From June 12 to June 27, 2024, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions, Elizaveta Dmitrievna Varakina, took a trip to the Kalarsky district of the Trans-Baikal Territory as part of work under the Russian Science Foundation project No. 22-14-00258 and a cooperation agreement between the A. .N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS and the Sokhondinsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve.
During the business trip, Elizaveta Dmitrievna collected samples of microscopic crustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) from different types of reservoirs in the Chara and Middle Sakukan river basins. Particular attention was paid to sampling microscopic crustaceans from Lake Bolshoye Leprindo and forest reservoirs located in its vicinity. Bolshoye Leprindo is the largest lake in the group of reservoirs of the Udokan-Chara watershed, characterized by high transparency and low mineralization. The ice from this lake melts only at the end of May - beginning of June. The microscopic crustaceans of this lake have never before been the object of special faunal studies. Due to its hydrological features, it is expected that this lake will contain a number of rare and interesting species of cladocerans and copepods, valuable for taxonomy and biogeography.
In total, during the trip E.D. Varakina collected 45 samples containing planktonic and benthic-phytophilic crustaceans. All material has been delivered to Moscow and is in the initial stages of processing. At this stage, 15 species of cladocerans and 4 species of copepods have been identified in the collected material. The first interesting find was Ilyocryptus spinifer Herrick, 1882 (Cladocera), traditionally classified as a thermophilic species with a circumtropical distribution.
In addition, Elizaveta Dmitrievna got to know the work of the Kodar National Park from the inside and tried her hand at environmental volunteering, taking part in a project to clean the shores of Lake Bolshoye Leprindo from garbage.
Work by E.D. Varakina in the Kodar National Park became possible thanks to the comprehensive assistance and support of its employees. The Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions expresses sincere gratitude to all employees of the national park for their assistance in organizing research.
As part of the concluded cooperation agreement, the Kodar National Park invites all interested scientists from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences involved in research into the biota of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to cooperate, and is waiting for them in the next field season.