Changes in the lake ecosystems connected with the power-generating industry (the outline of problem); the Konin lakes (Poland) as the study sites

Abstract

The changes in a water body caused by power- and heat-generating plant vary considerably in their nature, being highly related to a site-specific conditions and the mode of the plant functioning. A new thermo-mictic regime arises with a different cycle and seasonality which in turn induces the new pattern of niches and the species composition of biota. The changes also occur connected with the pollution (increase of salinity and hardness, accumulation of contaminants) and eutrophication as well as secondary changes brought about by the fishery practices in heated waters, and by the selective effect of power plants on the mortality and survival of organisms pulled into the cooling system.