Chironomidae larvae in hypersaline waters of the Crimea: diversity, distribution, abundance and production

Figures & data

Figure 1. Distribution of the hypersaline water bodies in Crimea.

Table I. Characteristics of Crimean hypersaline water bodies, where Chironomidae larvae were identified.

No.	Date	Water body	Coordinates	S (g/L)	T (°C)	рН
1	11 August 2015	Sivash Bay (plankton)	45°24ʹN, 35°19ʹE	65	30	−
2	11 August 2015	Sivash Bay (mats)	45°24ʹN, 35°19ʹE	65	30	−
3	11 August 2015	Sivash Bay (benthos)	45°24ʹN, 35°19ʹE	65	30	−
4	15 August 2015	Lake Aygulskoe	45°56ʹN, 34°03ʹE	82	31	−
5	16 August 2015	Lake Bakalskoye	45°45ʹN, 33°11ʹE	58	29	−
6	10 August 2015	Lake Aktashskoye, Point 4	45°24ʹN, 35°51ʹE	25	28	−
7	15 August 2015	Lake Kiyatskoye	46°00ʹN, 33°58ʹE	185	28	−
8	3 October 2014	Lake Aktashskoye, Point 1	45°23ʹN, 35°48ʹE	220	17	−
9	1 October 2014	Lake Kiyatskoye	46°00ʹN, 33°58ʹE	180	15	7.87
10	5 October 2014	Lake Dzharylhatch	45°34ʹN, 32°51ʹE	105	16	−
11	1 October 2014	Sivash Bay	45°24ʹN, 35°19ʹE	65	19	8.04
12	5 October 2014	Lake Moinakskoye	45°11ʹN, 33°19ʹE	45	16	−
13	4 October 2014	Lake Bakalskoye	45°45ʹN, 33°11ʹE	37	15	8.44
14	4 October 2014	Lake Kuchuk-Adjigol	45°06ʹN, 35°27ʹE	30	11	8.63
15	9 August 2013	Lake Bolshoi Kipchak	45°22ʹN, 32°31ʹE	145	34	7.72
16	5 August 2013	Lake Aktashskoye, Point 1	45°23ʹN, 35°48ʹE	130	29	8.77
17	5 August 2013	Lake Aktashskoye, Point 2	45°24ʹN, 35°50ʹE	130	30	7.96
18	9 August 2013	Lake Adjibaichikskoye	45°15ʹN, 33°05ʹE	127	35	8.77
19	9 August 2013	Lake Oyburskoye	45°18ʹN, 33°04ʹE	114	31	8.26
20	8 August 2013	Lake Achi	45°09ʹN, 35°25ʹE	65	29	8.69
21	7 August 2013	Pond near v. Ptashkino	45°09ʹN, 36°10ʹE	42	28	8.89
22	5 August 2013	Lake Aktashskoye, Point 3	45°21ʹN, 35°48ʹE	40	28	8.55
23	12 April 2013	Lake Aygulskoe	45°56ʹN, 34°03ʹE	150	17	−
24	9 August 2012	Lake Bolshoi Kipchak	45°22ʹN, 32°31ʹE	280	27	6.85
25	9 August 2012	Lake Adjibaichikskoye	45°15ʹN, 33°05ʹE	250	31	5.75
26	8 August 2012	Lake Adzhigol	45°06ʹN, 35°28ʹE	210	30	6.68
27	9 August 2012	Lake Dzharylhatch	45°34ʹN, 32°51ʹE	145	26	6.67
28	4 August 2012	Lake Tobechikskoye	45°11ʹN, 36°18ʹE	140	33	−

S – salinity, Т – temperature.

Figure 2. Dependence of frequency of Chironomidae larvae occurrence on salinity in Crimean hypersaline waters.

Figure 3. Ranges of salinity tolerance for chironomid species in Crimean water bodies.

Table II. Abundance, biomass and production of chironomid larvae in Crimean hypersaline waters.

No.	Species	Abundance (ind./m^3)	Biomass (mg/m^3)	Production (J/m^3∙day)
1	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	20	7.67	0.25
2	Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	2820*	705.00**	24.93***
3	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	1667*	1250.00**	36.45***
4	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	10	7.50	0.22
5	Paratanytarsus sp.	10	0.50	0.02
6	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	100	17.50	0.66
7	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	2967	880.00	30.35
8	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	1633	583.33	6.98
9	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911), Tanytarsus gr. mendax Kieffer, 1925	1040	897.00	7.82
10	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	2560	1740.00	17.14
11	Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	25	1.25	0.02
12	Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	25	12.50	0.13
13	Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	20	10.00	0.10
14	Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908), Tanytarsus gr. mendax Kieffer, 1925	90	24.00	0.19
15	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	200	179.09	6.94
16	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	1590	467.00	14.91
17	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	700	1566.00	37.54
18	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	-****	-****	-****
19	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	80	31.00	1.10
20	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911), Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	880	685.00	18.35
21	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	60	103.00	2.21
22	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	170	96.00	2.52
23	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	20	5.00	0.06
24	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	1260	700.00	17.02
25	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	240	150.00	4.89
26	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	380	296.00	8.58
27	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	680	234.00	5.73
28	Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	20	10.00	0.40

No. – sample number from Table I; * – abundance, ind./m²; ** – biomass, mg/m²; *** – production, J/m²∙day; **** – qualitative sample.

