BRNO RESERVOIR –
CYANOBACTERIA AU REVOIR?
Student Scientific Conference:
(SCIENCE AT PRÍGL)
16th May, Brno, Czech Republic
2014
Masaryk University
Brno
Conference Book
Brno
Reservoir -
Cyanobacteria
Au Revoir
“Science at Prigl”
16th May 2014
Masaryk University, Faculty of Science
Brno, Czech Republic
Edited by:
Pavlína Vyletová
Matěj Sklenář
Masaryk University
Faculty of Science
Brno 2014
● contents
1• info...................................................................................................5
2• preface.............................................................................................7
3• committees......................................................................................9
Scientific committee.........................................................................9
Language committee........................................................................9
Organizing committee ....................................................................10
4 • programme...................................................................................11
5 • biosketches...................................................................................13
6 • abstracts .......................................................................................21
List of abstracts...............................................................................21
List of posters .................................................................................23
5
1● info
Date: Friday 16
th
May 2014
Address: Masaryk University
Faculty of Science
Kotlářská 2, Brno
Room: Assembly Hall
A 01026
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2 ● preface
This multidisciplinary scientific conference is organized by the students of
the ‘English for Scientists’ course held at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk
University. It deals with topics related to the Brno reservoir and aims to
support a multidisciplinary approach to this issue by bringing together
students of a wide range of study branches, perspectives, and
backgrounds. The conference is also intended to contribute to students’
professional communication and presentation skills development, which
will be required in their future careers.
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3 ● committees
Scientific committee
Mgr. Tomáš Kuchovský, Ph.D.
Mgr. Zdeněk Hromádka, Ph.D.
Mgr. Jarmila Burianová, Ph.D.
Mgr. Pavla Řezníčková, Ph.D.
Mgr. Dominik Heger, Ph.D.
Ing. Petra Rozehnalová
Language committee
PhDr. Hana Němcová
Mgr. Eva Čoupková , Ph.D.
James Edward Thomas, M.A
Mgr. Jana Kubrická
Mgr. Robert Helán, Ph.D.
10
Mgr. Věra Hranáčová
Mgr. Jana Kollárová
Mgr. Markéta Kovaříková
Organizing committee
Katarína Mlynáriková
Pavlína Víšková
Bc. Martin Kubeš
Soňa Dvořáková
Dajana Snopková
Dominika Fialová
Karolína Klempířová
Pavla Plachtová
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4 ● programme
7:30 – 8:00 Registration, check-in
8:00 Opening
Session 1 – Washing, washing up and what it leads to
Chair: Eva Lukáčová
Presenters: Soňa Dvořáková (BI)
Matěj Sklenář (BCH)
Pavlína Víšková (BCH)
Matouš Janča (BI)
8:50 Session 2 – Phosphorus sources
Chair: Eva lukáčová
Presenters: Tomáš Fiala (OCH)
Martin Kubeš (BI)
Pavla Plachtová (E-TOX)
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9:30 Coffee Break, Refreshments, and Poster Display
Posters: Floods in Brno - Dajana Snopková (GE)
Brno reservoir as a place for sport and recreation
- Martin Musil (GE)
9:50 Session 3 – Functions of Brno reservoir
Chair: Tomáš Fiala
Presenters: Marta Šlapanská (FY)
Dominika Fialová (EN)
Vladimír Sedláček (M)
10:30 Session 4 – Cyanobacteria
Chair: Tomáš Fiala
Presenters: Katarína Mlynariková (BI)
Eva Lukáčová (BI)
10:55 Session 5 – Management measures
Chair: Tomáš Fiala
Presenters: Karolína Klempířová (BI-M)
Ľuboš Sokol (GE)
Pavlína Vyletová (M)
11:15 Awards and Farewells
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5 ● biosketches
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Soňa Dvořáková
Soňa Dvořáková is a second-year student of the Bachelor’s degree
programme. Her field of study is Molecular Biology and Genetics. Her
Bachelor thesis will be describing principles that lead to programmed cell
death. She is also interested in legislative precautions that consider
current biology research and health service.
