ASP REPRODUCTION PECULIARITIES IN THE WATERS NEAR AKHMAT AND ZOLOTOYE VILLAGES

The purpose of research is to study the features of the reproduction of asp (Aspius aspius), which is a valuable commercial fish species, in the waters near the villages Akhmat and Zolotoe of the middle zone of the Volgograd reservoir, in the Krasnoarmeysk District of the Saratov Region. The collection of ichthyological material was carried out from July to September 2017–2022 in shallow areas of the middle zone of the Volgograd reservoir near the villages Akhmat and Zolotoe, located at a distance of about 37 km along the coastline from each other. The choice of accounting stations is due to the presence of opposite hydrological and hydrochemical conditions in these water areas, which makes it possible to characterize the situation with the reproduction of fish in the middle zone of the Volgograd reservoir. Water area of Zolote village is a bay, which is characterized by a low level of oxygen. The water area of the reservoir near the village Akhmat is located on the current, the oxygen regime is favorable here. Soil at the station near the village Zolotoe is represented by silted sand, and near the village Akhmat – sand with a small amount of stones and silt. The fry samples were fixed with 4 % formalin solution. To assess the efficiency of fish reproduction, a five-point scale for the yield of their juveniles was used. It was revealed that the efficiency of asp reproduction fluctuates along with the reproduction of fish in general (from 0 to 874 ind/ha for the water area near the village of Zolote and from 0 to 51 ind/ha for the water area near the village of Akhmat), which, in turn, is due to first of all, the dynamics of level and temperature regimes, as well as the reproduction of non-commercial species such as bleak. The water area near Zolotoe has better conditions for the reproduction of asp in comparison with the water area near the village Akhmat.