2025 Ecosystem Transformation 8 (1), 145-160

Water quality assessment in the Gorky Reservoir (Volga River, Russia) based on biotesting and chemical analysis

Tomilina I.I.  , Lozhkina R.A. , Gapeeva M.V.

In 2010–2022, the toxicological characteristics of the Gorky Reservoir waters were studied using the biotesting method with the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia Richard, 1894. A statistically significant decline in the fecundity of crustaceans in the lake section (regardless of the year of observation), compared to the river part of the reservoir, was recorded. The chemical composition of the surface waters of the Gorky Reservoir in September 2015 was distinguished by the excess of the maximum permissible concentration established for fishery (MPCfish), i.e. for Cu (16.8–38.3) and Zn (1.1–3.4). Their peak concentrations (38.3 and 3.4, respectively) were detected at the Sezema River station. Downstream, a gradual increase (by1.1–3.5 times) in concentrations of Sr, Mo, Si, As and V occurred, being maximum at the dam section. During the observation period, a tendency towards a decrease in the average toxicity index was noted for the reservoir as a whole. Unlike other sites, the lake section of the reservoir (regardless of the year of observation) demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the crustacean fecundity. This was due to water contamination, as evidenced by the results of correlation analysis and the presence of higher concentrations of the studied chemicals in sampling stations located within this section.

I. I. Tomilina
I.D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, leading researcher
Borok 109, Nekouzsky District, Yaroslavl Region, 152742 Russia

PhD Biology
i_tomilina@mail.ru

R. A. Lozhkina
I.D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, junior research scientist
Borok 109, Nekouz District, Yaroslavl’ Region, 152742 Russia

lozhkina.roza@yandex.ru

M. V. Gapeeva
I.D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, senior researcher
Borok 109, Nekouzsky District, Yaroslavl Region, 152742 Russia

