they found the fish species.A complete faunistical list with regard to the freshwaterfish speciesfrom Romanian rivers is t79 publishedby Bindrescu (1953), and BSndrescuand Mtiller (1959). They mention a numberof jt nsn speciesfrom Transylvanianrivers. More detailsare provided in the monographof Bdnirescu (1964). This is a fundamcntalwork devotedto bony fish from iheintire Romania.The earlierdata about the fish from the Hungariansection of SomegRiver and the other tributariesof the Tisa River were publishedby Heckel and Xner (tSSa;, Vutskits (1904) and VSsdrhely(1960). More recentlythe fish faunafrom the Hungariansection of the Tisa rivers' systemwas mentionedby Harka (1995,1997, 1999). ihe recent papersof Nalbant, and Bdndrescuet al. (1995, 1997,1999) concemingthe fish fauna of the Tisa River and its main tributaries:Mureg, Someq, Crigul Negru, Criqul Alb, Crigul Repedeand Barcdurepresent the resultsof the latest fielclresearch carried out betweenthe years 1991-1996.The modificationsoccurred in many of the aquatichabitats in the catchmentarea of the Tisa basin (i.e. dam lakes, water amount decrease,pollution and euthrophicationof flowing and standingwater bodies and the owerfishing)have a negativeimpact on the fish fauna.We attemptto establishthe number of specieswhich became extinct or numerically declined in certain river sections and. despite of that, which speciesare favored by human activities. Materials and Methods The presentpaper is basedon the field investigationscarricd out during the years 1992to 2001 in the upper stretchof the Tisa River and its southemtributaries and subtributaries(Viqeu, vaser, Ruscova,Iza, Mara and SSpAnla).We also investigated the Romanianstretches of the eastemtributaries of the Tisa: Someq,Crigul Repede and its subtributaries Barcdu and Ier, Criqul Negru, Crigul Alb, Mureq and its subtributaries,as well as the ahannelsconnecting the Rivers Crig near the villages Tdrian, Toboliu, Cefa and Homorog, the ponds and oxbows in the Criq basin, the damlake Tileagd, the ponds from V59ad, Andrid, Alceu, Miersig and Apateu and finally the thermal pond of Bdile Episcopeqti(formerly Piispok Fiird6) on the rirulet Petea,tributary of the CriEul RepedeRiver. Resultsand Discussions A number of 64 speciesof fish and one of lampreysare presentin the areaunder study, 54 speciesof fishes and the lamprey Eudontomyzondanfordi being native and elevenfish being introduced. According to their abundanceand survival capacity,the 55 native speciescan be ascribedto the followingcategories: (a) Ten speciesare found in small number and seem to have always been rare, a few ofthem having also undergonea numericaldecline or rangereduction: Acipenser ruthenus (extinct fiom the middle Someg, surviving in the lower Someq and the Mureg), Anguilla anguilla, Rutilus pigu,s, Idus idus, Pelecus cultratus, Lota lota, 180 Gymnocephalusbaloni, Stizostedionvolgense among inhabitants of rivers, Misgurnus waters' fossilis andLeucaspius delineatus among those of standing (b) Four species have small or very small ranges, however without having undergonea numerical decline: Telestessoffia and Cottuspoecilopus, confined to the .rpp".-Titu basin, Sabaneja,viaromanica, presentonly in six south-westemtributaries oiih. tttn."g andScardinius racovitzai endemic to the very small thermal pond Bdile Episcopegti. (c) Sixteen speciesunderwent a numerical decline or reduction of the range, namely: - four inhabitants of standing water'. (Jmbra krameri, Tinca tinca, Scardinius erythrophthalmus and Carassius carassius;the latter was some sixty years ago quite abundant in all lakes and ponds, but is now almost totally extinct (it seemsthat the speciesis surviving in small number of individuals only in the thermal pond from Bdile Episcopeqti,on the lower reachof Criqul RepedeRiver). - three inhabitants of montane rivers Eudontomyzon danfordi, Thymallus thymallus,Hucho hucho', - six inhabitantsof lower and partially middle sectors of rivers: Stizostedion lucioperca, Gymnocephalusschraetser, G. cernuus, both Zingel species(2. zingel and Z. streber) and especially Leuciscus leuciscus, which became extinct from the SomequlMic and Sdpdn{a,surviving, with cenainty only in the Crigul RepedeRiver. - three other speciesinhabiting the hilly and lowland sectorsof rivers,but only in the fast flowing water, underwent some local decline or even extinction, but still remained numerous or even quite abundant on long stretches of other rivers: Alburnoides bipunctatus (abundantfor example in the upper and middle section of the CriSul Alb River), Gobio kessleri (quite abundant in the Someq), G. uranoscopus (numerousin the rivers SomequlMare and Lapuq). Sixteenother specieshave not been affectedand maintainedtheir former ranges and abundance,or underwentonly a slight decline: - four inhabitants of montane irvers'. Salmo trutta, Cottus gobio, Phoxinus phoxinus, andBarbtts peloponnesiuspetenyi; - one specieslives in the submontaneand lowland sectorsof rivers: Sabaneiewia balcanica: - eleven inhabitants of lowland rivers and standing waters: Esox lucius, Alburnus alburnus, Blicca bjoerkna, Abramis brama, A. sapa, Aspius aspius, Rhodeussericeus, Barbus barbus, Cyprinus carpio, Cobitis af. taenia andSilurus glanis; (d) Nine specieshave been favouredby human activities,increased their number, partially also extendedtheir ranges:Squalius cephalus,Rutilus rutilus, Chondrostoma nasus, Abramis ballerus, vimba vimba, Gobio gobio, G. albipinnatus, orthrias barb atulus, andP ercafluv i atili s. t8l Changes in the habitat have modified the fish communities and the relative abundance of the species, especially downstream to towns. On the base of the ecological requirements of the species and reaction to modifications of the habitat, four unsharply delimited categoriesof fish speciescan be accepted: (D Specialized fish species,each typical for a habitat: - Salmo trutta, Thymallus thymallas, both Cottus species (C. gobio and C. poecillopus), Barbus peloponnesiuspetenyi, Telestessoffia, in montane sectors of rivers; - Chondrostoma nasus, Barbus barbus, Vimba vimba, Aspius aspius, Gymnocephalusbaloni, G. schraetser,in lowland rivers; - Ciprinus carpio, Blicca bjoerkna, the three Abramis species(A. brama, A. sapa and A. balerus), Esox lucius, Silurus glanis, Gymnocephaluscernuus, Stizostedion lucioperca, from the lowland and standingwaters; * Umbra krameri andLeucaspius delinealus in standingwaters; - Scardinius racovitzai only in thermal waters. (ID Sensitive species-again specializedto a certain habitat, but also not tolerant to water pollution and other major modifications of the habitat: - Eudontomyzondanfordi and Thymallusthymallus in montanesectors of rivers; - Gobio uranoscopusin submontaneand partially in the middle sectorsof rivers; - Sabanejewia romanica in submontane and partially in the lowland sectors of rivers; - Gobio kessleri, Sabanejewiabalcanica, Alburnoides bipunctatus and both Zingel speciesin lowland sectorsof rivers with rapidly flowing water; - Gobio albipinnatus, Idus idus, Rhodeussericeus, Gymnocephalusbaloni, and G. schraetserin sectorsof rivers with slowly flowing water; - Scardinius erithrophthalmas in stagnantwater. Most of these speciesunderwent a numerical decline, except Gobio albipinnatus which increasedits number and extendedits ranse. (III) Rare species: - Anguilla anguilla and Lota lota -in all sectors of rivers, but everywhere in a small number; - Hucho hucho in montanerivers; - Leuciscusleuciscus in hilly and lowland rivers; * Acipenser ruthenus andRutilus pigus in lowland rivers; - Carassius carassius and Misgurnus fossilis in stagnant water. (IV) Ubiquitous and tolerant or opportunistic species- tolerate a moderate degree of water pollution and living in several habitats: Squalius cephalus, Rutilus rutilus, Alburnus alburnus, Gobio gobio, Orthrias barbatulus, Cobitis af. taenia, and Perca fluviatilis. 182 The impact of human ativities on the fish fauna in the various rivers in north- westernand westemRomania is not the same.The Tisa and its tributariesare the only rivers in western Romania in which Hucho hucho, Telestes soffia and Cottus poecilopus are native. The negative influence of human activities is reduced, compared to other areas of the Tisa Rivcr basin; nevertheless,Telestes soffia and especialyHucho hucho underwenta numerical decline. The various components of the Someg River draining area have undergone different human influences. The Somegul Mare and its tributaries have not been affected; the SomequlMic is strongly polluted downstreamthe town of Cluj; the upper sectorof the united Someg(downstream the town Dej) is partially polluted, but the middle and lower sectorsof the river are slightly affected and some sensitivefish speciesrnaintain their presence.Downstream of the confluencewith the tributaryriver Ldpug,the SomegRiver becomesslightly polluted, but only on a short sector.The speciesRutilus pigus is confined to the lower sectorsof the SomegRivers and its tributary,the Tur in both Romaniaand Hungary.The proportionof the four ecological categoriesof fish specieswhich live in the middle and lower SomegRiver showedthat the ubiquitousand opportunisticspecies prevail (fig.1). The sensitivefish specieshave a lower percentage.The specialized fish species from the lowland rivers are representedby Chondrostoma nasus, Barbus barbus, Vimba vimba, Esox lucius and Silurus glanis. 49 ffi 40 I I.Specializedspecies 30.6 tr II. Sensitivespecies 30 n III. Rare spccies 20 E IV. Ubiquitous spccics 20 l0 0.2 II IV Ecological categories Figurel. The proportionof the ecologicalcategories of fishspecies from the lowerSom€t River The componentsof the Crig River drainage have been variously affected, too. The Barc[u River suffered both from pollution and reduction of the water discharge; Leuciscusleuciscus and Zingel streber becameextinct, at least in the Romanian sector, Gobio kessleri, Sabanejewiaaurata, Gymnocephalusschraetser, formerly numerous (1953-1964), are presently very rare. The situation of the three Crig rivers is better; Crigul Repede is the only river in Romania in which Leuciscus leuciscus and Stizostedion volgense still survive; Criqul Negru is the only river in which Zingel zingel retains its number; the same river and the Criqul Alb being, besidesthe Nera, 183 the only rivers in which Z. streber is still relatively abundant.Scardinius racovitzai is endemic to a thermal pond in the basin of Crigul Repede. The Mureq River and its tributaries, especially the Arieq and the Ampoi, then the lower sector of the cerna (Hunedoara county), partially the Timava Mare are the rivers of the Tisa basin that are most strongly affected by pollution and other human activities.The proportion of the four ecological categoriesof fish speciesfrom the Mureq River reflects the prevailing of ubiquitous and opportunisticspecies. Both categoriesof the sensitive and rare fish species are representedby a minimal percentage(fig.2). Many rheophylic fish species became extinct, or at least underwent a strong numericaldecline in lons sectorsof theserivers. 60 )).) r I l.Specializedspecies 30.9 EIII. Sensitivespecies tr III. Rare species I IV. Ubiquitous species 13.1 l'.':l l0 t::l = o.4 II III IV Ecological categories Figure 2. Th€ proportion of the ecological categories of fish speciesfrom the main channel of the Mures River References Bdndrescu, P., 1964. Pisces-Osteichthyes.Fauna R.P.R. XIII, Edit. Acad., Bucureqti,962 pp. Bdndrescu, P., 1994. Der gegenwiirtige Stand der Fischfauna Siebenbiirgens. Naturwissen.Forsch. iib. Siebenbiirgen.,5: 257-258.Bohlau Verl., Koln, Weimar, Wien. Bdndrescu,P., 1994. The present day conservation status of the freshwater fish faunaof Romania,Ocrot. nat. med. inconj.,38 (l):5-20. Bdndrescu,P., G., Miiller, 1960.Peqtii Ardealului gi rdspdndirealor. Studii. Cercet. Biol.(Cluj) l0: 335-366. Bdndrescu,P., Telcean,I., Bacalu,P., Akos, H & Sandor,W., 1997.The f,rsh 184 fauna of the Criq / Koriis river basin. In: S6rk6ny-Kiss,A., & J., Hamar, Eds. The Criq / Kriros Rivers' Valleys. Tiscia monographseries, Szolnok -Szeged -Tg. Mureg: 301t325. Bdndrescu,P., I., Telcean,T. Nalbant,H., Akos, & W., M. Ciobanu,1999, The hsh fauna of the River Someg/Szamos River Valley, Tiscia Monograph Series, Szolnok- Szeged-Tg.Mureq: 249-268. Bielz, E., A., 1888,Die Faunader WierbelthiereSiebenburgens nach ihren jetzigen Bestande.Vehr. U. Mitth. Siebenb.Ver. Naturwiss.,38: l5-120. Harka, A., P., Bdndrescu,I., Telcean, 1999.Fish fauna of the upper Tisa. In: J., Hamar, & S6rk6ny-Kiss, A Eds. The Upper Tisa Valleys. Tiscia monograph series, Szeged:439-454. Nalbant, T., 1995.Fish of the Mureg (Maros) River: sistematicsand ecology.In The Maros/ Mureg River Valley. Hamar, J., & Sarkany-Kiss, A. (eds.), Szolnok- Szeged-Tg.Mureg: 225 -23 4. Telcean, I., 1997. Influenla barajelor qi amenajdrilor hidrotehnice asupra ihtiofaunei bazinului Crigurilor. Analele Univ. din Oradea, Fascicula de Biologie, Tom.V, Ed. Univ. Oradea. Telcean, L, 1997, Reparti{ia altitudinald a ihtiofaunei bazinului Crigurilor. Analele Univ. din Oradea,Fascicula de Biologie, Tom.V, Ed. Univ. Oradea. Vladikov, V., 1931.Poissons de la RussieSous-Carpathique., (Tchecoslovaquie)., Mem. Soc.Zool. France, 29:217-374. Vutskits, G., 1913. Classis Pisces. In. Fauna Regni Hungariae, Regia Soc. Scient.Natur-Hungarica,Budapest, 42 pp. I.C. TELCEAN Universityof Oradea Departmentof Biology Str.Armatei Romdne 5 3700 Oradea Romdnia P. M. BANARESCU ResearchInstitute of Biology Departmentof Biosistematics Splaiul Independenfei296 79651Bucuregti RomAnia r85 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 187-198 THE PREVAILING ANTHROPOGENICEFFECTS ON CERTAIN SMALLER NORTHWESTERNROMANIAN RIVERS Sdndor tYilhelm,Akos Harka, Zoltdn Sallai Abstract In the course of the research of Barcdu, Crasna and Ier rivers the particular damaging effects of the anthropogenic factors were proved and the indicator role of somefish speciescame into limelight. Keywords: ichthyofauna,anthropogenic effects, pollution, water draining Introduction The large-scaled common undertaking of the Pro Europa League from TArgu Mureq and Tisza Klub from Szolnok resulted in useful outcomes. Naturally, such a considerabletask took sight at larger rivers aboveall and lessattention was drawn to smallerrivers. During our researchwe set ourselvesthe task of doing a detailedfish-faunistic investigationof thoserivers which had been studiedto a smallerextent or hadn't been studiedat all. Thus, in 1991we investigatedthe Barcdu, in 2000 the Crasna,and in 2001 the ler. In the course of our work we were able to notice the effects of the anthropogeninterference on the fish-fauna. Methods Lengthwisethe rivers already mentionedwe used electric fishing machinesand, where it was possible, pulling fine-holed nets to take samples from the places appointedin advance. We let the identihed fish back into the river. These results we comparedwith literature data at our disposal which mirror the earlier condition of the rivers, preceedingthe anthropogeniceffects, or at least,reflect the former conditionsof the rivers. 187 Results On the Barcdu, on the reachesbeneath Suplacu de Barcdu, prevail the polluting effects of crude-oil products due to the activity of refineries. According to the head of the water-station in Marghita, the last greater pollution was in 1994. However, the media presentsperiodically news about pollution in the area and even in the Sdlard area there are petroleum derivates in the silt-layer of the shores. The powerful self- purification processis preventedby the communal sewageof Marghita that flows into the river. The rich fish stock beneathSuplacu de Barcdu has been drastically reducedboth in quality and quantity due to the mentioned effects (Harka et al., 1998) ( 1" table). At Cohani we were able to collect 8 specimensof 3 speciesaltogether, from these6 were the representativesof the Pseudorasboraparva species that presented generalistic characters; one was the chub (Leuciscus cephalus ) and one was the schneider (Alburnoides bipunctatus),that might have been carried offfrom the upper reachesof Suplacude Barcdu. In the areaof Marghita we collected81 specimensof 7 species.Nevertheless the overwhelming majority wefe Pseudorqsbora, while the one piece of mud loach (Misgurnusfo.ssi/is), collected from an area which is not home for this species,also demonstratedeutrophication. On the rolling country reachesfrom Suplacu de Barcdu to Saniob, this being the area most exposed to pollution, the disappearanceor the significant damaging of the speciestypical to rolling country could be noticed. we weren't able to collect sand-gudgeon (Gobio kessleril although Bdn5rescu (1964, l980l8l) still found it. Another speciesthat can be declared extinct is the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus). We had caught the last specimen of this species in 1994 at Sdniob,but during the collection inl997 we weren't able to find it. The stock of chub (Leuciscuscephalus) and bleak (Alburnus alburnus) has also thoroughly decreasedin number, while the schneider(Alburnoides bipunctatus) could not be find at any extent downward Suplacu de Barcdu. Of two typically rolling country species, the nose (Chondrostoma nasus) disappeared from the most polluted reaches, moreover, lengthwise the region we were able to find only a portion of population. The barbel (Barbus barbus) died out on the whole reach. The balcan spined loach (Sabaneiewia aurata) is also representedonly in the upward zone of the main polluting source,then a portion of population is met on the lowest point of the rolling-country zone, where self-purification prevails to a certain extent. The effects of the draining of the moorland and the shaping of the river bed can be noticed on the Crasna and the Ier. On the Crasna,the moor of Ecedeawas drained in the period berween 1895-1898(Iijvdri, 1972). Thus there were gained 37.000 ha of arable land of which Romania's share is 92.000 ha. Althrough a thorough assessment of the conditions before the draining hadn't been done, Herman (1887) published a few data about the fish fauna of the moor and the Crasna. If we compare these data with the results of our own research (Harka, Sallai, Wilhelm, 2001), it can be proved that valuable native fish species of the area had disappeared,such as the crucian carp (Carassius carassius), the tench (Tinca tinca), 188 the mud loach (Misgurnusfossilis) and the mudminnow (Umbra krameri) that is under internationalprotection (2'" table). On the upper reachesof the Crasna,above Varsolt, there was built a dam and the water-pool made here provides Zaldu ard $imleul Silvaniei with water. The effects of the dam on the fish fauna is illustrated in 3'o table. Allthrough we didn't study the frsh- fauna of the pool, it was obvious that under the dam the fish-fauna is rather poor; the 7 speciesbeing representedby 861 specimens.Nevertheless, 800 specimensof these are representedby 2 species: the perch (Perca fluviatilis) and the sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), which feel themselveswell in the small, slowly flowing lake, polluted with the dirt of the water filter sets. There is hardly any water in the river bed downward the barrage,so above $imleul Silvaniei the bleak (Alburnus alburnus) totals half of the 261 specimensof 10 species. The communal polluting effect of $imleul Silvaniei gives a sewer's characterto the reachesof the river that flows through the town. In this manner there are only 11 species,but the common gudgeon (Gobio gobio), which endureswell the eutrophic waters, totals almost half of the number of specimens.The moorworld of the valley of the Ier was extinguishedby 1970, thus 27.600 ha of land were reclimed in Bihor county (Sabiu, 1997). The dug bed of the Ier was limited by dams so the waterflow, which was slow before the shaping of the area, speededup substantially.The processinfluenced negatively the stagnophileelements, which were in overwhelming majority up to that time, but favoured the spreadingor the rheophile species. Unfortunately through assessmentof the period preceeding the draining hadn't been done. All the data at our disposal results from the occasional collection made between 1968-1990 (Bdndrescu et al., 1997). When comparing these data with the resultsof our regularcollections (Wilhelm, Sallai,200l), we can still draw interesting conclusions (4'n table). In the course of our researchwe weren't able to find it, so we can declare extinct the crucial carp (Carassius carassius) and the bream (Abramis brama). The wels (Silurus glanis) has also disappeared.However, we put it on our former species-liston the basis of past fishermen's reports. The number of specimens and the number of homes of the mudminnow (Umbra krameri) have also decreased substantially. It is particularly prominent that the mud loach (Misgurnus fossilis), which due to the great stock before the draining gave birth to a special kind of fishing along the Ier, has decreasedso much nowadaysthat it is threatenedwith extinction. On the other hand, the number of rheophile elements has increased. The dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), the asp (Aspius aspius) and the whitefrn gudgeon (Gobio albipinnatus) have appeared. Moreover, we have found the sand-gudgeon (Gobio kessleri) and the stoneloach(Barbatula barbatula) on the upper reaches.Interestingly enough, after the draining we collected ruffe (Gymnocephaluscernuus), but in the course of our last study we were able to find the rheophile balon-ruffe (Gynnocephalusbaloni) insteadof it. 189 D d 6 c + + + N o: \ N Nd as r o N i .o O d d c N 6g T 'a N N 'aY N s * a o o E a ,=N a: F*m E dc N J",2 d d ze O EE N ?- =19 t L E e s 3 N $ B B .:: s \c : .::i< .3 6 \: \ t: : s s F s* o s 5= : : q.: s (\ B s+ v .:\ { -t - \ 3+ \ H N N a r F 190 O O {x a. q N r N N6 as o d N c 9= N 6d E d:= 'a N o O p O € N a N c N d a d N ,=N N O * a: N 2d E E E L) N fO AE J,.