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The objects of bioindication of the ecological state were 3 channels of the Volga Delta, located both directly in Astrakhan and in the Astrakhan region. The aim of the work was to conduct a comparative bioelectronic diagnosis of the ecological state of the selected channels with different local anthropogenic loads, both by type and size, based on assessments of the functional state (health) of the bivalve mollusks Anodonta anatina living in them, estimated on the basis of an analysis of their cardiorhythm, measured using an original fiber-optic bioelectronic system. It was found that shellfish selected from different water areas, after 1hour functional load, restore the original heart rate for different times, but in the range from 117 to 166 minutes, which is typical for shellfish living in significantly polluted reservoirs of the same ecological status - "Bad". This characteristic of the water areas completely coincides with the characteristic of the ecological state of the channels of the Volga River Delta specified in the State Report "On the state and on Environmental Protection of the Russian Federation in 2017". The authors proposed and justified the possibility of using the water area of the Gandurino River as a conditional reference for the Volga Delta region. In this case, according to the value of the environmental quality coefficient EQR, the channels of the Urban Branch and the Small Channel can be attributed to the regional environmental status - "Good".

The paper presents the data obtained in the study of the health of the ecosystems in a number of recreational areas of the Black Sea and the Eastern Gulf of Finland. Prompt assessment of the health of the ecosystems was carried out by testing the health of adult bivalve mollusks inhabiting them, using the functional load method based on the analysis of their heart rate measured by a fiber-optic bioelectronic system. The goal of the study is to test the innovative bioindication technology developed earlier by the authors on the basis of the above-mentioned method in the regional programs for environmental monitoring of the ecosystems of coastal marine and freshwater recreational water areas (using the example of a number of water areas of Sevastopol, as well as several freshwater areas of the Kurortniy District of St. Petersburg. It has been established that the functional state of mollusks may serve as an indicator of excessive pollution of coastal waters by the objects that discharge insufficiently treated wastewater from their local treatment facilities, including household wastewater. The technology applied in this study for the assessment of functional state of local species of molluscs may be effectively used to solve the problems of early diagnostics of alterations in the health status of coastal aquatic ecosystems and contribute to ensuring the ecological safety of recreational water areas, serving as an infobase for the development of science-based environmental management decisions. Taking into account a high expressiveness and easy-to-use technology applied in the study (which does not require expertise for its practical implementation), this technology may be considered as the best available technology for biomonitoring the water quality of recreational waters in Russia.