Persian Journal of Acarology

Persian Journal of Acarology

Water mite fauna (Acari: Hydrachnidia) as an indicator of the preliminary assessment of the effects of the remediation of Lake Jeziorko (Poland) using probiotic bacteria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Maja Krakowiak 1
Andrzej Zawal 1
Maryam Asif 2
Aleksandra Bańkowska 3
Grzegorz Michoński 1
Edyta Stępień-Zawal 1
Karolina Sobolak 3
Aleksandra Kozłowska 3
Anna Mieszała 3
Vladimir Pešić 4
Robert Stryjecki 5
Agnieszka Szlauer-Łukaszewska 1
Tapas Chatterjee 6
Anna Seniczak 7
Alireza Saboori 8
Ewa Filip 3
Lucia Montes-Ortiz 9
Przemysław Śmietana 1
1 Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Szczecin, 71-415 Szczecin, Poland
2 University of Education Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
3 Institute of Biology, Centre for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Szczecin, Wąska 13, 71–415 Szczecin, Poland
4 Department of Biology, University of Montenegro, Cetinjski put b.b., 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
5 Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
6 Crescent International School, Bario, Govindpur, Dhanbad 828109, Jharkhand, India
7 Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Postboks 400, Vestad 2418, Elverum, Norway
8 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
9 Intercultural University of the State of Mexico, San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico 50640, México; Intercultural University of the State of Mexico, San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico 50640, México
10.22073/pja.150301
Abstract
Sustainable restoration of eutrophic lakes remains a vital challenge, with probiotic bioremediation providing a non-invasive alternative to conventional chemical approaches. This study assesses the effectiveness of Effective Microorganisms (EM) technology in restoring Lake Jeziorko (Poland), using water mites (Hydrachnidia) as sensitive bioindicators of habitat change. During the monitoring period lasting a total of 35 months (samples were taken each time in July for three years) across littoral and profundal zones, collecting 9,739 water mite individuals from 38 species. Bathymetric analysis confirmed a decrease in bottom sediment thickness, which probably triggered a clear response in benthic fauna. Although the initial year showed a lake-wide increase in species richness, long-term trends reveal a split: littoral communities declined due to external nutrient inputs and cyanobacterial blooms, while profundal communities (dominated by typical lake taxa such as Neumania limosa and Piona stjordalensis) remained stable and showed signs of improved sediment oxygenation. These findings indicate that while probiotic bioremediation effectively conditions deep-water habitats and reduces sediment volume, it is not sufficient alone to counter external eutrophication pressures. Additionally, these studies indicate that profundal aquatic mite communities show a clear improvement in profundal conditions, while littoral water mites indicate that the ecological situation did not improve permanently.
Keywords
Lake restoration
bioindicators
Hydrachnidia
probiotic bioremediation
profundal zone
sediment reduction

Subjects

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Persian Journal of Acarology
Volume 15, Issue 3 - Serial Number 58
Summer 2026 Article ID:150301