= z,f N o 5A d AE 3 F EcF d - s : o s 3 € { o B q b0 f s o $ f T t f o o \ 3 c 90 k : o .: $ ^! (\ t\ d (] I v) q { 6 N r 6 N $ € F NN NNN N N N 191 dri + + oi + N6 AE a d oo .Pa id X:= 'a '-c Y E G a o (t ,6S Lg >to o r) 7 dg 5o a-o .i> ,t Z,E o ;!t F .9 a.l F Eg E d 'co3d PF { c o fEc o $ ii { s cn -c! t3: {l { E \: Acq9l \s *E si O; Y ss N.i E *-i si \! ss {,* 6-u I ('€ (4i rl >s f,'s Z+e. r ! o $ F 192 Table 2. Comparing data regardingth€ fish fauna of Crasna river n. Species I Ierman, Eced Hemran, Lrasna Bindrescu, Ilarka, Sallai, nr. I 887 Moor I 887 River t964 Wilhelm.200l I Rutilusrutilus + 2 Rutiluspipus virgct -t 3 Scurditit rs c rfi hro p h t ha I n u s l- + 4 LeuciscttsIeuciscus 5 Leuciscrtscephalus 6 Leuciscusidus 7 4spiusaspiu.s 6 4lburnusulburnus + + 4Il,urno ides I,i lttt tt. ta I tt.s + + l() Blicca bi,'erhu + ll Abranis branu + .F t2 Chrntdroslona na.sus l3 Tinca littca + + t Barhus barlsus 15 IJarbus oetenvi t6 Gobio cobio + t t7 Gobio olbininnattts + t8 Pseudorasbrtra narva { t9 Rhodeus sericeus - + 20 Cara,ssitts carossius 2l Carassitts auruttts t + 22 ,VDTINUS CATDIO + + 23 9orbatLtlalnrlntula I 24 lobitis tueniu J l 25 V i.sn t n u,s li t.s,si I i s + 26 Jilurustlanis + 7 lctalunts ttchulosu,t I + 28 [claluru.snelos + )o Unbru kranrcri 30 EsoxIucius + + + 3l I ttln Iota i 32 Irutnris gibbosus I 33 Perca /luviatilis + I' + J+ G vntnucetrha lu.s c ern u us + Notes:+ present [+] maybepresent I only on Hungarianreaches 193 N 9> vc >- d O ct r o o v N N u d c 5" a E O r N t o O OE d N c N N N 'd = AU g N a N aE $ d :o c E E-e o = N Y! L U N U : 90 : : s f s : i .3 Ro :{ {i o s B € \ iR i LS E \ F '€ t € ::\ i :F { -t: a a 3 <,: s s rt a { \: a U a {E Q o N d I r d r a F t94 d 2> .;F >d a E :z ud g f N N o oa N '6Vr= N € aF N tr EL a N Q < c : \ o a { b0 s l o i o o : o ai $ a q ki { *l N € r @ F OEd N N N N N N d 195 'Iable 4. Comparing data regarding the fish fauoa of Ier river Crt.nr. Species Banarescuet al., I 997 Wilhelm,Sallai,200i Umbra kraneri + + 2 Esoxlucius + + 3 Rutilus rutilus + I \card i n ius ery throp ht ha I mus + l 5 Leuciscuscephalus + 6 Leuciscusleuciscus -t 7 ',eucsspius delineatus + + tt 4spiu,s aspius + 9 4lburnus albunuts + 0 \licca bjoerkno t- I 4bromis brama + 2 Rhodeussericeus + + 3 Gobio gobio j + 4 Gobio albipinnatus + ) Gobio kessleri + 6 Pseurlorasborapama + 7 Cy'prinuscarpio + + 8 Carassittscarassius + 9 Carassiusauralu.s + 20 Tinca tinca + + 21 9arbatulu barbanrla t + 22 Visgwnus fossilis + LJ ?obitis taenia + + 24 9ilurus glanis + 25 Ictalurus nehulosus ,1, F lo Ictalurusnrclas + 27 Perca.lluviatilis + 28 Gltnnocephalus cer nuus + 29 Gymnocephalusbaloni + 30 Lepomisgibbosus + t96 Conclusions Fish, as any othcr organismsliving in water, are more at thc mcrcy of the effects that influence the given environmentalconditions than the speciesliving on land. Among them, there are only a few generalistspecies that bear a vast ecological spectrum.During our researchthe Pseudorasbrtra parva of allochtonorigin proved to suit this descriptionfirst of all, and perhapsthe common gudgcon(Gobio gobio) and the roach (Rutilusrutihts). However,the overwhelmingmajority of fish specieshave specialistcharacter, thus they are good indicatorsof the environmentalchanges that have occurred.This is all the more valid sincethe fish suffer not only becauseof the direct effect of the changesof the abiotic factors,but sincethe majority of them are on a higher level ofthe food chain,they experienccthe elTectsofthe changeson the food organismsand thusalso thc indirecteffect. As wc haveseen, the water-technicalinterferences have a drasticcffect that change the quality and quantity of the fish-fauna.So we disapprovethe constructionof the water pool on the reachesupward Suplacude Barcduon the Barc5u,thus changingthe fish faunaofa river reachesthat rve found closeto natural. As far the Ier is concemcd,we made the proposalplan, with necessaryreasons, of the backmooringof the area. Neverthclcssthe competcntauthorities haven't done furthcr steps since thc drafting of the plan. Reducing the chemical pollution, the resettlementof the nose (Chondrostonwnasus), and the barbel (Barbus barbus) onthe rolling hills rechesof the Barciu might be possibleif the rcmaining populationhave drawn up successfullyand survived in the branch rivers. The study of this question figures in our plans for this year, all the morc sinceduring the asscssmentof the fish faunaof the Bistra stream(Wilhclm, l99l) we noticedpromising signs. However, it is to bc fcaredthat if the waterpoolbeing in constructionwill have the sameeffects on the water condition of the Barcdu, as the waterpool of Varsolt on the Crasna:the extinction of the remaining population instcad of thc resettlementof the missing populationcan't be left out ofaccount. The upsctecological balancc rcsulting from hurnanintcrference, the numerousfish populationsthat havc grown weakcror disappearedhave createdthe possibility of the settlementof allochtone spccies which have occupicd the ecological niches that remainedvacant. After the German carp (Carassiusauratus), the brown bullhead (Ictaluntsnebtilosus pannonicus) and the sunfish(Lepomis gibbosus) has appeared the black bullhead (Ictalttrusmelas), that wcre first showedin the Ier (Wilhelm, 1998), but we have also found it in the Barcdu(Harka et al., 1998)and in the Crasna(Harka, Sallai,Wilhelm,2001). As a conclusion,the appearanceof new fish speciescan be cxpectedin the foreseeablefuture. References Bdnirescu, P., 1964. Pisces. Osteichthyes.Fauna R.P.R., XIII. Ed. Acad., Bucuresti. r9l Bdndrescu,P., 1981.Ihtiofauna bazinului Crigurilor in cadrul general al ihtiofaunei bazinului dunarean.(The Fish Fauna of the Basin of the Crig Rivers within the General Fameworkof the DanubeBasin Fish Fauna).- Nymphaea(Oradea), 819:. 4751481' Bdnirescu,P., I. Telcean,P. Bacalu,A. Harka, s. wilhelm, 1997.The fish faunaof the CrigA(tlros river basin. lin/ The Crig/Kiiros Rivers Valleys, Szolnok-Szeged-T6rgu Mureg:3ol/325. Gyore, K., 1995. Magyarorszag termeszetesvizi halai. (The Fishes of Nafural Waters of Hungary). Komyezetgazd.Intezet, Budapest. Harka, A-,199'7.Halaink. (Our Fishes).TKTE,Budapest. Harka, A., K. Gyore, Z. Sallal, S. Wilhelm, 1998.A Berettyo halfaunajaa forrastol a torkolatig. (The Fish Faunaof the Berettyo from the spring to the mouth).- Halaszat, 9t.2,68174. Harka, A., z. sallai, S. wilhelm, 2001. A Kraszna,/crasnahalfaunaja. (The Fish Faunaof the Kraszna./Crasna).-Halaszat, 9 4.1, 3 4 I 40. Herman, o., 1887. A magyar halaszatkonyve. (The Hungarian Fishing Book), I- II.-Term.Tud. Konyvkiado, Budapest. Sabau, N.C., 1997. Impactul lucrdrilor hidroameliorative asupra solurilor din perimetrul Valea ler. (The impact of Hydroameliorative Works on the Soils of the Ier Valley). Ed.Univ.,Oradea. ujvari,I., 1972. Geografia apelor Romaniei. (Geography of the waters of Romania.).Ed.Stiint., Bucuresti. wilhelm, A., 1987. Tigdnugul (Jmbra krameri walbaum) in valea Ierului. (The Mudminnow in the Ier Valley).-Criqia(Oradea), XVII, 651/654- Wilhelm, A., 1998. Black bullhead (Ictalurus melas Raftnesque, 1820) (Pisces: Ostariophysi: Bagridae) a new Speciesof Fish Recently Found in Romanian Waters. Trav.Mus.natl.Hist.nat."Grigore Antipa", XL,377 381. Wilhelm, S., 1998. A fekete torpeharcsa ([ctalurus melas kafrnesque, 1820) terhoditasa az Er folyo volgyeben. (The Spreading of the Black Bullhead in the Ier River Valley. Muzeumi Fuzetek(Kolozsvar), 7,l'10/112. Wilhelm, A., Z. Sallai, 2001. Fauna ihtiologica a raului Ier.(The Ichthyological Faunaof the Ier River). Satu Mare. Studii si comunicari /in press/. SANDORWILHELM RO-3 7 50 Sdcuieni, P -ta Llbertdtri 24I 7 [email protected] AKOS HARKA Kossuth Lajos Gimn6zium 6350Tiszaflired, T6ntits M. u. l, Hungary ZOLTAN SALLAI NymphaeaNature ConservationSociety, Szarvas 5421Turkeve, P.O. Box 33 Hungary 198 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 199*204 MAJOR THREATS FOR AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILES SPECIESIN THE TRANSYLVANIAN RIVERS' BASINS. RECOMMENDED MONITORING METHODS Mara Gy,ongyvir Abstract The authortries to identify the major threatsfor arnphibianand reptile speciesin the Transylvanianrivers' basins.The herpetologicalinvestigations were performed during summertin-rein the hydrographicbasins of Criqul Negru, Somegand Olt rivers, in the period 1997-1999.Two monitoringmethods were used,occasional findings and information from local people. The most important factor in the decline of herpetofaunafrom Transylvanianriver's basins seems to be the loss of natural habitats.But the authorconsiders that it is the time for quantitativefield research,for a better study of herpetotaunaconservation status. Finally, a few monitoring methods areproposed. Keywords: Transylvanianrivers, reptile, monitoring methods. Introduction The loss of amphibian and reptiles species is a worldwidely well-known phenomenon.The freshwaterorganisrns, as well as the amphibians,seetn to disappear faster than other vertebrateclasses (Griffiths & Beebee, 1992). Local and global changesin environmentalfactors appearto contributeto the decline of amphibians, suchas: global climatechange, UV radiation,intensive agriculture (use of pesticides), infections(viruses, fungi, parasites),habitat destruction, water pollution, introduction of other species,introduction of fish (managingfishponds). However, it is becoming 'global' ctearthat not all the speciesare decliningand that not one factor,but various complexesof factors are responsiblefor the decline in different parts of the world (Vos& Chardin,1998). In Romania the national Nature ConservationLaw (46212001)and the Bern Convention (InternationalConvention on the Conservationof European Wildlife) protect the amphibiansand reptiles.Unforhrnately, in spite of legislationnumerous habitatsof herpetologicalimportance are threatenedor even destroyed.The wetlands are among the most threatenedones. The reductionof thesehabitats is a worldwide 199 problem, it causeshabitat fragmentationand significantly reducesthe population's viability. Material and methods The herpetologicalinvestigations were performed during summertime in the hydrographicbasins of Crigul Negru, Someqand Olt rivers, in the period 1991-1999. The distribution of amphibianand reptilc speciesis bettcr and bcttcr investigatedin Transylvania(Ghira et al. in press), but we have a significant knowlcdge dcficit regarding population fluctuations. Arnphibians arc characterizedby considerable populationsize fluctuationsduring the yearsthat cmphasizethe importanccof long- term studies. The best period for an-rphibianand reptile speciesmonitoring is springtime,the reproducingseason, when they can bc observedin mass.In other periodsof the ycar, amphibian spccies can be observcd sporadically. That's why, rwo additional monitoring methods were used: occasional findings and information from local people. The river's basinswere divided into thrce main zones:mountainous, between 800- i800 m; hilly, between400-800 m; and hillock/plain,betwecn 200-400 rn altitude. Results The highest diversity of hcrpctofaunawas obscrvedin the hilly region, closely relatedto the wide variety of habitats.The numberof observedamphibian and reptile specicsin the mountain zone is decreasedin contrastwith the hilly rcgion (Ghira, 1997;Mara et al., 1999).The low diversityof heryctofaunain thc plain areasis explainedby the ecosystem'smonotony due to the intensiveagriculture. We noticethe dominance of Rana esctrlenta contplex, Lacerla agilis and Natrix natrix in every region, while Bombina variegala and Anguis fi'agilis appearto be common speciesof the hilly region.The otheramphibian and reptile speciessecm to be vulnerable,rare or endangered. We identified the major thrcats for amphibian and rcptile spccies in the investigatedriver's basinsas follows: 1. Destructionof wetlandhabitats (the an-rphibians,due their biphasiclifc cycle,at least during thc brceding seasonand larrraldevelopment are closely relatedto thcse habitats): - Desiccationworks, drainageof wetlands(river regularisationworks); - Transfon.ningbackwaters in fishponds,introducing non-native fish species; - Intensiveagriculture (use of fcrtilizersand pesticides,mowing) - Scorchingofreeds, well vcgetatedadjacent areas. 2. Waterpollution, eutrophication. 3. Destructionof rocky ecosystens. 4. Deforestation,forest fires (damaginghibemation sites). 200 5. Road mortality (killing arnphibianson their spring migration and reptiles by traffic). 6. Human consulre (springtirne,in some placesfrogs are traditionallyconsumed and collectedin massby local people). 7. Tourism, human brutality (killing snake and lizard species,such as Anguis fragilis). Discussion The most in-rportantfactor in the decline of herpetofaunafrom Transylvanian river's basinsis the loss of naturalhabitats. The amphibianspecies are affectedby the destructionof reproducing/breedingsites lfreshwater ecosystems)and hibernation sitesas well (terrestrialecosystems). The lack of importantreptile fauna elementsis dueto the destructionof rocky ecosystemsand deforestation. The breedingsites (pools, puddles,ponds) of newt speciesare polluted or even destroyed.In mountain regions the alpine (Tritunts alpestris) and Carpathiannewt (Triturus montandoni)is threatenedmainly by deforestationand destructionof small temporarypools by the wood-exploitationworks (Necaset al. 1997).Anthropogenic effects,as pollution and destructionof springsand streams,cause the low number of spotted salamander(Salamandra salamandra). The reduction of suitable habitats causeshabitat fragmentation and the isolationof populations.When extinctioncan no longer be compensatedby recolonisation,the populationbecornes weaker and even extinct. The same factors causethe reductionof anuranpopulations. For the fire-bellied toads (Bontbina bombina) the most important factor is the loss of habitat (Briggs, 1997) as a consequenceof river regularisationworks. Bombina bombina,Pelobates Jusctts, Hyla arborea and Bufo viridis are dcclining rapidly in Denmark due to disappearanceof ponds (33%), water pollution/eutrophication(30-40%) and fish introduction(Fog, K., 2000). The common toad (Bufo bufu) is threatcnedrnainly by destructionof suitable freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and losses can also be caused by habitat fragmentationby roads.The most run over amphibiancorpses belong to this species, becauseit is the slowestone. The brown frog species(Rana arvalis, R. temporaria,R. dalmatina) - besidethe common threats- are consumedby local people. In springtime hundredsof frogs, sometimes common toads are butchered. The populational flucfuatton of Rana dalmatinain Aeroe (Denmark)was causedpartly by intensificationof agricultureand partly by climate changes(Briggs, 1997).The intensiveagricultural practices, using pesticidesand fertilizers, causewater pollution, and in the same time lead to the accumulationof pollutansin the organismsof the whole food chain. The swamp F.tftle(Em1,s orbicularis) is threatenedmainly by habitat reduction and other anthropogenicinterventions. The lizard and snakespecies are also threatenedby habitatdestruction (the reductionof rocky ecosystemsand deforestation).In the same time, the human brutality and the road traffic cause losses in their populations. 201 Humans kill adder species(Vipera berus, Vipera ammodytes)and Coronela austriaca often misidentified as common adder. The slow worm (Anguis fragilis) is the only snake-shapedlizard species in the Romanian herpetofaunathat is victim of human brutality. Habitat fragmentation and the negative effect of roads also have to be mentioned. Conclusionsand proposals During the investigation two additional monitoring methods were used, occasional findings/visual observation and obtaining information from local people. The last method may give information on particular speciesthat were previously recorded in the study area. We consider that it is the time for quantitative field research,for a better study of herpetofaunaconservation status. We proposethe following monitoringmethods: 1. Line countingmethod. It can be performed in habitats or on road by visual observation,and the counting lines alwayshave a fixed length(Masing, 1997).The road transectmethod is optimal if environmental conditions are optimal, even a single night can provide reliable data on the presenceof amphibian species.Besides the breeding migration in spring, the summer migration of juveniles, or autumn migration can be effectively studied (Puky, 2001). 2. Road counting call method. It was first used as monitoring method in Canada. A relatively straight route consisting of l0 sample points (with 0.5 km distance one from another) without extraneous noise has to be chosen, and is preferably to reflect a variefy of good amphibianhabitats such as pons, marshesor swamps(Anthony & Puky, 2001). 3. Squarecounting method. Is a modifrcation of the quadratesampling method, describedby Jaeger& Inger in 1994, and the counters choosethe squaresin suitable habitats,where it is expectedto find a large number of amphibians and reptiles. The counts are calculated per hectare (Masing, 1997) 4. Trappingmethods. The point counting method (man-made holes) and the cone counting method (digging metal or plastic cones into the ground) also can be used for monitoring actions. Both are in fact close to the pitfall traps method, and can be used selectively for certainspecies (Masing, 1997). References Anthony, B & Puky, M. (2001): K6t6ltiiek hang alapj6n tort6n6 monitorozSsa (Road call count monitoring manual of Hungary), Varangy Akci6csoport Egyesiilet / Central EuropeanUniversity, Budapest. 202 Briggs, L. (1997): Recovery of Bombina bombina in Funen County, Denmark, MemorandaSoc. Fauna Flora Fennica 73:101-104. Fog,K. (2000):Amphibian conservationin Denmark,Frolog 13 (on line) Ghira, I. (1997): Herpetofaunaof Crigul Repede/SebesKoros and Barcdu/Beretfy6 river basins,The Criq/Kor GYONGYVER MARA SapientiaUniversity Facultyof Technicaland Natural Sciences Departmentof Ecology RO-4100Miercurea Ciuc P-taLibertdtii l. 203 TISCIA monograph series (2002). 6, 205-234 DISTRIBUTION. POPULATION SIZE AND DYNAMICS oF THEWHrTE STORK (CrCOIrrA CrCOr{rA L.) IN THE UPPERAND MIDDLE OLT RIVER BASIN (ROMANIA) Ferenc K6sa, Ldszl1 Demeter, TamasPapp, Friedrich Philippi. Hans-.IohannLutsch and Karoly Gycirg,, Abstract Based on the results of the censusescarried out between 1996-2000,the total populationof thc Upper and Middle Olt River Basin is 721 HPa distributedin 304 localities.The total population of the region can be estimatedto approx. 800 HPa. About 30% of Transylvanianpopulation and about 16%oof Romanian population breedsin the study area.From a lulnerability, conservationaland monitoringpoint of view it is importantto note that -10% of the localitieshold almost half (328 HPa - 45.49%) of the total breeding population of the whole area. The rnean population density (StD) for the whole area was 5.469 HPall}0 km2. Out of a total of 721 breedingpairs,640/o were found to nestat altitudesbetween 500-1000 m and only 36%o nestswithin the altitudinal belt of 300-500 m. Most common nest sites are electric pylons(45.26%),bams (24.47Vo) and chimneys(22.48%). Since the 1960-smassive changeshave been observed in nestsite preferences,from buildingsto electricpylons. The meanJZa andJZm valuesfor the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin were above 2.0 and 2.5 in 1998-2000,values which are higher than the estimatedIZa and JZm valuesneeded to keepthe populationstable. The White Storkpopulation of the Middle and Upper Olt River Basin hasundergone a continuousdecrease from the sixtiesuntil the end ofthe nineties.Positive populational changes can be seen,with the exception ofthe FdgdragBasin, only in the 1988/1989-2000period: the populationhas recovercd to the level of the sixtiesand is still increasingin the Ciuc, Tdrgu Secuiescand Sibiu Basins. Keywords: White Stork, Olt River Basin, distribution,population size, breeding success,colonial nesting, nest site selection,population trends. 205 Introduction The white Stork has been identified as a priority bird speciesin 4 out of 7 agriculturaland grasslandhabitats ofEurope (Tucker and Dixon 1997),and recentlyit was proposedas a habitat indicator speciesfor agriculturalhabitats by Tucket et al. (2000). The White Stork is a flagship speciesfor the internationalconservation of wetlands,ecologically valuable river lowlands and low intensityfarmland as wcll as for the conservationof migratorybirds in gencral(Samusenko 2000). Thus conserving the White Stork is an importantcontribution toward the prcservationof biodivcrsity and consequentlyto the implemcntationof the Conventionon Biological Diversity (Schulz1999b). The White Stork is distributedover the entire territory of Romaniaand the total - numberof breedingpairs was estimatedby the last nationalcensus (1999) to 4500 breedingpairs (K6sa 2001). The first regional White Stork censusin this area was conductcdbefwccn 1909-1915by JakabSchenk (Salmen 1980), but more detailed censuseswere made only in the secondhalf of the 20'ncentury. Data on the numbers and populationtrends of the White Stork in the the Middle and Upper Olt River Basin were publishedby the following authors:B6ldi (1962),Dam6 (1984, i985, 1994), Demeter(2001a, 2001b), Klemm (1969, 1975a,l9l5b, 1983),Klemrn and Salmen (1988),Kohl (1980), Kov6cs (1915,1916), Kov6ts (1968a,1968b, 1974), Molndr (1979,1981, 1990), Lutsch (1990), Lutsch, Philippi and Popa (1990), Philippi (1997), Philippi (2001),Philippi and Popa (1990b),Popa (1983),Szab6 and Papp (1996), Weberand Antal (1978). The main goal of this study was to locateand characterizethe nest sitesused by White Storks in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin. The second aim was to evaluateall the populationdata essential for the analysisof the White Storkpopulation in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin to forecastits further populationtrends (in addition,in the future our databaseswill make possiblefurther comparative analysis of the different population parametersin this area). The third aim was to elaborate recommendationsfor the protectionof the White Stork populationsand stork habitats. Partial resultsof our srudy were publishedby Demeter(2001a, 2001b) and Philippi (2001). Material and Methods -80% our study was carriedout mainly from I July to l0 August 2000 when out of our datawere collectedin the Uppcr and Middle Olt River Basin.The other-20o/o of the datawere countedby the authorsbetween 1996-1999. The Uppcr and Middle Olt River Basin occupiesthe rniddle part of Romania(the south-easterncorner of Transylvania)and is situatedwithin four counties(Harghita, Covasna,Brasov, Sibiu) along 386 river kilometers.The total size of the Upper and Middle Olt Rivcr Basin is 13181km'(Ujv6ri 1972).Thegeographical range of the areais from 23"40'Et"o26'24'E and from 45'24'N to 46'45'N. The Upper and Middle Olt River Basin consistsmainly of intramountainousbasins surrounded by 1500-2500 206 m high mountainsin the NW, N, E. S and SW parts. Forestscover 35-457oof the territory, the potential White Stork habitats (arable land + pastures+ meadows) amountto 50-6loh . The studiedterritory was subdividedinto sevenregions (Fig. 1): 1. Ciuc Basin: includes the catchmentarea of the Olt between the spring and Micfaldu; 2. T6rgu SecuiescBasin: includesthe catchmentarea of the Negru River (without the drainagearea of the tributary TArlung River), the CasinuBasin and the drainage areaof the Olt River betweenMicfaldu and confluencepoint with the Negru River; 3. BArsciBasin: also includes the BaraoltBasin; 4. HomoroadeRivers Basin: the hydrological drainagearea of the Homoroade nvers; 5. Fagarag Basin: includes the Olt catchment area between Racog and the confluencepoint with the LotrioaraRiver, without the Homoroadeand the Cibin River Basins; 6. HArtibaciuRiver Basin:the hydrologicaldrainage area of the HdrtibaciuRiver; 7. Sibiu Basin: the hydrological drainagearea of the Cibin River, without the drainagearea of the HArtibaciuRiver. White Stork populationparameters were recordedaccording to the international abbreviations(Schulz 1999a): HPa- numberof pairs occupyinga nest,nesting pairs (HPa:HPm+HPo+HPx); HPm - numberof pairswith fledglings; HPo - numberof pairsoccupying a nestbut without fledgling; HPx - numberof pairswith unknownbreeding success; JZG - total numberoffledglings in a definedarea per year; JZa - breedingsuccess, avearage number of fledgedyoung per pair relatedto all HPa of a definedarea (JZGIHPa); JZm - breeding success,average number of fledged young per pair related to all HPm of a defined area(lZGlHPm): Std- "Stork density":number ofpairs (HPa)per 100 sq km ofa dehnedarea. Data analysiswas madewith the FileMaker Pro softwareand the distributionmaps were Droducedwith the DMAP software. Resultsand discussion Distribution,population size and density The White Stork breeds all over the study area with the exception of high mountainousregions and forested areas. Distribution of breeding pairs (HPa) is presentedin Fig. 2. The specieswas identified in 304 localities (Table 5.). The distribution of the White Stork throuehout the area is uneven. It reachesthe hishest 207 densities in the Ciuc and TArgu Secuiesc Basins, where grasslands are more widespreadas comparedto other regions. Bised on the results of the censusescarried out between 1996-2000, the total populationof the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin is 721 HPa (Table l. and Table S.). n. about 15% of the region was not coveredby the censuses(mainly the small settlementsfrom the mountainous area), the total population is estimated to approx. 