Geo&Bio (Jul 2019)

Alien invertebrates in Ukrainian inland waters in the context of basin approach to river management and monitoring

  • Mikhail O. Son

DOI
https://doi.org/10.15407/gb.2019.17.077
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17
pp. 77 – 84

Abstract

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Principles and methods of water ecosystems monitoring and management in Ukraine are currently in the process of large-scale reset. In Ukraine, nine river basin districts are created (Dniester, Danube, Southern Bug, Don, Vistula, Crimean rivers, Black Sea rivers, Azov Sea rivers), which are the main units of management in the field of water use and protection and the reproduction of water resources. Ukrainian river basin districts significantly differ by the diversity of alien invertebrates. 22 exotic invertebrate species were recorded: Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880, Branchiura sowerbyi Beddard, 1892, Urnatella gracilis Leidy, 1851, Lophopodella carteri (Hyatt, 1866), Pectinatella magnifica (Leidy, 1851, Physa acuta (Draparnaud, 1805), Ferrissia californica (Rowell, 1863), Potamopyrgus antipodarum (J.E. Gray, 1843), Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774), Tarebria granifera (Lamarck, 1822), Planorbella duryi (Wetherby, 1879), Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834), Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) Corbicula sp., Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853, Rhithropanopeus harrisi (Gould, 1841), Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017, Macrobrachium nippo­nense (De Haan, 1849), Eocyzicus orientalis Daday, 1915, Eucyclops roseus Ishida, 1997, Mesocyclops pehpeiensis (Hu, 1943), and Mesocyclops isabellae Dussart et Fernando, 1988. A lot of exotic species were discovered mostly in artificial waterbodies, especially, in warm-water reservoirs. The expansion of freshwater species native for the Black Sea region is difficult to assess, which needs a special retrospective historical evaluation for separate districts. Monitoring and management of species, which are historically present in the basin in context of biological invasions, should be different from exotic species monitoring and management, especially regarding risk assessment. The early detection and taxonomic identification of invaders must be centralized, as well as primary risk assessment and management of warm-water techno-ecosystems. Specific approaches to cross-border, non-controlled, and protected areas must be developed.

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