Impact of Inflows on the State of Littoral Communities in Naroch Lake (Belarus)

Abstract

An assessment of the impact of streams on the state of littoral communities (phyto-, zooplankton, and macrozoobenthos) in Lake Naroch has been carried out. A similar reaction of littoral communities upon water entering from different streams is recorded. The change in zooplankton abundance correlates with that of phytoplankton and relates to the concentration of nutrient elements. The abundance of macrozoobenthos increases in the sites adjacent to the Kupa and Urliki streams, mainly due to oligochaetes, which could be related with the accumulation of organic matter by streams. The structure of community and biotic indexes indicate that the Kupa and Urliki streams have a low ecological status and impact on the state of littoral communities of Lake Naroch. However, the area affected by streams is not large due to the low water inflow.