Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Water salinity in the Small Aral Sea
| Salinity, PSU | ||
|---|---|---|
| Month, year | average | min.–max |
| June 1996 | 20.4 | – |
| June 1997 | 19.0 | 1.0–25.0 |
| June 1998 | 14.5 | 1.2–28.3 |
| June 2001 | 18.6 | 12.8–26.8 |
| June 2002 | 15.1 | 2.7–26.8 |
| August 2004 | 13.9 | 2.6–35.3 |
| May–June 2005 | 10.8 | 1.9–23.9 |
| May–June 2006 | 8.9 | 4.0–11.5 |
| July–September 2006 | 11.2 | 9.2–17.3 |
| May–June 2007 | 6.3 | 1.2–10.2 |
| August 2007 | 10.5 | – |
| June–July 2008 | 11.8 | 5.6–17.2 |
Salinity limits and optimum salinity for dominant species of macrozoobenthos in the Aral Sea
| Species name | Salinity limits, PSU | Optimum salinity, PSU | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–5literature data | our data | experimental data | our data | |
| A. ovata | 5.0–42.0 | 1.0–35.3 | 610.0–25.0 | 17.0–27.0 |
| Caspiohydrobia sp. | 6.0–42.0 | 10.0–35.3 | no data | 17.0–27.0 |
| C. glaucum | 7.0–36.0 | 10.0–35.3 | 38.1–27.3 | 17.0–27.0 |
| H. diversicolor | 0.5–40.0 | 1.0–35.3 | no data | 1.0–27.0 |
Spearman’s rank correlation coeffcients between the biomass of background species of benthic invertebrates and the water salinity of the Small Aral Sea, at p<0_05
| Month, year | Salinity, PSU | Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. ovata | H. diversicolor | Caspiohydrobia sp. | C. glaucum | ||
| June 1997 | 19.0 | 0.720 | – | 0.615 | – |
| June 1998 | 14.5 | 0.728 | – | 0.615 | – |
| June 2001 | 18.6 | – | – | – | 0.488 |
| June 2002 | 15.1 | 0.604 | – | 0.595 | 0.669 |
| August 2004 | 13.9 | 0.674 | – | 0.524 | 0.793 |
| May–June 2005 | 10.8 | 0.575 | −0.619 | – | 0.704 |
| May–June 2006 | 8.9 | – | – | – | – |
| July–September 2006 | 11.2 | 0.748 | 0.656 | – | 0.665 |
| May–June 2007 | 6.3 | 0.796 | – | – | – |
| August 2007 | 11.8 | 0.748 | 0.656 | – | 0.666 |
| June–July 2008 | – | – | – | – | – |
Long-term dynamics of quantitative variables of macrozoobenthos in different parts of the Small Aral Sea
| Year | Impact zone of the Syrdarya River | Shevchenko, Saryshyganak, and Butakov bays | Eastern part of the sea | Open sea | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abundance, specimens m−2 | |||||
| 2001 | 33 080 ± 1366 | 3960 ± 1998 | 11 110 ± 6830 | 2670 ± 1542 | 4274 ± 1229 |
| 2002 | 1184 ± 315 | 5413 ± 1183 | 11 237 ± 4304 | 3040 ± 1280 | 4540 ± 1084 |
| 2003 | 1112 ± 127 | 2301 ± 839 | 9997 ± 7624 | 2010 ± 693 | 3321 ± 1600 |
| 2004 | 280 ± 79 | 1467 ± 109 | 1774 ± 627 | 1210 ± 601 | 1014 ± 307 |
| 2005 | 628 ± 171 | 400 ± 162 | 1774 ± 1107 | 400 ± 134 | 781 ± 210 |
| 2006 | 280 ± 133 | 720 ± 600 | 1907 ± 674 | 180 ± 115 | 681 ± 261 |
| 2007 | 528 ± 92 | 453 ± 150 | 610 ± 30 | 270 ± 134 | 442 ± 73 |
| 2008 | 224 ± 78 | 373 ± 58 | 1599 ± 492 | 470 ± 112 | 641 ± 140 |
| mean | 4664 ± 4061 | 1886 ± 668 | 5001 ± 1703 | 1281 ± 406 | 1962 ± 624 |
| Biomass, g m−2 | |||||
| 1996 | 115.4 ± 30.7 | 390.9 ± 145.3 | 132.15 ± 75.4 | 95.5 ± 41.0 | 169.7 ± 43.9 |
| 1997 | 16.0 ± 3.8 | 148.7 ± 115.5 | 231.0 ± 89.5 | 130.7 ± 72.3 | 125.2 ± 40.7 |
| 1998 | 13.10 ± 3.9 | 116.1 ± 83.0 | 271.1 ± 99.2 | 157.4 ± 84.8 | 134.2 ± 40.0 |
| 2000 | 67.4 ± 35.37 | 323.5 ± 54.0 | 302.4 ± 105.5 | 144.0 ± 49.9 | 189.7 ± 41.9 |
| 2001 | 160.7 ± 75.0 | 214.9 ± 107.9 | 406.2 ± 237.4 | 182.5 ± 106.8 | 206.7 ± 48.7 |
| 2002 | 10.5 ± 2.6 | 109.4 ± 65.7 | 434.9 ± 89.2 | 249.6 ± 134.5 | 192.1 ± 53.8 |
| 2003 | 4.5 ± 1.0 | 37.5 ± 29.2 | 269.8 ± 207.8 | 147.9 ± 98.7 | 94.7 ± 50.2 |
| 2004 | 5.8 ± 2.7 | 0.6 ± 0.5 | 114.1 ± 10.3 | 68.3 ± 46.8 | 50.4 ± 18.6 |
| 2005 | 7.0 ± 0.7 | 23.7 ± 17.6 | 131.0 ± 43.0 | 21.6 ± 12.0 | 40.7 ± 17.0 |
| 2006 | 3.1 ± 1.9 | 68.5 ± 62.8 | 90.6 ± 8.9 | 18.0 ± 17.0 | 38.6 ± 15.0 |
| 2007 | 18.6 ± 5.8 | 8.2 ± 5.7 | 39.3 ± 2.7 | 26.2 ± 9.6 | 22.3 ± 5.1 |
| 2008 | 6.5 ± 2.4 | 10.9 ± 1.8 | 52.7 ± 12.9 | 15.8 ± 4.4 | 20.6 ± 4.9 |
| mean | 35.7 ± 14.9 | 121.1 ± 37.1 | 206.3 ± 38.4 | 104.8 ± 22.0 | 107.1 ± 20.6 |