Driver Sergey Izosin, Drs. of Biological Sciences Sergey Komulainen and Igor Baryshev
The expedition included Doctors of Biological Sciences Sergey Komulainen and Igor Baryshev. Such field trips are part of the long-term monitoring the laboratory has been conducting for many years. The core of the living nature in fast-flowing mountain and foothill watercourses consists of two closely interconnected components – algae and benthic invertebrates. Without their detailed study, it is impossible to understand how the freshwater ecosystem functions as a whole, and the collected material encompasses both of these components.
The laboratory's surveys span a broad latitudinal gradient – from southern Karelia to the northern limits of the Murmansk Region. This enables making comparisons between different natural zones, rather than drawing conclusions regarding a single region.
Dr. of Biological Sciences Igor Baryshev
-- Using this approach, we can trace the transformations occurring in aquatic communities towards the north. In essence, we model the changes that global warming may induce in river ecosystems. Moving along a natural temperature gradient, we see how the structure of life in the river changes, --explained Igor Baryshev.
This is what our fundamental goal is – to identify the mechanisms of matter and energy transformation in river ecosystems depending on environmental conditions. Understanding these processes is essential for predicting the future of water resources in a changing climate. Furthermore, cold-water communities are under the greatest threat: they are the most sensitive to temperature shifts, while their decline can trigger a chain of changes with consequences difficult to predict.
Generalizations of this kind rely on detailed descriptions of river ecosystems in specific drainage basins – the kind of work carried out in the Teriberka catchment. It has already been revealed through long-term studies that it is not merely the composition of inhabitants that changes in rivers from south to north, but the very principle of how life is organized – food webs become simpler, and the ecosystem becomes increasingly dependent on organic matter arriving from the catchment. Such watercourses harbor highly specialized stenobiotic species, which are especially vulnerable to any environmental changes – these are the first to disappear when temperatures rise. The question that remains open is the threshold values: at exactly what temperature increase do these systems shift to a new state.
Dr. of Biological Sciences Sergey Komulainen
The samples of attached algae and benthos collected in the Arctic tundra region are now being processed in the laboratory. Yet, it is already clear that the expedition has yielded rich material, and the institute's collections have been enriched with valuable specimens. When the processing is completed, the data will serve as a basis for developing environmental protection standards, improving bioindication methods, and updating predictive models of the state of biological resources under growing human pressure on Arctic territories.
The expedition is over but the work continues. Upcoming are months of analysis, microscopy, and statistical processing, the results of which will form the foundation for new publications and practical recommendations.
Photos: Igor Baryshev and Sergey Komulainen
