Features of the Plankton Community in the Dynamic Conditions of the Lock Chambers of the Lenin Volga–Don Shipping Canal

The state of the plankton community in the locks of the Volga–Don shipping canal (VDSK) and adjacent sections of the unregulated Volga River and the Tsimlyansk Reservoir was investigated. It includes 195 species of algae, about 65 species of ciliates, and 100 species of zooplankton. The low similarity of the composition of all components of the plankton community between individual sluices made it possible to reach a conclusion about the special conditions created in each of them and the formation of a high species richness of all components of the plankton community due to specific species-plankters developing in individual sluices. All components of the planktonic community (phyto-, proto-, and metazooplankton) included alien species of “southern” complexes. In sluice chambers, despite constant turbulence, the mortality rate of zooplankters was low. The greatest mortality among the representatives of metazooplankton was observed for filtrators (Rotifera and Cladocera) and was recorded in the end locks of the Volga and Don stairs of the VDSK with high rates of turbidity and mineralization.