Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology / Comparative Characteristics of Planktonic Communities in Locks and Reservoirs of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology. 2026 19 (1)
Authors
Tarasova, Natalya G.; Semenova, Anna S.; Mukhortova, Oksana V.; Bykova, Svetlana V.
Contact information
Tarasova, Natalya G.: Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences (Borok, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0003-2206-9095; Semenova, Anna S.: Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences (Borok, Russian Federation); Atlantic Branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution “Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography” (Kaliningrad, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0001-6932-9566; Mukhortova, Oksana V. : Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences (Borok, Russian Federation); ; ORCID: 0000-0002-4134-223X; Bykova, Svetlana V. : Samara Federal Research Center RAS, Institute of Ecology of the Volga Basin RAS (Tolyatti, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-4486-9416
Keywords
reservoir; lock; phytoplankton; ciliates; zooplankton; necrozooplankton; dominant species
Abstract

The study presents the results of investigations on components of the plankton community (phytoplankton, ciliates, and metazooplankton) in the Volga-Don Shipping Canal (VDSC) lock chambers and reservoirs (Varvarovskoye, Breslavskoye, and Karpovskoye). The water along the whole length of the canal had high electrical conductivity (relative to the Volga and Don), alkaline composition, and high temperature. All components of the plankton community of the lock chambers and reservoirs had rather similar species composition (70 %). However, the planktonic community in the canal lock chambers on opposite sides (locks 1–3 and 13) showed dramatically different compositions of the dominating species complexes. The plankton community of the Varvarovskoye reservoir was remarkable for its great species richness, good quantitative traits, and low death rates. The total biomass of the VDSC plankton population increased as it approached the Tsimlyansk reservoir, which coincided with the highest rate of phytoplankton growth. The zooplankton mortality rates were similarly low in the VDSC lock chambers and reservoirs, indicating high viability of plankton organisms despite unfavorable hydrological conditions. Invasive species, mainly of Ponto-Caspian origin, were found in all groups of the plankton community, and their mortality was low as well. Apparently, the VDSC plays an important role in the dispersal of alien species

Pages
170–194
EDN
MRTJIH
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/158251

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