Expeditionary work was carried out at permanent regular monitoring stations throughout the waters of Ladoga (28 stations) and in shallow and deep-water areas of the Gulf of Finland within the borders of the Russian Federation, including Luga and Koporskaya bays (15 stations).
During field work, samples of phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrozoobenthos were collected (more than 150 samples); materials were obtained to determine the concentration of oxygen, mineralization, the content of nutrients and other indicators in the water and bottom sediments of Ladoga (more than 300 samples), as well as to determine the concentration of plant pigments and toxicological studies of water using the biotesting method. Studies of the water column were conducted using an oceanographic probe to collect primary hydrological data and other information characterizing the habitat of the WBR. Currently, desk processing of the collected materials is being carried out.
Based on the analysis of collected materials and data, an assessment will be made of the state of the components of aquatic biota that form the food supply of fish (planktonic communities, benthos), and their habitat in Lake Ladoga and the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland as water bodies of great fishery importance for the Northwestern region of the Russian Federation.
VNIRO press service