Bc. Tomáš Fiala
Tomáš Fiala obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Masaryk
University in 2013. In the same year, he published his first scientific
article titled Synthesis of Norbornahemicucurbiturils in the impacted
journal Synlett. He is currently pursuing his Master's degree with prof.
Vladimír Šindelář. His present research concentrates on supramolecular
chemistry of macrocyclic molecules, especially their interactions with
organic phosphates.
Dominika Fialová
Dominika Fialová is a second-year student of the Bachelor’s degree
programme of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering, Brno University of Technology. In 2013, she participated in
the project Partnership in the energy sphere. Her research focused on
creep resistant materials, and was carried out in cooperation with the
company VÍTKOVICE ÚAM a. s. and NETME Centre at BUT. Her present
work concentrates on thermal-hydraulic simulations of heat exchangers.
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Matouš Janča
Matouš Janča is a Bachelor’s degree student of Environmental and
Evolutionary Biology and his field of interest is zoology. It is his second
semester, so he has not started any Bachelor thesis yet. Also his scientific
life is incomparable with his fulfilling and energetic student life. He is
really lucky, because all of these beautiful scientific topics and studies are
still ahead of him.
Karolína Klempířová
Karolína Klempířová is in her first year of teacher studies of Mathematics,
Faculty of Science, and Music Education, Faculty of Education. As she has
been playing the cello and the double bass for many years, her main topic
of interest is how education in music influences study skills in other
subjects.
Bc. Martin Kubeš
Martin Kubeš is a student of the Master‘s degree programme of
Molecular Biology and Genetics at Masaryk University. He focused on the
endothelial glycocalyx research in his Bachelor studies, and now he
concentrates on the relationship between gamma delta T – lymphocytes
and multiple myeloma at the Department of Pathophysiology, the Faculty
of Medicine. Besides that he attended the programme supporting
talented students in the South Moravian region. He was also a participant
in the StarCube programme organised by the South Moravian innovation
centre.
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Eva Lukáčová
Eva Lukáčová is a second-year student of Masaryk University. She studies
Medical Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics at the Faculty of Science and
Faculty of Medicine. Her Bachelor thesis will deal with the prenatal
genetic diagnostics of monogenic hereditary diseases.
Katarína Mlynáriková
Katarína Mlynáriková is a Master student of Microbiology and Molecular
Biotechnology at Masaryk University. She has been participating in
research projects at the Department of Microbiology of the Faculty of
Medicine and St. Anne’s Faculty Hospital since her first year of studies.
Her work focuses on clinically important yeasts and their diagnostics. She
is currently investigating the possibilities of rapid detection of virulence
factors in yeasts.
Martin Musil
Martin Musil is a first-year student at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk
University in Brno. His field of study in the Bachelor course is Applied
Geography and Geoinformatics. In his future scientific research he will
focus on sustainability. His specialization will be centered on landscape
ecology and land-use. Aim of his research is to study the negative impacts
of society on landscape and nature, and how to prevent these negative
effects.
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Pavla Plachtová
Pavla Plachtová earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at Masaryk
University in 2011 and her Master’s degree in Environmental Chemistry in
2013. That year she joined the doctoral program in Ecotoxicology and
started working on her dissertation thesis at the Institute of Botany of the
Academy of Sciences. She focuses on ecotoxicity of nanomaterials,
especially iron complexes intended for the purification of the
contaminated water and the soil remediation. She published her research
in the international journal Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
Vladimír Sedláček
Vladimír Sedláček is a second-year student of the Bachelor’s degree
programme at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University. His field of
study is Mathematics; he is interested especially in Algebra and Number
Theory. Among his recent accomplishments there is the second place in
the Nationals SOČ 2012 (Středoškolská odborná činnost), and the bronze
medal in IMC 2013 (International Math Competition). He is also a
member of JČMF (Jednota českých matematiků a fyziků), and organizes
BRKOS (Brněnský korespondenční seminář) and BRLOH (Brněnská logická
hra) competitions for younger students.