800 breedingpairs. About 30% of Transylvanianpopulation and about 16% of Romanianpopulation breeds in the study area.The percentageof unsuccesfulpairs (%HPo) was low in 2000,only 10.017%. The mean population density (StD) for the whole area was 5.469 HPa/100km' (Table l.). It is higher than rhe urr"iug" value for Romania(4.48 HPa/l00 km2 - K6sa 2001) and much higher than for the SomegRiver Basin (2.78 HPall}0 km2 - K6sa, unpublishedresuhs). Breedingpairs were found in 100 full l0-km UTM squaresand in 3 partial l0-km squares(from a total of 139 full and 7 partial l0-km squares)(Fig. 3). The species distributionthus covers70.54% of the total areacovered by the 146UTM squares. While the territory is not a typical stork habitat (Kov6ts 1968a),White Stork being a lowland grasslandbird, the local densityof breedingpairs in someplaces reaches 50 pairs/100km2 1in the UTM square35TMM12) (Fig. 3), which is closeto the maximal densitiesin Europe,and one of the highestsin Romania. Although the highestpair densitiescan now be found in the Ciuc Basin, Kov6ts (1968a,1968b) put forward a hypothesison a relativerecent colonization ofthe Ciuc Basin by White Storks,based on the memoriesof elderly local people:the first nests appearedas late as during the secondhalf of the l9'n century, and spreadfrom South to North. This hypothesisis apparentlysupported by the breeding data from the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin, published in the omithological journal Aquila for the period 1906-1910: from a total of 49 "stork villages" only one, SAncraieniis mentionedfrom the Ciuc Basin. Some ringing recoveries also support the hypothesis of Kov6ts. The White Stork HGB 1257ringed by JakabSchenk in 1909 in Hdghig (BdrseiBasin) was recovered after four years in Joseni(Gheorgheni Basin) at a distanceof I l3 km to the north from the ringing site (Salmen 1980, Cdtuneanu1999). Three White Storks ringed by R. Iacobi in Arini (Bdrsei Basin) were recovered later in NE and NW (Cdtuneanu 1999; unfortunatelythe exact detailsofringing and recoveryplaces and datesare missing). All these four recoveries suggesta northward movement of some White Storks from the BArseiBasin. A gradual decreasein breeding pair density (StD) was found from the Upper Olt River Basin (Ciuc and TArguSecuiesc Basins StD:7.11-7.68) to the Middle Olt River Basin (StD:4.35-5.97) (Table 1.), probably in close connection with changesin habitat. 208 Vertical distribution Out of a total of 721 breeding pairs, 640/owere found to nest at altitudes between 500-1000m and only 367onests within the altitudinalbelt of 300-500m (Fig.4). To the best of our knowledge this altitudinal distribution is unique for the Carpathian Basinand probably also for Europe. Breedingsuccess The JZa andJZm values,which characterizethe breedingsuccess, were calculated only for the year 2000.In this year 579 HPa (500 HPm + 21 HPx + 58 HPo) and 1669 JZG were recordeddistributed in 206 localities.The meanIZa andJZm valuesfor the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin were 2.883 and 3.338. The JZa and JZm values neededto keep the populationstable are estimatedto 2.0 (Burnhauser1983) and2.5 (Lakeberg1995). As it can be seenin Table 1., the JZa valuesexceed 2.0 and the IZm values2.5 in every studiedregion in 2000. Becausehigh JZa and JZm valueswere registeredalso in the 1998-1999period (Demeter 2001a, K6sa 2001 and other not published data), the White Stork population from the Upper and Middle Olt River Basincan be consideredas a stableone. The frequency distribution of brood size in 2000 for the study area was the following (Fig. 5): the percentageof nestswith I young (HPml) was 1.960/o,HPm2 - 15.19%,HPm3 - 31.25o/o,HPm4 - 36.52oh,HPm5 - 8.57%.Extremely high number of fledglings(6) was recordedfor two nests. Aggregability and colonial nesting We usedthe following definition for White Stork colonies:villages with minimum 5 breeding pairs (Guziak and Jakubiec 1996) among which the maximal distancedoes not exceed I km (Chozasat al. 1989). White Stork colonies were identified in 31 localities of the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin (Fig. 2. and Table 5.). From a vulnerability, conservationaland monitoring point of view it is imponant to note that -10Vo of the localities hold almost half (328 HPa - 45.49Vo)of the total breeding populationof the whole area! In order to compare quantitatively the aggregability of White Storks in different regions we introduced fwo parameters: | - intensityof colonialbreeding (proportion of breedingpairs nesting in colonies); F-frequencyof colonialbreeding (proportion of localitieswith colonies). As Fig. 6 shows, the intensity (I) and frequency (F) of colonial breeding is the highestin the Ciuc, Sibiu and Tdrgu SecuiescBasins. The highestaggregability levels (l> 55% and F > 15%) thus occur in the regionscharacterized also with the highest StD values(Table l.). JZa and JZm values calculated for the White Stork colonies (JZa:2.899 and JZm:3.302, n:328 HPa) were almost identical with the values for those localities where only 1-4 HPa breeds (IZa:2.861 and JZm:3.387, n:252 HPa). This is in 209 contrastwith the findings of Radkiewicz (1989) who noted greater JZa and JZm valuesfor White Storkscolonies compared to solitarynests in West Poland. The largest stork colonies can be found in the localities Cristian (30 HPa) and SAnsimion(27 HPa). Nest siteselection The most common nest sitesin the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin are electric pylons (45.26%),bams (24.47'Yo)and chimneys(22.48%) (Table 2.). The frequency distributionof nestsites for Romaniais the following69.31o/oof nestsare constructed on electricpylons and27 .40Yo on buildings (chirnneys* barns+ roofs) (K6sa 200I ). Thus the study arearemains behind other regionsin Romaniaas far as the proportion of nestsconstructed on electricpylons is concerned. As Table 2. shows, there are regional differencesin nest site preferences.The proportionof nestsconstructed on bams is the highestin the Ciuc and Tdrgu Secuiesc Basins(34.85-36.69%) and chimneysare prefered as nestingsites in the Bdrsei and SibiuBasins (43.97-54.160/,) (Table 2.). During the last decades massive changes have been observed in nest site preferences,from buildingsto electricitypylons. This processdiffered significantlyin various parts ofthe study area. 44 years ago White Storks in the Tdrgu SecuiescBasin placed their nests exclusivelyon buildings and trees(B6ldi 1962).ln 1962-1963Kov6ts found no nests constructedon electric poles in the Ciuc and Tirgu Secuiesc Basins (Kovtits 1968a,1968b).Weber and Antal observedin Ciuc Basin in 1973 only nests constructedon buildings and in trees(Weber and Antal 1978).The hrst White Stork nestsplaced on electricpoles were recordedin the late 1960-esby D6nesEmese in the TArguSecuiesc Basin (Lemnia).In this region their proportionrapidly increased:from 3.2o/oin1978 (Moln6r 1979)to 15.60/oin1988 (Molnrir 1990)and to 54.28o/oin 2000. The situation is different in the BArsei Basin. In 2000 the proportion of nests constructedon electric poles was still the lowest in the entire region (24.11%).The proportion of nests constructedon electric poles remained below 50% in the Figara$ and Sibiu Basinsand in the HArtibaciRiver Basin,too. The largest proportion of nests constructedon electric pylons can be found in the north and north-westof the area(Ciuc Basin, HomoroadeRivers Basin). The reason for this is most probably that nests built on electric poles spread fron north (Gheorgheni Basin) and north-west (Mureg Counfy) to the Ciuc and Homoroade RiversBasins. The proportionof nestsplaced on poles increasedin parallel with the decreaseof nestsplaced on buildings (see for exampleMoln6r 1979, 198l). As suitablenesting places on chimneys and bams are becoming less abundant,electric poles probably serveas a substitute. In the middle of the 1990s,in cooperationwith the national electricity company, the installation of artificial nest platforms on electricity poles was begun in Harghita and Covasnacounties (IJpper Olt River Basin) and until 2000 about 86 poles were equipped with such platforms. No platforms were installed in Braqov and Sibiu 210 counties(Middlc Olt River Basin). Consequently,there are still 234 nestsin direct contactwith electricwires. Populationtrends The Upper and Middle Olt River Basin,considering the availableamount of White Stork populationdata, is one of the most studiedareas in Romania.Despite this fact, the summariseddata of the forn.rercensuses conductcd between 1958-2000 cannot be directly comparedfor studieson populationdynamics. Difficulties arisefrom the fact that during the censusesthe sampleareas wcre different and also rvhenthey were the same,in differentyears different localities were includedin the monitoring. To be able to comparethe populationtrends betr,l'een different rcgions in a given time period, we divided the whole timc intcn'al. bascdon the availablecensus data, into the following periods: 196211963-197311914,197311974-1988/1989 and 1988/1989-2000.Only thoselocalities v!'ere included in the analyseswherc census data are available in two consecutiveoccasions. Despitc the problen.rsmentioned above,data obtained in this way provide a reliablebasis to estimatesimultaneously the long term populationchanges for the White Stork in the differentregions of the Upper and Middle Olt River for a given time period(Table 3.). The datapresented in Table 3. show regionaldifferences in populationtrends. Although both in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basins the White Stork populationdecreased from the sixties to thc sevcnties,this was more pronouncedin the Sibiu and FdgdragBasins (- -28.3 - -43.82%) than in the Ciuc Basin (- -10%). Among the causesof the decline Klernrn (1983) listed the disappcaranceof wetlands due to drainageand river regulation following a systematicgovcrnment plan and structuralchanges of the human settlementsand attitudeswith transition to urban building and behaviour. ln the 1973/1974-1988/1989period the decline of Stork populationscontinues in all the regionsfrom where censusdata are available.A cleardifference can be seenin populationdecrease rate betweenthe Upper and Middle Olt River Basins:the values aresituatcd between -1.6 - -14.6%in the UpperOlt RiverBasin, and between -15.38 - -4loh rn the Middle Olt River Basin. The Olt River was drasticallyregulated in the Ciuc Basin in the late 1970-s,early 1980-s.As a result,the water tablc droppedand floods occur only rarely. The effect on the flora and fauna was dramatic, several speciesdisappeared from the area. Unforrunately White Stork breeding data are lacking between1973 and 1997so we do not know in what mannerwas affectedthe breeding population in the first years aftcr the river regulation.The Negru River (Tdrgu SecuiescBasin) was regulatedin 1974and Kov6ts (1975)nored a markeddrop in thc numberof breedingpairs in the localitiessituated along the river. Positive population changes occured only in the 1988/1989-2000period: the populationsrecovercd to the level of the sixties and are still increasingin the Ciuc, TArguSecuiesc and Sibiu Basins.The presentpositive populationtrend of the White Stork in EasternEurope is generallyattributed to the crisis in agricultureduring the economictransition period, which resultedin a rapid recoveryof biological diversity on agriculturallandscapes in thssecountries (Schulz 1999b).Although this statement 211 seemsto be true also for Romania, we cannot exclude the possibility that populational increases observed in some regions (e.g. Sibiu Basin) are resulted from the immigration of breeding pairs from the most affected areas(e.g. Fdgiraq Basin). No HPa changes,compared to 1988/1989,took placesin the BdrseiBasin- The only region in the Middle and Upper Olt River Basin where the population decreasecontinues is the Figdrag Basin (-20.1%). The Olt River valley from this regionwas classifiedas D-degradedin 1994and remainsone of the most pollutedand degradedriver sectorsin the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin. The breeding White Stork population in the lower sector of the FdgdrasBasin was negatively influenced probably also by the presenceof some large dam-hydroelecffic power station systems(CHE Arpagu de Jos, CHE Scorei, CHE Avrig, CHE Racovila) built between1970-1990. The populationdecrease of White Storks in this sectorcan be seenin Table4. Conclusions Based on the results of the censusescarried out between 1996-2000, the total populationof the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin is 721 HPa distributedin 304 localities.The total populationof the region can be estimatedto approx.800 HPa. In only 3l localitiesbreeds about half (328 HPa) of the total breedingpopulation of the area. The mean populationdensity (stD) for the whole areawas 5.469 HPa/100km" that is higher than the averagevalue for Romania (4.48 HPa/100 km1. Out of a total of 721 breedingpairs, 640/owere found to nest at altitudesbetween 500-1000 m and only 360/onests within the altitudinal belt of 300-500 m. Most common nest sites in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin are electric pylons (45.26%),bams (24.47oh)and chimneys(22.48%). Since the 1960-smassive changeshave been observedin nest site preferences,from buildings to electric pylons. This processdiffered significantly in various parts ofthe study area. The mean JZa and JZm values for the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin were above2.0 and2.5 in 1998-2000,values which are higher than the estimatedJZa and JZm values needed to keep the population stable, thus the White Stork population from the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin can be consideredas a stableone. The White Stork population of the Middle and Upper Olt River Basin has undergonea continuous decreasefrom the sixties until the end ofthe nineties. Positive populational changescan be seen,with the exception of the FdgdragBasin, only in the 1988/lg8g-2000period: the populationhas recoveredto the level ofthe sixtiesand is still increasingin the Ciuc, Tdrgu Secuiescand Sibiu Basins. From a conservationalpoint of view it is necessaryto continue the monitoring of the White Stork populations in key sites (localities with more than 5 HPa). As the foreseeableintroduction of the EU agricultural policy in Romania will damageWhite Stork feeding habitats, increasing efforts are needed to protect these regions. The installation of nestplatformson electric poles must be continued and extendedalso in theMiddle Olt RiverBasin. 212 E s J E G',A6'fr G'G'= G' g*t' g t1 t1 tl g -f fr E- '= c(D r^ @@ E i #E : F;f.EgE== f E#E H HE,g #$EFEFEg l+tAE ZLJ o -fl@o o a @ot_u u o N € f EO E 6) -N f o rNm- t- rN G o- s I . rrol ?r .l- .:o ;s L! r9 -o =a :o z? E :o fE o4 =a €; ro adl J- qi: ':. >! E; L9 sq !tr .:o s!. =g Mg 11i L ta 11-15 16-20 21-30 31-50 Figure 3. Distribution of White Stork pair densities (SID:HPa/I00 km'1) in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basinin t996-2000(UTM grid, l0xl0 km quadrants) 800-| 000 75I -800 70t-750 65I -700 601-650 E 551-600 e 50I -550 45l-500 40I -450 35r -400 300-350 50 100 150 200 250 Number of breeding pairs Fig. 4. Altitudinal distritrution of nesting pairs (HPa) in the Upper and Middle Olt Riyer Basin in 1996- 2000 (n:72 I ) 215 40 35 30 25 20 t5 l0 5 0 Basin in 2000 (n=408 Fig, 5. The frequency distribution of brood size in the upper and Middle olt River HPm) r(%) 75 70 65 Sibiu Basin 60 o Targu SecuiescBasin 55 50 o FagarasBasin 45 a 40 r Hartibacifuver Basin ' 35 HomoroadeRivers Basin (F - Fig. 6. Aggregabitity of breeding Whire Storks in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin in 1996-2000 frequency of colonial breeding; | - intensity of colonial breeding) 216 Table l. Population and br€ediog param€ters of the White Stork in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin in 1996-2000 Regions Area Nr. of H t{Pa IIPm HPo HPx It: rH JZa* lZm* ND (km') localities with stork nests Upper Ciuc Basin l 288 28 i09 99 79 l9 I 2.80 3.49 /.68 Olt Tdrgu 2291 68 t76 163 127 24 t2 7 2.6r 3.22 7.1\ River Secuiesc Basin Basin BArseiBasin 2760 55 148 133 12r 8 t1 2.97 3.27 Middle Homoroade 837 25 52 50 42 2 2.76 J--t+ ).9^1 olt RiversBasin River FdsdrasBasin 3768 82 t75 164 143 t3 3.01 3.40 35 Basin Hdrtibaci 1031 25 40 40 39 J-O-l J.t) t_6/ River Basin SibiuBasin t206 21 72 72 66 2.87 3.14 TOTAL l3l8l \o4 772 721 6t7 77 z7 l-) l8 2.8833 338i.469 * JZa andJZm valueswere calculatedonly for 2000 Table 2, Distribution of diff€rent nest support typ€s of White Stork nests in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin Regions Electric Electric Electric Chimney Roof Barn Tree Ither Iotal pylon pylon pylon (total) without with Jpper liuc Basin i2 22 tu I l0 3 '3.66%j 109 llt 56.88%)()n 190/^\ 36.69%\ 36.69%\ (2.7s%\ Liver Tdrgu ,t 7l 24 t2 3 ,l 4 I /) ( Jasin Secuiesc 54.28%) (4O.s7o/o)t3.7t,/") (6.85%) I.7I%\ 34.8s%J(2.28vo\ Basin Birsei Basin 34 29 5 t2 t2 2.6 5 2 '1f 141 (24.1t%\()n \Ao/^ \.540/.\ g',to/^\ (8.51%)il8.43%) (3.54%\ ( l.4IVo\ Middle Homoroade a9 t2 t'7 7 3 l 3 45 Olt RiversRasin 64.44%) (26.66%)(37.'77%\(15.55%)(6.66%) (6.66%) (6.66%) River Figdraq Basin t9 i9 4I 5 IJ I 165 Basin 41.81% 4 1.8lolo) ()a LAo/^\ /1 n10 \ 26.060/o\ 3.63%) ((\ 60,/^\ Hirtibaci ll ll 7 5 I 24 River Basin (4s.83%) 145.83%) (29.16%) (20.83%) (4.t6%\ libiu Basin 20 l0 26 2 18 4r.66%\ 41.660/0\ ( 54 | Ao/^ 4.160/"\ Iotal 320 234) 86) 159 30 173 l8 7 707 @5.26Vo\1 1 nqo/"\ 1) 1Ao/^\(22480/"\ A 240/"\ (24.47%)(2.54%) r0.99%) 217 ]'able 3. Population trends of the White Stork in the Upper and Middle Olt River Basin between 1962- 2000 (basedon data published by Klemm (1975a.1975b),Kovrics (1976). Kov{ts (1968a,1968b),Lutsch (1990),Lutsch, Philippi and Popa (1990), lvloln6r (1978,1990), Philippi and Popa (1990),\r'eber and Antal (1978)) (n number of compar€d localities) 1962t63-1973174 l973l74-1988/89 l 9{a8/89-2000 Ciuc Basin - 9.75'h + 14.116Vo (1962:82 I{Pa- (1973:14HPa + 2000:85HPa; n:15) 1973:74HPa: n:15) 0 Tirgu SecuiescBasin - 26 "/. - 1.6' + 15.7 (l 963:92 IIPa - (1974:123 HPa - (1988:l2l HPa* 1974:68 HPa;n:2 I ) 1988:l2l IIPa:n:,ll 2000: 140FIPa: n=41 ) + 11.38 01, 0h BArseiBasin - 26.8V" - 14.6 00 (1963:41HPa + (1974:89IIPa- (1988/1989: 85 HPa 1974:30HPa; n:13) 1988/1989:76 HPa: n-28) * 2000: 85 HPa; n:32) - 17.98" ( l97J:89 HPa- 2000:73 HPa;n-28) 0h Honioroade Rivers + 12.5 Basin (1989:HPa 8 * 2000:9 HPa:n:7) - 9-$9 '/" tlq62 22 llPr * 2000:20llPal n-7) ,/" I{ArtibaciulRiver Basin - 41.17 +250 (1974:34 IIPa - (1989:20 IIPa - I 989:20 IIPa:n:l 2) 2000:25 flPa; 1=12) - 26 "/" - 'h Figiraq Basin - 43.82"/, - 23.611'h 20,17 (I 963:89 I{Pa - (1974:38HPa - (1989:I l4 HPa- l9'74:50I{Pa: n:5) I 989:29 HPa; n:3) 2000:91HPa: n:37) Sibiu Basin -28.3 "h - t5.38 % + 38.63 70 (1963:74 I{Pa - (1974:57 tlPa - (1989:44 HPa * 1974:.53 HPa; n:l I ) I989:44 IIPa:n:I I ) 2000:6l HPa;n:l I ) + 17.30 Table 4.: The population decreaseof white stork in the lower sector of the Figirag Basin (based on data published by Klemm (1975b), Philippi and Popa (1990)) Localitv 963 1974 r 989 2000 Avng 2 6 7 2 Racovita 6 l2 tt Sdcddate 8 1l 0 Scorei 42 20 lt ll Total 88 49 fo 20 218 o Censusyear O 6 O c c 6 a a a ;2 a C o o o N d d N N .8, Barn i=" Chimney 1i: a+'a r ! .! Electricpylon i.5. O O C a c O e,ip JZrn rl 6, q q al 2a7^ + C -. N ci c + + ..j :n ii ='n: c O r c ui JZa q O q q G c a I c ? a 'ir: a a N r 6 o =1'- JZ(i N ;ss 6s a -V J _l HPnr N ;v.: r N N .2"-.=HPa cr .= .l N N d H - A;; :== Region 4, !tro C J a a - (i e'-^ .9 v c. r] ) x a z F.d" ? n d = :c m T f I m :I N 6 r r r x Alritudc(m) r r r C o - d6? d t t I t r $ IJ'l-M code -eA r C O c c 6 o c € r r r : c a o a c c r a r & a cq o q o -.: = J J .-.1 J c;.: ,J J F 2 3-.= = J - Y --.1 J I .:on - - F !- - F F i - - F FFF :(n. 6€': r r r c r r r r r Longitude c I c x € € + na: -I -I I I c. c & \ o = r; Zd: if .;. + ': ri ol ol N d cl N \ N N cl N N N N al N 4CC: r r r c Latitude € I I c a O c C & 6 C a > .='; O .e r O r r O a + 09 q q q q i .; \ € € € I s =t -a:ir -=a d. .3'6'& County (i ra a V a a U C U U TU 5'o I-ocality !c0; :q ? J r (,ll ;:5 a U * U z - z ! F F a a (' J D f = z z q F z f F z = U U (, N z F = O U z & F F U 3 (, t- z z d cc o o d ?1q c O O O O r I 3 o Censusyear o 5 o J o o c O O o a c. C o a c o o N N cl d d N N Tree N Barn Roof Chimney Electricpylon O c c O e c? q G O OO C c C q IZm q ? ^i v * c N O c r O O O c O c q JZa c c : a c q c O N ; 6i O al r II TZG a N > N HPm N HPa c n Region ,J .t t, U .,) (, a C (, 7 'j .l (i ,c :f o :l a E & a a a - r a - t ; - L ac ! L L a o r ] a Altitudr'(nr) ? o - € 6 I cl o a € r I UTM code r c r r r a 6 e o o ..1 a r a = o r J J J ,l J 2 n 'J J J 2. Y --l - :l J F F F i- F F ; F - - F - F i- F - - F - - r r r r r r r r r a Longitudo I I € € a € € € c C C O r 3 ,. r Vl o I oq q € € & q I \ h + -t + @ n N N N N d N N c{ al r = r r r O O r r r O I c € € o € c Latitude c € € c O - c: - r x' \ n q c9 a: ; 6. \ O \ € ,a' '; ri I f t d + + + ac .J f ac County - U LJ T, T I T, tJ Locality ! z z d t 2 F q :l f ! D z z z q - ! J F N U c z e 2 z z C o c Z p F z c : I! U J J I = x v q ; a o c U F I d 4 a I d d f = c .J U LJ F O m a a 4 c { - - 220 O r O g O 9 r & O Censusyear 3 o o o 1 o o o a C O O 6 O 6 ? O c 5 O a O O d N N at \l ct d d N N N r Barn Chrmnev N Electricpylon JZm C CO : n: O l r c O c N 3 O + O - JZa c c r - c r I - O ri d r c{ r € r J7.G HPm N N HPa f N N ol H cl Region a) (, U t F U F j.! U al 7 5 (t (, I r t! 3 U f, d f, c t -. = t n L a F i- t L I r - 3 r € Altitude (m) I r r o & € r I * € tJTM code al r - r c r r - 3 r a r r 3 & n ..1 r r o r = J n J : : ,l = J J - J J J -i I ! J -l J ! I f J -J I v J s - F !-.. FF FF - - F F F F F F - F F F F F F F F - h r O c Longitude a € I € € I e O € c 9 vl ol o c9 t .'l N o X o. s: 4 \ ,.i I + d € al cl N r c r r r r r r r r Latirudc a I € € I € C O a 9 c I &. r q q 09 u o cl \ \ N \ o \ I 6 \ - \ \ i .