Phototroph communities were studied in Crimean highly mineralized sulphate-chloride lakes of marine and continental origin, and athalassic carbonate lakes of Altai Region. The diversity of communities providing primary production in mineral water bodies include: cyanobacterial biofilms and mats, algobacterial communities, plant-bacterial mats, cyanobacteria vegetating under mineral deposits, and planktonic communities. Morphology of the first three types is universal; it is similar to phototroph communities of other mineral lakes. Deviations from such structure may be caused both by physical and chemical parameters of environment, and the organism-ediphicator. In Crimean lakes all types of communities mentioned above were recorded, while in the Tantar system of reservoirs – only biofilms and one-year old mats. Biomass of the communities measured by chlorophyll a content, varied from 10 mg chl./m² up to 600 mg chl./m² depending on organisms-ediphicators. Species composition of dominating cyanobacteria in studied lakes depends on the level of mineralization of lake and presence of invertebrates with pasture type of feeding.

Keywords: hypersaline soda lakes, cyanobacteria, cyanobacterial communities, algobacterial communities, plant-bacterial communities

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