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In current paper we presented the dynamics of the macrozoobenthos in Eastern Sivash depending on temporal and spatial salinity fluctuations from pleiomesohaline to polyhaline and hyperhaline. We shown that the highest species richness and biomass were observed in polyhaline conditions at the lowest salinity values, and the maximum density was in pleiomesohaline conditions. The lowest species riches and biomass were observed in hyperhaline conditions. Keywords: Eastern Sivash; macrozoobenthos; distribution; abundance; biomass References Almazov, O.M. (1960). Hydrochemical characteristic of eastern Sivash: Biological substantiation of the development of the mullet farming of Eastern Sivash and Molochnyi Estuary. Proceedings of the Institute of Hydrobiology Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 35, 10-18. (In Russian) Anistratenko, V.V., Anistratenko, O.Yu., Khaliman, I.A. (2007). Composition of the molluscs fauna of the Sea of Azov as a function of its salinity regime. Dopovidi NANU, 4, 161-166. (In Russian) Anistratenko, V.V., Khaliman, I.A., Anistratenko, O.Yu. (2011). The Molluscs of the Sea of Azov. Kiev: Naukova dumka. (In Russian) Antonovskiy, O.G., Degtyarenko, O.V. (2009). Comparative description of fresh and saline water mollusks of North Azov region. Recent questions biology, ecology and chemistry: electric. science. profession. kind., 2, 33-45. Available at: http://sites.znu.edu.ua/bio-eco-chem-sci. (In Ukrainian) Antonovskiy, O.G., Gaponova, V.V. (2008). Sivash macrozoobenthos on the present state of ecosystem development. Science and Practice: Procedd. Int. Sc. Conf. (Poltava, March 3-7, 2008). Poltava: Poltava National Agrarian University (In Ukrainian) Antonovskiy, O.G., Krutikova, O.O. (2012). Dynamics of macrozoobenthos of Eastern Sivash in conditions of hydroecological changes. Bulletin of the Zaporizhzhya National University. Series Biological sciences, 3, 96-103. (In Ukrainian) Grintsov, V., Sezgin, M. (2011). Manual for the identification of Amphipoda from the Black Sea. Sevastopol. Khaliman, I.A., Anistratenko, V.V., Degtyarenko, E.V. (2015). Regional peculiarities of malacofauna in waterbodies of different types of the North-West Azov Sea Coast. Dopovidi NANU, 11, 98-105. doi.org/10.15407/dopovidi2015.11. (In Russian) Kiseleva, M.I. (2004). Polychaete worms (Polychaeta) of the Black and Azov seas. Apatity: A publication of the Kolskiy Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. (In Russian) Marushkina, O.O. (2013). Features of distribution and ecology of macrozoobenthos of Eastern Sivash. Proceedings of the Zoological Museum, 44, 10-41. (In Ukrainian) Methods of hydroecological researches of surface waters. (2006). Romanenko, V.D. (Ed.). Kyiv: Logos. (In Ukrainian) North-western part of the Black Sea: biology and ecology: monograph. (2006). Zaitsev, Yu.P., Aleksandrov, B.G., Minichev, G.G. (Eds.). Kyiv: Naukova Dumka. (In Russian) Pauli, V.L. (1936). To the biology of Sivash. Proceedings of Kharkiv A. M. Gorky State University. 6-7, 273-276. (In Ukrainian) Stocker, G., Bergmann, A. (1977). Ein Modell der Dominanzstruktur und seine Anwendung. 1 Modelbildung. Modellrealisierung. Dominanzklassen . Arch. Naturchutz. und Landschaftsforschung, 17 (1), 1-26 (in German). Stolyarov, A.P. (2013). Features of the structural organization of the macrobenthos community in estuarine ecosystems (Kandalaksha Bay, the White Sea). Succeeding in modern biology, 133 (2), 191-208. (In Russian) Tarasov, N.I. (1927). To Syvash hydrobiology. News of State Hydrobiological Institut., 19, 59-68. (In Russian) Vinogradova, Z.A., Vinogradov, K.O. (1960). Zoobentos of the Eastern Sivash. Proceedings of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR., 35, 50-71. (In Ukrainian) Vorobiev, V.P. (1940). Hydrobiological essay of Eastern Sivash and the possibility of its fishery use. Proceedings of Azov-Black Sea Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography, 12, 69-164. (In Russian) Vorovka, V.P. (2013). Features of the hydrological connection of Sivash with the Sea of Azov. Hydrology, hydrochemistry and hydroecology, 2 (29), 84-89. (In Ukrainian) Zhadin, V.I. (1960). The Methods of hydrobiological study. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola. (In Russian)

