Monitoring of Zoobenthos as a Basis of the Food Supply of Fish in the Zone of the Middle Timan Bauxite Mine

In the Vym River and its tributaries, located in the area of industrial activity of the Middle Timan Bauxite Mine (Komi Republic), two cycles of hydrobiological monitoring were conducted between 2000 and 2022. The identified benthic invertebrate taxa are typical for rivers of the Timan region. The monitoring sites were dominated by macrozoobenthos: larvae of chironomids, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, and in some areas – oligochaetes and mollusks; in certain years, high abundances of meiobenthic groups were recorded. Fluctuations in the abundance and biomass of benthos during both monitoring periods were within the range of interannual variation. According to fishery classification, the studied watercourses of the Vym River basin are considered to have a medium level of food capacity of benthophagous fish, and the overall fish productivity at the surveyed sites has remained stable.