HYDROBIOLOGICAL OUTLINE OF THE MONGOLIAN LAKES

The waters of Mongolia can be classified according to their catchment areas into three hydro‐geographic regions: basin of the Arctic Ocean, basin of the Pacific Ocean, Central Asian basin without outlet. After a short historical survey of the exploration of the lakes of the Mongolian People's Republic, the formation and the classification of the lake system is briefly dealt with. Recent hydrobiological findings are presented in addition to hydrological data. As far as possible, statements are made on the size and the depth of the waters, the growth of macrophytes and the trophic level of the lakes. A distinction is made between ultraoligotrophic, oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic and dystrophic waters. They are characterized by data on the biomass of the plankton and the ichthyofauna. In the zooplankton of the Central Asian basin, 17 copepod, 29 cladoceran and 58 rotatorian species, and in the waters belonging to the drainage basin of the Pacific Ocean 16 copepod, 40 cladoceran and 37 rotatorian species have already been identified. The results represent the basis for an intensification of fishery in the Mongolian People's Republic. Copyright © 1979 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim