Natural and anthropogenic influence on biological objects in the Danube mouth area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26565/2410-7360-2026-64-26Keywords:
Danube estuary, river run off, air temperature, water temperature, meiobenthos, SDG #14, ecological quality, coastal zone, Black SeaAbstract
Problem stastment. Recently, throughout the world there has been increased interest in the study of natural objects that occupy a special place on the earth’s surface – the estuaries of rivers and their constituent parts – deltas. The estuary area of the Danube, which belongs to the category of specific natural objects and occupies a special place on the European continent, is considered in this study. The modern anthropogenic load on this geographical object requires a scientifically based assessment of its state. One of the assessment indicators proposed is the meiofauna diversity of the estuarine region, which clearly responds to the variability of environmental conditions. The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the processes occurring in the coastal zone, which will make it possible to achieve Sustainable Development Goal #14 – Life Below Water, aimed at conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Purpose. The object of research is the river mouth area. The subject is the variability of the characteristics of natural conditions and components of biological populations with the aim of searching and possibly establishing their patterns.
Methods. A systematic approach was chosen as a methodology, which is based on considering an object as a system – a set of interacting objects, associated processes of water dynamics, seasonal season’s variability of sinoptic prcosessis, the intensity of development of biological objects, etc.
Results. The reaction of biological organisms, using the example of meiobenos, to anthropogenic impact in areas of dredging, dumping of bottom sediments, background water areas and the natural influence of river flow and seasonal temperature fluctuations is considered. It has been established that meiobenthos indicators experience significant fluctuations in density and biomass not only depending on the location of the study areas, but depend on the season of the year, so in the spring the average density during the study period of meiobenthos was 104897±15243.0 ind./m2. In summer, density indicators almost double, averaging 253077±87606.7 ind./m2. In autumn they decrease on average to 132155±4837.3 ind./m2.
Conclusion. Using the classification of ecological quality (EcoQ), based on the meiobenthic richness (S) variable, the studied water area falls into a status from poor (Poor) in the spring to satisfactory (Moderate) in the summer and autumn. The variability of the studied characteristics (total meiobenthic density) depending on temperature shows the coincidence of a pronounced maximum of meiobenthos development in the summer.
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