Phytoplankton composition and pigment concentrations as indicators of water quality in the Rybinsk reservoir

Long-term changes in phytoplankton (1954–1981) and chlorophyll (1969–1984) and their spatial distribution in summer 1989 were studied in the Rybinsk reservoir (second largest reservoir of the Volga River, North-West Russia). Estimation of trophic status and saprobity of the reservoir was based on phytoplankton biomass and species composition and chlorophyll content. The most eutrophic waters were found to occupy the peripheral areas in littoral zone and river inflows of the reservoir, while the waters in the central part of the basin were less eutrophic. Long-term changes of the phytoplankton biomass, chlorophyll, chlorophyll/biomass-ratio and saprobity index observed in the central part of the reservoir were analyzed by statistical methods. An increase in saprobity and an inverse relationship between chlorophyll/biomass-ratio and water transparency demonstrate progressive eutrophication in the central part of the reservoir. Two distinct periods (1954–1970 and 1971–1984) could be discerned on the basis of annual mean phytoplankton biomass values. For the earlier period a relationship between biomass and climatic factors (solar radiation and wind velocity) could be established, but no such correlation could be found for the latter period. There was no significant increase in the phytoplankton biomass during the monitoring period, but a definite increase in the proportion of small-sized species of centric diatoms, cryptomonads and blue-greens. These forms are considered as r-strategists in the community, and their increase is interpreted as a sign of eutrophication.