ABSTRACT

Results of the use of macroinvertebrates in biological indication of water quality in the hydroecosystems of various types were analyzed on the basis of material of comprehensive studies on macrozoobenthos, hydrochemical characteristics of the reservoirs of the Dnieper cascade, and literature data. It has been shown that in water bodies with low water exchange macrozoobenthos communities are indicators of saprobity in the near-bottom layers of water, rather than in water column. Macrozoobenthos communities occurring on bottom sediments with a low content of organic matter (pebble, sands, and slightly silted sands) and zooperiphyton of artificial substrates should be used for biological indication of contaminated waters, in particular of those contaminated by organic matter.