Matěj Sklenář
Matěj Sklenář is a student of Biochemistry at Masaryk University. He is in
the first year of the Bachelor‘s programme. He worked at Microbiology
and Molecular Biology departments at the Laboratory of metalomics and
nanotechnologies at Mendel University with prof. René Kizek for two
years. He succeeded in the high school scientific competition SOČ – he
obtained the first place at the national exhibition with the study The Use
of Nanotechnologies As Modern Tools to Treat Infections Caused by
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Multiresistant Bacteria Strain. Then he achieved the second place at the
MendelNet PhD conference with an analogous thesis. He has recently
started working at the laboratory of associate prof. Omar Šerý where he
is going to work on his Bachelor thesis.
Dajana Snopková
Dajana Snopková is a first-year student of the three-year Bachelor course
programme of Geographical Cartography and Geoinformatics at the
Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno. Although she has no
previous experiences in the field, she would like to dedicate herself to
further scientific research. Her specialization will probably be geospatial
analysis of natural phenomena and their cartographic representation.
Bc. et Bc. Ľuboš Sokol
Ľuboš Sokol is a Master student of Geology at Masaryk University. In his
studies he focuses on tectonics and structural geology. In 2012 he
obtained a Bachelor degree in Geology and a Bachelor degree in
Archaeology. His Bachelor thesis in Geology deals with tectonics in the
Low Tatra Mountains, and his Bachelor thesis in Archaeology discusses
antler hammers of otomany-fuzesabony culture from the older Bronze
Age. In 2013 he spent 5 months at the University of Oviedo (Spain)
improving his knowledge of Structural Geology and Economic Geology.
Currently he continues with his work on tectonics of the Low Tatras with
associate prof. Rostislav Melichar. In 2012 and 2014 he participated in
conferences of the Central European Tectonic Groups.
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Marta Šlapanská
Marta Šlapanská is a second-year student of the three-year Bachelor
course in General Physics at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University
in Brno. Her current research focuses on the study of solids. It is also the
theme of her Bachelor thesis.
Pavlína Víšková
Pavlína Víšková is a student of Biochemistry - currently a second-year
student of the Bachelor’s degree programme at the Faculty of Science,
Masaryk University in Brno. She is interested in Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry in medical use – diagnosis or possible cure for human
diseases. This year she participated in an internship aimed at the
RealTime PCR methods and, recently, she has joined a research team at
CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology) where she has started
studying chemical signalling cascades and interactions of proteins which
may later become the starting point of her Bachelor thesis.
Pavlína Vyletová
Pavlína Vyletová is a third-year student of a multi-branch Bachelor study
at the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Economics and Administration,
Masaryk University. Her field of study is Applied Mathematics and
Economics. In her Bachelor thesis she focuses on convergence among
European Union countries in terms of energy intensity levels.
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6 ● abstracts
List of abstracts
Session 1 – Washing, washing up and what it leads to
Sources of phosphorus and pollution
Soňa Dvořáková .......................................................................................24
Phosphorus in detergents
Matěj Sklenář ..........................................................................................25
Laundry and dish washer detergents – do we care?
Pavlína Víšková ........................................................................................26
(Mis)conceptions of the problems associated with Brno reservoir
Matouš Janča ...........................................................................................27
Session 2 – Phosphorus sources
Fertilizers - Both Blessing and a Curse
Tomáš Fiala ..............................................................................................28
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Precipitation of phosphorus
Martin Kubeš ........................................................................................... 29
How does a waste water treatment plant work?
