Structure of the zoobenthos communities from Dubasari and Kuchurgan reservoir based on the zoogeographic classification

Abstract

The Dubasari reservoir is located on the river Nistru, while the Kuchurgan reservoir is a lake type and serves as a cooling reservoir for the Moldovan Thermal Power Plant. Reservoir zoobenthos is mainly formed of thermophilous Palearctic species of the Holarctic region (mainly oligochaetes and chironomids), including PontoCaspian relicts (polychaetes, higher crustaceans, and mollusks). There are 18 species of Ponto-Caspian relicts in the Dubasari reservoir and 25 species in the Kuchurgan reservoir. North American and Southeast Asian introduced species in the zoobenthos of the Dubasari reservoir are represented by one species, and in the Kuchurgan reservoir by three species. The most significant commonality (0,74 according to the Sorensen index) and similarity (0,59 according to the Jaccard index) of the species composition of zoobenthos are typical for the Ponto-Caspian fauna of reservoirs.