-a I h n € County c0 .c .0 a UU U a 't cD (i Locality c f, i o cr.l c g z 3 c J z o z F 6 I q z o tr - F c 6 q z Z q p ) F :l z F F z ? l q o O U z z c0 J ?, N F F , z z u 7 c o F O L a- L i) l) U U U t) U U U O 221 € O I c r r o c Censusyear O o. O c. c. c o - o c O o O o O o O 6 o o 3 c c 3 c c o 6 c N N N d Ilam Chimney NN al N Electric pylon d = a C c O c O C O JZm c c c r q q q c q o q cl N al di cl + at c c c c c c c IZa "? r q - c O .l N ci di r - N f I r NN JZG r r N HPm d HPa d r H r Region o u a (t F F C..r a (i a v r', !:] Q LL ! d ? I ,J a. a r (, = ! ac 3 I cc L 4 ! c0 r $ O I o r c e s ? a Altitude (m) d I N r r a{ N d x $ r r U]'M code r r c r r c r - o. c. cl o o € r r o r r 6 N : r N r o =t J J !-.1 ,! FJ I J J J F L F - L F F - - F F- - ! F F F F r r € r r r r Longitude I c c € I I I { * N e a q r r 6 vl f: 5 1 n ] n n € ? € q 6 '^ N cl al N al al N r r r r r r r r r r r r r Latilude : € I € I I € I I € I - € € : a a? r cc q q 3 r + \. c r n q € 'a Vl € ri r; $ County c! - a cc !i ac c cc ca c ca co Locality a o o = D -F L V z z >\ z V 2 P ! 7 3 Fl 7 c u F F c z T z c : = N a c U z = F c 7 j a d E c o c a - U (. c - a a c a r L L a: 222 o I 6 a c o O c r O C Censusyear ? o 5 o c - a I c 3 3 - 5 ? o 6 o o - - o a c a a N cl N Ilam Chirnnery Electricpylon c IZm - O c IZa I n c ? c l ? t JZG r r HPm HPa H r 6l Region c 1f. Q a (, al C I ! a d, cc d. E @ ! ? ? 6 '1. t ! cl it 't .. L = I r a 6l 3 I r r Altitude (nr) 3 ? c r € ; t r € UTM code @ o c r 6 o r I I 6 r 5 c o c & & & R I r J J € \ c I J -t ) : O J .J Fl J 2 J F F F F L r F - F F !- i F F F F h r r r r r r r r Longitude I O € € I e € c a 9 q o c al al -l q q R \ a: n 09 ri vi rl .^ =i + r ct .l N N N N N r r r r r r c r o Latitudc € : I I O c C a c n r c9 r 4 \ c: o. - o a \ 6 O -; I r; ri .l '; I County ? I x & r) d u OO :c f T t 7 cc e E Locality p D z ()e t = (i ul F J f, z z z a I J N Z r f N z c m ) o I z - Q a to z 6 J ai c o z l d O J & F e ql q o :E f q U U O I z at (, J F O ai tl l-, (i = E z z zz-) a r O O c r o Censusyear o - O a O - a o o o a O c o a c C 3 C c o a c d N N d r Banr Chimney N Electricpylorr € O c = a JZm q ^i q e c q e c c O q q a .1 O d N O 6 d + C O O JZa O o ? n + n N + O N + t JZG \l HPm N HPa 6l H Region (, U O U U r: a U ra U a (2 F .: I I! f, Q a a a a V. a - F- , f, r t F - L F L co L L L L :E F F I 5 € r o d N Altitude (m) N a r o O r r r C r $ $ r UTM code N r o l= 5 r 6 o r r * N r r = ci = t r I I ) F] J J z - J FI J t> I I J J I J ,_.1 J J ! 2 FJ J J 2 tJ t> - F F F F,. F F FF F t-- - IF F F F F F F F F F F l6 r r o r [-ongitude I I I I I 6 @ o c .l c9 @ .: oq N o c.! q e, cl c1 € + \^sf .; ri + r; NN al N N N N d d d N r r r D - r Latirudc € a 3 - o O € I c I € c = € n O r r q \ N t- F - a \ q a al : a '; '; h si + v d =f County a x d I t U m 6 ao t) a U U Locality D J f I z l- f lz 2 J N p tr :l @ u a z o p l ! :tz z z l c ti) o 9 o { z - 't9 F F d U 7 z F az U z z O I J z & & F J F z) z z F tl'? p r 2 o D p l l F J J J J J J td J J J ! l> 2 "\a A o O O O o O € r Censusyear 6 6 6 6 O o a 6 6 N N N ot N d Bam + Chimney Electricpylon r o o Q ? a O JZm O q v] .1 OO ..] O N - A 6 O NN d JZa O .'l v? € O c9 ..t ^i N ; N N N di N r r r N JZG cl HPm r N o HPa N d N c H N Region (J F U a 5 Q Q rl U ! z l ! v I a a L] Lt1 o r = = n (/> a : t a II i - co I I a t. i F A l! F r ] O x N r N Ahitude (m) l € 5 N d N ) + { r UTM code r 6 r r r ) 5 1 : r r r o € r : r : x: N z \ € J J l I I J : -l I E J 2 -l = 2 - ra J 2 I 'l F :lplrF F F F' F F F F F F Longrtude € € @ rc @ n n r X n @ \ \ a € r o9 @ :f i + a '; N N N \ N N NN d N N d N N N N a r r r r Latitude I X O € N 6 t: ! r o € r € 09 r \ € .; Kt 6 '; ; v $ v $ s $ Cormty & r T T CJ c0 cn O T Locality )U O U p a q O z tr F Y q f D I J 2 yt t 1 tr F z z l ) (-) O U = ! z f H z --.1 f F J J ! F J O ! ) ! c - :l O I 5 N 3 2 2 z z z z o o E c c) c o 225 r r O O I Censusyear a 6 o 6 o o 5 - 6. O o o o o 6 6 o 1 o o O o o N N Barn Chimney N Electricpylon a c * 3 IZnt vl ? c I O o q OO N ; t - - a = D = r c e O O O e O O O JZa € c v? O q e : + . d - t € N TZG HPm HPa N N H N = N d Region rt L O n C) 7. (i (i F (i F a tl z t a ct a.i - a U- a T L f L F E F U E a r n L r F E cc r O € o r N ? N -+ Altitude (m) s 1 N o r r C r x r r c r E r n =i- UTM code N @ a r r - I o & r r r r 6 r r r r o \ r - q € I J J FJ 2 'l J FJ J J --] J z 2. J n J - - I J J J J J -l J !z 2 t J v F F F F F F F F F F F !- 3 F F F F F L F F F r r - r r r r Longitudc € 9 I I I I F c c ; a: n vi a: .{ 6 o o9 € r € .; + d =t s + h d N N N N N N N N d r r r r = r r r I c O @ Latitude c € € I f: -I a r c: 09 6 q ? r q \ N \ r c: r : € € r; € ri * d s $ .+ + d s :f * \i $ County a z I I I ! f t) a I I I m t f I t c0 t. Locality O a a o f U a p a a B r J - p O F I j J F d (J l f, a Z F - o c 2 @ o c z E E z E E z a Y a 3 o o U o (, O O e U U F F *) F !- F.l @ F o f E E J e o o I F q t & M L^/.O year c O e o Census O O O 6 6 O C O a c 5 a O o o 5 o 6t N N 6l CI N E - Barn Chimney Electricpylon JZrt't O O c r c O q c rl a c - ? O O e c d el a r r r r c JZa O + : n - ol d N I N JZG ct I E N r -+ H Pnr at HPa 6I 6l r CJ i{ & N Region -\ ,J a U 2 r! a: t : r: U F (, a 't a d C tl a a L = b r Aititude (nr) N r r r a r ] r r f r $ € U'l M code r r r r : r c q -l r € r r 6 r ? = -, -i 3 c - € J J J - - t - v 2 I :l - 7 ! = - F F F F - ! Longitudc r r r r O r Q a r c O c O O I x t - .i o f: q N q ,rt n + ; + + rt .; .; h 6 N N ll ol 6l N N N N N N r r r r r r c r O r Latitude € € O € c I c a O c O O 6 € r f: r G r: I c: r d N I r e: c: \ o r d h I ,^ .; € .i- ri <. $ + + + $ v d { t County a 6 6 a .c a .a E .a a I-,ocalitv a c ) 4 a U o I C z ! i! z * ! l J c -l o l & I r F & l z o o ! F f ! J J F c r o F l z a :) e o q = r 2 F F N.. l r O O J 7. d U U - z z Z z z z z J F F o J J q F Q ! 221 O OIO I O o c o. c c o o a O Censusyear 1 O o ?l? o o 1 9 N N N d xtxN Tree Barn Roof Chimney Pvlonu'ith lilectric pylon C c O O o o q c q O JZttt & cl OO c q C O c ci N o ^i 6 d d cl cl N c Q O O O a O JZa 09 vl rl o a. - 6i N ; .i ci & N N N JZG d r a{ H Pnr € HPa I g Region atU O U U O ta .,. () O rl U g L! (i ! a') u l! I !! L & 3 e. f, f D c n rt C a & cc ; co q - r 6 - F F r r r * c r N c r Altitude(nr) r { I a 1 € r r \f ; ? 3 N o. UTM code r + X 5 O > r r c r c I r -t 6 € a r r al r r J J € J I ! J J FI J J j --l J v v J I J"l v v z I L ) F F F F F F F F F F - F F - F P ?- F -- - - r r c r r r r C O =l I O c C I € I 9l =l Longitude € & c N r f: f: 6 09 e 4I '; I I ,^ .; + d N N d d N E]K r r r r I I [-atitude I g € € € O c r X 09 O r q C oq I & n r q e -: ? ri r; vi I h { CD (, a County L, 6 c ca Q U U co Locality O z a @ = l = (, t- rn - J o U Q P 4lz 2 U *ll o a.lz l r z, ) Q D !.)l< z. !-) a t* Q - : & z -t a a z :l l f r c ? F F at, H F 228 c o O O c O a Censusyear O 6 o 6 6 6 C 3 ? o o O a O O c o o o d N d d N Bam N a r Chinrney Electricpylon r o c c O I JZm c 3 c a c q o c c 3 + - O ci O d + r JZa O vl C O c u ? u + O JZG { HPm r llPa d r N rt r r Region I a /J{ U .a Q a c O f, !..1 L a rt. ,. T L = I I a - r r O Altitude(m) r N r - r r 6l o r r r UTM code a a @ r l 3 r r r r ; G x N r .i r 6 = J J J - J I J = J I Fl J F F - F - F F F F F F F 6 r r r r r r r Longitude I I I € I I D p € c - X O 3. I \ f: : a: r .a 6. q n n n 09 s t + h \l \l \| al N d N c{ N N r O O r r r c Latitudo I € O € F c cl .l r r q \ o 6 € r a: r c: a: 6, i - q 3 q .; h .i € : County ! & z I r r c0 aa ac :c cc x c LJ L-l c0 LJ Locality 5 & p h .a f ) l 7 l @ d = il z z r U c z F ?t la tr pz z I --]z d aa T o Z z F F - ir J U z F O la& d U 'o -t e a o z a I t7 4 O j l f P 9 \) z a I o o F t N N 229 Acknowledgements We aregrateful to B6ldi Mikl6s, Moln6r Lidia, Dr. Szab6J6zsef and D6nesEmese for providing someunpublished White Stork breedingdata. References B6ldi, M. (1962): H6romsz6k(Rom6nia) 1958. 6vi g6lyakatasztete.Aqtrila 67-68'. 204-206. Burnhauser,A. (1983): Zur okologischenSituation des WeiBstorchsin Bayem: Brutbestand,Biotopanspriiche, Schutz und Moglichkeitender Bestandserhaltungund -verbesserung.Abschlussbericht, Inst. f. Vogelk., Garm.-Partenk.,1-488. Cdtuneanu,I. (1999): Istoricul cercetdrilorefectuate pe teritoriul RomAnieiasupra migraliei pdsirilor prin metoda inelSrilor,pdnd la infiinlarea CentraleiOrnitologice Romdne,9i fazeleacesteia de dezvoltarein perioada1939-1970. Publica[iile Societdlii QrnitologiceRomAne, Nr. 8, Cluj-Napoca,1999, 30 Chozas,P., Fernandez-Cru2,M. andLazaro,E. (1989): i984 NationalCensus of the White Stork Ciconia ciconia in Spain.In: Rheinwald,G., Ogden,J. and Schulz, H.(1989): WeiBstorch * White Stork - Proc. I Int. Stork Conserv. Sytop., Schriftenreihedes DDA, 10 29-40. Dam6, Gy. (1984):Datele privind cfectiveledebarzd albd (Ciconiaciconia L.) din judelul Covasnain anul 1984.Aluta, 16-17:344-349. Dam6, I. (1985): Efectivul berzcloralbe (Ciconia ciconia) din judeful Covasnain anul 1984.Ocrot. nat. med. inconj.,29,(2), 145-148. Dam6, Gy. (1994): Kovdsznamegye g6lya6llom6ny6nak dinamik6ja. In: Nemcth, J. (ed.)(1994): Pro Natura, Kriterion, Bukarest, 132-138. Demeter,L. (2001a): A Csiki-medenc6bcnfolytatott g6lyapopulAci6-monitoring el 230 Klemm, W. (1983): Zur Lage dcs WeiBstorchs(Ciconia ciconia) in der S. R. Runrdnien.Okol. VOgel5:283-293. Klen.un, W., Sahnen, H. (1988): Die Ornis Siebenbiirgens.Beitrage zu einer Monographieder Vogelwelt diesesLandes. Bohlau Verlag, Kciln-Wien,Vol. III.:17- 28. Kohl, I. (1980): Mad6rtani n-regfigyel6sekHargita megy6ben.Acta Hargitensia l:463-478. Kov6cs, S. (1975): A feher g6lyik (Ciconia ciconia L.) f6szkel6seKov6szna megy6ben1 974-ben. Aluta, 6-1 :479-485. Kov6cs,Al. (1976):Cuibdrirea berzei aibe (Ciconiaciconia L.) in judelul Covasna, in anul 1914.Ocrot. nat. med. inconj.,20,(l),39-43. Kov6ts,L. (1968a):A fehcr g6lya elterjed6seDelkelet-Erdelyben 1962-63-ban. Aquila15:231-258. KovSts, L. (1968b): Date asupraraspindirii cocostircilor(Ciconia ciconia L.) in parteasud-esticd a Transilvaniei.Comwticdri de zoologie,6l-70. Kov6ts, L. (1974): OmitologischeBeobachtungen im Salzgebietvon Sinpaul im Tale desGroBen Homorod. Tibiscus, Muz. Banatului,Timigoara,129-140. K6sa,F. (2001):Bestanderfassung des WeiBstorchs (Ciconia ciconia) in Ruminien im Jahr 1999.In: Kaatz,C. und Kaatz,M. (Eds.)(2001): 2. JubikiumsbandWeipstorch - 2. JubileeEdition White Stork, 8. u. 9. Storchentag199912000. Tagungsbandrcihe des Storchenhofes Loburg (Statliche Vogelschutzwarte im Landesamt fiir UmweltschutzSachsen-AnhalQ, 30-34. Lakeberg,H. (1995): Zur Nahrungsrikologiedes WeiBstorchsCiconia ciconia in Oberschwaben(S-Deutschland): Raum-Zeit-Nutzungsmuster, Nestlingsentwicklung und Territorialverhalten.Okologie der Vcigel.11 :l -87. Lutsch,H. (1990): Situaliacuibdritului berzei albe in judetul BraEov1990. Bul. de inf. S.o.R, @). Lutsch, H., Philippi, F. and Popa,Gh. (1990): Situalia cuibdrituluibcrzci albe in anul 1989in judeful Bra;ov. Bttl. de inf. S.O.R.(3). Moln6r, L. (1979): Kov6szna megye feher g6lya (Ciconia ciconia L.) 6llom5ny6nakhelyzete az 1918-asevben. Aluta, 10-ll:421-434. Moln6r, L. (1981): Kov6szna megye feher g6lya (Ciconia ciconia L.) 6llom6ny6nakhelyzete az 1980-asevben. Aluta, 12-13:407-414. Moln6r,L. (1990):Cuibarifulberzeialbe in anul 1988in judefulCovasna. BuL de inf. S.o.R.(3). Philippi, F. (1997): Auf Wiedersehen,ihr Storchel In: Kaatz, C. und Kaatz, M. (Eds.) (1997): 4. und 5. Sachsen-AnhaltischerStorchentag, Tagungsbandreihe des StorchenhofesLoburg im MRLU-LSA, 18-20. Philippi, F. (2001): Bcstanderfassungdes WeiBstorchs 1988-2000 im Kreis Hermannstadt(Sibiu - Rumdnien).In: Kaatz, C. und Kaatz, M. (Eds.) (2001): 2. JubildumsbandWeipstorch - 2. Jubilee Edition White Stork, 8. u. 9. Storchentag 199912000.Tagungsbandreihe des StorchenhofesLoburg (StatlicheVogelschutzwarte im Landesamtfiir UmweltschutzSachsen-Anhalt), 34-40. Philippi, F., Popa,Gh. (1990): Situaliacuibdritului berzclor in anul 1989in judetul Sibiu.Bul. de inf. S.O.R.(3). 231 Popa,Gh. (1983):Ergebnisse der Storchzdhlung(Ciconia ciconia) im "Alt-Land" (Mittellauf des Altflusses)in Siebenbiirgen/Rumdnienin.r Somrncr 1982.Arbeitkreis WeiBstorch,DDR, Miu. Nr.37, l. Radkiewicz,J. (1989): Der WeiBstorch(Ciconia ciconia) im mittleren Westpolen 1984.In: Rheinwald,G., Ogden,J. andSchulz, FI.(1989): WeiBstorch - White Stork- Proc.I Int. Stork Conserv.Synp., Schriftenreihedes DDA, 10: 99-103. Salmen,H. (1980): Die Ornis Siebenbiirgens.Beitrage zu einer Monographieder Vogelweltdieses Landcs. Bohlau Verlag, Kciln-Wien, Vol. I.:133-148. Samusenko,I. (2000):Preservation of WhileStork (Ciconiaciconia L.) population on BelorusianPolessia. MAB Young ScientistResearch Project, Final Report. Schulz, H. (1999a): The 5'n International White Stork Census 199411995- Preparation,realisation and methods.In: Schulz, H. (ed.) (1999): WeiBstorchim Aufwind? - White Stork on the up? - ProceedingsInternat. Symp. on the White Stork, Hamburg 1996.- NABU (NaturschutzbundDeutschland e.V.), Bonn: 39-48. Schulz,H. (1999b): The world populationof the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)- Results of the 5'h IntemationalWhite Stork Census 1994195.In: Schulz, H. (ed.) (1999): Wei8storchim Aufwind? - White Stork on the up? - ProceedingsInternat. Symp. on the White Stork, Hamburg 1996.- NABU (NaturschutzbundDeutschland e.V.),Bonn: 351-365. Szab6,D.2., Pap, P.L. (1996): Date privind recensdmintulberzei albe (Ciconia ciconia)in judegulHarghita - 1995.Milvtts, 3:19-20. Tucker, G. M., Dixon, J. (1997): Agricultural and grasslandhabitats. In: G. M. Tucker and M. I. Evans (Eds.) (1997): Habitatsfor birds in Europe: a conservation strategyfor the wider environment,Birdlife conservationseries No. 6. Cambridge: Birdlife Intemational,267 -325. Tucker, G., Sanudo,P. F., Sastrei,P., Rebollo, J. C., Guillen, D. F. and Wascher, D. M. (2000): Environmentalsystems-Biodiversity. In: D. M. Wascher(Ed.) (2000): Agri-environmental indicators Jbr sustainable agrictilture in Europe, Tilburg: EuropeanCentre for NatureConservation (ECNC technicalreport series), 9'7-146. UjvSri,l. (1972):Geografia apelor Romdniei. Ed. $tiin{ificd,Bucureqti, 395-407. Weber,P., Antal, L. (1978):Rezultatele recensdmintului de berze(Ciconia ciconia L.) din imprejurimile munfilor Harghita in anul 1973. Stud. Si Com. $t. Nat., Muz. Brukent hal 22:393-402. DR. FERENC KOSA ,.Babeq-Bolyai" University Fac.of Biology and Geology Cliniciilor Street,No. 5-7,3400 Cluj, Romania email; [email protected] LASZLO DEMETER SapientiaUniversity FaculryofTechnical and Natural Sciences LibertAfi Street,No. I 4100 Miercurea-Ciuc.Romania 232 TAMAS PAPP Milvus Group Cdl5ragilorStreet, No. 5/7 4300, Tdrgu-Mureq Romania FRIEDRICH PHILIPPI SpartacusStreet, No. 14 2400 Sibiu Romania HANS-JOHANN LUTSCH 13 Decembrie Street,No. 113 2200 Braqov Romania xAnOr.y GYORGY Viitorului Street,No. l6 4000, Sf6ntu Gheorghe Romania 233 TrscIA MONOGRApH SERIES (2002), 6, 235_252 THE POLLUTION HISTORY OF THE MINING REGION OF NW-ROMANIA, A MULTIDISCPLINARY PROJECT. Erhard schulz, J6zsef Benedek, sorina Fdrcas, Reiner Klemd, (Jwe Schleichert. Wilfried Schreiber and Thomas Tittizer. Abstract During the last three millennia the mining regions of northwestern Romania (Maramureq, Apuseni) exposed the processesof cultural landscape from the first openingsto the intensive mining exploitation and pollution during the last centuries.In a joint researchproject colleaguesof the universities of Wiirzburg and Cluj (Romania) and the Fedepl Institute of Hydrology (BFG) of Koblenz evaluate the natural (river sediments,peat bogs) and historical archives in order to establisha history ofcultural landscape and pollution. Geomedical aspects also take a great part of these investigations.The first results evidencedthe good resolution and information content of the archives and a regional differentiated mosaic of heavy metal contanimation. This also reveals long distanceeffects of heavy metal pollution and the actual risks for the drinking water supply of the regional population, as well as for the whole Tisa river system. The present health situation of the Maramureq population underlines theserisks by the elevatedincidences ofprofessional diseases. Keywords: Carpathians,Romania, Hungary, Tisa River system,mining, pollution history,geomedicine, risk assessment. Introduction It was in January 2000 as the mining region of northwestern Romania got an enormouspublicity by the nefariouscyanide spill of Baia Mare (Moran 2001). About 100000 m' of highly concentratedcyanide slurry was evacuatedvia the tributaries sisar and Ldpuq into the rivers Someq and risa. This resulted into cyanide concentrationsexceeding internationally accepted limits more than a thousand fold (vrTUKr2000). About a month later an unsufficiently constructed dam of a tailing pond near Baia Borqa collapsed(Tittizer 2000). Consequently,the river Tisa was attackedtwice. Once tite !r cyanide poisoning, which was diluted to less harmful values, only in the Danube river and parallely by the longtime pollution with heavy metals which could 235 be stored in the rivers' sedimentsand finally may acummulatein the food chains' Especiallythc Upper Tisa was hit, since it was known before as a relatively less poiluted iirrer fulfilling the criteria of the Ramsarconvention (Hamar and Sdrk6ny- Kiss 1999). In all therewere three severedamages to the Tisa-Danuberiver systemsin a short time, since in autumn 1999 the Pancevobombings already caused severc poisonings downstreams,even if they were declaredby NATO authoritiesas collateraldamages. Both accidentsin 2000 could mobilize a greatpublic. EU and LNDP dcployedtask forces to investigateand documentthe damagcsand to discussand proposefuture preventionmeasurements (LINEP/OCHA 2000, Garvey 2000). EU representsas well as those from the national ministeries of environment announceda generousand longlastingaid and environmenttechniquc equipment of the regions concerned.At least thesi activities had the sarne fate as the cyanide flood. They got diluted, dissolvedrapidly and afterwardsthey were hardy to detectanymore' To get an idea about what planning measurementswill be necessaryin those regions in order to avoid furthcr pollution and to get information on the ways of regeneratlonprocesscs of thc ecosystemsit will be nccessaryto elucidatethe historic evolutionand the dimensionof hurnanimpact. Within a cooperationbetween the univcrsitiesof Wiirzburg (Germany)and Cluj (Romania) and the Federal Institute of Hydrology (Koblenz, Germany) there is a common reserachproject on the aspectsof the longtime pollution of these mining regionsand on the pollution developmentduring the last millenia' The area of investigationincorporates thc most distal parts of the Pannonian (Someg-Ldpug-)Plain and the mountainareas of Jibles, Gutin, Maramureg(fig. 5) as well as thc Apuseni-Mountains.The researchis focussedon the presentsituation as well as it evaluatcsthe natural(river sediments,peat bogs) and historicalarchives. The following questionsare the baseof theseinvestigation : . which are the stepsof the evolution of cultural landscapeand of the intense exploitationof ressources? r which arc the consequencesfor the Tisa river system? . which are the regeneration processes during periods of less intense exploitation? . which are the consequencesof the pollution on the health situation of the population? . are there corrclationsbetwcenthe mining history and the pollution levcls in the sediments? . which are the conclusions to be drawn from history for development possibilitiesand planning measurements to copethe negativdeveloprnents? 236 This article shall give the first results concerningthe presentsituation and the backgroundpollution. The region and ist presentsituation The Maramuregand the Baia Mare rcgion itself take part of the historicalmining areasof Europe. For long periods mining activities were concentratedon gold and silver and it had its first activitiesin the time of the HungarianKingdom whereasthe Apuseni Mts. werc exploitedalready by the Romansand Dacians.During medieval time the richnessof the HungarianKingdom was foundedon thesemining activities (Fischer and Grindisch 1999, Maghiar and Olteanu 1970, Schr This resultedinto a twofold landscape.For the one it is characterizedbytraditional agriculture and settlement (Maramureq) and for the other the numerous active or abandonedmines and smeltersare typical for the Baia Mare region itself togetherwith their tailing ponds and an acceleratedpollution. Moreover, the security stateof the several decantationbasins is very low, so even the scandalouslyconceived and constructed"Aurul" tailing pond was consideredas an improvement of security GrNEP/OCHA 2000). The lead smelter of Baia Marc (the presenr"Romplumb") becameimportant during the last centuries,and thc metallurgicalcomplex ,,Phoenix" processesores from the whole region including the Apuseni Mts. This resultsinto a high chargeof lead, copperand zink as dust or solutescoming from exploitationand from smelting processesbeing reinforced by the lamentable situation of the metallurgicalplants during the last decennia.Even it would be naive to wait a less polluted environment,it is necessaryto decide which extremesare to reduce or to buffer in ordcr to arrive to minimum healthand environmentstandards. It also points to the necessityof Hungaryand Romania,to aline their legislation(and its realisation) to those of the EuropeanComrnunity. In all, the sihrationunderlines the immanent threadfor the river systemof Tisa and Danube. The local context- the town of Baia Mare Urban planning of Baia Mare during the time of socialismwas characterizedbya forced industrializationand urbanisation,which was generallycharacteristic for the romaniansociety. That aggravatedsome negative evolution for the environment,such as the intenseinterfingering of industrial zonesand residentialareas, expecially the close neighbourhoodof ore treatmentplants and food processingfactories. This is clearly shown in the town map of Baia Mare (fig. 1).Northeastof the town a steep 237 valley harboursclosely together the leadsmelter ,,Romplumb" and the residentialarea "Ferneziu". The nearest houses already join the entrance of the factory. This neighbourhoodnaturally affected enormously the people'shealth situation. The mining and ore processingindustry of the town is concentratcdin the eastern part. The actual factory ,,Allied Deals Phoenix" was founded in 1907 as a chemical and sulfuric acid plant and in 1925 it was transformedinto a r.r.retallurgicalcomplex. During the socialistperiod it was enlargedand at presentit represents40 % of thc Romanian non-iron metal production. Today 3400 persons are working at rhe "Phoenix" complex, which also is the larges en-rployerin Baia Mare. The intense growing of that factory and the extensionof the town to the East causcdthe present interfingeringof residentialquafters with metallurgical,food processingand ceramic plants, a fact which was inforced during the socialistperiod. The situation is even aggravatedby the presenceof severalretailing ponds in the town itself: ,,Tautii de Sus" in the East,,,Sasar" and espccially,,Meda" in the West. The alreadymentioned ,,Aurul" plant was conceivedto treat the retailing pond ,,Meda" in the middle of residentialareas. This pond had a load of aboutl5 mio to materialwith an estimated content of 8 to gold and 50 to silver. Reclainting should be combined with exploitation.A new pond for the rcr.nainingmaterial was plannedabout 15 km west to the town. Finally, in a ,,win-win" situationthree parties should find advantages: a. the populationby the creationof about200 new jobs; b. the ,,Aurul" plant by thc extractionof gold and silver; c. the administrationby thc removalof an importantsource of pollution. The plan failed out of insufficiant planning and a dangerousconstruction of the new pond resultingin the wcll-known cyanidespill (conferTINIEP/OCHA 2000). In all, the urban planning did not takc into considerationthe physicalstructurc of the environnrent.This resultedinto the classicalbasis for enormouspollutions: r a relief of narrow side valleysleading to a largemain valley with steepslopes facingto the West into the Pannonianplain. This relief provokesinversion situationssince about 220-240days per year thereis calm. Frequentfog from the river and about700 to 800 mm annualrainfall causerapid precipitationof all pollutantsand their incorporationinto the soil; . gasesand dust from a rotten industry with no or insufficiant dustfiltersare ernittedinto that dcpression.This incorporaresabout 4000 to SO2,650 to lead,90 to zink and 80 to copperfrom the main sources,,Phoenix", ,,Sdsar", and ,,Romplumb".In the early 90ies ,,Phoenix"factory did crect a 340 m high chimney, which now distributesgases and dust over the town and the largervicinity, dependingon the winds direction.A comparablechimney was constructedrecently for the ,,Romplumb"plant. In addition, about24 tons of sterile are depositedwithin the town or in the near vicinity (1996).This endangersprincipally the water supply of Baia Mare and irs surroundings.The water provision for Baia Mare itself is assuredby the Firiza reservoir,the villageson the countrysidehowever still dependon the shallowwells. 