PhD

Aleksandrova, V.V., 2009. Primenenie metoda biotestirovaniya v analize toksichnosti prirodnykh i stochnykh vod (na primere Nizhnevartovskogo raiona Tyumenskoi oblasti) [Application of the biotesting method in the analysis of the toxicity of natural and waste waters (on the example of the Nizhnevartovsk district of the Tyumen region)]. Nizhnevartovsk Humanitarian University, Nizhnevartovsk, Russia, 94 p. (In Russian).
Bakaeva, E.N., Taradayko, M.N., Ignatova, N.A., Zaporozhtsev, A.Yu., 2020. Dinamika kachestva vody reki Temernik s uchetom stepenei toksichnosti po naboru biotestov [Dynamics of water quality in the Temernik River, taking into account the degrees of toxicity according to a set of bioassays]. Vodnye bioresursy i sreda obitaniya [Aquatic Bioresources and Habitat] 3, 25–35. (In Russian). http://www.doi.org/ 10.47921/2619-1024_2020_3_3_25
Bakaeva, E.N., Taradayko, M.N., Al’-Gizzi, M.A.B., 2022. Metodologicheskie problemy otsenki toksichnosti sredy obitaniya gidrobiontov [Methodological problems of assessing the toxicity of the habitat of hydrobionts]. Tezisy Vserossiiskoi nauchnoi konferentsii “Chteniya pamyati V.I. Zhadina: k 125-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya” [Theses of the All-Russian scientific conference ”Readings in memory of V.I. Zhadin: on the 125th anniversary of his birth”]. Saint Petersburg, Russia, 14–15. (In Russian).
Byeon, E., Kang, H.M., Yoon, C., Lee, J.S., 2021. Toxicity mechanisms of arsenic compounds in aquatic
organisms. Aquatic Toxicology 237, 105901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105901
Cazzolla Gatti, R., 2016. Freshwater biodiversity: a review of local and global threats. International Journal Environmental Studies 73 (6), 887–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2016.1204133
Frolova, E.A., Bayanov, N.G., Minin, A.E., Minina, L.M., 2020. Makrozoobentos Gor’kovskogo vodokhranilishcha. Taksonomicheskaya struktura i kolichestvennoe razvitie [Macrozoobenthos of the Gorky reservoir. Taxonomic structure and quantitative development]. Trudy Mordovskogo gosudarstvennogo prirodnogo zapovednika im. P.G. Smidovicha [Proceedings of the Mordovian State Natural Reserve named P.G. Smidovich] 25, 381–392. (In Russian).
Gapeeva, M.V., 2019. Obzor dannykh po soderzhaniyu tyazhelykh metallov v pochvakh, vode, donnykh
otlozheniyakh, mkhakh v zone vliyaniya Cherepovetskoi promyshlennoi zony za period s 1961 po 2014 gody (Vologodskaya oblast’, Rossiya) [Review of data on the content of heavy metals in soils, water, bottom sediments, mosses in the zone of influence of the Cherepovets industrial zone for the period from 1961 to 2014 (Vologda region, Russia)]. Tezisy VII Vserossiiskoi nauchnoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem, posvyashchennoi 30-letiyu Instituta problem promyshlennoi ekologii Severa FITS KNC RAN i 75-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya doktora biologicheskikh nauk, professora V.V. Nikonova [Theses of the VII All-Russian scientific conference with international participation, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Institute of Industrial Ecology Problems of the North of the Federal Research Center of the Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the 75th anniversary of the birth of Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor V.V. Nikonov]. Apatity, Russia, 16–17. (In Russian).
Gerasimov, Yu.V., Malin, M.I., Solomatin, Yu.I., Kosolapov, D.B., Lazareva, V.I. et al., 2018. Itogi kompleksnogo issledovaniya struktury i funktsionirovaniya ekosistem kaskada Volzhskikh vodokhranilishch v 2017 g. [Results of a comprehensive study of the structure and functioning of the ecosystems of the Volga reservoir cascade in 2017 years]. Abstracts of the conference “Ekspeditsionnye issledovaniya na nauchno-issledovatel’skikh sudakh FANO Rossii i arhipelage Shpitsbergen v 2017 g.” [Abstracts of the conference “Expeditionary research on research vessels of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations of Russia and the Spitsbergen archipelago in 2017"]. Moscow, Russia, 178–187. (In Russian).
Igonina, M.V., Cheban, E.Yu., Volodchenko, E.V., Berdnikova, E.Yu., Rachkova, E.S. et al., 2016.
Raspredelenie pokazatelei kachestva vody v ozernoi chasti Gor’kovskogo vodokhranilishcha i na uchastke r. Volga vyshe g. N. Novgoroda v 2016 g (predvaritel’nye rezul’taty). [Distribution of water quality indicators in the lake part of the Gorky reservoir and in the section of the river. Volga above Nizhny Novgorod in 2016 year (preliminary results)]. Vestnik Volzhskoi gosudarstvennoi akademii vodnogo transporta [Bulletin of the Volga State Academy of Water Transport] 48, 129–137. (In Russian).
Kovaleva, M.I., 2003. Otsenka genotoksicheskoi aktivnosti vody Verhnei Volgi [Estimation of the genotoxic activity of the Upper Volga water]. Biologiya vnutrennikh vod [Inland Water Biology] 2, 107–111. (In Russian).
Kochetkova, M.Yu., 2010. Formirovanie kachestva vody Gor’kovskogo i Cheboksarskogo vodokhranilishch [Formation of water quality in the Gorky and Cheboksary reservoirs]. Izvestiya RAN. Seriya geograficheskaya [Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Geographic series] 2, 100–111. (In Russian).
Kopylov, A.I., Stroynov, Ya.V., Zabotkina, E.A., Romanenko, A.V., Maslennikova, T.S., 2013. Geterotrofnye mikroorganizmy i virusy v vode Gor’kovskogo vodokhranilishcha v period anomal’noi vysokoi temperatury vody [Heterotrophic microorganisms and viruses in the water of the Gorky reservoir during the period of abnormally high water temperature]. Biologiya vnutrennikh vod [Inland Water Biology] 2, 16–24. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.7868/S0320965213010075
Korneva, L.G., 2015. Fitoplankton vodokhranilishch basseina Volgi [Phytoplankton of reservoirs of the Volga basin]. Kostroma Printing House, Kostroma, Russia, 284 p. (In Russian).
Krylova, I.N., Tomilina, I.I., 2000. Otsenka toksicheskikh i mutagennykh svoistv prirodnoi vody i donnykh
