Scientific publications

The article reports the results of studying zooplankton in Lake Kamennoye. The lake belongs to the White Sea drainage basin. It is located within the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve. The lake is of glacio-tectonic origin. It occupies 1/5 of the reserve's area. Its water is poor in dissolved solids (9.5 mg/l) and contains low organic matter concentrations (0.41 mg/l total nitrogen, 0.005 mg/l total phosphorus). Surveys were conducted within an integrated program for biological monitoring of Karelia's water bodies in 2010–2012 and 2024–2025. The studies showed that the zooplankton community in Lake Kamennoye consists of species which commonly occur in Karelia and have a broad geographic distribution. A comparison of our results with data from 1972–1973 and 1992–1993 showed much consistency in the composition and abundance of zooplankton over the past 50–60 years. The results have led us to conclude that the lake is in a state similar to undisturbed natural ecosystems. Lake Kamennoye can be described as β-oligotrophic water body with an average biomass of 0.3–0.7 g/m3 in the summer season, based on the abundance of its zooplankton. Average saprobity index values of 1.18–1.24 correspond to oligosaprobic water bodies (clean natural water). Shannon's index of species diversity is 2.0–2.2 bit/individual. The variations in abundance and biomass are within the natural inter-annual fluctuation range. Thus, Lake Kamennoye ecosystem retains its natural state, indicating the efficiency of its conservation arrangements.