238 Consequentlythe healthsituation is endangeredin two ways. On the one sidethere are the classicalprofessional or work related diseasesand on the other side the creepingand inmanent risks by unsafetailing ponds. Professionaldiseases Professionaldiseases are good indicatorsfor the securityofthe productionand for environmentallynegative processes affecting the health situation of the population. Severalproblems arise by the evaluationof these diseases:access to data on the communitylevel is difficult and the reliability of thesedata is uncertain. However, the evolution of professionaldiseases during the last then years in Romaniashows a rising morbidity. This dependsmore on accidentsand registration mistakes,since after thc political changethe industrialcapacity and productionwere largelydiminished. Tab. I Incidences of professional diseasesin Romania between 1989 and 1998 Nfter the verified diagnoses (source: DSP, Directia de Sinitate Publici, l\laramure$) Diagnosis I989 I 990 t991 1992 1993 1994 I 995 t996 t997 t 998 Incidenceson o/ooooofthe 134,4 142,1 140,4 139,1t62,9 201,5215,2 213,4218.2I91,0 Dopulation Generalcases t423 1410 I4t4 r506 1562 I 875 7032 20382060 r828 Silicosis IJ 502 r05 il ;86 795 782 505 581 t.5) -Silicosis r02 r85 394 583 t6l 78r 736 577 554 )62 -Silico- Tuberkulosis il t7 lt z8 t4 46 28 27 53 Work relatedpoisonings: 536 r00 il< {05 9 362 362 355 392 336 -by lead 358 275 308 266 ll0 24l 228 247 270 L)+ -by lo carbonmonoxide 38 36 5 24 -)o 1q JJ t6 Skin diseases 200 208 293 78 143 174 156 90 55 Asthma 55 133 t40 199 t70 159 241 250 282 202 Infectiousdiseases t2 30 L) 20 t7 t9 T4 28 39 Ulcerationofthe nasalseptum LO It) t7 l9 lt 40 I-l TJ Raynaud-Syndrom zl 27 t4 ll l6 7 121 121 100 Eye affections 28 IJ l1 9 2 5 Work-related cancers 0 5 3 3 Deafness 55 27 l0 56 50 t6 ta lt2 90 46 Otherprofessional diseases 72 57 85 186 158 189 368 449 275 Tab. 1. reflectsthat silicoses,infectious diseases, eye affectionsand ulcerationof the nasalsepfum generally increased. This was causednot only by the deteriorationof working conditionsbut also by an amelioratedregistration of diseases.Work-related deafnessand affectionofhearine. skin diseasesand allergicswere increasinstoo. 239 Tab.2 Incidence of work-related diseasesin the coun(ies of Transvlvania in 1998 (source DSP. Directia de Sinitate Publicl Maramures) Counties(udet) AB BH BN BV j CV IIR lttM MS SM JJ SB Number of 3q l8 8l l2l 27 0 45 r65 25 70 +4 i6 incidences 7o ofthe general l,86 c,98 t.4l 5.62 I,48 0 )46 !5,4 |,37 )4l 1 number Number of l5 3,64 |,92 1 5R 2.53 0,74 0,75 l.l7 2,30 2,81 1,78 ) 6'\ employeesexposed x I 0000 7o ofthe genera 25 3.80 7.Ol 3.74 2,64 0.77 0,78 1,22 14 )q4 1,82 )'ls number/RC) Incidences: o/oooo 158 49 338 107 0 601 1980 109 249 564 327 ofpeoole exoosed Averageof l9l t91 l9l l9l 191 191 l9l l9l l9l 191 l9l t9l incidences/RO Differences o/oooo / JJ 142 230 t47 -84 -l9l 410 t789 82 58 Jt) 136 RO '7 Number of 7 10 2 8 l3 2 3 t7 7 3 %oofthe general 2,01 2.s60.59 2.37 1R5 0.59 0,89 ;,03 2.07 I .78 1,89 7,01 number,/RO 1 AB (Alba), 2 BH (Bihor), 3 BN (Bistrita-Nisdud),4 BV (Braqov),5 CJ (Cluj), 6 CV (Covasna),7 HR (Harghita),8 MM (Maramureg),9 MS (Mure;), l0 SM (SatuMare), I I SJ (Silaj), l2 SB (Sibiu) The numbersof incidencesdiffer greatlybetween the departmentsof Transylvania. It is due to the differentdegree ofurbanisation, the differentbranches ofeconomy and industry,as well as the numberof employeesand the quality of medical treatment.It also shows the poor knowledgeabout risk and pollution, about the generalobsolete stateof productionand technology,as well as about the unsufficientorganization of technologicalprocesses. The departmentsof Transylvaniadiffer from the mean value of Romania.50% of the departmentsshow higher values including Maramureqwith extreme ones. The Baia Mare region and its economic structure cause and direct the dimension of pollution. Even in this deparlmentthe risk-exposedpeople are lessnumerous, it shows the highestnumber of incidencesof all departments. The pollution by SO2 passesregularly the Romanian limits (CMA), also the concentrationsof cadmium remain pennanentlyon a high level. Acid rain is a well known phenomenonin the whole region. Also the technologicalimprovement of the industrybetween 1992 and 1996could not diminish the soil pollution by the numerous inheritedenvironmental burdens. The heavy metal pollution representsthe main risk for the public health in Baia Mare, and lead staysfor the most dangerousof theseelements. It accumulatesin the blood and bones and it has also negativeconsequences for the childrens cognitive development.There are somestudies on the risks of leadpollution, however data prior to i995 are not very convincing (internal information public health authority Cluj). Accessto the resultsof sfudies,younger than 1995,is very difficult. This explainsthe 240 poor transparencyof public and private institutionsand also it representsa serious problem for future studies.Useful investigationsrely on the extrapolationof blood analysesof children.WHO conducteda study (cited after UNEP/OCHA 2000),which was focussed on the above-mentioned"Ferneziu" quarter in the vicinity of "Romplumb" factory.The transferof theseresults to the whole town remainsdifficult. The chargeof lead was measuredto 0,532 mgldl in adultsand 0,633mg/dl in children (the limit is 0.1 mg/dl for children and0,2 mg/dl for adults).In 2000 the public health authority of Cluj made another investigation (Glasul Maramuregului,2000).This time it was canied out in the whole town and it was focussedon childrenof an agebetween 7 to 11, which allowed a spatialdifferentiation. The pollution rises from the western residentialareas (0,15 mg/dl) to the historical centerand the industrialquarters in the tsast(0,28 mg/dl) and further on to areasin the North- East (0,32 mg/dl). Again the "Ferneziu" quarterbears the greatestload with 0,77 mgldl. The study underlinesthat 47,6 o of the children of Baia Mare of an age between 7 to 11 expose lead concentrationsin their blood from 0,3 to 0,5 mg/dt and Ihat 10o/oof the childrenhave valuesof more than 0,7 mg/dl lead. There is no comparativestudy on the air pollution by dust and carbonmonoxide, evenif they representthe main risk factorsfor the public health.It will be necessaryto identify all the emission sources,to evaluate and finally to restore them. Only a technological reorganization of the industry or its general transformation and a new conceptof the public health managementwill allow an ameliorationof the health situationof the populationof Baia Mare region. Fig. 1. Town- andland use map of Baia-Mare (Benedek andMolnar 2001, modified) 241 New casesof professionaldiseases: 218.2 215.2 Lt).+ 201.5 $ rso 6 134.4 E loo z Period: 1989-1998 Fig. 2. Incidenceof work related diseasesbetween 1989 and 1998(Benedek and Molnar 2001,modified). Incidence of pmfessioDal diseases in 12 counties ofTransvlvania 4 4500 Averggenumber ofpersom at risk: 3.5 ,1000 y= -0.0864x+2.6M7 3500 3 .x 3000 J: Eo 2.5 .E: 3R ;F b5 2500 2 EO 2000 sg k.X ts{o 1.5 -'o 3.9 1500 y = 57.22x+203.32 --Itlciffi: z I r000 0.5 500 0 0 456789 Counties Fig. 3. Incidence of professional diseasesin the I 2 counties of Transylvania. 8: Maramure; ( Benedek and Molnar 2001. modified) aAa d 4 /r c// o1/ rrd y' .r,ryc *3 lt f*E !! ',f,:.,4 . > i,|.?,) iill = iL i* ffi G{ V,A ,ffi w"614 '1/.4Y4 s&l ffifi ,,'..i,1 ':::t::t it,'i r:riii: I -L Taul Zanogutii ('1840 m) Analvs6 S Farcas M Reilb, J de Seaulie l'ig. 4 Pollendiagran from Tau Zanogutii, Southern Carpathians shorving indicators of huuan interfirence during the last three urillennia (Farcas et al. 2001). 'l'he tlust pollution in the regional context The above describedhealth situationin Baia Mare and studiesconnected to the ,,Auml" and Baia Bor;a-accidents(Hamar 2001, LNEP/OCHA 2000) evidenceda generalhigh chargeof lead, copper and zink in the region. Theseelements are also kno*'n as classicalindicators for industrial activities(Fauth 1985,Harres et al 1987, Radtkeet al. 1997). Ifone wantsto follow the evolutionofpollution throughthe centuriesand to detect periods of extreme pollutions and of regenerationit will be necessaryto find the apropriatearchives. They must allow a precise registration of the environmental situation and they must preserve these signals. Normally one would seek for meromictic lakes and peat bogs, whereasfluvial sedimentsare only of secondorder, z+-) since resedimentationis always included (Berglund 1965). Anyway, finegrained deposits from backwaters in the mouth of a tributary (like Lapus in Someg)may be ur"fnl *inr" they were depositedcalmly. Moreover the situationwill allow that they registerthe chargesof the whole catchmentarea. Historical archivesdepict the extremelycomplicated mining history of this region (Maghiar and olteanu 1977, Schrocker 1994, Wollmann 1999a-d). It is also illucidated in palynological investigations from the Apuseni and Gultai Mts. (Bjorkmanet al. 2002,Bodnariuc et a|.2002, Farcaset al. 2000' Feurdeanet al. 2001, Mitroescu et al. 1989). A pollen diagram from the southern rim of the inner Carpathians may explain the different phases of human impact on the forest compositionin the relationof Fagus,Picea, Pinus and gramineaeduring the last 3000 years (Farcaset al. 2000). Comparableinvestigations were done in the BanatianMts (Roschand Fischer2000). In this contextit will be nescessaryto investigatea great number of sequencesto depict the dimensionof forest exploitation and changes.A longlasting mining and metallurgical history also incorporates an intensive forest exploitationor an organizedforestry. Wood was necessaryfor the mine constructions but for the greaterpart for the metal srneltingitself (Thomasius1994). ,,t,.] -l i-l f' 'l[,- smDlrno GIW 10.00 analisii: BfG.MlW Fig. 5 Blockdiagrrm of th€ Baia Mar€ und Borqa region also showing the coring (draft Schulz' cartography Wepler) 244 Several peat bogs on the plateau between the Baia Mare and Maramureg depressionswere coredin october2000 as well as fluvial depositsin the direct vicinity of the ,,Aurul" pond and in the terrassesaround the mouth of Ldpug into Someq (Fig.5). The peat bogs on the plateaumay capt the dust transportedfrom westerly winds, whereas the fluvial sedin-rentsmay register the complete situation of the catchmentarea. The sedimentswere taken by a modified Livingston piston corer. respectivelya Russiancorer for the peat bogs. The completesection of finegrainedmaterial of the L6puq terrace was taken as well as the peat bogs could be cored down to the the technicallimits. To get a further informationon the actualpollution we also sampled the Vigeu River terraceat Bistra containingthe load of the 2000 Baia Borgaspill (s.a.) and fine accumulationsnear Borgaand Baia Borga.These terrasses only allowed short cores.Samples from the top of the coresand from various depthswere analysedfor their heavy metal content in the laboratoriesof the FederalInstitute of Hydrology/ Koblenz and of the Mineralogical Institute of Wiirzburg university using a wavelengthdispersivex-ray fluorescence-spectrometry(Phillips PW 1410 at Wiirzburg) with a 10% or more accuracy.Because of the limited quantity the whole materialwas treated.This was to testwhether the informationcontent of the sediments was clearly differenciated along the core or whether it only was a mixture. Remarkableregional differences are visible in comparingthe surfacesamples (fig. 5) and the heavy metal contentsclearly diminish with the depth of the sequences.Lead, copper and zink are mentionedas the most important indicatorsin order to allow a comparisonthe the samplestaken along the rivers Vigeu and Upper Tisa at the same time by colleaguesfrom Szolnokand Cluj (Hamar2001). The two sedimentcores from the distal Pannonian(Someg-Ldpq) Plain show relativelymoderate values even the EU limits are largelypassed: lead 1431146,copper 60139zink 193120'7each in ppni (fig. 6). The enormousconsumption of zink dust by the gold extractionprocess explains the fact that zink valuespass those of lead. The sedimentson the plateauat about 1000 m elevationshow remarkabledifferences to those of the plain. Lead concentrationsrise with a factor of two to four (441 I 267) whereaszink has elevatedvalues (333/119) only in one peat bog, copper behaves comparableto the sedimentsfrom the Somegplain. If one looks to the resultsfrom the deepersediments, it becomesclear that they diminish in the river plain and on the plateauto about 30 ppm for lead with the exceptionof the peat bog near Creasta Cocosului. Copper remains comparablein its values. Zink retains a concentration between65 and 157ppm. Investigationof peatbogs in the ApuseniMts. alsoreported an elevatedheavy metal-pollution (Mitroescu et al. 1989). This demonstrateda generalconcentration of pollutantson the plateausince during west wind situationsthe dustsfrom the forcland is transportedover the plateau.The heavymetal contentsof the fluvial terracesof Baia Borgaand Borgahowever arive to totally different dimensions.Lead rises to concentrationsof 939 and 308 ppm, zink climbsup to 1890ppm alsocopper shows concentrations up to 538 ppm. Thesevalues are comparableto those reportedfrom river terracesin old mining areasin Central Europe(Fauth et al 1987).For the Baia Borqaarea it is easyto explain sinceit is the region of ore extraction.However the situationnear Borga is problematicsince the 245 local populationrelies to shallow wells for the water supply as it is the casein the Someqpiain. Even if the accumulationof heavy metalsin the top soil of forestsand peat bogs is different (cf. Schulteand Blum 1997).and if the mobilisationof heavy mctal dust from sedimentsinto the groundwater is to verify (Symader1984), the level of all possibletolerances is largely passed.This resultsinto an generalthread which alsoexplains the public healthsituation (s.a.). These heavy metal contents are generally higher than those reported in thc geochemicalatlas of Romania(IGVBGR 2000, Sieversfriendly communication)lead for examplewith a factor threc.This may be due to he fact, that the surfacesediments accumulatedall dust deposits,whereas the river sedimentsthemselves depict the respectiveactual condition of the transportedmaterial. There is also a large variety in spaceand in time. Copperand zink howevershow lesspronounced differences. A compilationof the resultsobtained on samplescollected in october2000 from the Wiirzburg group in the PannonianPlain and on the plateauand from the Szolnok group along Vigeu and Upper Tisa (Hamar 2001) demonstratedthe dillution effects along the Vigeu and Upper Tisa rivers, tl.redifferences between the plains and the plateaus,as well as the elevatedvalues in the extractionzone of Borga/ Baia Borqa (fig.6). The pollution background Parallelto the evaluationof the actualpollution the sedimentscores already allow an estimationof thc backgroundpollution without a strong huuraninfluence. In this context one has to count with a lead concentrationof 30 to 40 ppm, zink values between60 and 170 ppm and thoseofcopper afabout 20 pprr. This standsfor the Someqplain as well as for the plateau.The investigationson the Holocencsequence of Csaroda(NE-Hungary) also showed similar low concentrationsof lead, coppcr and zink until the periods of intensivehuman impact (Siimegi 1999).The sedimentcore from the Viseauterrace behaves differently. Lead and copperhave low concentrations only zink hasvalues comparable to thoseof the Someqplain. There is no changewith the depth.This rnay be causcdby the sedimentmixture during high floods in the steep valley diffcrentto the situationat thc Ldpugmouth in the Somegplain. 246 L I i ; c .=a ua 96 ?= oa !0. !u c? rJ! ev Ei qe ou EY af og FO i' 0g ;* 99 oii o- :e io ETga o= EU a; ic -.E :t !o cE :. :5 ;! ;n EL cEa 9v .6 ut frF 247 Conclusions The first resultsof investigationsof the prcsentand pastheavy metall pollution, in the Baia Mare region show the generalgood quality of the naturalarchives and clear differencesin the contenstof heavymetals of thc differentsediments depending on the exposition or on extraction and dust deposition.It becomesclear that the present heavy metal concentrationson the peat bogs at about 1000 m elevationare two to threetimes higher than thoseof the Somegplain. The cxtremelyhigh concentrationin the settlementarea near Borqa may be explainedby the near distanceto the ore extractionarea howevsr it representsa direct threadto human health,since the local water supply dependson shallow wells as it is the casefor the villages in the Someq plain aroundthe ,,Aurul" pond too. The presentlead concentrationsdepass, with one exception,all the limits for soils, definedfor central Europe (cited from Harris et al. 1987).In the Borqa/Baia Borqa region it also standsfor copperand zink. The heavy metal concentrationsdecrease in the lower sedimentsin the plain as well as on the plateaubeneath the above cited limits and so they may define the geologicalbackground pollution. Today the region has a generally elevatedpollution background comparableto other ntining areas (Faudtet al 1985,Harris et al 1987, IGR/BGR 2000).The threatfor the public health however is inforcedby the interfingeringof metallurgicaland food processingplants with residentialareas. This is also explainedby the comparisonof the national and regional (Maramureg)health situation. In addition, there is the general thread of extreme damages caused by the insufficently protected inherited environmental burdensand by some scandalouslyconceived and constructedore processingplants and their retailing ponds (cf. ICPDR 2000). This also representsan imminent danger for the whole Tisa River system. Aknowledgements We are kindly indepted to the GeographicalInstitutes of Cluj and Wiirzburg and to the SapientiaFoundation for logistical and financial support.The contributionof Dr. Benedekis part of his Humboldt fellowshipsproject. Zusammenfassung Die BergbaugebieteNordwest-Rumdniens (Maramureq, Apuseni-Gebirge) zeigten iiber die letzten drei Jahrtausende exemplarisch die Prozesse der Kulturlandschaftsentwicklung von den ersten Offnungen und Umstellungen der Landschaft zu intensiver Nutzung, den Regenerierungsphasenund der erneuten Nutzungsperiodenseit der ungarischen Landnahme bis hin zu den intensiven Ausbeutungs- und Verschmutzungsphasen der letzten Jahrhunderte. Ein Kooperationsprojekt von Kollegen der Universitdten Wtirzburg, Klausenburg (Cluj, Romania) sowie der Bundesanstaltfiir GewdsserkundeKoblenz wertet die natiirlichen 248 (Flusssedimente,Hochmoorablagerungen) und historischen Archive (Berichte, Karten) aus und bearbeitet dabei die Fragen nach den Etappen der Kulturlandschaftsentwicklung,nach den unterschiedlichenDimensionen der Belastung innerhalbdieser Entwicklung, nach den Auswirkungender Umweltverschmutzungauf die Gesundheitder Bev6lkerungsowie nachmciglichen raumplanerischen MaBnahmen zur Bewdltigungdieser negativen Erbschaften. Erste Ergebnissezeigen einerseitsdie gute Aufl References Benedek,J., Molnar, G. 2001: Die wirtschaftlicheSituation in der Region Baia Mare und ihre Auswirkungen auf das Gesundheitsniveauder Bev6lkerung, PetermannsGeographische Mitteilungen, 145, 3, 68-75. Berglund, B.E. (ed.) 1986: Handbook of Holocene palaoecology and palaeohydrology.Wiley Interscience,Chichester, 869 p. Bjorkman, L., Feurdean,A., Cinthio, K.-, Wohlfahrt, B., possnert,G. 2002: Lateglacialsand early Holocenevegetation development in the Gutaiului Mountains, northwestemRomania. Quartemary Sciences Reviews, 21, 1039-1059. Bodnariuc,A., Bouchette,A., Dedoubat,J.J., Otto, T., Fontugne,M., Jalut, G. 2002: Holocene vegetationalhistory of the Apuseni mountains,central Romania. QuarternarySciences Reviews, 21. 1465-1488 Cartographia1999.Kozlpiskolai foldrajzi atlasz,Budapest, 136 p Farcas,S., de Beaulieu,J. - L., Reille,M., Coldea,G., Diacneasa,B, Goslar,T., Jull, T. 2000: First 14c-datingsof Late Glacial and Holocenepollen sequencesfrom the Carpathians,C.R. de l'Acad. Scien.Paris (Sc. vie er de la terce)322. lggg-907 Fauth, H., Hindel, R., Siewers, U. Zinner, J. 1985: GeochemischerAtlas der BundesrepublikDeutschland. BGR, Hannover,79 p. Feurdean,A., Bjorkman, L., wolfarth, B. 2001: A palaeoecologicalreconstruction of the Late Glacial and Holocenebased on multidisciplinarystudies at Steregoiusite (GutaiMts, NW Romania)Studia Univ. Babes-Bolyai,Geologia, XLVI, 2, 125-140 Fischer, H., Giindisch, K. 1999: Eine kleine GeschichteUngarns, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt/Ivlain,302 p. Garvey,Th. (ed.)2000: Reportof the intemationaltask force for assessingthe Baia Mare accident,Bruxelles, 40 p. GeografiaRomaniei, 1987: carpatii Romanestisi DepresiuneaTransilvaniei, III, Ed. Academiei,Bucuresti, 56-87 p. GeografiaRomdniei, 1992:Regiunile Pericarpatice, IV, Ed. Academiei,Bucuresti. 27-38p. 249 Hamar,J.2001: Heavy metalcontamination of the Tisa river system,Tisa Klub, Szolnok,16 p. Hamar,J., Srirkdny-Kiss,A. (eds.)1999: The Upper Tisa valley. Tiscia monograph series,Szeged,50l p. Harres. H.P.. Hollwarth. M. Seuffert, O. 1987: Altlasten besonderer Art. Erzgewinnung in Sardinien und Schwermetallbelastung.Eine Untcrsuchung am Beispieldes Riu Sa Duchessa.Geookodynamik, 8, 1-48. ICPDR. 