Bioindication using diversity and ecology of algae of the Alakol lake, Kazakhstan

The aim of present study were to reveal species-indicators of the Alakol Lake communities and assess the water quality with bioindication and statistical methods. Algal communities in the Alakol Lake Natural State Reserve were studied in 21 samples collected during August 2015-2017 summer field trips. Altogether 208 algal species from five taxonomic Divisions were indicators of ten water properties: temperature, oxygenation, organic pollution, salinity, trophic state of the water, and nutrition type of algal species. It was the first experience of the bioindicational approach implementation for ecological assessment of water quality in the Alakol Lake. Diatom species, which are most indicative, strongly prevailed in the three studied areas of the lake. We revealed that algal species can characterize the water of the lake as low alkaline, low saline, temperate, middle oxygenated water with low-to middle organic pollution that comes from Koktuma and Kamyskala areas and decrease from north to south. The lake tropic state and intensity of self-purification are also increase from north to south. Algal communities aremostly represented by periphytonic and benthic autotrophic species. Statistical analysis of species-environment relationships revealed that most of species preferred to survive in communities with complicated structure which formed in low organically polluted waters. Bioindication assess the Alakol Lake as oligotrophic and meso-eutrophic, of Class 2 and 3 of Water Quality with high level of self-purification capacity.