From June 15 to June 25, 2024, a business trip of Arina Raldugina and Danila Sotnikov to the Buzuluksky Bor National Park took place within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Buzuluksky Bor National Park.
During the trip, Arina Olegovna and Danil Andreevich collected samples of microscopic crustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) and algae, as well as representatives of parasitic invertebrates localized in the eyes and intestines of fish from different types of water bodies in the Samara and Koltubanka river basins. All collected material will be analyzed using morphological and molecular genetic methods in accordance with modern standards adopted in the taxonomy of each studied group. In 2024, the main focus is planned to be on the qualitative determination of the species composition of algae and invertebrates in the samples and analyzing the most common groups (desmids and diatoms, cladocerans, copepods and shell crustaceans, larvae of some insect groups).
Based on the data from the material processing, preliminary lists of species and a working collection of microscopic algae and invertebrates of the Buzuluksky Bor National Park will be prepared by December 2024. The results obtained will be presented in collaboration with the staff of the National Park at one of the conferences on the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems held in Russia in 2025.
