Evaluation of the results of monitoring indicator algal viruses during the COVID-19 quarantine period (2020–2021)

O.A. Stepanova1, S.A. Sholar2

 1Institute of Natural and Technical Systems, RF, Sevastopol, Lenin St., 28

2FRC Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, RF, Sevastopol, Kapitanskaya St., 2

Email: solar-ua@ya.ru, sa.sholar@mail.ru

DOI: 10.33075/2220-5861-2022-1-20-27

UDC 578.4 (262.5)  

Abstract:

   According to researchers, the restriction of economic activity is highly likely to lead to a decrease in global warming, air and hydrosphere pollution, allowing the environment to slowly recover. Undoubtedly, this process takes place during the Covid-19 pandemic, and resulting in the improvement of the hydrosphere ecology, which can be established by the response of biological indicators. We previously proposed biomonitoring of indicator algal viruses of the environmentally demanding microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum (PtV) and Tetraselmis viridis (TvV) resistant to environmental factors, which was based on the results of PtV and TvV monitoring since 2002, as a component of the integrated environmental monitoring of the Black Sea waters.

   The purpose of the study was to evaluate the results of monitoring two indicator algal viruses isolated from three, differing in ecological well-being, bays of Sevastopol during the period of decreasing anthropogenic pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020–2021) against the background of the results of long-term monitoring.

   The search and isolation of PtV and TvV from marine water samples was carried out according to patented author’s methods. This study presents an analysis and evaluation of the results of monitoring indicator algal viruses in the “pre-Covid” period of 2015–2019 and during the 2020-2021 pandemic period taking into account the frequency of isolation of these algal viruses in 2002–2021.

   The data obtained made it possible to assert that the ecological situation in the studied bays of Sevastopol improved during the pandemic period, which is probably due to a number of restrictive measures and a decrease in anthropogenic pressure.

Keywords: Black Sea indicator algal viruses and microalgae Tetraselmis viridis and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the ecological status of the bays of Sevastopol, the pandemic period of the Covid-19.

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