16TH INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SCHOOL
Study of the lakes in the village Chapayevo using the bioindication method
Hydrobiology, Ecology, Invertebrate Zoology
What Does the Water Hide?
Is it possible to determine how clean a pond or stream near your home is in just a few hours? Can this be done without expensive chemical reagents and complex instruments? The answer is yes-and all we need is a net, a magnifying glass, and careful observation. Instead of analyzing water in test tubes, we turn to those for whom this water is home. These are aquatic organisms-insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms living on the bottom of a water body.
Is it possible to determine how clean a pond or stream near your home is in just a few hours? Can this be done without expensive chemical reagents and complex instruments? The answer is yes-and all we need is a net, a magnifying glass, and careful observation. Instead of analyzing water in test tubes, we turn to those for whom this water is home. These are aquatic organisms-insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms living on the bottom of a water body.
Hydrobiological net
Scientists call this approach bioindication. The method is simple: different benthic invertebrates respond differently to pollution.
Stonefly and caddisfly larvae breathe through gills and require high oxygen levels-they disappear even with slight contamination.
Stonefly and caddisfly larvae breathe through gills and require high oxygen levels-they disappear even with slight contamination.
Ephemeral crustaceans (tadpole shrimp) — organisms highly sensitive to water quality
In contrast, tubifex worms or chironomid (midge) larvae thrive even in murky, oxygen-poor water.
By identifying the organisms collected in our net and counting them, we can calculate specific biotic indices (such as the Woodiwiss Index or the Mayer Index) and classify the water body as “clean,” “moderately polluted,” or “dirty.”
By identifying the organisms collected in our net and counting them, we can calculate specific biotic indices (such as the Woodiwiss Index or the Mayer Index) and classify the water body as “clean,” “moderately polluted,” or “dirty.”
Larva of a water scavenger beetle — an indicator of high pollution
As part of this project, we will embark on a real hydrobiological expedition. Equipped with aquatic hand nets and trays, we will carefully collect bottom-dwelling organisms from different habitats: near the shore, in flowing water, and among aquatic vegetation. The most sensitive organisms will be found by turning over stones in the stream, while the most resilient ones can be dug out from bottom sediments.
A typical floodplain water body
Our goal, however, is not just to observe them under a magnifying glass and release them. We will create real scientific collections. Project participants will learn methods for preserving specimens and preparing permanent wet mounts and collection boxes. Each collected organism will be identified to the family or genus level using specialized identification keys. This skill will transform participants from simple observers into true zoological taxonomists.
A typical water body of the second river terrace with excess organic matter
The key stage of the work begins in the laboratory. Using data on the number of mayfly larvae, amphipods, or leeches collected, we will apply ecological mathematics. We will calculate the Woodiwiss Index and the Mayer Index. By comparing the results with reference tables, we will create an ecological map of the surveyed area and assign each water body a water quality class-from oligosaprobic (very clean) to polysaprobic (heavily polluted).
Field sampling of aquatic organisms, use of identification keys, and preparation of scientific collections.
Field sampling of aquatic organisms, use of identification keys, and preparation of scientific collections.
Sampling from a water body
Participants Requirements:
- Basic knowledge of zoology;
- Knowledge of invertebrate types: flatworms, roundworms, annelids, mollusks, and insects (larvae).
Tutors
Evgeny Popov
Yakutsk, Russia
Yakutsk, Russia
Evgeny was born in Yakutsk. In 2007, he graduated from Yakutsk State University with a degree in Biology, Ecology and Nature Conservation, qualifying as a teacher of biology and chemistry.
He started his career as a teacher at Secondary School No. 1, where he worked until 2010. In 2011, he joined NEFU as a head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Technologies. He completed an internship at the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, participated in state scientific projects on the genetic certification of rare plants and animal species of Yakutia.
Since 2015, he has been a Lead expert at the Biotechnology Laboratory of the “Yakutia” Technopark. He was a two-time winner of the Science Slam (2015, 2016). He is the organizer of the first Biohackathons and Ecohackathons in the republic. He regularly serves as a tutor at international research schools and is a lecturer at the Russian Society “Znanie” and TEDx Yakutsk.
Since 2022, he has been the scientific editor of the “Yunost of the North” magazine. In 2025 he became the Lead methodologist at the NEFU Zoological Museum.
He started his career as a teacher at Secondary School No. 1, where he worked until 2010. In 2011, he joined NEFU as a head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Technologies. He completed an internship at the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, participated in state scientific projects on the genetic certification of rare plants and animal species of Yakutia.
Since 2015, he has been a Lead expert at the Biotechnology Laboratory of the “Yakutia” Technopark. He was a two-time winner of the Science Slam (2015, 2016). He is the organizer of the first Biohackathons and Ecohackathons in the republic. He regularly serves as a tutor at international research schools and is a lecturer at the Russian Society “Znanie” and TEDx Yakutsk.
Since 2022, he has been the scientific editor of the “Yunost of the North” magazine. In 2025 he became the Lead methodologist at the NEFU Zoological Museum.
Serafima Markova
Moscow, Russia
Moscow, Russia
While studying at secondary school, Serafima took part in various biological projects and expeditions. She visited Baikal lake as an entrant of the Baikal International School, which helped her with the choice of higher education. Now she is studying at Lomonosov Moscow State University at the Faculty of Soil Science in the direction of "Ecology and Nature Management" and she is also very interested in hydrometeorology. I love to constantly learn new things, and I am glad that the chosen scientific direction allows me to travel to the most diverse and amazing places of our planet!