Figure 4. Dependence of log concentration of Chironomidae larvae on (a) salinity and (b) temperature in plankton of Crimean hypersaline waters.

Figure 5. The average monthly abundance of Chironomidae larvae in plankton of Crimean hypersaline waters.

Table III. Coefficients of power dependence (Equation 3) “mass (mg) – length (mm)” of Baeotendipes noctivagus larvae in different Crimean hypersaline habitats.

No.	S (g/L)	n (ind.)	Length range (mm)	Mass range (mg)	R	Coefficients of the Equation (3)
						a	b
7	185	178	1.5–8.0	0.063–0.750	0.997	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.189 ± 0.009
8	220	49	2.0–9.0	0.063–1.750	0.982	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.360 ± 0.019
9	180	103	2.0–9.0	0.050–2.333	0.985	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.442 ± 0.011
10	105	128	2.0–10.0	0.056–2.250	0.993	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.282 ± 0.011
15	145	23	3.0–9.0	0.067–2.688	0.973	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.194 ± 0.029
16	130	169	2.0–7.5	0.063–1.938	0.977	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.194 ± 0.022
17	130	70	2.0–11.0	0.050–4.875	0.992	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.512 ± 0.017
20	65	32	5.5–11.0	0.635–2.667	0.991	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.446 ± 0.024
22	40	23	2.0–12.0	0.038–4.000	0.981	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.460 ± 0.026
24	280	63	2.5–9.5	0.050–2.000	0.986	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.322 ± 0.011
27	145	35	2.0–7.0	0.053–1.250	0.991	0.0102 ± 0.0065	2.428 ± 0.013

No. – sample number from Table I; n – number of measured individuals; S – salinity; R – coefficient of correlation between log length and log mass. [AQ]

Figure 6. Dependence of (a) biomass and (b) production of Chironomidae larvae on salinity in plankton of Crimean saline waters.

Table IV. Chironomid species in hypersaline waters worldwide.

Species	S (g/L)	Country	References
Chironominae
Chironomini
Baeotendipes noctivagus (Kieffer, 1911)	280	Crimea	Own data
Chironomus sp.	285	Lake Bulack (near Caspian Sea)	(Suworow 1908)
Chironomus anthracinus Zetterstedt, 1860	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Chironomus (Chironomus) plumosus (Linnaeus, 1758)	117	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Chironomus riparius Meigen, 1804	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Chironomus salinarius Kieffer, 1915	76	Mediterranean region, Aral Sea	(Drake & Arias 1995; Mirabdullayev et al.2004; Velasco et al. 2006)
Dicrotendipes nervosus (Staeger, 1839)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Glyptotendipes (Phytotendipes) barbipes (Staeger, 1839)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Glyptotendipes gripekoveni (Kieffer, 1913)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Microchironomus (Cryptochironomus) deribae (Freeman, 1957)	42	Eurasia, Africa	(Laville & Tourenq 1967)
Microchironomus (Cryptochironomus) tener (Kieffer, 1918)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanytarsini
Paratanytarsus sp.	58	Crimea	Own data
Tanytarsus sp.	117	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanytarsus barbitarsis Freeman, 1961	170	Southern Australia	(Kokkinn 1986)
Tanytarsus fimbriatus Reiss et Fittkau, 1971	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanytarsus gr. mendax Kieffer, 1925	180	Crimea	Own data
Orthocladiinae
Cricotopus gr. сylindraceus (Kieffer, 1908)	65	Crimea	Own data
Cricotopus (Isocladius) ornatus Meigen, 1818	117	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Cricotopus (Isocladius) sylvestris (Fabricius, 1794)	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Cricotopus (Isocladius) trifasciatus (Meigen, 1810)	117	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Cricotopus zavreli Szadziewski et Hirvenoja, 1981	84	Poland, Ukraine, Caucasus,Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan	(Szadziewski & Hirvenoja 1981)
Halocladius (Psammocladius) braunsi (Goetghebuer, 1942)	40	Europe	(Hirvenoja & Der Gattung 1973)
Halocladius mediterraneus Hirvenoja, 1973	63–70	Mediterranean region	(Por & Ben-Tuvia 1981; El-Shabrawy& El Sayed 2005)
Halocladius (Halocladius) variabilis (Staeger, 1839)	76	Spain	(Velasco et al. 2006)
Halocladius (Halocladius) varians (Staeger, 1839	60–75	North East England	(Sutcliffe 1960; Bayly 1972)
Hydrobaenus olfa Zerguine et Rossaro, 2010	102	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Limnophyes sp.	64	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Orthocladius sp.	50	Russia (Lake Baskunchak)	(Belyanina et al. 2014)
Psectrocladius (Psectrocladius) limbatellus (Holmgren, 1869)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Psectrocladius (Allopsectrocladius) obvius (Walker, 1856)	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Psectrocladius (Allopsectrocladius) platypus (Edwards, 1929)	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Psectrocladius (Psectrocladius) sordidellus (Zetterstedt, 1838)	102	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanypodinae
Pentaneurini
Ablabesmyia longistyla (Fittkau, 1962)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Xenopelopia falcigera (Kieffer, 1911)	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Procladiini
Procladius (Holotanypus) choreus (Meigen, 1804)	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanypodini
Tanypus kraatzi (Kieffer, 1912)	114	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)
Tanypus punctipennis Meigen, 1818	70	Algeria	(Zerguine 2014)

S – maximum salinity.

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