Peculiarities of macrozoobenthos structure formation in riffles of the Karelian coast of the White sea

Species composition, abundance and biomass of macrozoobenthos were investigated in the riffles of the Karelian coast of the White Sea. The longitudinal dynamics of benthic communities’ structure is weak due to the stony-bottomed riffles almost throughout the rivers. Local factors can cause significa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological Studies
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Russian
Published: Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2015
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.17076/eco36
https://doaj.org/article/732fa3558e57491f91498ecc8668ecd6
Description
Summary:Species composition, abundance and biomass of macrozoobenthos were investigated in the riffles of the Karelian coast of the White Sea. The longitudinal dynamics of benthic communities’ structure is weak due to the stony-bottomed riffles almost throughout the rivers. Local factors can cause significant changes in the structure of macrozoobenthos. Thus, the communities with high level of filter-feeders biomass (net-weaving caddis fly larvae, the midge larvae, bivalves) are formed in the river sites downstream from the drainage lakes. In the areas affected by salty sea waters (parts of the river mouth), macrozoobenthos structure is significantly depleted. Local landscape features should be considered when describing the longitudinal changes in macrozoobenthos structure of rivers.