Pavla Plachtová ....................................................................................... 30
Session 3 – Functions of Brno reservoir
Hydroelectric power plants and their role in our lives
Marta Šlapanská ..................................................................................... 31
Performance assessment of Brno-Kníničky hydroelectric power plant
Dominika Fialová ..................................................................................... 32
Regulation of the floodgates through fuzzy logic
Vladimír Sedláček .................................................................................... 33
Session 4 – Cyanobacteria
The Characteristics, Biology and Ecology of Cyanobacteria
Katarína Mlynáriková .............................................................................. 34
Eutrophication
Eva Lukáčová ........................................................................................... 35
Session 5 – Management measures
Sedimentation velocity due to the radius and density of particles
Karolína Klempířová ................................................................................ 36
Sedimentation in Brno Reservoir
Ľuboš Sokol .............................................................................................. 37
Sediment removal – costs and benefits
Pavlína Vyletová ...................................................................................... 38
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List of posters
History of floods and flood risk management
on the Svratka river in Brno
Dajana Snopková ......................................................................................39
Brno reservoir as a place for sport and recreation
Martin Musil ............................................................................................40
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Sources of phosphorus and pollution
Soňa Dvořáková
Excess phosphorus is a concern for all ecosystems. In natural
environment, the amount of phosphorus is restricted. Its absence limits
the growth of plants, fungi, and bacteria. Agricultural areas surrounding
Brno reservoir affects phosphorus levels and disrupts the natural
equilibrium. Due to human activities the level of phosphorus rises and
pollutes aquatic ecosystems, the Brno reservoir being no exception. This
presentation will review the sources of phosphorus pollution and divide
them into categories. It will also provide basic information about the
incorporation of phosphorus into natural matter, and difficulties that
arise from this.
Notes:
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Phosphorus in detergents
Matěj Sklenář
This study defines the composition of dishwasher and laundry detergents
used daily in millions of homes. It briefly describes the mechanism of
tensides. In addition, it summarizes the main commercially available
detergents by arranging them in a table with the trade name, producer,
content of phosphorous, and price. Another part of the study compares
two ways of cleaning dishes: dishwasher use and manual washing-up. The
comparison illustrates two points of view: 1) economical aspects and 2)
ecological aspects. The analysis showed that using a dishwasher is more
economical than washing-up manually. When phosphate free detergents
are used, there is no negative ecological impact on the environment.
Notes
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Laundry and dish washer detergents
– do we care?
Pavlína Víšková
Laundry and dish washer detergents play an important role in water
pollution – including the Brno reservoir. As one of the most significant
sources of phosphorus, these detergents have a strong impact on the
environment, causing eutrophication. This study aims to demonstrate
how the laundry and dish washer detergents influence the environment
and to inform about possible alternatives. The second section focuses on
the extent to which people are acquainted with the content of detergents
that they use in their households and how knowledgeable they are about
phosphorus. We conclude with a brief summary of the European Union
attitude towards phosphorus and phosphorus-free detergents.
Notes
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(Mis)conceptions of the problems associated
with Brno reservoir
Matouš Janča
The aim of this study was to find out what local people really know about
problems associated with the Brno reservoir. The study focuses on the
consumer behaviour and its impact on the environment. The data for this
study was collected via an interview. The questions can be divided into
three different groups. The first group of questions is about general
survey of participants. The second group focuses on consumer behaviour.
And the aim of the third group is to find out their personal attitudes to
the problem. Based on the results, it can be claimed that the people are
mostly unaware that using washing machines is closely related with
eutrophication, even though they aware of cyanobacteria in the Brno
reservoir.
Notes
28
Fertilizers - both blessing and a curse
Tomáš Fiala
The mass use of fertilizers in agriculture has been a controversial topic in
the past decades. While the amount of fertilizers being applied is
increasing due to the high demand for food, new norms and restrictions
attempt to minimize the drawbacks of releasing these chemicals into the
environment. This presentation will review the basic principles of the
functioning of fertilizers, namely providing plants with the key elements,
phosphorus and nitrogen. The fate of fertilizers in the environment will
also be discussed, with an emphasis on the transport of the chemicals
into surface water and the eventual cause of eutrophication.
