Sanitary and Biological Characteristics of the Laspi Reserve Coastal Waters (the Black Sea)
This paper aims at determining the level of Laspi Bay's pollution according to the main physical and chemical as well as microbiological parameters of water and sea bottom sediments. The following indicators of the ecological well-being of the water area were determined: physical and chemical indicators of sea bottom sediments, concentration of chloroform-extractable substances and total petroleum hydrocarbons, microbiological indicators in sea water and bottom sediments. Integrated sanitary and biological research of the Laspi Bay showed that, by the defined parameters, this coastal area can be characterized, in general, as relatively prosperous. However, a number of indicators (the content of total petroleum hydrocarbons, particularly in the bottom water layer, a relatively high concentration of heterotrophic bacteria in sea water and bottom sediments) indicate that this part of the water area, which previously was classified as standard clean, is exposed to a significant anthropogenic stress. The obtained results may be associated with intense development of the Laspi region observed in the recent years. Apparently, pollutants enter the aquatic environment of the Laspi Reserve coastal water area with sewage and other waters, whereas environmental parameters indicate a low level of their oxidation and self-purification.