Macrozoobenthos of Lakes Beloe and Kolyvanskoe (Northwestern Altai) and the main ecological factors of its formation

Abstract

In comparison with the large volume of work on lakes located in lowland territories, only scattered information about their ecosystems was available for lakes located in foothill (low-mountain) areas, both in Russia and worldwide. Foothill lakes differ significantly from high-mountain and lowland lakes in both physical and biological properties. In May, July and September 2022, the current state of Lakes Beloe and Kolyvanskoe was studied in the north-west of Altai (Russia). The composition and structure of macrozoobenthos, as well as the main ecological factors of its formation (morphometric, physical and hydrochemical) are revealed. A total of 90 species of benthic invertebrates from 8 classes were found in the zoobenthos. Zoobenthos species of Lake Beloe represented the most diverse compare to Lake Kolyvanskoe. In terms of zoobenthos biomass, the lakes corresponded to mesotrophic lakes. Most of the bioindication indices characterized the water of the studied lakes as "very clean" and "clean". The greatest influence on the level of macrozoobenthos development in the low-mountain lakes Beloe and Kolyvanskoe is exerted by factors that determine salinity, the content of organic matter and their decomposition products in water, as well as the features of the soil.