Modern State of Ichthyofauna of Lake Donuzlav (Western Crimea, Black Sea)

AbstractLake Donuzlav is a manmade water body, the ecosystem of which began to form since the 1960s. In this study, the current state of the fish population of Lake Donuzlav is assessed, taking into account the active fishing pressure on the lake and insufficient study of the biology and ecology of particular groups of aquatic organisms. Based on the literature and original data, the modern composition of the ichthyofauna was revealed, which includes 65 species of fish of 34 families, among which the family Gobiidae is dominated in terms of the number of species (13). Thirteen fish species previously unfound in the lake were recorded; these are mainly Ponto-Caspian endemics (monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis, mushroom goby Ponticola eurycephalus, and tubenose goby Proterorhinus marmoratus). The ichthyofauna in Lake Donuzlav is similar in taxonomic composition to that of Yarylgach Bay and the eastern part of the Karkinit Bay (northwestern Black Sea). In general, the current fish population of Lake Donuzlav is characterized by the predominance of sedentary demersal fish species, which have settled over the last 20 years.