Biologists from Moscow State University studied the habitat conditions of green sulfur bacteria living in reservoirs separating from the White Sea, as well as the ability of microorganisms to absorb sunlight of a certain wavelength. The new study is reported in a press release received by Lenta.ru.
The researchers found that the water column in the five bodies of water consists of several layers, like a sandwich: a fresh surface layer, a salty anoxic bottom layer, and an intermediate chemocline layer. In addition, biologists estimated the number of different types of green sulfur bacteria in different layers and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments contained in bacteria. In addition, the features of the propagation of light in the water column were analyzed.
According to scientists, the study will help determine the current ecological state of the Arctic reservoirs, experiencing the negative impact of humans. As a result of the construction of new road and rail bridges, as well as the construction of tidal power plants, water bodies isolated from the sea appear in some areas, in which stagnation and the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide occur. In such reservoirs, accumulations of phototrophic microorganisms appear - green sulfur bacteria, whose existence indicates an unfavorable ecological state of the aquatic ecosystem.
The reservoirs separated from the White Sea are important research objects for science due to their small size. In the area of the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea, there are about a dozen such water bodies. In the process of studying them, it is possible to make predictions for larger natural objects, the study of which is a more laborious task.