On the placement of an artificial reef in the Caspian Sea

Abstract

Our long-term studies of benthic biocenoses and fouling communities of the western coast of the Middle Caspian Sea showed that the quantitative parameters and species diversity in its southern part are much higher than those in the northern part. Since one of the main limiting conditions for their development is the absence of suitable substrates, the placement of artificial reefs is recommended as a solution to this problem. The invasion of additional substrates by hydrobionts in the water area leads to an increase in species diversity and biomass in an artificial reef zone rich in nutrients, microorganisms, and the larvae of fouling organisms. The ecological changes that have taken place in the Caspian Sea over the last decades due to the sea level rise and anthropogenic impact, on the one hand, and to the effect of ctenophorer invaders, on the other, entailed a sharp decrease in the food supply for commercial fishes, and the normal functioning of specific parts of the marine ecosystem requires human intervention. This work analyzes the possibilities of using artificial reefs as a method to manage the hydrological regime of the Caspian coastal waters.