History

The time of the foundation of the Laboratory of Freshwater and Experimental Hydrobiology can be considered the last decade of the 19th century, when collections on worms, crustaceans and plankton were exhibited in the Zoological Museum in the Department of Invertebrates. At the beginning of the 20th century, well-known zoologists and limnologists worked in the Laboratory — A.S. Skorikov, G.Yu. Vereshchagin, V.M. Rylov and A.L. Bening.

In 1930, the Department of Hydrobiology was established, which included departments dealing with the study of the fauna of aquatic marine and freshwater invertebrates and fish, as well as soil worms and mollusks. For many years (1936-1966), first the Department of Hydrobiology, then the Laboratory of Freshwater and Experimental Hydrobiology (since 1960) was headed by an eminent malacologist and the main specialist in the hydrobiology of rivers and reservoirs of that time, Honored Scientist of the USSR, Vice-president of the International Society of Limnologists (SIL), Prof. V.I. Zhadin. Zhadin's works on the regularities of fauna formation and the hydrobiological regime of the Volga reservoirs newly created at that time became particularly famous. His works on the fauna and systematics of freshwater mollusks were also highly appreciated by the world scientific community. His monographs "Fauna of rivers and reservoirs" (1940) and "Mollusks of fresh and brackish waters of the USSR" (1952) became widely known in the Soviet Union and abroad.

Under Zhadin's leadership, hydrobiological studies of numerous rivers, lakes and ponds in various regions of the Soviet Union were carried out. Due to the organizational talent of V.I. Zhadin, the staff of the Laboratory began to grow rapidly. In addition to zoologists, it also included microbiologists, phytoplanktonologists and hydrochemists, which made it possible to carry out complex hydrobiological work. The works of microbiologist A.G. Rodina and phytoplanktonologist I.A. Kiselev have become widely known. Experimental studies on bacterial feeding of zooplankton and bacterial decomposition of detritus, conducted by A.G. Rodina, revealed the importance of microbiological processes in hydrobiology.

In 1967, V.I. Zhadin retired, and the Laboratory was headed by Corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Prof. G.G. Winberg (1905-1987). Since that time, the general direction of research of the Laboratory of Freshwater and Experimental Hydrobiology has been the study of the structural and functional organization of continental reservoirs. During this period, the well-known "Scientific School of Production Hydrobiology of the Zoological Institute" was formed and is still successfully developing.

Under the leadership of G.G. Winberg, the Laboratory became one of the Soviet participants in the International Biological Program (IBP), for which it was well prepared in terms of the staff, their qualifications and research experience. The IBP was aimed at developing the theory of biological productivity of ecosystems as a necessary basis for the rational exploitation of natural biological resources. The basis of production ecology was the energy principle of ecosystem research. In 1969 and 1970, Lakes Krivoe and Krugloe, and in 1971-1972, Lakes Zelenetskoe and Akulkino, located respectively on the coast of the White and Barents Seas, were studied as model lakes. The results of these studies, which quantitatively characterized the stages of the production process, turned out to be possible to express in the form of "energy flow" and "biotic balance" of lake ecosystems. The principle and scheme of compiling the biotic balance of aquatic ecosystems were proposed as the basis for studies of freshwater productivity at the IV General Assembly of the IBP in 1969. In the Soviet Union, all studies of the productivity of freshwater reservoirs by IBP were carried out according to this scheme.

After the death of G.G. Winberg In 1987, until 2013, the Laboratory was headed by academician Prof. A.F. Alimov. An important stage in his work was the development of a structural-functional approach to the study of aquatic ecosystems of reservoirs and watercourses. This approach made it possible to quantify changes in aquatic ecosystems exposed to various environmental factors. Under his leadership, research on the ecosystem functioning of lakes, rivers and estuaries, were continued. At the same time, studies of the functional ecology of aquatic invertebrates also developed.

The main results of the ecological direction of the Laboratory's research were summarized in the monograph of A.F. Alimov "Elements of the theory of functioning of aquatic ecosystems" (2000), in the joint monograph of L. Häkanson and V.V. Boulion "The Lake Foodweb – modeling prediction and abiotic/biotic interactions" (2002), monographs of A.F. Alimov, V.V. Bogatov and S.M. Golubkov "Production Hydrobiology" (2013) and the collective monograph "Dynamics of Biodiversity and Bioresources of Inland waters" edited by A.F. Alimov and S.M. Golubkov (2012).

Along with production and hydrobiological research, the study of fauna and the development of the systematics of aquatic invertebrates also continued. An important result of these studies was the publication edited by S.Ya. Tsalolikhin of the 6-volumes "Key to freshwater invertebrates of Russia and adjacent territories" (1994-2008), monograph by L.A. Kutikova “Bdelloid rotifers of the fauna of Russia (2005) and “Key to zooplankton and zoobenthos of fresh waters of the European part of Russia”, edited by V.R. Alekseeva and S.Ya. Tsalolikhina (2010, 2016).

At present, the main areas of research of the Laboratory of Freshwater and Experimental Hydrobiology, headed by Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences S.M. Golubkov, includes the study of the structural and functional organization of ecosystems of inland waters, as well as the issues of rational use of aquatic biological resources, assessment of the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems, protection and conservation of their biological diversity. Taxonomic and faunistic research continues on various groups of aquatic invertebrates, round and oligochaete worms, copepods and cladocerans, amphipods and aquatic insects. Special attention is paid to the maintenance and replenishment of the Zoological Institute's collections of invertebrates inhabiting continental waters, which number more than 20,000 items.