2000:Regional inventory of potentialaccidental risk spots,Wicn, 48 p IGR/BGR. 2000: Geochemical atlas of Romania, Bukarest/Hannover.In Vorbereitung. Maghiar, N., Olteanu. T.M. 1970: Din istoria mineritului in RomAnia, Ed. Stiintihca,Bucuresti, 252 p. Mitroescu,S.,Vadan,M, Dana, A. 1989: Studiul palinologic si geochimic al Tinoavelorde la Capatina-MuntiiApuseni. Contributii Bot. Cluj-Napoca,149-165. Moisei, F. (ed.)2000: Muntii Maramuregului.Edit. Echim,Bukarest, 300 p. Moran, R.2001; More cyanide uncertainties.Lessons frorn the Baia Mare, Romania,spill-water quality and politics,Mineral Policy CenterIssue Paper 3. Posea,Gr., Moldovan, C., Posea,A. 1980: Judetul Maramureq.Ed. Academiei, Bucuresti,i 80 p. Radtke, U., Thonnessen,M., Gerlach, R. 1997: Die Schwermetallverteilungin Stadtboden,Geographische Rundschau, 49,10, 556-561. Rosch, M., Fischer,U. E. 2000: A radioncarbondated pollen profile from the Banatmountains (South eastem Carpathians, Romania), Flora, 195,277-286. Schrrickc, H. 1994: Mining and german settlemcnt in Slovakian historical summary.GeoJournal, 32,2, 121-135 Schulte, A., Blum, W.E.H. 1997: Schwermetallein Waldokosystemen.In : Matschullat,J., Tobschall,H.J., Voigt, H.J. (eds) Geochemieund Umwelt, Springer, Berlin,53-74. Siimegi,P. 1999:Rcconstruction of flora, soil and landscapeevolution and human impacton the Beregplain from late glacialup to the present,based on paleoecological analysis. In: Hamar, J., Sdrk6ny-Kiss,A. (eds.) The Upper Tisa valley. Tiscia monographseries, Szeged, 173-204. Symader, W. 1984: Raumzcitliches Verhalten gekister und suspendierter Schwermetalle.Erdkundliches Wissen, 67, Steiner,Wiedbaden, 174 p. Szellemy,G. 1894:Nagyb6ny6nak 6s vid6k6nekf6mb6ny6szata. Nagyb6nya, 45 p. Thomasius,H. 1994:The influenceof mining on woods and forstry in the Saxon Erzgebirgeup to the beginningof the l9th ccntury,GeoJournal, 32,2, 103-125. Tittizer, T. 2000: Dokumentationdes Unfallortes "Kliirteich Baia Borqa" am 16.3.2000,Koblenz I-JNEP/OCHA(2000): Spill of liquid and suspendedwaste at the Aurul S.S. retreatmentplant in Baia Mare, Geneva. Vajda, L. (1981): Erdelyi b6nyiik, koh6k, emberek, szizadok. Politikai Konyvkiad6,Bukarest, 545 p. VITUKI (2000): Evaluationof the impactsof the cyanidepollution, right during the passingof the pollution wave and immediatelyafterwards., Budapest, 6 p 250 Woditska I. (1896): A nagyb6nyaim. kir. Binyaigazgat6s6gikeri.ilet monogr6fi6ja. Nagyb6nya,74p. Wollmann, V. 1999a: PrdhistorischerBergbau in Siebebiirgen.In: Slotta, R., Wollmann, V., Dordea, I. (eds): Silber und Salz in Siebenbiirgen..Vertiffentlichungen ausdem DeutschenBergbau- Museum Bochum, 85,1,19-23. Wollmann,V. 1999b:Bergbau im rdmischenDakien. In: Slotta,R., Wollmann,V., Dordea, I. (eds.) Silber und Salz in Siebenbiirgen..Veroffentlichungen aus dem DeutschenBergbau- Museum Bochum, 85,1,24-34 Wollmann, V. 1999c: Der siebenbiirgische Bergbau sei der ungarischen Landnahme.In Slotta, R., Wollmann, V., Dordea, I. (eds.) Silber und Salz in Siebenbiirgen.Veroffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau- Museum Bochum, 85,1,35-40. Wollmann,V. 1999d:Der siebenbiirgische Bergbauim 18.Jahrhundert. In: Slotta, R., Wollmann, V., Dordea, I.(eds.). Silber und Salz in Siebenbtirgen.. Veroffentlichungenaus dem DeutschenBergbau- Museum Bochum, 85, l,4l- 58. Dr. J6zsefBenedek GeographischesInstifut str.Clinicilor 5-7 3400Cluj-Napoca Romania e-mail: j [email protected] Dr. Sorina Fdrcag Institute of Biological Research Str. Republicii48 3400 Cluj-Napoca Romania e-mail:ichmail.dntc.ro Prof Dr. ReinerKlemd M ineralogischesInstitut Am Hubland 97074 Wirzbtrg Germany e-mail: [email protected] Dipl.Chem.Uwe Schleichert Bundesanstaltfiir Gewdsserkunde ChemischesLabor Am Mainzer Tor I 56068Koblenz Germany e-mail:[email protected] 251 Dr. Erhard Schulz GeographischesInstitut Am Hubland 97074Wiirzburg Germany e-mail: [email protected] Dr. Wilfried Schreiber GeographischesInstitut Str.Clinicilor 5-7 3400 Cluj-Napoca Romania e-mail: [email protected] Prof. Dr. Thomas Tittizer Mozartstr. 7 56154 Boppard-Buchholz Tel:0767424043 e-mail:[email protected] 252 TISCIA monograph series (2002), 6, 253-256 THE MURE$ CATCHMENT AREA NATURAL PARK Libtts Andrds f Abstract The paper presentsa short protection and researchhistory of the Mureq Catchment Area Natural Park. The Park is localized downsteram of Arad town up to the Hungarianborder. The characteristicsecosystems are steppe-typegrasslands, meadow forests, swamps and marshes in different stages of eutrohcation. Several species occuring here are listed in the appendix ofthe Bem Convention and the area is one of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Romania. The authors' conclusion is that in order to maintain biodiversity, concretemeasures of protection and conservationare necessary in the Mures catchmentarea. Keywords: Mureq catchmentarea, biodiversify, protection Short history of the protection The first approach to declare it a reservation was made in the year 1972, at the symposiurnsorganized at Pecicaand Arad by I. Moldovan andA. Ardelean. ln 1982, by the decision of the County Council, Lake Bezdin (24 ha) and Prudul Mare (16 ha) were declaredNatural Reserves.In l99l the reservewas increasedto 91 ha. Paralelly,in Timiq County the Cenad Forest(3 14 ha) was put under protection. The foundation of the complex reserve"The Inferior Mureq Catchment Area" started in the year 1998 on the basis of the documentationof the Arad Environmental Protection Agency. The idea of the creation of the Mureg Catchment Area Natural Park was continued by the Forest Managementof Arad, with the contribution of Head ManagerAl. Priv and with the PhareCBC Projectin the year 2001. The projectincludes four components: - the protecionofthe area - the creation ofthe visiting centre - the monitorization of the ecosystems - the promotionof tourism. 253 Short history of the research From a scientificpoint of view, the areahas been the objectof a few studies,made by L. Simonkai,I. Pop,A. Ardelean,C. Drdgulescu,I. Hodigan,Gh. Groza,Fl. Vulpe. The lepidopter fauna has been studied by Fr. Konig. During the last decades ornithologicalobservations have been made by D. Lintia, E. Nadra, A. Shrkhny,Z. Szombathet al., A. Libus. An internationalresearch team begana complex study on the river Muregin the year 1991. Localization The boundariesof the Inferior Mureq CatchmentArea are: downstreamthe town of Arad up to the border with Hungary (approx. 75 river km). On its left and right banks it is borderedby the high loess terraces(major riverbed). The dykes built on the occasionof the regularizationof the river border both banks.The holm area(rninor riverbed)is l-5 km broad. The description of the area DownstreamArad the Mureg River has the characteristicsof an inferior river course,forming numerousmeanders and islands.Downstream Arad therelie rneadow forests on a surface of 5819 ha, being under the administration of the Forest Department of Ceala. Beginning from 54 km downstream,the forest vegetation continuesonly on the left bank in the form of protectioncourtain (breadth: 50-100 m), up to the locality Cenad(Timiq county). Characteristic ecosystems The steppe-typegrasslands on loess,partly degraded,can be found on the steep slopes of the high terrace,on small surfaces.The indicator floristic elementsare: Festuca rupicola, Salvia austriaca and Adonis vernali.s.The meadow forests of the areaare mainly naturalriverside coppices, occupying about l5%oof the total surface. Coppiceswith willows and poplarsprevail, occupying the lower meadowareas, which are often flooded. Characteristic species are: Salix alba, Populus alba and Populus nigra. Lians are frequent: Vitis silvestris, Clematis vitalba, Humulus lupulus. ln the recent years the adventitiousspecies Echinocystis lobata has been invading. The coppiceswith oak-ashtree-elmtreein a natural state lie on smaller surfaces,in the higher meadow. Speciesof trees: Quercus robur, Fraxinus angustifolia, Ulmus laevis, Acer campeslris. In the bush-layer the species Cornus sanguineus,Euonymus europaeus and Crataegus monogyna prevail. The grass layer is rich in the species: Scilla bifolia, Anemone ranuncttloides, Alliaria petiolata, Corydalis cava, Stachys 254 silvestris. Two speciesof orchids have been found: Platanthera bifulia and,Epipactis helleborine.In the last few years small lots of oak-grovesof saltingswere identified (Galatello-Quercetumroboris) in whose clearings we can find the association Peucedano-Asteretumsedifolii, characteristicfor soils in the courseofsalinization. The wet zones from the Mureg catchment area lie on remarkably large surfaces. Mainly in the old desertedriverbeds we can find paludousvegetation, as well as along the dykes, where in the holes the water remaining after floods persists.These are swampsand marshesin different stagesof eutrofication,with the pevailing species: Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia; schoenoplectuslacustris. Lake Bezdin is much more known, where water lilies can be found (Nymaphaeaalba, Nuphar luteum) as well as specieslilke Salvinia natans, Utricularia sp.,Sagittaria sagittifulia, Senecio paludosus. The forests in the minor riverbed are bordered by mesophyle meadows. From the faunaof the areawe shouldmention the speciesthat arepresent in the 3rd appendixof the Law nr.236 as to protectednatural areas, as well as in the Bern convention: Mammals:4species Birds: 72 species Reptiles:1 species Amphibians:6 species Fish:7 species. owing to the varied biotops and to the fact that the Mureg valley is crossedby important routes of birds of passage, the Mureq catchment Area is one of the ImportantBirdfaunistic Areas (IBA) of Europe.There are 44 IBAs in the country.210 speciesof birds have been identified, among which about 100 speciesare breeding birds. According to the IBA criteria,from the endangeredspecies of the world 3 species are present in the area, which nested here a few decades ago: Haliaetus albicilla (white-tailed eagle), Aythya nyroca (ferruginous d:uck),Crex crex (comcrake). In a naturalpark it would be possibleto stimulatetheir re-nesting. From among the speciesendangered in Europe, there are 53 speciesto be found here, from which we mention a few nesting species: Botaurus stellaris (bittern), Nycticorax nycticorax (night heron), Egretta garzelta (little egret), pernis apivorus (honey buzzard),Milvus migrans (black kite), Aquila pomarina (lesser spotted eagle), Falco vespertinus (red-footed falcon), Coracias garrulus (roller), sylvia nisoria (barred warbler). Conclusions In orderto maintainbiodiversity, concrete measures of protectionand conservation are necessaryin the Mureq catchmentarea. 255 References I . Monografia Simonkai - Flora comitatuset urbis Arad, 1893 2. D. Linfia - Pasariledin R.P.R., vol. III., Bucureqti, 1955 3. E. Nadra - Catalogul sistematic al colectiei ornitologice al Muzeului Banatului, Timisoara. 1972 4. V. Ciochia - Pasarileclocitoare din Romania. Ed. st. 1992 5. I. Hamar - A. Sarkany - Kiss - The Mureg River Valley, Szolnok, Tg. Mureq,l995 7. A. Ardelean, Fl. Dumescu, M. Covic - Rezervatiile naturale si monumentele naturii din judetul Arad,2000 256 TISCIA monograph series (2002).6.251 276 IMPLICATIONS OF THE INTERDEPENDENCEOF HUMAN AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. CASE-STUDYOF THE RIVERINE POPULATIONS OF THE MURE$ RIVER Veres.sEnikri Abstract The implicationsof the human environmenton the pollution of the ecosystemof the Mureq river are significant and the paper dcals with the reactionsof the human environmenttowards this theme and the possiblesolutions in order to preventfurlher pollution which could come from thc insideof the local humancommunities alongside the rivcr. The researchreveals the directionswe must emphasizein order to activate the local actorsin the ecologicalactivities. Keywords: resource-dependency,local initiative, ecological education,punitive measures. Alongside the history of mankind, the developmentof human communitieswas alwaysdependent on the naturalresources surrounding their settlement.People always settleddown in the vicinity of a natural(mainly water) resource,this way they could ensurethe premisesin the constructionof their householdsand the developmentof their local cconomy.Even if sometimesthe river or the streamwas not quite friendly to them,people always had refumedafter the floods and continuedtheir lives in these places. A new way of approachingthe problems of the ecosystemof the rivcr has detennincdus to expandour attentionin this project to thc possibleconsequences of the interdependenceof the differentelements of the ecosystem:the socialenvironment of the river Mureq. The evolution of the resource-depcndenthuman communiry was and is a traditionalinterest of the sociologyof communities.The theme of resourcs- dependencyresonates in both the early community studies and in the contemporary boomtown researchstudies from the nineties. In the researchupon the Mureg riverine populationsthe emphasiswas on the sfudy of the other side of the relation between naturaland socialenvironment, that of the influenceof the socialcommunity upon the surroundinenatural environment. 257 Consideringthe importanceof the interdependenceof thesetwo elementsof the ecosystem,one cannot handle the problems of the sustainabledevelopment of the riverine communities alongsidethe Mureq without studying theseaspects. In orderto make a broaderanalysis of theseimplications, we havemade a research basedon a complex methodologyover the human communitiesalongside the stream of the Mureq to anaTyzethe way the inhabitants relate to the vicinity of the river and the way this could influencethe life and developmentof their settlements. For a bettergrasp ofthe attitudesofthe riversidepopulation both quantitativeand qualitativemethods were used. So the first stageof the social analysishas startedin the autumnof 1999 and included the qualitativeresearch. The interviewsmade with the most importantlocal actors(local authorities,schoolmasters, priests, top-managers in enterprisesin the neighborhoodof the Mureg, ferrymen, fishermen,private farmers) of the rural andurban establishmentsincluded in the samplegave us a broaderview of the attitudeof the communitytowards the actualsituation and the possiblevariants of the developmentstrongly influencedby the vicinity of the river. The close emotional link of thesepeople to the river and their strong will to preservethe quality of the Mureg at leastas it is now, and if possibleeven to improve it was the main finding of the interviews.The year 2000 has beenthe starting-pointin the quantitativeresearch, applied to a representativesample of 580 individuals (the number of questionnaires appliedin a locality was detemrinedby its demographicand economicalpotential). I would like to make a brief presentationof the localities from the sample.In choosing the sample geographicallocation was taken into consideration,so we includedin our patternsettlements from the upper-,middle- and lower reachesof the Mureq. Another condition in choosing the settlementsfrom the sample was their economicpotential and theway the economicallife of the community influencedthe actual quality of the river. This was certainly a relation of interdependence,as thc vicinity to the river influenced the developmentof the rural as well as the urban settlernentsin the course of their history. And last but not least the demographic potentialwas as well importantin the choiceof the settlements'sample, so therewere two small-size communities with a population below 4499 inhabitants (S6ntimbru 258 situatedin the upper reach of the Mureg, in the microregion of Gheorgheni,at an altitude of 145-770 m at the confluenceof the strcamletof Nagy-Solymosand the Mureg. As an independentscttlement it is mentioned from 1730 (before it had belongedto the village of Joseni- in Hung. Gyergy6alfalu-from the same county). Now it lies betweenJoseni (distance of 2 kilometers)and Suseni(3 kilometers).It is situatedin thc attraction-orbitof the greatestsettlement of the region, the town of Gheorgheni(in HungarianGyergy6szentmikl6s) from the samecounty, at a distance of nine kilometers. The industrialisationfrom the communist era didn't bring a massivedepopulation of the village of Ciumani in such a greatmeasure, as the local activepopulation had the possibility of commutingto Gheorgheni,where the needof labor-forcesnatched up the activesfrom the nearbyvillages, so from Ciumani,too (in 1991 41.0%of the activeswere commuters).So the populationfrom Ciumani did not suffer a massivedepopulation in the communistera (at the censusfrom 1992its total populationwas of 4808 inhabitants.From the first censusmade on the basisof a real scientific methodologyfrom 1880 until i992 we can see that the populationof the villagehad an upwarddeveloprnent. From the datawe have from 1996,the population shows a slow decreasein the nincties, mainly explainablewith the international migrationof the youngerfertile population,but in the sametime this is a featureof the third phaseof the demographictransition which has reachedin the last decadesof the lastcentury the countriesfrom the Centraland EasternEurope as well. Having a locationwhich is hardly proper for agriculture(the averagetemperature is of 5oC, being one of the lowest from all ovcr the country),the local populationis forced to migrate in order to make thcir living. Its populationwas always known as being very skilled in carpentry,and even in the medievalmonographies of the region, it is mentioned as being a featurc in the local economy of the village. Another characteristicis the existcnceof more than 10 mineral wells, the historian Orbiin Ballzs in the 19thcentury mentioningthat the local populationuses only the water of thesemineral wells and not that of the nearbybrooks. The vicinity of the Mureg river and the nearby streamletshad an influence upon the local economy, people trying to use the energy of water in their activities as an lmportant sourceof incornc linked to the processingof the wood. So even from the 18'ncentury there were water-sawingmachines and evenwater-mills. After 1989,the local economicsituation could not escapethe overall standingof thc country.The downwardtendency of the industrialdevelopment of the zone led to the disponibilisationof the commutingworkers of the villagesnearby. This is valid for Ciumani as well, wherepeople could not perform a sustainableagriculture because of the naturalconditions, and they tricd to get involved in othcr sectors.So many of them (mainly the male population)commutes monthly - a very common way of migrating after 1989- to other regions,mainly to Hungary,rvorking as calpenters,mainly in the field of constructions. One of the altemativesin the sustainabledevelopment of the village of Ciumani is considered to be local tourism (mainly rural and agro-tourism). The natural enviromrent (the clear water and the closenessof the mountainsand forests)and the cultural (historical,architectural and ethnographical)potential as well as the relatively 259 good infrastructureand the lodging possibilitiescan make the village developin this sector. The local actorswe have interviewed(the mayor, the history professorand the Roman-Catholicpriest) were strongly convincedthat the vicinity of the Mureq River hascontributed to the developmentof this village, partly becausethe infrastructurehas beendevelopcd from the lgth centuryas a consequenceofthe strategiclocation by the Mureg.The good quality of the river can contributein the near fi;ture to the boom of the local tourism, so they consider that they have to preserve(at least) the actual ecologicalsituation of the Mureg, not only becauseit can be one of the attraction- points, but also taking responsibilitytowards the forthcoming generationswho will hopefullyuse the river in their leisureactivities. The next village from the samplcis Ungheni, from the countyof Mureg,located in the site of the river, which is called the Lunca Murcaului. Considcredby the social geographistVofkori L|szl6 one of the most interestingzones of the river is one of the most important(both economicallyand demographically)rnicro-regions alongside the river. (Vofkori Lriszl6,1999).Thissite includes one of the most important urban settlementsalongside the MuregRiver (Tirgu Mureq-Hung.Marosv6sdrhely, German- Neumarkt am Miresch) and other sevencommuncs located all on the coursc of the river (Maroskereszfur, Marosszentanna, Nagyernye, Jedd, Marosszentkirdly, Marosszentgyrirgy,Ungheni-Ny6r6dtoe). This site is locatedon an areaof 264 square kilometers, with a population of 199.619 inhabitants(data from the last national censusfrom 1992). Ungheni (Hung. Nyiridt6) is situatedon thc upper reachof the river, being one of the most irnportantsettlernents in the cour.rtyof Mureg,iocated at thc confluenceof the rivers of Mureg and Niraj. It has a favorable positioning, being located at a distance of only 10 kilometers from thc county seat of TArgu Mureq (Hung. Marosv6s6rhely,Germ. Neumarkt), at an altitudeof 296 n, one of the lowestplaces in the region.Ungheni is the administrativecentre of the cotlmune with the samename, corrmune which includes besides Ungheni, the following villages: Cerghid (H.Nagycserged),Cerghizel (Kiscsergcd),Sauga (S6spatak), Vidrdsdu (Vidrdtszeg) and Recea(Nagyr6cse). In 1992 the communehad a populationof 6609 inhabitants, Ungheni having a population of 3731 inhabitants.This settlernentcxists from thc tirnesof the Dacians,was an importantlocality in the Roman timcs, even now locals speakof the existenccof a Roman road. Its stratcgicsettling lcd along the history of the village to many good and bad things. Positive elementswere thanked to the possibilitiesof a sustainabledevelopment of the local economybecause of the vicinity of the water and the betterdeveloprnent of the infrastructure(network of roads).The negativepart in its history was due to the sameelements: the vicinity of the river and the strategicimportance of the villagc. This led to many distructionscaused by the frequentfloods of the river, and in the coursc of history was tnany times occupied along thc military campaigns.It is a village with a multifunctional economy, fact being sustainedby the existencealongside the agriculturalactivity of local industry: two water-mills on the river of Mureq and Niraj and a local distillation plant. The vicinity of the river and that of the city of Tdrgu Mureg l.rasbeen of greathelp for the developmentof the village. 260 Aiud (Hung. Nagyenyed,German Strassbourg) is the only urban settlementof the sample,situated on the right side of the Mureg River, in thc county of Alba at the contactof the Mountains of Trascduwith the Plateauof the rivers of Tdrnavaat an altitude of 270 meters.This settling assuresthe locality a very favorableresource in the developrncntof an efficient agriculture,especially the wine-growing (its nobile wines arefamous all over the country). We have chosentwo settlementsfrom Aiud, one was that of Aiud and the other one was the suburbanCiumbrud, administrativelysubordinated to Aiud. The city of Aiud is positionedon a total surfaceof 624.157hectares, site which includcsthe ten suburbanlocalities which now administrativelybelong to Aiud. Theseten localities are: Aiudul de Sus (Hung.: Felenyed), GAmbag(Hung.: Marosgomb6s),Magina (Hung.: Muzsnah6za,Germ.: Mussendorf),Pdgida (Hung.: Kisapahida),Ciumbrud (Hung.: Maroscsombord),surface: 80,81 hectares,1497 inhabitants,Sdncrai (Hung.