Microbiological Characteristics of the North Crimean Canal Water: A Current Status

N. V. Burdiyan*, Yu. V. Doroshenko, N. Yu. Mirzoeva, E. V. Guseva, O. V. Solovеva

A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, Russia

* e-mail: burdiyan_nv@ibss-ras.ru

Abstract

The North Crimean Canal, which supplies water to the territory of the Crimea, was closed in April 2014. After an eight-year break, in 2022, the Dnieper River water was again channelled along the riverbed of the Canal. After destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station (June 2023), the water supply stopped. To assess the current state of the canal ecosystem, microbiological studies of its aquatic environment are required. The aim of this study is to assess the current state of the waters in the North Crimean Canal and the adjacent Black Sea waters based on microbiological indicators. Between April 2022 and June 2024, water and sediment samples were collected at 13 stations. The abundance of heterotrophic, hydrocarbon-oxidising, lipolytic and phenol-oxidising bacteria in the water samples was determined using the limiting dilution method on selective media. Temperature, redox potential and dissolved oxygen content were measured. The abundance of heterotrophic bacteria in the canal bed ranged from 4.5·10² to 2.5·10⁷ cells·mL⁻¹. In 85% of the samples, this corresponded to the mesosaprobic zone (10³–10⁵ cells·mL⁻¹). Hydrocarbon-oxidising, lipolytic and phenol-oxidising bacteria were found throughout the study area. The proportion of hydrocarbon-oxidising bacteria within the heterotrophic bacterial community did not exceed 2%, indicating the absence of chronic oil pollution. A positive correlation was found between hydrocarbon-oxidising and lipolytic bacteria (R = 0.73; n = 19; α < 0.05) and between heterotrophic and phenol-oxidising bacteria (R = 0.66; n = 16; α < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the abundance of the observed microorganisms and parameters such as water temperature, redox potential and pH. The presence of lipolytic, hydrocarbon-oxidising and phenol-oxidising bacteria indicates that the water body under study is undergoing self-purification to remove contamination by the relevant pollutants. Further observations are required for long-term monitoring.

Keywords

North Crimean Canal, bottom sediments, ecological and trophic groups of microorganisms, microbiological monitoring, Crimean Peninsula, water quality, water pollution

Acknowledgments

The work was carried out under IBSS state research assignment “Study of biogeochemical patterns of radioecological and chemoecological processes in the ecosystems of water bodies of the Sea of Azov–Black Sea Basin in comparison with other areas of the World Ocean and individual aquatic ecosystems of their drainage basins to ensure sustainable development in the southern seas of Russia” (no. 124030100127-7) as part of the implementation of the Russian Science Foundation grant “The role of the irrigation system of the North Crimean Canal in the transfer of long-lived radionuclides of Chernobyl origin, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons from Dnieper water to irrigated farmland in Crimea” (No. 23-26-00128). The authors are thankful to the staff of the Department of Radiation and Chemical Biology at the IBSS: leading engineers I. N. Moseichenko and M. O. Vakhrushev; and to the staff of the Department of Aquaculture and Marine Pharmacology at the IBSS: senior researcher, PhD (Geogr.) N. P. Kovrigina, leading engineer D. S. Borisova and junior researcher N. Yu. Rodionova.

About the authors

Nataliya V. Burdiyan, Senior Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), PhD (Biol.), ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8030-1556, Scopus Author ID: 57208497483, ResearcherID: AAD-1704-2022, burdiyan_nv@ibss-ras.ru

Yuliya V. Doroshenko, Researcher, A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), PhD (Biol.), ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0498-3369; Scopus Author ID: 57211643141, ResearcherID: AAD-1706-2022, doroshenko_yuv@ibss-ras.ru

Natalya Yu. Mirzoeva, Leading Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2, Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), PhD (Biology), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8538-2436, Scopus Author ID: 55623414000, ResearcherID: Q-9393-2016, mirzoyevanyu@ibss-ras.ru

Elena V. Guseva, Junior Researcher, A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), Scopus Author ID: 57208488324, guseva_ev@ibss-ras.ru

Olga V. Soloveva, Leading Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimova Ave, Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), PhD (Biol.), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1283-4593, Scopus Author ID: 57208499211, ResearcherID: X-4793-2019, soloviova@ibss-ras.ru

For citation

Burdiyan, N.V., Doroshenko, Yu.V., Mirzoeva, N.Yu., Guseva, E.V. and Solovеva, O.V., 2026. Microbiological Characteristics of the North Crimean Canal Water: A Current Status. Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (2), pp. 110–123.

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