Lake Leqinat hosts diverse
aquatic life, representing an important ecosystem within the Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park. The lake serves as a refuge for various species in this
biodiversity hotspot of the Balkan Peninsula.
Flora The
phytoplankton community in Lake Leqinat is diverse and dominated by three main
algal groups:
chrysophycean (golden algae),
cryptophycean, and
chlorophycean algae. The chrysophycean genus
Uroglena is particularly abundant, reaching its highest densities at around 2 metres depth and accounting for approximately 80.5% of the total algal biovolume.
Cryptomonas marssonii, a cryptophycean species, represents about 9.5% of the biomass and is most concentrated in intermediate depth layers, while the chlorophycean
Oocystis solitaria is more evenly distributed throughout the water column. The lake features donsiderable
diatom diversity, with 391
benthic and
periphytic diatom species documented, including several rare and endangered species from Central and Eastern European
flora. The recently discovered
Neidiopsis borealis is also present in the lake.
Aquatic plant vegetation is well-developed, with large areas of the lake bottom covered by
Chara contraria, extending down to the deepest parts. In shallower regions,
Potamogeton alpinus (alpine pondweed) is present, while the shoreline is predominantly lined with
Carex vesicaria (bladder sedge). This vegetation typically occurs in
oligo- to
mesotrophic alpine lakes.
Fauna The
zooplankton community of Lake Leqinat is characterised by relatively low diversity but stable populations. Five species of euplanktonic
rotifers have been documented, with
Anuraeopsis fissa and
Polyarthra luminosa dominating the community, together constituting about 62.7% of the zooplankton biomass. The water flea
Daphnia longispina is the only cladoceran species present in the lake, with its density increasing with depth. A more diverse rotifer fauna inhabits the benthic Chara mats, where researchers have identified 25 rotifer species in total. Seven
nematode taxa have been observed in the sediment and periphytic samples, with
deposit feeder like
Monhystera and
Plectida being most abundant—these organisms play essential roles in the ecological functioning of the lake's food web. Six adult trichopteran (
caddisfly) species have been found at Lake Leqinat:
Limnephilus centralis,
L. flavospinosus,
L. flavicornis,
L. stigma,
Agrypnia varia, and
Oligotricha striata. Three of these species—
L. flavospinosus,
L. flavicornis, and
O. striata—represent new records for Kosovo's fauna, with
O. striata being particularly rare in the Balkan Peninsula. The alpine newt (
Ichthyosaura alpestris) is the only amphibian species recorded in Lake Leqinat and serves as the top predator in this ecosystem. A mark-recapture study estimated the population at nearly 4,000 adult individuals (roughly 1,500 females and 2,400 males), corresponding to a density of 0.24 individuals per square metre. All observed specimens were of the metamorphic phenotype, with males having a median snout-vent length of 42.2 mm and females 49.15 mm. The lake remains free of fish, which has allowed the preservation of its natural ecological balance and unique invertebrate communities that might otherwise be threatened by
introduced predatory species. ==See also==