Benthic Communities of Coastal Water Bodies at Different Stages of Isolation from the White Sea in the Vicinity of the White Sea Biological Station, Moscow State University, Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea

Abstract

Communities of macrozoobenthos in the White Sea coastal water bodies that have partially or completely lost connection with the sea as a result of postglacial land uplift, are studied. As the degree of isolation from the sea increases, stable vertical stratification with a tendency to meromixis and gradual dilution of seawater provide the conditions for the formation of an unusual composition of macrofauna and succession, from a normal or slightly depleted marine biome to a completely freshwater ecosystem. Data collected in the years 2012–2017 present the macrozoobenthos community of five marine lagoons and four meromictic lakes in comparison with the marine communities of Kislaya Inlet, which connects the two water bodies studied, and with the freshwater lakes of the Kindo Peninsula. The typology of the water bodies was carried out according to the degree of isolation, taking into account the hydrological regime and differences in fauna lists. A naturally determined change in bottom communities occurs as the degree of isolation of the water body from the sea increases. In marine lagoons, regularly flooded by tides, there is a community of Macoma balthica (L. 1758)–Pontonema vulgare (Bastian 1865) Filipjev 1916, widespread in the marine littoral. In more isolated lagoon-type water bodies with a similar set of species, Mytilus edulis L. 1758 and Mya arenaria L. 1758 make up a significant share in biomass in addition to M. balthica. The populations of the gastropod mollusk Hydrobia ulvae (Pennant 1777) are much developed here. Even at this stage, the fauna comprises more littoral eurybionts (H. ulvae, M. balthica, M. arenaria, M. edulis, Arenicola marina (L. 1758), Tubificoides benedeni (d’Udekem 1855), chironomids, etc.) and less sublittoral stenohaline forms. At the next stage, H. ulvae dominates by biomass, and the share of the chironomid Chironomus gr. salinarius and oligochaete T. benedeni increases as well. Insects and their larvae (beetles, chironomids, and other dipterans) settle in shallow areas. In meromictic lakes, where a salt aerobic layer is preserved under the pycnocline, the fauna of the mixolimnion mainly comprises insect larvae, while only a few euryhaline forms remain from the marine fauna, namely, the amphipod Gammarus duebeni Lilljeborg 1852 and the chironomid Ch. gr. salinarius. At the stage of complete isolation from the sea, conditions are anaerobic below the pycnocline and, despite the suitable salinity, there is no marine fauna. In such water bodies, the benthos is represented exclusively by freshwater forms, mainly insects and mollusks. In completely freshwater bodies, chironomids make up the majority of the biomass; each lake has its own set of species, which changes from year to year. In the fresh water of Nizhnee Ershovskoe Lake, the population of G. duebeni remains in the part of the lake closest to the sea. The species diversity decreases as the water body is isolated from the sea; the maximum number of species was found in marine lagoons near Sonostrov Island (23–34 species); in Kislo-Sladkoe Lake, 10–15 species are found per survey. In Bol’shie Khruslomeny Lake, the aerobic part of the monimolimnion has a critical salinity and the species diversity is minimal (6–10 species). The number of species increases again after a stable fresh layer appears in the water body. The quantitative characteristics of the macrobenthos change in a similar way. The maximum abundance were noted in marine lagoons; in Kislo-Sladkoe Lake, the average abundance is significantly lower. In the meromictic water bodies with a fresh mixolimnion, the maxima of abundance and biomass are observed in the upper 0.5-m water layer, while in marine lagoons the maxima are located in the depth range of 1.0–2.5 m; in addition, in less isolated water bodies, the maximum biodiversity is observed in deeper layers than in more isolated ones. This layer is characterized by the highest content of dissolved oxygen, and often by supersaturation. The benthos abundance varies greatly in freshwater bodies.