Characterization of the zooplankton species composition in the Lower Don

In this paper, the data on zooplankton species composition of the Lower Don are presented for the vegetation periods of 2016–2018 in the context of seasonal changes (spring, summer and autumn). Literature data on species composition of the zooplankton community are given for the years before the Don River had been regulated, and for the subsequent decades. Long-term changes in species composition of the zooplankton community have been analyzed. Based on the conducted studies, dominant groups of zooplankton have been identified, as well as dominant species among them. Thus, in the spring seasons, rotifers were the most abundant and dominant zooplankton group; in the summer seasons, cladocerans and copepods prevailed in nearly equal measure; and in the autumn seasons, copepods prevailed. Among rotifers, species of the genus Brachionus (Pallas, 1766) prevailed, along with Euchlanis dilatata (Ehrenberg, 1832); among cladocerans, dominant species were Bosmina longirostris (O.F. Müller, 1785) and Chydorus sphaericus (O.F. Müller, 1776); among copepods, brackish-water species Calanipeda aquaedulcis (Kritszagin, 1873), Eurytemora affinis (Poppe, 1880), and Eurytemora velox (Lilljeborg, 1853) prevailed. The list of zooplankton species composition is presented; it comprises 75 taxa of holoplankton and 8 taxa of meroplankton. Based on the data from species composition of zooplankton community, it has been concluded that the ecological state of the Lower Don waters remains stable for the several recent decades.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Shlyakhova, N.A.
Other Authors:	Bragina, T.M.
Format:	Journal Contribution biblioteca
Language:	Russian
Published:	2020
Subjects:	Zooplankton, Species composition, Vegetation period, Dominant species, Seasonal variations, Aquatic communities, Eurytemora affinis, Bosmina longirostris, Eurytemora velox, Calanipeda aquaedulcis, Euchlanis dilatata,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/17249
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