The State of Benthic Communities and Water Quality Evaluation in the Cheboksary Reservoir.

Nazarova, L. B.; Semenov, V. F.; Sabirov, R. M.; Efimov, I. Yu.

Present-day quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the Cheboksary Reservoir have been investigated, and data on the biological diversity of benthic organisms have been compared to those of hydrobiological studies carried out in the region prior to the reservoir construction. The reservoir bottom communities include 75 species and forms of benthos. The reservoir water quality has been evaluated using different methods, including the determination of the degree of morphological structure abnormalities in chironomid larvae, regarded as sublethal indicators of bottom sediment pollution with toxic substances.

BENTHOS; WATER quality biological assessment; WATER quality monitoring; WATER quality management; RESERVOIRS; AQUATIC biology; WATER pollution; MARINE sediments

Water Resources, 2004, Vol 31, Issue 3, p316

0097-8078

Academic Journal

10.1023/B:WARE.0000028702.74325.c5