Dinophyceae fluctuations in two alpine lakes of contrasting size during a 10-year fortnightly survey.

Colbricon Superiore and Inferiore are two small adjacent high-mountain lakes located in the Paneveggio Natural Park (Italy) that offer the rare opportunity to study two iso-ecologic water environments differing only by area and volume in a ratio of 2:1 and 3:1, respectively. We took advantage of this setting to investigate phytoplankton dynamics, compare variability and productivity differences between the two basins, and assess size-dependent issues. The phytoplankton group of the Dinophyceae was chosen as the indicator organisms of ecological perturbation owing to their high sensitivity to environmental variations, as well as their acknowledged nature of versatile proxy to report global climatic changes.