Ecology of benthic foraminifers in the littoral zone of Iturup Island

Abstract

The composition and abundance of present-day benthic foraminifers in the littoral zone of Iturup Island are examined. The littoral zone is surveyed on the sides of both the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. The greatest species diversity and the maximum foraminifer abundance were observed on the bench and at the sites of attachment of seaweeds and aquatic plants on silted sands and on sands with an admixture of coquina, silt, and detritus from the adjacent coast. The minimum diversity and abundance are confined to the mouths of rivers and creeks; over rocky plates, where sediments cannot be retained and there are no attached seaweeds and aquatic plants; and in areas not protected from wind-wave action. It was stated that the foraminifer assemblages on the sides of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean differ both in their species diversity and in their population density over the littoral zone. A morphological comparison between the species Buccella granulata and B. inusitata from different areas of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean is presented.