MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Experts of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch will make DNA tests to assess water organisms’ diversity near the Bystrinsky ore mining and processing plant (Bystrinsky GOK) in the Trans-Baikal Region, press service of a biodiversity expedition reported on Monday.

"This year, we have launched a pilot project to assess fish biodiversity by testing their DNA, contained in the environment," the press service quoted Ivan Zuyev of the Institute of Biophysics at the Siberian Branch’s Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center. "In sterile conditions, we use a large syringe to sample water. Then, this water is filtered to see particles suitable for laboratory tests. This method can be used to determine not only the species, but also the amount of fish. It is new to the global scientific community, but it is very promising, since it does not require the physical catching of fish."

The experts have sampled fish and crustaceans in reservoirs, including for the purpose to extract DNA. They also have sampled water for the same purpose in the Trans-Baikal Region’s Gazimuro-Zavodsky District, where the Bystrinsky GOK production site is located.

"We study biological diversity in aquatic ecosystems," he continued. "Those are algae, benthos and plankton, invertebrates and the highest trophic level - fish. In each of these groups, we have conducted research on the Gazimur River and its tributaries. We’ve collected samples on the rivers Bunya, Bura, Ushmun, Bystra and Taina. The first results meet our expectations. The thing is - the Gazimur tributaries belong to the Amur Basin - a center of biodiversity in Russia. And, indeed, we can see a great variety of different forms."

In the Gazimuro-Zavodsky District’s rivers the institute’s experts were interested to analyze the fish, which is not typical for the Krasnoyarsk fauna, which they have been studying. For example, Lagowski's minnow or Amur bitterling. The fishing was most productive on the Bystraya River, and at one of the stations on the Gazimur River the scientists found in traps large crayfish that could compete with fish in terms of numbers and biomass.

Earlier, zoologists have studied the area around the Bystrinsky GOK. They analyzed biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates, caught small mammals, studied insects, conducted observations, and sampled soil for further laboratory tests.

About Great Scientific Expedition

The basic biodiversity survey continues the work, which the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch began in 2020. Since the Great Norilsk Expedition this work has extended into another three regions. The survey’s purpose is to identify the company’s impact zones and to assess biodiversity in areas of Nornickel’s operations. The research results will be used in building out a corporate biodiversity management system and biodiversity monitoring and conservation programs.