Past, Current and Future of Fish Diversity in the Alakol Lakes (Central Asia: Kazakhstan)

The aboriginal ichthyofauna of the Balkhash basin consists mainly of endemic fish species. By the end of the last century, indigenous fish species were driven out of Lake Balkhash and the Alakol Lakes remain the largest refuges of aboriginal fish fauna. Knowledge of regularities of the modern distribution of the indigenous fishes is crucial for biodiversity conservation as well as restoring aquatic ecosystems. The modern diversity of fish species was investigated there in this study. Significant changes for the indigenous and some alien fish distributions were revealed in contrast with earlier known data. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to study the relationships between habitat characteristics and species abundance. Water mineralization and maximal observed water temperatures were estimated as the main environmental variables in fish distribution at the local scale. Habitat change leads to fish fauna homogenization as a result of rare species extinction and alien penetration. Growing human population and poor water management make the future of the indigenous fishes unpredictable.

Overview of retrospective and modern data on arrival fodder organisms in lake Balkhash

The article analyzes the acclimatization work carried out, the current state of the food supply and the feasibility of introducing new food items. Lake Balkhash, in the first years of commercial development, was characterized by extreme poverty of the food base, especially the bottom fauna. During the period of planned acclimatization work, 1958–1965, 10 species of valuable food items were introduced into the reservoir. Many species, as expected, settled in the western part of the lake, where they not only expanded the species composition of bentonts, but also increased the feeding capacity of the reservoir — from 1.3 to 20 times. However, with an increase in salinity from west to east, the composition of benthos became poorer and its biomass decreased due to the gradual loss of mysids, corophiids, polychaetes and monodacnae from its composition. At the present stage, the biomass of zoobenthos in the eastern part of Lake Balkhash is 20–40 times lower than the indicators of the western part. To increase feed in Eastern Balkhash in 2012–2014. Experimental work was carried out on the survival in the Balkhash water of euryhaline invertebrates from the Aral Sea — polychaetes and bivalve molluscs. Based on the positive result, a biological justification was developed for the acclimatization of these invertebrates in the lake. Balkhash, but due to lack of funding, the work itself was not carried out. Within the framework of the above program, it is necessary to continue work on the introduction of brackish-water benthic organisms from the Aral Sea, as well as to ensure the feeding needs of juvenile fish throughout the growing season, there is a proposal for the introduction of Calanipeda aquae-dulcis Kritsch into the reservoir. Research on the issues raised in the article is funded by the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. BR10264205,).

SENKIBAY-2 - NEW LOCATION OF CERAMICS OF ELUNINO IN CENTRAL SARYARKA

The article describes the location where the Early Bronze Age ceramics was discovered during the study of the Petrovka Culture mound-enclosure in the Singkibay-2 burial ground in Central Saryarka. Based on analogies and a series of radiocarbon dates from the sites of the region, the analysed pottery can be attributed to the Elunino archaeological culture, and dated to the second half of the 3rd mil. BC. At the present state of the source base, the question of the nature of the location still remains open. Perhaps, it represents the evidence of the funeral-commemorative activities of the pre-Andronovo “population”, or a part of the destroyed cultural layer of the settlement. Only further field work will could address this issue. In general, this find significantly expands the distribution of the Elunino Culture to the south, which over time will possibly be extended further all the way to the northern coast of the Lake Balkhash. The recorded joint positioning of the Elunino and Petrovka materials provides the additional topographical information for the area of the pre-Andronovo complexes and puts forward the issue of the relationship between these two cultural formations. Keywords: Central Saryarka, Taldy River, early Bronze Age, Elunino Culture, location, ceramics, migrations

USING OF THE ILI RIVER DELTA ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Ecosystem-based adaptation can be applied as an option for sustainable land management. Methodologies that not only prevent land degradation but also contribute to the maintenance of a hydrological regime have become a priority in arid Central Asian climate. Large river deltas can be used as a natural counter-regulator, which accumulates water in wet seasons/years and gradually gives it back to low-water ones. To do so the land-use regime must prevent the degradation of ecosystems and the reduction of their functions. The hystorical anthropogenic damage must be eliminated. In the case of the Ili River delta the restoration of tugai forests is required on an area of at least 30% of the territory, i.e. more than 200 thousand hectares. Afforestation can lead to an increase in the underground water supply of the river at 30 - 70%. The groundwater supply to the river branches in the delta can increase by 1.26 - 2.94 km3/year (up to 21% annual river flow), which, in turn, will lead to additional water supply to Lake Balkhash and reduce the risk of the Aral Sea crisis repetition.

FUNDAMENTALS OF WATER USE IN THE CATCHMENT AREAS OF THE ILI RIVER BASIN

Based on the long-term information and analytical materials «Balkhash-Alakol Basin Inspectorate for Regulation of Use and Protection of Water Resources» of the Committee for Water Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the environmental indicator of specific water availability, which availability high water availability, ensuring sustainable development of economic sectors, but not ensuring the natural and environmental sustainability and safety of functioning of Lake Balkhash, as a geographic water body. The location in the arid and semi-arid zones, as well as the features of the formation of hydrological flow in the catchment areas of the Ili River basin, which determines the environment-forming system with socio-economic conditions and natural and technogenic objects that determine the level of water supply for water management sites, require the need for coordination of water management in order to prevent possible negative changes in watercourses and reservoirs that perform important environmental functions in the Ili-Balkhash basin, that is, to ensure natural and environmental sustainability and safe functioning of Lake Balkhash as a geographic water body.

Human-Induced Enrichment of Potentially Toxic Elements in a Sediment Core of Lake Balkhash, the Largest Lake in Central Asia

Over the past century, the impacts of human activities on the natural environment have continued to increase. Historic evolution of the environment under anthropogenic influences is an important reference for sustainable social development. Based on the geochemical analyses of a short sediment core of 49 cm from Lake Balkhash, the largest lake in Central Asia, potential factors historically influencing geochemical variation were revealed, and influences of human activity on regional environmental change were reconstructed over the past 150 years. The results showed that the dominant factor inducing changes in potentially toxic elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) is the physical weathering of the terrestrial materials. The variation in Ca content was influenced by the formation of authigenic carbonate. Since 1930, potentially toxic elements (Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) in the lake sediments have obviously been affected by human activities, but the impact of human activities has not exceeded that of natural terrestrial weathering. In particular, the enrichment factors (EFs) for Cd and Pb reached 1.5. The average ecological risks of Cd were higher than the criterion of 30, suggesting a moderate risk to the local ecosystem in recent years. Total risk indices indicated moderate potential ecological risk for the lake ecology. The results will provide support for the environmental protection and better management practices of the Lake Balkhash watershed.