ABSTRAKT

A total of 287 species of algae represented by 309 infraspecific taxa, including those containing nomenclatural types of species, of nine divisions was found in the fouling of solid inorganic substrata in the cooling pond of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (NPS) as a result of long-term investigations. Bacillariophyta, Cyanophyta, and Chlorophyta were highly diverse in their species composition. In the section of the cooling pond subjected to considerable heating, the number of periphyton algae species was 1.5 times higher than that registered in the section with the minimum heating. A total of 255 indicator species was found in phytoperiphyton of the cooling pond of the Chernobyl NPS. Facultative thermophilic species prevailed in the section of the cooling pond subjected to considerable heating. The average values of saprobic index ranged from 1.8 to 2.7.