Study of protist communities in the Volga River

Protist communities are essential components of river ecosystems, playing a crucial role in their structure and function. Despite this, the distribution of protists in river systems remains inadequately explored. The Volga River, the longest river in Europe, features a series of large hydropower plants. To date, the diversity and distribution of single-celled eukaryotes in this river have been examined solely through classical microscopic techniques, which typically do not provide a comprehensive analysis of protist communities.