Beschrijving van fytoplankton uit de Rijn

Abstract

In the framework of the Rhine Action Plan, the International Rhine Commission agreed on regular biological inventories of the river Rhine to be held every 5 years, starting in 1990. Research institutes from the Rhine states prepared this ecological monitoring programme for plankton, fish fauna and benthic macrofauna. A harmonization of methods is imperative and for this reason an expert group on plankton proposed a checklist of plankton species. This documentation gives a descriptive overview of selected phytoplankton species commonly found in the River Rhine to support a proper identification of River Rhine phytoplankton. This working documentation is meant to be used when counting phytoplankton samples. It should be stressed, however, that it is not meant to replace the identification literature. For the selected species, one or more photographs are shown as well as some relevant information on nomenclature, morphology, ecology, and abundance in the Dutch part of the River Rhine. In some cases essential details required for proper identification could not be shown clearly on photographs. Therefore, we refer to relevant literature for more detailed information. At this stage only lowland species are included. Hence, some typical species of the 'Hochrhein' might be missing. Furthermore, it was not possible to give a description of the distribution of species along the entire River Rhine so far ; only for the lowland reach some comments are given. Despite these limitations of this documentation, it may be a further step towards harmonization in the international biomonitoring programme of phytoplankton in the River Rhine.