Notes
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Precipitation of phosphorus
Martin Kubeš
Phosphorus is a chemical compound which naturally occurs in water
bodies. Because of human activity, the phosphorus level increases in
water way below the natural limit. This phenomenon induces several
detrimental effects on the water environment. Living organisms
concentrate phosphorus in much higher concentrations than water itself
and utilize it as a building block of their cells. Small fast-growing
organisms, such as cyanobacteria and algae, have enough energy to
overpopulate when there is a surplus of phosphorus. This rapid growth
leads to an algal bloom. To prevent any algal bloom, it is necessary to
know how phosphorus can be precipitated from water bodies to reestablish
a natural equilibrium. Using our knowledge of the solubility
product equation, it is possible to precipitate phosphorus chemically. This
study focuses on the three most used methods of chemical precipitation
of phosphorus from water bodies.
Notes
30
How does a waste water treatment plant work?
Pavla Plachtová
Waste water is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by
anthropogenic influence. Municipal waste water is produced every day by
human activity – it comes from households, offices, small traders, and
others. In addition to sewage contaminated with faeces and urine,
municipal waste water also contains rinse water and rainfall runoff.
Waste water flows through sewers into urban waste water treatment
plants where it is processed before it is discharged into receiving water.
This presentation will explain how the Brno-Modřice waste water
treatment plant works. It will provide basic information about both waste
water treatment and sludge management from toilet flush to the release
of treated water into the Svratka river.
Notes
31
Hydroelectric power plants and their role
in our lives
Marta Šlapanská
Hydroelectricity refers to electricity generated by hydropower, i.e. the
production of electricity through the gravitational force of falling or
flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy,
accounting for 16 percent of global electricity generation. Hydropower is
one of the most environmentally friendly energies. One type of
hydroelectric power plant is built alongside reservoirs. The dams can be
used not only for producing electric energy, but they can also prevent
smaller floods, they can be used for recreational purposes or as a source
of potable or process water and they are often suitable for river fishing.
Notes
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Performance assessment of Brno-Kníničky
hydroelectric power plant
Dominika Fialová
Hydroelectric power plants are the most important sources of renewable
energy in the Czech Republic even though they are usually designed to
overlay higher energy consumption at peaks, which is the main purpose
of Brno-Kníničky hydroelectric power plant. The aim of this presentation
is to give an overview of the construction and technical parameters of
Brno-Kníničky hydroelectric power plant. One type of turbine plays a vital
role in the performance of the power plant therefore particular attention
is paid to the Kaplan turbine installed at Brno-Kníničky. Consequently, this
presentation shows the high value of the power plant that is part of the
Brno dam.
Notes
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Regulation of the floodgates through
fuzzy logic
Vladimír Sedláček
This study focuses on the possibility of controlling the floodgates of a
reservoir by means of fuzzy logic. This type of logic introduces an infinite
number of truth values that allow one a more realistic descriptions of the
world (because they reflect the concept of “vagueness”). This is especially
useful in control theory. Linguistic variables are used to create a set of
rules which dynamically determine the behaviour of the control unit in
dependence on various factors at any given moment. In this case, the
control unit are the floodgates, which regulate the amount of the water
released, and the factors are the water level and the water outflow. The
study concludes with a model that demonstrates this technique on real
data from the Brno reservoir.
Notes
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The characteristics, biology, and ecology of
cyanobacteria
Katarína Mlynáriková
Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic organisms belonging to the kingdom,
Eubacteria. They can be found in almost all aquatic and terrestrial
environments. They obtain energy through photosynthesis. Oxygen
produced during this process in Cyanobacteria has contributed to
significant changes in the atmosphere and therefore this group of
microorganisms has influenced the evolution of many life forms in the
Earth. However, a particular species of Cyanobacteria can produce toxins
which may have a harmful effect on living organisms in the ecosystem as
well as on human health.
Notes
35
Eutrophication
Eva Lukáčová
Eutrophication is a serious water pollution problem which has lasted for
decades. It can be either human-caused or natural and it is brought about
by nitrogen and phosphates. It is becoming more widespread and, for
instance, more than half of the lakes in Europe are euthropic.