- Enyedszentkir6ly),Girbova de Jos (Hung.: Als6orb6),Tifra, GArbovade Sus (Hung.: Fe1s6orb6)and Gdrbovila(Hung.: Kriz6porb6).At the censusfrom i992 the town of Aiud (includingall the suburbanlocalities) had a populatronof 24.'l3l inhabitants. These settlen-rentshave existed from the Roman times, fact supportedby the materialproof of the nearbyarcheological site. ln the 13'ncentury Saxonsettlers had built a fortress,the town maintainingits medievalcharacteristics even now. The economyof the town influencesthe downstreamquality of the water of the Mureg. So industry,developed mostiy after the seventiesin thc processof the forced industrialization,has led to the pollution of the river. The hard industry,and especially the metallurgicplant and the concreteelements plant are the main sourcesof pollution for the Mureg.Even though aftcr 1989the economicsituation has led to the decrease of the importanceof the industrialsector in Aiud, the industrialsector still occupies 25o/oof the territoryof the town. As it is shown from the interviews made at the local council and at the EnvironmentProtection Agency (EPA), the main purposewould be to rehabilitatethe natural environtnent compromisedby the unauthoriseddepositation of industrial garbage(n-rainly from the metallurgicalplant), to punish the polluting sourcesand to bannishthis kind ofdepositation.The local authoritics(at leastat the declarativelevel) are very keen on the finalization of the project of protection of the natural environment,but they complainbeacuse of the shortageof financialresources. The questionnairesapplied in this town prove that the majority of the populationis aware of the importanceof the preservationof a proper environment,most of them complaining that thcre it is too littlc done by both the civil society and thc local authoritics. There is still uncertaintyamong the rcspondentsabout the propcr measuresthat mustbe takenin order to preserr/ean unpollutedenvironment, most of thcm expecting others(namely authorities, specialists) to do this. SAntimbru (hung. Marosszentimre), our next commune downstreamthe river Muregis situatedin the county of Alba, in the viciniry of the counryseat Alba Iulia, at a distanceof 8 kilometers.We have included two villages from this commune:the community center-SAntimbruand Coslariu, situatedat 2 kilometers from the center. Having very favorable conditions,a soil of good quality and a good transportation 261 infrastructure(roads as well as railway-station),Sdntimbru is a village where the nafural resourcesmade the local developmentpossible even during the communist period Small industry and services(transportation) has been an alternativein surviving even after 1989.The conununeis one ofthe most prosperousone in the zone and the vicinity of the river of Mureg was and still is of great help in the maintenanceof a socio-economicand demographicsituation (in 1992the populationof the village has beenof 1154inhabitants, this meaning43o of the whole commune'spopulation)' Still with all this resource-dependence,by the interviewsmade by us with some local actorsof the village of SAntimbru,we have realizedthat people seemnot to be awareof the importancein the maintenanceof a properquality for the river hashelped them throughout the history, waiting for "advice" from the authorities of the county of Alba and the centralones. The next settlementof the sampleis the village of Vin{u de Jos (hung Alvinc' germ Unter-Winz, Winzendorf). This communeis situatedin the county of Alba at a distanceof 12 kilometers from Alba lulia, with a population of more than 8000 inhabitants.Besides the administrativecenter, the communeincludes Sibigeni (hung. SibisSn),Inuri (hung. Bors6mezci),Vurpdr (hung. Borberek). In our samplewe haveincluded two villagesfrom this commune:Vinfu de Josand Vurpdr. Vinfu de Jos is a settlementwith an impressive history. The acfual settlementwas built up by the Saxon settlersin the 12'ncentury and now it is an importantrailway junction. Its historicaland culturalpotential (Vinfu de Joshas one.of the nicestcastles built on the place of an earlier Dominican monasteryin the 17'ncentury) can be a possible solution for the multifunctionalization of the local economy by the developingof tourism. Its good site and its developedinfrastructure has led to the socio-demo-economicdevelopment of Vinlu de Jos,and besidesthe agriculturalsector which is well developed here (the surroundings are known as having famous wineyardswhich producewines of good quality as in the caseof Aiud), small industry and serviceshad developedalong the settlement'shistory and evcn after i989. On the lower reach of the river is the village of Pecica (hung. Marosp6cska), situatedin the countyof Arad at a distanceof 20 kilometers from the county-seat, Arad. The communeof Pecicaincludes the following villages:Bodrogu Vechi (hung. O-Bodrog), Rovine (Hung. Magyarpecska),Pecica (Hung. O-p6cska) and Tumu (Hung. Torony). It is the only villagein our samplewhich is situatedin a plain, and probably is the most prosperuousvillage from our sample.The frrst proofs of the existenceof a human community were found in the late neolithical age. In the Bronze Age, Pecicawas the centreof a group ofsettlements,and becauseof the multitude of archeological sites which are different from all the rest, this was known as the Pecica- Periam culture (the most important vasesare now in the Museum of the county seat). Becauseof its wonderful positioning,it has always been a flourishing settlement. Besidesagriculrure, the people from this village even from early medieval age (10'n century) have used the water of the Mureg River for ffansportation. It is well known that the commercewith salt was a very profitable businessand people even in the early 20'n century used the Mureq as possibility for transportation of salt and for :o^/- persons (people use even now the ferry for transportation). There were also water- mills which have functioned until the dawn of the communist regime. In our interviews with the local actors (local catholic priest, teachers, local authorities,farmers and eventwo retired ferrymen)we could seethe importancethe local population attachesto the cohabitationwith the river. Even though the latest floods (seventies,eighties) caused serious problems, the attachmentof the community seemsto be significant. The pollution of the river did not stop the locals, especially the young ones. It is an interestinginitiative of a group of youngsterswho would like to make a boat-trip upstreamthe river in order to seethe geographical"history" of the Mureq. After 1989 the situation of the community has not changed, one of the main functions of the local economy is still agriculture, which becauseof the fertile soil on the banks of the Mureg is an efficient activity. Still, it is not an intensive form of modern agriculture, but more an extensiveone. People with the help of the local authorities are trying to establish an activity of rural tourism, which would include the possibility of leisure activities related to the river of Mureg. The help of the central authorities (in the solving of the problems of the pollution of the river) keeps still waiting. We must underline the interest shown by the locals in answering to questions regarding the actual natural ecological problems of the Mureg, causedmainly by the insufficiency of legislative frame in the ecological domain, so there are no efficient measuresofficialties can take in the punishment of those who pollute the water of the Mureg. In the findings od the social researchwe could seethat there is- at the rhetoric- declarativelevel- a very strong attitude againstthose who are really responsiblefor the pollution of the river. The presentationof the social researchincludes two subdivisions, the hrst relates to the existing links between the human population and the Mureg river and the second to the ways of the protection of the natural environment,particularly the Mureg river. A. Presentationof the sample Our sample of the questionnaire, as mentioned above included 583 individuals, distributed as it follows in the nine settlementsfrom the six communesof the sample: Table nr. l: The numeric distribution of the sample for villages Name of the settlemenl Nr. of aoolied ouestionnaires Percentual Ciumani 60 10.3 Ungheni 122 20.9 Ciumbrud (Aiud) t02 17.5 Aiud t4 1A Sdntimbru 36 6.t'l Coslariu (Sdntimbru) 44 t.J Vintu de Jos 54 9.26 Vumdr(Vintu de Jos'l JJ 5.6 Pecica l18 20.2 Total 583 100 263 The sampleincluded settlements from the threereaches of thc Mureg river, that is: the upper reach of the river is representedby the village of Ciumani (60 questionnaires)and settlementsfrom the middle reachgave the 69,4Yoof the total, and the lower reachincluded only the village of Pecica(118). Our sampleis representative for the whole populationof the riversideas it includesall the economical,social and demographicalcategories which exist in the whole population,with a percentageclose to thenational census'data from l992. The relationof the peopleto the river oTMureg Personalidentification items were followed by the questionswhich werc ment to reveal the personalrelation of the local people,cspecially with what finality do they use (if they use) the water of the Mureg. We will treat the relationshipbefween the riverside human population and the Mureq as an input-output relation, input will include the way the populationrelates in its everydayespecially economic - activity, the way they are protecting (if they do protect) the natural resourcesfrom their environment,particularly the Mureg river. So we wanted to find out how does the populationhandle the problemof removalof the organicand domestictrash. The output side ofthe relationis representedby the activitiesrelated to the natural environment,household and leisureactivities, so what the population"gains" from the fact of being in the closevicinity of a water resource.In parallelwith the questionnairc we have interviewed older people who have made an oral history of the late few decadesof the placethe river usedto have in the community's life. Our findingshave revealedan existingclose comunion of the riversidepopulation with the Mureg and its resources. In thw output we took into considerationmore activities(agricultural, household and leisure) in which local people could have used the water or the ambienceof the Mureg. We have also askcd them if they drink (occasionally)from the water of the Mureg. Resultshave shown that the greatrnajority of the peoplenever use the water of the Mureg for drinking (97,2%),the greatmajority has wells or runningwater (haven'tgot canalisationthough). Only a small number of people specify that they do not drink becausethe water of the river is polluted.This is the caseof thosewho live at a very small distance(50-150 meters from the banksof the river) and who usedto drink the water of the river a few decadesago. The highestpcrcentage of those who find the water of the Murcg handy and always drink from it are it.rUngheni, county of Mureq, where they have an important colony of gypsies living close to the banks of the Mureg river, having no economicalpossibilities to dig to find a well or fountain. In many casesthose who affirm that they do not usethe water of the Mureg declarethat evenif they would not havethis well (which in many caseshasn't got eitherthe properquality to be used as drinking water-seethe caseof Ciumani, Vinfu de Jos, SAntimbruwhere eventhe wells are infectedbecause of the pollution from the industrialsites from the vicinily of these settlements)would not use the water of the Murca becauseit is polluted and would bring (and in Vingu de Jos they actually do) water for drinking 264 from other sources-asin the caseof Vinlu de Jos- the spring of the Sibiqel,thelocai populationbringing in the drinking water with cars from almost ten kilomcters.A similar casecan be found in SAntimbruwhere thc local doctor has affirned that they have recently made bacteriological,chemical analysisof thc water of the wells and they did not find one well which would correspondto the normal standards.The lady- doctor,although aware ofthc scriousconsequenccs has affirmed that: " what can one do?If hasn'tgot a horse,must go on foot!" The more frequentuse of the water of the Mureq in other activitiescan be seenin villages situatedon the middle and lower reach of the river. People use the water especially in agriculfural activities (watering and irrigating), although they have admittedthat lately they ratheruse water from the well becausethe pollution fror.nthe water they have been using has causedserious damage to the crops (in thc caseof thesepeople the most often assertedmeasure that must be taken in the near future would be the building of strongerdams and the ecologisationof the banks of the river). Of cause,the highest percentageof those who answer affirmatively to the questionwhether they use the water of the river in their activitiesis made up by the effectiveriverside population, with a distanceof under 500 metersfrom the banksof the rivcr. The existing positive conelation proves that our primary hypothesis regardingthe role ofthe distanceto the river in the developmentofa closerconnection of the population with the Mureg proved to be right. At thc whole sample this coefficient was r: 0,13, the highest values of these coefficients we could see in Ciumani (r:0,24) and in Pecica(r:0,29) where the distanceplays an importantpart in the frequenceof the useof the water of the river, especiallyin agriculfuralactivities. Another type of activify they use for the water of the Mureg are the household- activities. For now "only" the cleansing of the carpets and thc washing of the 'personal) cars,older women recall the period when they usedto bring the clothesand 'ashedit here.Even though they appearas different opinions,those who declarethat .he water is polluted and would not use it and those who never use it becausethey other sourcesbelong to thc same category: that of the people who have "ave an altcmativeto the water of the Mureg.A sadmanifestation of the attitudeof the people towardstheir personalrole in the protectionof thc environmentis that only a minor number of the respondentsaffirmed that they are not using the watcr of the Mureg in their activitiesbecausc this way they themselveswould pollute the river. The village where they declaredin the highestproportion of the local samplethat they would not use the water of the Mureg becausethey would pollute it is ciumani, where these respondentsform 10% of the local sample population (in the whole sample the percentageof those respondentswho answer similarly is only of 1,88%!). These respondentshave mentionedas a possiblemeasure that must be takcn in order to (re) establishthe bestpossible quality of the Muregthe ecologicaleducation of the people, tnakethem be awareof the resultsof their actionsin the environment. Another group of questionsis still related to the output in the Mureq -human population'srelationship, and thcse questionsrefer to the role this river plays in the leisureactivities as well asin the ingestionof fish., meaningthe size of the population from our samplewho eat fish fished by the anglers(we could not find professional fishermenalongside the river). 265 Many peoplefrom our samplego elsewherein their spare-timeTey haveconfessed that in their youth (10-20 yearsago-this is the causeof the age-groupswhich include the population between 40-60 years) they went frequently to the Mureq, but now they prefer other places (almost all of them prefer the mountains or neighbouring settlementswhere there is a water-spring where they can enjoy nature and in the same stay on the banks of a water-source(especially in the settlementsdownwards TArgu Mureq, in the middle and lower reachesof the river). Processingthe information we could establisha positive correlationbetween the way people spendtheir free-time and the pcrceivedqualify of the Mureg (r:0,I 1). So thosepeople who do not come to the Mureqin their leisureactivities consider that the MureEis pollutedand in the same time dangerous,especially in the villagessituated on the middle and lower reachof the Mureg people said that they are afraid for the life of their family, as the intensive exploitationof the river ballast causedserious damages in the bed of the river, and besidespollution the whirlpools from the river can be dangerous.Especially in the villages situated between Sintimbru and Pecica (including Pecica), one of the possibilities of making the Mureg more attractive for leisure activities was the establishmentof a leisurecenter on the banks of the river (in an oral history an old man who usedto be a ferry-manin Pecicanarrated the possibilitiesthat have existcd in the thirties, when on the banks of the river there were more leisure centcrs, with open air bathesand lidos and tennis-courtsfor both the well-to-do social categories and the poorer ones could have had a very pleasanttime). It is interestingwhat the younger (and poorer) people say, that going out to the banks of the river is the only opportunityto meet with friends without going to somepub in the village or nearby; and even if they admit that the conditions they find near the Mureq are many times terrible, they come here becausethey have no alterrrativein spendingtheir free-time in the middle of the nature. In their casethe attraction towards the Mureg is not the main argumentthey come here for. Anotherpossible way to spendone's free-timeis to go out fishing (or more precise angling).From the whole sampleonly 77,3Vioof the respondentsgo or would like to go out angling. The overwhelming majority says that they never go out (90% Ciumani, 80%oPecica, 82.7o/oUngheni), even if they did before, the main cause being the unexistence of fish. But people do not state affirmatively that they do not go out fishing becauseof the pollution . People who are not anglers in their majority do not eat fish. The correlation of thesetwo items gave a significantcoefficient of r:0,21 for the whole sample,higher values being obtained in Vurpdr =0,43, and Aiud r:0,38. There is no positive correlation betweenthe quality of the water and the motivation of those who do not eat fish(so the quality of the water does not influence the people who do not eat fish) for the whole sample the value is r:-0,07, the only positive values being registeredin Ciumanir:+0.28. The following two questionsreveal the input part of the relationship of the human and natural environment of the Mureg river, particularly how local people protect the Mureq from the individuals' pollution, this question can reveal the attitude the local 266 riverside population shows towards the small-scaleecology which is dependanton their actions. This category of questionswas related to the handling of the removal of the rubbish, especially in those settlementswhere thcre is no institutionalisedway of removingthe trash.There werc two questionsin order to seehow do the local people solvethis very "thorny" problem eachhuman communityfaces. we were awareof the fact that thesepeople keep animalsin order to supply the provisioningand work their household-plots(or their largeragricultural plots). The greatmajority of the peopleuse the organictrash (78,8%o of thosewho havein their householdsuch trash)as naturalfertilizers and only 21,2%oare placing it on the river banksor in dung-holes.In almost all of the settlementsof the middle and lower reachesof the Mureg the dumpJrolewas in the close vicinity of the river (this was a place establishedby the local council somerimesdecades ago) and people were very contentwith themselvesas they were saying that they did nothing wrong just follow the "orders" of the authorities.Although in n.ranycases they knew that this was not right they pleasedoneselves that it was "legal" to do so. The only settlementwhere therewas no such "authorised"dump was Coqlariu,but therewere other onesused in commonagreement by the locals. Thosewho have respondedthat they do not have such organictrash have smaller animals(like poultry or pigs;, so we can say that every householdincludes agricultural activitiesat small-autosubsistancyscale. There wsre peoplewho affirmed that one of the main problemsis the discrepancy betweenthe rhetoricaland the real action-level,so many peoplewho affirme that they throw away the dung from the animals "wherever they could, sometimesin twilight they went with the cart to the banksof the river and threw away the dung they did not use(themore seriousproblerns appear when we talk aboutthe removal and placing of the householdgarbage). There were just a few people who used the more and more popular storing method of the compost.The differencebetween them and thosewho affirmed that they have stored the trash in the garden was that the later were just putting the trashout without having a stableplace where they usedto put it. The great majority said that the back of the gardenwas the place they were putting the trashor they were throwing it directly on the land as natural fertilizers without any further storingsofthe dung. Serious problems occur when we discuss the solutions the locals give to the removalof thc householdgarbage, because ahnost all of the few settlementsfrom the middle and lower reachcshas a seriousor more loosecontract with a companywhich removesperiodically of the rubbish,but people from Pecica,Vurpdr, Ciumbrud and Cogiariuare unhappybecause of the defficienciesin the organisationof thc removal, becausefor examplein Pecicathe rubbish is removedonly once a month (!!) and in the meantimepeople have to handlethemselves the transportationof the garbage.So as we can see,only the settlementsdownward Aiud benefit from an organisedsystem of removal of the rubbish( the only exceptionis Pecica).Still even in thesevillages there is a significant percentagefrom the sample who cannot pay the fees of the removal (as they have confessedthemselves), so they bury or incinerate(even the plastic is incinerated)the rubbish or in the case of the population from one of the 267 isolated districts from Vinqu dc Jos (Intregalduri)they throw it on the banks of a streamletwhich flows into thc river of Mureg. A global evaluation of the current standingsshows that in the caseof 59,loh of the total samplepopulation rubbish is removed from them or they are placing it in authorised(although not ecological) refusedumps. Only 5.1% of the total populationstates that they throw the rubbishto the banksof the river. We had to registcrtheresponses the questionedpcrsons gave so we could not verify the true/falsequality of their affimation. The distanceofthe respondentsto the river played a role in the placing ofthe garbage, even if with not a great significance,the evaluationof the data showed a positive correlationfor the two items (r : 0,04). One of