Species Composition and Community Structure of Zooplankton in Small Rivers of the Forest-Steppe Zone

Abstract

The zooplankton communities have been studied in nine small rivers of Penza oblast. In total, 157 taxa are identified; 24 taxa are observed for first time for Penza oblast and one species is found for the first time for the Volga Region. Rotifers dominate in all studied communities. Spring zooplankton communities differ from those in summer by a high relative abundance of eurythermal species Synchaeta oblonga. Summer communities are more diverse because of the greater heterogeneity of the environment.