otlozhenii vodokhranilishch Verhnei Volgi (territoriya Yaroslavskoi oblasti) [Evaluation of the toxic and mutagenic properties of natural water and bottom sediments of the Upper Volga reservoirs (the territory of the Yaroslavl region)]. Biologiya vnutrennikh vod [Inland Water Biology] 1, 110–117. (In Russian).
Marchenko, T.A., Izvekova, T.V., Gushchin, A.A. Grinevich, V.I., Golovkina, E.A., 2016. Kachestvo vody v pritokakh reki Volga v akvatorii Gor’kovskogo vodokhranilishcha [The quality of water in the tributaries of the river Volga in the waters of the Gorky reservoir]. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Seriya Khimiya i khimicheskaya tekhnologiya [News of Higher Educational Institutions. Series Chemistry and Chemical Technology] 59 (5), 89–94. (In Russian).
Meina, E.G., Niyogi, S., Liber, K., 2020. Investigating the mechanism of vanadium toxicity in freshwater organism. Aquatic Toxicology 229, 105648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2020.105648
Mineeva, N.M., Poddubnyy, S.A., Stepanova, I.E., Tsvetkov, A.I., 2022. Abioticheskie faktory i ih rol’ v razvitii fitoplanktona vodokhranilishch Srednei Volgi [Abiotic factors and their role in the development of phytoplankton in the reservoirs of the Middle Volga]. Biologiya vnutrennikh vod [Inland Water Biology] 6, 640–651. (In Russian). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0320965222060158
Moiseenko, T.I., Kudryavtseva, L.P., Gashkina, N.A., 2006. Rasseyannye elementy v poverkhnostnykh vodakh sushi: Tekhnofil’nost’, bioakkumulyatsiya i ekotoksikologiya [Trace elements in terrestrial surface waters: Technophilicity, bioaccumulation and ecotoxicology]. Nauka, Moscow, Russia, 261 p. (In Russian).
Mount, D.I., Norberg, T.J., 1984. A seven-day lifecycle cladoceran toxicity test. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 3, 425–434. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620030307
Ol’kova, A.S., Dabakh, E.V., 2014. Opyt interpretatsii rezul’tatov biotestirovaniya poverhnostnykh vod pri khimicheskom i radioaktivnom zagryaznenii [Experience in interpreting the results of biotesting of surface waters with chemical and radioactive contamination]. Teoreticheskaya i prikladnaya ekologiya [Theoretical and Applied Ecology] 3, 21–28. (In Russian).
Ol’kova, A.S., Makhanova, E.V., 2018. Vybor biotestov dlya ekologicheskikh issledovanii vod, zagryaznyonnykh mineral’nymi formami azota [Selection of bioassays for ecological studies of waters polluted with mineral forms of nitrogen]. Voda i ekologiya: problemy i resheniya [Water and Ecology: Problems and Solutions] 4 (76), 70–81. (In Russian).
Rivers of Europe, 2022. 2nd Edition. Tickner, K. et al. (eds.). Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 924 p.
https://doi.org/10.1016/C2017-0-03745-X
Rylina, O.N., Karygina, N.V., Popova, O.V., Popova, E.S., Galley, E.V. et al., 2013. Otsenka stepeni zagryazneniya osnovnykh vodotokov del’ty r. Volgi [Assessment of the degree of pollution of the main watercourses of the delta of the river Volga]. Nauchnyi potentsial regionov na sluzhbu modernizatsii [The Scientific Potential of the Regions at the Service of Modernization] 2 (5), 74–79. (In Russian).
Sharma, V.K., Sohn, M., 2009. Aquatic arsenic: toxicity, speciation, transformations, and remediation. Environ International 35 (4), 743–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2009.01.005
Sokal, R.R., Rohlf, F.J., 1995. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA, 887 p.
Tatarnikov, V.O., Gavrilova, E.В., 2019. Mnogoletnyaya dinamika i prognoz stoka tyazhelykh metallov
na Nizhnei Volge v svyazi s realizatsiei gosudarstvennoi programmy “Ozdorovlenie Volgi” [Multiyear
dynamics and forecast of heavy metal runoff in the Lower Volga in connection with the implementation
of the state programme “Volga rehabilitation”] Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta.
Seriya: Geografiya. Geoekologiya [Herald of Voronezh State University. Series: Geography.
Geoecology] 1, 85–91. (In Russian).
Taylor, H.E., 2001. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Practices and techniques, Academic Press, San Diego, USA, 294 p.
Tomilina, I.I., Gapeeva, M.V., Lozhkina, R.A., 2018. Ekotoksikologicheskaya otsenka kachestva vody i donnykh otlozhenii [Ecotoxicological assessment of the quality of water and bottom sediments]. In: Lazareva, V.I. (ed.), Struktura i funktsionirovanie Rybinskogo vodokhranilishcha v nachale XXI veka [The structure and functioning of the Rybinsk Reservoir at the beginning of the 21st century]. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 371–388. (In Russian).
Tyukanova, K.A., Spirina, A.A., Izvekova, T.V., Gushchin, A.A., 2019. Monitoring prirodnykh vod i donnykh otlozhenii malykh rek Gor’kovskogo vodokhranilishcha [Monitoring of natural waters and bottom sediments of small rivers of the Gorky reservoir]. Tezisy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnotekhnicheskoi konferentsii “Innovacionnye podkhody v reshenii sovremennykh problem ratsional’nogo ispol’zovaniya prirodnykh resursov i okhrany okruzhayushchei sredy” [Theses of the International Scientific and Technical Conference “Innovative approaches to solving modern problems of rational use of natural resources and environmental protection”]. Alushta, Russia, 103–110. (In Russian).
Zakonnov, V.V., 2015. Raionirovanie vodokhranilishch Volgi po usloviyam sedimentatsii [Zoning of the Volga reservoirs according to the conditions of sedimentation]. Materialy mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoprakticheskoi konferentsii “Geografiya i region” [Proceedings of the international scientific and practical conference “Geography and Region”]. Perm, Russia, 31–37. (In Russian).
Zhang, W., Miao, A.J., Wang, N.X., Li, C., Sha, J. et al., 2022. Arsenic bioaccumulation and biotransformation in aquatic organisms. Environ International 163, 107221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107221
Zhmur, N.S., 2018. Ekotoksikologicheskii kontrol’. Priemy issledovanii i laboratornaya praktika [Ecotoxicological control. Research methods and laboratory practice]. Akvaros, Moscow, Russia, 472 p. (In Russian).