the problemsmost people raisedwas the breaking of the promisesby the local authorities,because on their electoral agendaat the 2000 local electionsthe placement of a better, more ecological refuse-dump or the punishment of the population who place garbagein forbidden places was included, but there are no encouragingsigns in the direction of implementationof theseobjectives. Authorities have saidthat the complexityof this problem makesthe functioningof sucha projects not being visual at this moment,but they have mentionedthat the peoplethemselves should do somethingin order to marginalisethose who really pollute the river by placing their householdgarbage close to the river in unauthorisedplaces, parlicularly by public disapproval. J. This part of the researchregards the way local peopleperceive the quality of the watcr and the possiblesolutions secn by the local population and the authoritiesto protectthe Mureq and to avoid the further pollution of the river. This chapterincludes the (subjective)perception of the samplepopulation of the presentcondition of the river, the way authorities handle the environmentalmeasures, the role population shouldplay in the environmentalactions and finally what chancesdo they seein the preservationof the natural environmentalframe for the following generationsand what spccific measuresshould be taken in order to pravent further pollution of the Mureg. We emphasizethat this is the subjectiveperception of the local populationon the quality of the water of the Mureg, the great majoriry affirming their judgements without any specific scientific basis, their opinion dictated in many times by their common-sense or by the negative personal Mureq-related experiences their neighboursor relativcsjust had The questionwas referringto the perceptionof the quality of the water in the last few yearsrelated to its previouscondition. There is a very strongmajority (63,1%)who is not contentwith the actualquality, most of them accuse the upper settlementwho pollutes the river (sce Ungheni accusingTdrgu Mureg, Vinlu de Jos accusingS6ntimbru and Pecicaaccusing Arad). There was a difference among the people who affirmed that the river is indeed polluted: therewere thosewho were sayingthat for the whole year it is polluted, and otherswho connectedit to the melting of the snow and the ecologicalaccidents of one 268 of its affluents: the Ariegul river. Those who said that the river is polluted in the whole year were those who when it came to the measuresto be taken were the most fierce in aplying punitivemeasures against the pollution sourcesfrom the outside. We can still find people who are making a distinction between pollution and muddiness,who are blaming that the balast-exploitingcompanies are to blame.These peoplehave affirmed that the river is not so polluted but it is muddy and not good for drinking or bathing, but they have answeredthat the pollution has diminished after the industrial restructurationsofsome important polluters which have reduced after 1989 their productioncapacities. We might sarcasticallysay that this was the only benef,rtof the economicdecrease to the populationand to the environment.14,7Yo of the sample populationdid not make any assertionsrelated to the quality of the river. This is a very high percentageif we take into considerationthe firm opinions of the population in previousquestions. Another importantquestion in the population'sreaction towards the activity of the authoritieswas relatedto the way local authorities handled the problem of pollution by taking measuresin order to reduce it. Measureswere consideredto be: punitive measures against the polluters, a better placement for the refuse-dumps,the organisation of a guard who could watch out for the river and the duty of informing the hierarchicalsuperiors about the more seriouspollutions, etc. The analysisofthe responsesreveals a very stronginsatisfaction ofthe population towards the measureslocal authoritieshave taken until 2001. As the figures show, 73,0o/oof the whole sample considers that the local authorities did not anything or didtoo little in order to protectthe naturalresources. The percentageofthose who are content with the way the local council and the mayorship handles the ecological problemsis very low (l2,lo/o), and it came from peoplewho are still afraid to expose their opinions versus authorities becauseof the impregnated fear they have because criticism towardsthese institutions was not allowed and even seriouslypenalized. In our interviews made with representativesof the local authorities they have pointed out two main obstaclesin the enactmentof such projects: the impossibility of raising funds-we might add that sometimes we are facing the immobility of the local authorities and their lack of experience in competitions with a serious international financingand the lack of sympathycoming from the population,organised especially by thosewho haveregistered a losslately in their relationto the local authorities. Regardingthe role people should play in the maintenanceof a proper quality of the nafuralenvironment we have found a very interestingduplicity: eventhough 83,1% of the whole population admits that it is a moral duty of the locals to organise and participate at environmental projects in order to prevent the pollution of the Mureg, there were fewpeople who could come up with concrete actions that can be innitiated (and they would like to participate) and tell us more about the concrete ways this co- operationcan come to action. So I believethat the opinionscover more the rhetorical level, many respondentswant to correspondto the social expectations,"to say what must be said". Still there was a positive correlation (even if not very significant - r : 0,I ) betweenthe way peoplereacted to the possibilityof co-operationand the concrete measuresproposed by the samerespondents. We must outline the role of educational level, which influences the way people feel about the importance of co-operation, 269 educational attainment being a condition in the way they have responded(correlation coefficientwas r: 0,1 for the whole sample). With all this pledge to moralify and co-operation,wc must add that the lack of strongcommunity bonds is somethingwe did seealong our observationsessions, so in the "rurban" communities, where modernity has distroyed the traditional community and did not bring in (yet) the postmodemity'scivic society,there it is a sadreality that an incipient individualism associatedwith negligencecharacterizes the individuals' mentality.This is a seriousobstacle in the probability ofjoint environmentalactions of the populationand the authorities. The answers given to the question related to the future of the river's condition show that peopleare very pessimisticabout the perspectivesof the way pollution will evolve, a big exclamationmark must be put on the right side of the 27o/oof the absoluteunbelievers in the improvement.If we want to draw into the community works the people in order to help in stoppingthe pollution, we must alwaysbe aware that therealways be negativists,but sometimesecological activists who arepredicting a kind of world-wide catastrophyare more deciseand can be more active.So we must not really seethese people as totally unusablein ecologicalactions. Figuresshow us that the optimism of the people is still there, a great percentage (45,8o/o)said that people can be educated.This can be a starting point but as our respondentshave told us that the school and the other institutionsmust handle this problem it is obviousthat they perceivethiseducation as being the task of"others" and theyjust enouncea way it must be donewithout very much intentionof helping in one way or another in doing this. One of our respondents,an older woman from Vinfu de Joshas admittedthat shecannot do anything:"even ifI seethose youngsters who are throwing all kinds of trash in the river, I cannot say anything or else they will beat me up". There is a percentage of the people who believe that there is no need for any measuresagainst those who pollute, becausethey alreadybehave properly. Those who gave this responsehave lower expectations(mostly come for the lower strata of the social structureand have a lower educationalattainment). Or they really cannotdefine the notion of"ecologically consciousbehaviour", which is indeedvery hard to define. Our last question of the questionnairewas related to the way people see the possibility of taking into their handsthe decision,the questionsounded like this: "If you would be in position to make decisionsfor stopping the pollution of the river, what would you say?" this was an open question,meaning that the codeswere set after recordingall the 583 answersgiven by our respondents.Response variants were: 1. Has no opinion; 2. There is no need(satisfied). 3. Punitivemeasures towards all the polluting factors(men and industrialplants); 4. Educationof the population;5. The closing down of the externalpolluting sources(from outsidethe settlement);6. The closing down of the internal polluting sources(from the settlement);7. The control and the ecologisationof the river-bed;8. Raisingof funds for the cleaningof the water (especiallyextemal ones);9. They have to control only the industrialplants; 10. The placementof waste-pipes/rubbish-shoot;1l. There is nothingto be doneanymore. 270 The big number of the answeringvariants made possibleto registera more nuanced view of the ecological measuresto be taken assertedby the samplepopulation. I have made up three groups of the proposedmeasures: 1. The group of the punitive measures which includes variants nr. 3.5,6 and 9. Differences are only those related to the extensionof the punitive measures.2. The group of the educationalmeasures (variant nr.4). 3. The group ofthe constructivemeasures (variant nr.7 and nr. l0). The greatbulk of the peopledisapproves of the "softness"of the authoritieswhen it comesto the punishmentof the real polluting factors(mostly the industrialones) as well as that of the individualswho are throwing away the trashin unauthorisedplaces. If we take thesethree groups, we can say that the highest percentagewas registeredby the group of the "severe": 43,4oh,followed by the "real measures"group with 29,l% and the educationor "soft" measureshad only 9,9vo.The percentageof thesegroups varies for eachsettlement according to its geographicalplacement, so the settlements of Ciumani (56% punitive measuresbut in the sametime 547oconstructing measures), Ungheni 54,1%, S6ntimbru (52% punitive measures),vinlu de Jos (54o/opunitive measures)are situatedin the closenessof pollution sources(big industrialcenters like Tdrgu Mureg, Luduq, Alba Iulia, with the exception of Ciumani, where the respondentsdid not point to a specific pollution source).Punitive measuresare seen by some of the respondcntsas the first step in order to restore a discipline which in their view cannotbe done with only education.Many of them pointed out the lack of civic senseand the lack of self-disciplinein actions.Those who believein the force of education, point to the younger population which could benefit from a proper ecologicaleducation (there was a very negativeopinioning towards the categoryof youngsterswho have no ecological or other education,coming not only from the very old population). Although they agree that there is a strong moral crysis and school, amongothers is found responsiblefor this crysis,there is a belief that it could still filI up this function. It is interestingto presentthe opinionsof thosewho really want concretemeasures: those who are for the placernentof refuse-dumpand waste-pipesor waste-filtersor they want the local authorities to take greater measuresand participate at greaterzonal and regionalprojects of placing and strenghteningof dams and the regularisationof the river-beds. These measures in their great majority are for the increasing and improvement of the output the population can get from the river, in this caseas in all it is the etemal economical relation between resoluce and needs.Needs like use of the water in agricultural activities but without having the constantfear that the river would flood every year and distroy their yearly work, other needs for using the Mureg as a leisure source (we have mentioned that the population has this claim of having - especially at the lower reachesof the Mureg river - leisure centers where people can spend their spare-time in confort). We can say that there is a positive environmental attitude towards the use of the Mureq, but this does not reflect the way each individual will act in evcrydaylife. Finally we can say that the social researchhas revealed two important things: that there is a consciousnesstowards the existenceof pollution of the Mureg river, and this affects the riverside population, and on the rhetorical level there is a strong commitmentfor solving theseproblems with punitive and constructionmeasures. On 271 the other hand, there is no real support coming from the civil society in implementing suchecological projects and not eventhe environmentalistpolicies are very well seen as they affect the industry and besidesthe economical problems they create a social one: the unemployment.Romania has to realise that environmentalpolicies include the creation of new jobs, and as it appearsin the book L'ecologie contre le chomage editedby the organisationLes amis de la Terre in 1984long-term employment will be possiblefor the local economy,first of all in order to repair the damagesdone until now to the natural environment, so we can say that ecology can be infiltrated in the economicalprocess as a part of the producationprocess. Appendix Questionnaire (model) A. The geographicallocalization ofthe studied settlement l.The name of the settlement 2. On what reach of the Mureq River is it situated: L lower reaches 2. middle reaches 3. upper reaches B. Identification questionsofthe subject l. Gender: 5. Post-secondarytraining 1.Male 6. Higher educationaltraining 2. Female 7. No schooling 0. No answer 0. No answer 2. Agez 5. Profession: l.0-19 years 1. Homemaker 2.20-29 years 2. Farmer (private) 3. 30-39years 3. Blue-collar 4. 40-49 years 4. Official (clerk) 5. 50-59 years 5. Professional 6. 60-69 years 6. Private entrepreneur 7. Over 70 years 7. Student,pupil 0. No answer 8. Unemployed 3. Marital status 9. Pensioner l. Unmarried 10. No profession 2. Manied 0. No answer 3. Widow 6. Working place: 4. Divorced l. Has no working place 5. Concubinage 2. Does not work anymore/yet 0. No answer 3. Works in the village 4. Educational level 4. Works in a nearby rural settlemenl 1. Public elementary school 5. Works in an urban settlement 2. Vocational school 0. No answer. 3. Training college 7. Nationality: 4. Secondaryschool l. Romanian 272 2. Hungarian 4. No answer 3. Gypsy 9. The period of your presencein this 4. German settlement: 5. Other nationality l. I was bom here 0. No answer 2. We got settled from my childhood 8. Place ofbirth: 3. I camehere because ofmy profession l. in the settlement 4. I came here after my marriage 2. in a nearby village or city alongside the 5. I have come here recently Mureq River 0. No answer 3. settlement from another region C, Questionsrelated to the environment l. The distance ofyour house from the river.. 1.0-5m 2. 6-50 m 3.5 l-100m 4.101-500m 5. More than 500 m 0. No answer 2. Do you usethe water of the Mureg for drinking? l. Always becauseit is close and handy 2. Sometimesyes 3.Never becauseit is polluted 4.Never, becausewe have wells/fountains 0. No answer 3. Do you use the water of the Mureq River in your household activities (watering, washing, carpet- cleaning, etc.)? 1. Always, becauseit is byme 2. Not so lrequently,but I useit 3. Never becauseit is polluted 4. No, becausethis way I would pollute the environment myself 5. No becausewe have running water and,/orwell fiom another source 0. No answer 4. Where do you put the organic trash (animals, etc.)? l.We don't have such type of trash 2. We store it in the garden (for agricultural use) 3. We put in the garden and afterwards take it out to the land (fertilizer) 4. Compost 5.Throw it to the banksofthe river 6. Garbageheap/dung-hole 0. No response 5. Where do you throw the trash (in case you do not use it for heating-corn-cob f.e.X l. Rubbish-shoot 2. Incineration 3. Garbageheap 4. Garbageheap and incineration 5. Throw to the banks ofthe river 6. Throw to the banks ofthe river and incinerate 7. Bury in the ground 0. No answer 6. How often do you go in your spare time to the Mureg ( to take a bath, entertainment)? 1. as often,ls we can (every weekend) 2. we prefer other places where we enjoy it more, but sometimesyes 3. never becauseit is polluted 273 4. we never go out 0. no answer 7. Do you go fishing in your spare time? 1. never 2. not lately becausethe water is polluted 3. I would like to, but I do not havetime 4. As many times as I can, alone or with my friends 5. Sometimes 0. No answer 8. How often do you eat fish from the Mureg River (even if it was fished out by someone else)? 1. I nevereat fish 2. Once in two months 3. Monthly 4. Weekly 5. More than once a week 6. Occasionally, but not very often 9. If you do not eat fish, what is the motive? 1. We were not used to in the familv 2. I don't like fish 3. I do not eat it, becauseI cannot prepare it 4. I don't eat fish becausethe water ofthe river is polluted 5. I eat frsh 0. No answer 10. What is your opinion on the recent quality of the river Mureq? l. It has not changed,it is the same as it used to be, but it is polluted 2. It is worse than before 3. It is better than before 4. I cannot appreciateit 0. No answer 11.How do you value the local official measuresin the field protection of environment? 1. There are no such measuresin our settlement 2. There ,ue some, but there are not efficient 3. I find them satisfactory at local level 4. In the actual economic situation there is too much talk about it 5. Cannot appreciate 0. No answer 12. Do you think thrt in your locality there must be an active cG-operationbetween the local authorities and the population in order to activate the protection of environment? i. No becausethere are far more important things we must solve at local level. 2. Maybe in another economic context, but now it is not efficient becausethere are no funds for sustaining it. 3. Yes, becausewe have the moral duty to preservefor the next generationsan unpolluted environment. 13. In your opinion what are the chances that the actual grown-up generation would leave an environment without polluting it? 1. In this rhythm in a few decadeseverything will be deteriorated. 2. Ifwe can make the people realise the consequencesofthe unprotection ofthe environment we can stop the deterioration. 3. The great bulk ofthe population contributes already to the protection ofthe environment. 4. I cannot estimate. 0. No answer 14. What are the necessary measures coming from the local authorities for the improvement of the quality of the Mureq River? i. There is no need for such measures(satisfied) 2. Has no opinion 3. Punitive measurestowards all the polluting factors (men and industrial plants) 4. Education of the population aaA 5. The closing down ofthe external polluting sources (from outside the settlement) 6. The closing down ofthe internal polluting sources (from the settlement) 7.The control and the ecologisation ofthe river-bed 8. Raising offunds for the cleaning ofthe water (especially extemal ones) 9. They have to control only the industrial plants 10. The placement of waste-pipes/rubbish-shoot I 1. There is nothing to be done anymore 0. No answer References L'ecologie contre le chomage@cology againstunemployment),(1984), Rome. vofkori Lhszl6 (1999): A Sz6kelyfiild leinisa (The description of the szekler's Land), vol.I., Budapest. Recensamdntul - populatiei si a cladirilor din 1992 (the census of the population and of the householdsfrom 1992), CNS, Bucuresti. ENIKOVERESS Faculty of Sociology and Social Work Babes-Bolyai University I Kogdlniceanu Cluj,3400, RO 27s CONTENT PREFACE...... 5 Laszl6 Galld: FLOOD-PLAINRESEARCH AT DIFFERENTSPATIAL SCALES ...... 7 S. M. Stoyko: THE CAUSESOF CATASTROPHICFLOODS IN THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REGIONAND THE SYSTEMOF ECOLOGICALPROPHYLACTIC MEASURES FORTHErR PREVENTTON...... 17 Ldszl6 Fodorpataki and Judit Papp: USEFULNESSOF EUKARYOTIC AND PROKARYOTICMICROORGANISMS IN THEINVESTTGATTON OF WATERQUALITY IN THEMURE$ RIVER...... 29 ConstantinDrdgulescu : PHYTODIVERSITYOF TRANSYLVANIAN HYDROGRAPHIC BASINS...... ,.39 Marg6czi K., Drdgu.lescuC., Macalik K. and, Makra O.: VEGETATIONDESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVEHABITAT COMPLEXES ALONGTHE MAROS (MURE$) RIV8R...... 4s Diana CupSa: SOMEASPECTS OF THE MODIFICATIONSOF THE AQUATICOLIGOCHAETA FAUNAIN THECRr$URr RIVERS BETWEEN 1994-1998...... 51 Domokos Tamds, VdncsaKldra, Sdrkany-KissAndrei: MALACOFAUNISTICALSTUDY OF THE FLOOD-PLAINOF THE MURE$ RIVERIN THEZAM REGION ...... 63 Ioan Sirbu and Andrei Sdrkany-Kiss: ENDANGEREDFRESHWATER MOLLUSC SPECIES FROM THE EASTERN TRIBUTARIESOF THE TrSA RIVER (ROMANIAN TERRITORY)...... 71 Andrei Sdrkiny-Kiss, Nicolae Mihdilescu, Ioan Sirbu: COMMUNITIES'STRUCTURE AND HEAVY METALS CONTENT OF THE UNIONIDAE (MOLLUSCA,BIVALVIA) FROMTHE DANUBE DELTA BToSPHERERESERVE...... 81 Sdrkdny-KissAndrei and Braun Mihdly: USINGBIVALVES IN AN ALTERNATIVETESTING METHOD OF FRESHWATER POLLUTIONWITH HEAVY METALS...... 93 27',| Andrds Szit6: THE ECOLOGICALSTATE OF THE TISA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES INDICATEDBY THEMACROINVERTEBRATES...... 99 tljvdrosi Ltjza: THE PRESENTSTATUS OF THREAT TO THE CADDISFLIES (TRICHOPTERA) FROMTHE RIVERS$OME$, MURE$ AND CRI$URICATCHMENT AREA IN ROMANIA ...... -149 Petru M. Bdndrescu: SPECIESAND SUBSPECIESOF FISHAND LAMPREYSENDEMIC OR ALMOST ENDEMICTO THE DRAINAGE AREA OF THE TISA RIVER...... ,167 Petru M. Bdndrescu: FISHSPECIES WITH RESTRICTEDRANGES IN THE TISA RIVERDRAINAGE AREA...... 173 I. C. Telceanand P. M. Bdndrescu: MODIFICATIONSOF THE FISHFATINA IN THE UPPERTISA RIVERAND ITS SOIJ"THERNAND EASTERNTRIBUTARIES...... 179 Sdndor Wilhelm, Akos Harka, Zoltdn Sallai: THE PREVAILINGANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS ON CERTAINSMALLER NORTHWESTERNROMANIAN RIVERS...... ,....I87 Mara Gydngyvtr: MAJORTHREATS FOR AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILESSPECIES IN THE TRANSYLVANIANRIVERS' BASINS. RECOMMENDED MONITORING METHODS ...... 199 Ferenc K6sa, Ldszl6 Demeter, TamdsPapp, Friedrich Philippi, Hans-JohannLutsch and Karoly Gyrirgy: DISTRIBUTION,POPULATION SIZE AND DYNAMICSOF THE WHITESTORK (CICONIACICONIA T./ IN THE UPPERAND MIDDLE OLT RIVER BASIN (ROMANTA)...... 20s Erhard Schulz,J6zsef Benedek, Sorina FdrcaS,Reiner Klemd, Uwe Schleichert, Wilfried Schreiber and ThomasTittizer: THE POLLUTIONHISTORY OF THE MININGREGION OF NW-ROMANIA, A MULTTDISCIPLINARYPROJECT...... 235 Libus Andrds f: THEMURE$ CATCHMENT AREA NATUR \L PARL...... 253 VeressEnikS: IMPLICATIONSOF THE INTERDEPENDENCEOF HUMAN AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.CASE-STUDY OF TI-IE RIVERINE POPULATIONS OF THE MURESRIV8R...... 257 278