Salinity Tolerance and Seasonal and Multiyear Dynamics of Biting Midges (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) in Macrozoobenthos Communities of Saline Rivers (the Lake Elton Basin, Russia)

The results of long-term studies of biting midges (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) in macrozoobenthos communities of five saline rivers of the hyperhaline Lake Elton basin are presented. The fauna of Ceratopogonidae includes five halophilic and euryhaline species, among which representatives of the tribe Sphaeromiini predominate. The taxonomic composition of the family differs in rivers with different levels of salinity. Species Sphaeromias miricornis and Culicoides riethi are widely distributed in the mesohaline Khara, Lantsug, and Bolshaya Samoroda rivers, and Palpomyia schmidti is widely distributed in the polyhaline Chernavka and Solyanka rivers. Two generations of S. miricornis and three generations of P. schmidti are recorded. The emergence of the first generation of P. schmidti occurs in mid-May; S. miricornis emerges in late May to early June. There is an increase in the mean annual abundance and biomass of biting midges in polyhaline rivers when compared with mesohaline rivers.