Phytoplankton species diversity of the Albanian part of Lake Shkodra in 1998-1999

The results of phytoplankton species diversity studies of the Albanian part of Lake Shkodra in 1998-1999 are presented. Lake Shkodra is the largest la ke in the Balkan Peninsula situated transboundary between the Yugoslavian F ederal Republic (Montenegro) and Albania. It is a large, but shallow lake o f an oligotrophic character. In material collected from 9 sampling stations altogether 142 genera with 455 species and infraspecific taxa were determi ned; majority of them (255) have not been recorded in the Montenegro part o f Lake Shkodra by PETKOVIC (1981). The highest number of species and infras pecific taxa were found in Bacillariophyceae (242) and Chlorophyceae (97), followed by Conjugatophyceae (35), Euglenophyceae (35) and Cyanophyceae (24 ); other groups were represented only by some taxa. In spite of a relativel y rich phototrophic microflora, Lake Shkodra according to the phytoplankton species composition can be classified oligotrophic. Diatoms dominated in most samples, with Cyclotella ocellata, C. distinguend a, Asterionella formosa, Fragilaria ulna, Aulacoseira ambigua, Cymbella aff inis, Gomphonema acuminatum, Navicula capitatoradiata. From other algal gro ups belonged to the characteristic species of Lake Shkodra phytoplankton: C eratium hirundinella from Dinophyta, Dinobryon sociale and D. divergens fro m Chrysophyceae, Merismopedia glauca, Microcystis aeruginosa and Radiocysti s aphanothecoidea from Cyanophyta, Pediastrum simplex, P. duplex var. graci llimum, Coelastrun polychordum, and Scenedesmus perforatus from Chlorophyce ae.