A review of current biological and recent environmental research on Lake Baikal from a British perspective

Lake Baikal is possibly the world's most remarkable freshwater lake (Figs1-3). It is certainly the largest in volume (23,000 km³), the deepest(maximum depth is 1632 m) and probably the most ancient.Nevertheless, from a biological point of view its most interesting aspect isthe endemic flora and fauna. Many of the species of animals and plantsoccurring in Lake Baikal today are found nowhere else in the world.Especially remarkable is the unique and diverse deep-water fauna whichis maintained by the circulation of oxygen-rich water to the greatestdepths in the lake. This water mixing is the prime feature that sets LakeBaikal apart from other deep freshwater lakes; for example, lakesTanganyika and Malawi in the African rift system possess anoxic deepwater(Beadle 1974). Despite the fascination of Lake Baikal's biota, itsisolated location in southeastern Siberia, combined with restricted accesscaused by political tensions, has until recently largely preventedinternational research on the lake