The current state of subtidal macrophyte communities of Ussuriysky and Amursky Bays, Sea of Japan

Abstract

In June 2009, macrophytobenthos communities were studied by the method of sample plots in some areas of Amursky Bay (the cove south of the Krasnyi Cape) and Ussuriysky Bay (the bay south of the Zelyonyi Cape, Sobol’ Bay, and at the southern extremity of Engelm Island) in the Sea of Japan. In total, 12 phytocenoses were found. Three phytocenoses, Zostera marina + Sargassum pallidum, Punctaria plantaginea, and Costaria costata + Desmarestia ligulata were identified in the water area near the Zelyonyi Cape. In the Sobol’ Bay, four phytocenoses were formed, Phyllospadix iwatensis, Sargassum pallidum + Costaria costata, Polysiphonia morrowii + Palmaria stenogona, and Desmarestia viridis + P. morrowii. Three phytocenoses were observed at the southern coast of Engelm Island, Chordaria flagelliformis + Neorhodomela larix, Desmarestia viridis, and Costaria costata. Two phytocenoses were described in the bay south of Krasnyi Cape, viz., Zostera marina + Sargassum miyabei and Saccharina cichorioides. Detailed descriptions of phytocenoses and data on the biomass of dominant and minor species are reported. The data on the composition of communities of macrophytes can be used in monitoring programs of coastal marine ecosystems of the Peter the Great Bay.