Hydrobiological Journal

Structural Changes in Phytoplankton of the Littoral Zone of Lake Baikal

Краткое описание

The species composition of phytoplankton and quantitative indices of its development were studied in the littoral zone of Lake Baikal in 2000−2015. It has been shown that in recent years the numbers of small-sized species of the genus Chlamydomonas, including Ch. komma, sharply increased (up to 7 million cells/L). In 1975−1990, these algae were not registered in plankton. Their individual specimens were found in the early 2000s. Other indicators of organic contamination represented by Euglenophyta also occurred in abundance (4−7 thousand cells/L). Previously only their individual specimens were observed in Lake Baikal. Filamentous algae of the genus Spirogyra were abundant near the Kultuk village and near the towns of Slyudyanka, Baikalsk, Severobaikalsk, and others. In this section in spring 2013, algae of the "Baikal complex" belonging to endemic organisms (Aulacoseira baicalensis (K. Meyer) Sim., Cyclotella baicalensis Skv., Stephanodiscus meyeri Genkal et Popovsk., and also spore forming A. islandica (O. Müll.) Sim.) were not found at all. Structural changes in phytoplankton and a predominance of small-sized species are indicative of the process of eutrophication of the littoral zone of the lake.