Screening of Phytoplankton Dynamics: Assessing Reservoir Ecosystem Health under Thermal Pollution from an Electrical Power Plant in the Pechora River Basin, European North

Elena Patova, Julia Shabalina, Michael Sivkov, Sophia Barinova

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

For the first time, we investigated species composition, phytoplankton community structure, and hydrochemical parameters in the artificial cooling reservoir of a major thermal power plant (TPP) in northeastern Europe located in the Pechora River basin (Komi Republic). Our research, conducted during June and August, revealed a total of 81 species of algae and cyanobacteria, with cyanobacteria predominating. Among these cyanobacteria and microalgae (Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta), algae that serve as reliable indicators of water quality were identified. The assessment of water quality based on abundance and species composition of indicator phytoplankton species revealed that the waters of the Pechorskoe Reservoir belong to the III class (β-mesosaprobic or moderately polluted). This indicates that water quality is satisfactory, and the reservoir retains the ability to self-purify. The power plant’s discharges heat the surface layers, increasing plankton communities’ diversity, abundance, and biomass. Such stable warming in the upper layers throughout the season, uncommon for natural water bodies in the north, results in a slight increase in the trophic status of the studied reservoir, supported by hydrochemical analysis. These results provide valuable information about ecosystem functioning under temperature increasing for predicting changes in the phototrophic biota of small northern reservoirs facing the impacts of climate change.

Original languageEnglish
Article number71
JournalLife
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Keywords

  • European North
  • Pechorskoe Reservoir
  • bioindicators
  • diversity
  • phytoplankton
  • thermal impact
  • water quality indices

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Paleontology

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