The diversity of freshwater gastropods recorded in the Transcarpathian Region of Ukraine is reviewed and comments on their distribution and ecology are provided. Thirty-five species were revealed in samples collected from the lowland and mountainous parts of the Ukrainian Transcarpathia. Three species are recorded for the first time in the regional fauna: Viviparus sphaeridius, Bithynia troschelii and Segmentina montgazoniana. For species found in the region brief remarks on the biotopes in which they were registered and relevant taxonomic comments are given. The most distinctive features of the mollusc fauna of Ukrainian Transcarpathia are considered; the presence as well as the absence of some taxa in comparison with adjacent regions is discussed. The results of our observations confirm that the distribution of gastropod species depends on the types of waterbodies and their altitude location. The presented data contribute to the knowledge of the regional malacofauna and should help to assess the biogeographic status of the Transcarpathian Region more clearly.

One species is new for the regional fauna (Sphaerium nucleus), another three are rare and their range is strictly limited to a few localities (Musculium lacustre, Bythinella sp. and Terrestribythinella baidashnikovi). It is discovered one additional locality of alien species Sinanodonta woodiana recently introduced into the Transcarpathian. Images of the shells, comments on taxonomy, distribution and ecology of these species are provided.

Modern distribution of ovoviviparous mollusks of the genera Viviparus and Contectiana of the family Viviparidae has been considered for the first time in general for Eurasia. Original, museum, and literature data that have been accumulated to date on the spread of these Palaearctic genera were summarized and analyzed. The modern boundaries of the distribution of Viviparidae in water bodies of the region were established, and biogeographical changes were mentioned that have occurred over the past 40 years. Information on the habitats of Viviparus and Contectiana are presented in general for Eurasia and in more detail for Ukraine. It was revealed that, with the overall stability of the habitats of these Palaearctic genera, there are fluctuations in the distribution of their representatives in the basins of some rivers in Eurasia and acquisition of new and/or loss of former habitats in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia. The uneven distribution of these genera on the territory of Ukraine and their absence in the area of the Sea of Azov coast, which are not associated with the presence of geographical barriers, were shown.

The radula morphology and variability in four European species of the family Viviparidae viz. Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758), V. sphaeridius (Bourguignat, 1880), V. ater (Cristofori et Jan, 1832) and Contectiana listeri (Forbes et Hanley, 1853) were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Statistical methods reveal a certain value of rachidian tooth dimensional parameters as an efficient tool for taxonomy and discrimination of closely related species of the family. С использованием сканирующей электронной микроскопии (СЭМ) изучены морфологические особенности и изменчивость радулы у четырех европейских видов семейства Viviparidae: Viviparus viviparus (Linnaeus, 1758), V. sphaeridius (Bourguignat, 1880), V. ater (Cristofori et Jan, 1832), а также Contectiana listeri (Forbes et Hanley, 1853). Статистическими методами показана возможность использования некоторых размерных характеристик рахидального зуба для эффективной диагностики близких видов Viviparidae и систематики семейства.

Fourteen species of the family Lymnaeidae were revealed in the samples taken from lowland and mountainous parts of the Ukrainian Transcarpathian. Five species are regionally new: Stagnicola corvus , Radix parapsilia , R. balthica , R. ampla and R. tumida ; two regionally rare species ( Ladislavella terebra and Lymnaea fragilis ) are discovered. The most widespread pond snails appear to be Lymnaea stagnalis and Radix intermedia , the rarest one – L. terebra and R. parapsilia found in single locality each. The lowland part of the Ukrainian Transcarpathian maintains more than 4/5 regional fauna of the Lymnaeidae, though a few species occurred in the mountainous locations collected above the 400 m a.s.l. The check-list of species, with appropriate comments on taxonomy, distribution and some ecological characteristics of the lymnaeids found within the studied area is provided. A list of species of aquatic snails and bivalves co-occurring with the Lymnaeidae in the studied area is provided. Relatively high species diversity of malacofauna in the region combined with rarity of some species allow to consider the Transcarpathian as a specific region apparently representing a separate biogeographic unit. There is a need for a further estimate of the regionally rare species in order to clarify their potential conservation status.