Eutrophication may cause cyanobacteria blooms, which is a problem with
many negative consequences such as a decrease in water quality, the
depletion of oxygen, and the production of cyanotoxins. Some species of
cyanobacteria may experience an increase in population that negatively
affects other organisms. The negative environmental effect is a reduction
in biodiversity. The Brno reservoir, in which a large quantity of
cyanobacteria has been found in recent years, illustrates an example of
eutrophication.
Notes
36
Sedimentation velocity due to the radius and
density of particles
Karolína Klempířová
The sedimentation of particles from the drainage basin to the bottom of
reservoirs may cause serious problems. Stoke’s Law, derived from particle
buoyancy, describes the relationship between sedimentation velocity in a
gravity field, and particle density and size. By adding flow velocity to
Stoke’s Law, the distance of particle sedimentation is obtained. Applying
this new formula to real data, a theoretical model of sediment
distribution can be made. Using graphs I will demonstrate that particles
of a higher density and bigger size settle faster and in greater distance,
and this distance also increases with flow velocity and water level.
Notes
37
Sedimentation in Brno Reservoir
Ľuboš Sokol
Artificial lakes and reservoirs, such as the Brno reservoir, act as effective
traps for fluvial material. Sedimentation leads to a decrease in the
storage capacity of reservoirs. Studies of reservoir deposits also reveal
the erosion history of watershed, climatic conditions during
sedimentation, the contamination history of the area and past
environmental changes. This presentation describes the basic geology of
the Svratka river watershed and establishes the size and density of
particles deposited in the reservoir. Various methods, such as analysis of
grain size, magnetic susceptibility, analysis of isotopes (
137
Cs,
210
Pb,
238
U
concentrations), were used by Nehyba et al. (2011) to describe the fluvial
deposits of Brno reservoir and determine depositional rates. This
research showed that sedimentary succession in the reservoir consists of
two main units – a lower slightly coarse-grained unit and upper finegrained
unit. Increased concentrations of
137
Cs were attributed to the
Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986 and atomic weapon testing in 1963,
which reveals a mean depositional rate of 3.2 cm year
-1
. Finally, the
presentation compares the depositional rate in the Brno reservoir with
rates in other reservoirs.
Notes
38
Sediment removal – costs and benefits
Pavlína Vyletová
Cost-benefit analysis is an approach widely used in the economic
effectiveness evaluation of public projects. It helps in decision-making
processes to determine the most suitable alternative for a project or
policy. This presentation firstly introduces the basic steps of the costbenefit
analysis and afterwards shows its possible applications to the
evaluation of sediment management strategies in reservoirs. By way of
illustration, it shows a comparison of two alternatives, sustainable and
non-sustainable, which does not include sediment removal. In this way,
the economic effect of sediment removal can be expressed. Finally, the
presentation highlights some of the key parameters influencing the final
economical value of both alternatives.
Notes
39
History of floods and flood risk management
on the Svratka river in Brno
Dajana Snopková
The poster analyses the influence of the Brno reservoir on flood
situations on the Svratka River in Brno. It focuses on the biggest floods
before and after the construction of the Brno reservoir. However,
measurement records are available only from 1928, therefore historical
annals were used to enable longer-period analysis. This study also
provides maps of flood plains and flood risk management in connection
with the usage of urban areas, which could be useful to prevent flood
damage and casualties. As the poster indicates, floods in the Czech
Republic are the most dangerous and frequent natural disasters and
therefore it deserves more attention.
Notes:
40
Brno reservoir as a place for sport and
recreation
Martin Musil
The Brno reservoir is situated in Brno-Bystrc and it was designed to
protect this district from floods. It accumulates water and generates
hydroelectric power. But this does not account for all of its functions: it is
also an important place for recreation. The Brno reservoir is a very
popular tourist attraction of Brno with thousands of people visiting it
annually. The aim of this work is to describe its major leisure activities
and events. It focuses on the spatial analysis of sports and activities that
are offered in the areas close to the lake.
Notes: