Rare Fauna Research Articles

Akkermansia muciniphila isolated from forest musk deer ameliorates diarrhea in mice via modification of gut microbiota.

The forest musk deer, a rare fauna species found in China, is famous for its musk secretion which is used in selected Traditional Chinese medicines. However, over-hunting has led to musk deer becoming an endangered species, and their survival is also greatly challenged by various high incidence and high mortality respiratory and intestinal diseases such as septic pneumonia and enteritis. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that Akkermannia muciniphila (AKK) is a promising probiotic, and we wondered whether AKK could be used as a food additive in animal breeding programmes to help prevent intestinal diseases. We isolated one AKK strain from musk deer feces (AKK-D) using an improved enrichment medium combined with real-time PCR. After confirmation by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, a series of invitro tests was conducted to evaluate the probiotic effects of AKK-D by assessing its reproductive capability, simulated gastrointestinal fluid tolerance, acid and bile salt resistance, self-aggregation ability, hydrophobicity, antibiotic sensitivity, hemolysis, harmful metabolite production, biofilm formation ability, and bacterial adhesion to gastrointestinal mucosa. The AKK-D strain has a probiotic function similar to that of the standard strain in humans (AKK-H). An invivo study found that AKK-D significantly ameliorated symptoms in the enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-induced murine diarrhea model. AKK-D improved organ damage, inhibited inflammatory responses, and improved intestinal barrier permeability. Additionally, AKK-D promoted the reconstitution and maintenance of the homeostasis of gut microflora, as indicated by the fact that AKK-D-treated mice showed a decrease in Bacteroidetes and an increase in the proportion of other beneficial bacteria like Muribaculaceae, Muribaculum, and unclassified f_Lachnospiaceae compared with the diarrhea model mice. Taken together, our data show that this novel AKK-D strain might be a potential probiotic for use in musk deer breeding, although further extensive systematic research is still needed.

Микола Матвєєв як зоолог і краєзнавець Поділля

An essay about one of the most prominent researchers of the fauna of Podillia, organiser of a number of nature protection areas and many regional and national conferences in Podillia. In the field of theriology, the researcher has been most notable for studying the winter population of bats in artificial and natural shelters of Podillia, studying a number of notable species that he could study simultaneously with bird research, including the squirrel and beaver. The researcher carries out a huge amount of organisational work, managing the biology speciality at the university, and is very active in the creation and functioning of protected areas of the rank of national and regional parks, the development of an ecological network, and the analysis and description of valuable natural objects, including rare fauna and world heritage sites.

Теріофауна Лисої гори в Києві: ознаки збереженості та рівні синантропізації

The article describes the mammal fauna of Lysa Hora, one of the key natural sites of Kyiv within the Kyiv Plateau. The analysis of various sources (original data, literature, collections, and social networks) shows the presence of 24 species of 11 families of 6 orders, including 5 species from 3 families of insectivorans, 6 species from 1 family of bats, 1 species of hares, 7 species from 3 families of rodents, 4 species from 2 families of carnivorans, and 1 species of ungulates. The ratio of alien and domestic species is high (21%), but the proportion of species with conservation statuses is also high (50%). The most valuable component of the rare fauna is bats associated with tree stands and fortifications. In general, despite significant anthropogenic changes, the local mammal fauna, combined with other animal groups and flora, makes Lysa Hora one of the most valuable natural sites in Kyiv. The conservation of the fauna of Lysa Hora requires a number of restrictions on anthropogenic activities, including a ban on any forestry activities, restrictions on recreational press, which is provided for by the current zoning of the site and which should be enshrined in the Regulations on the Lysa Hora Regional Landscape Park and the Project for the organisation of its territory.

PENGUATAN LEMBAGA ADAT “KEWANG” DALAM KONSERVASI SUMBER DAYA ALAM DI DESA HARUKU

Kewang is one of the Customary Institutions whose function is to regulate the use and protection of natural resources both on land and at sea. The role of the Kewang Customary Institution in Haruku is maximally related to the function of supervision/controlling of community activities convert the mangrove forest ecosystem which is the lompa fish habitat. In addition to the activities of the people who hunt and take eggs from scorched birds freely. The goals to be achieved from Community Service activities carried out in Haruku country are 1. Rehabilitation of mangrove forest ecosystems as lompa fish (Trisina baelama) habitat, 2. Improving partners' abilities and skills in carrying out mangrove cultivation techniques, 3. Increasing partner supervision on the presence/population of gosling birds. The method used to transfer science and technology is 1). Preparation, 2). The implementation stage consists of: counseling and training, procuring mangrove seeds/saplings and making nurseries, planting, making scorched bird breeding cages, carrying out maintenance of mangrove plants that have been planted in the field and at the nursery location. The results achieved in this activity were making nurseries and planting 1000 mangrove saplings, building 2 bird brooding cages, cleaning the beach, counseling on mangrove cultivation and nursery techniques, the Role of Indigenous Institutions in the Management of Natural Resources, Breeding of rare fauna.

Fighting the smuggling of strategically important resources for environmental safety ensuring

The international illegal trade of rare flora and fauna objects has long been an acute international issue. At the same time, a significant volume of smuggled rare species of animals and plants falls on Russian Federation. In order to counter criminal encroachments against rare and endangered species of animals and aquatic biological resources, amendments were made to the Russian criminal legislation, including Article 226.1. of Criminal Code of Russian Federation, in accordance with which criminal liability is established for the smuggling of especially valuable wild animals and aquatic biological resources listed in the Red Book of Russian Federation and (or) protected by international treaties of Russian Federation. At the same time, the imperfection of legal norms governing liability for smuggling significantly reduces the level of their protection. These circumstances require constant improvement of measures to counter smuggling, including criminal law improvement.

LATE MIOCENE–EARLY PLIOCENE EVOLUTION OF MEDITERRANEAN GOBIES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOGEOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE

The Lago Mare phase at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in the Mediterranean has long been known for the Paratethyan affinities of its biota. The taxonomic level of these affinities and their origin, however, is subject to divergent interpretations. Here, we have studied otoliths of the Gobioidei from late Miocene and early Pliocene deposits from Italy and Greece and revised earlier studies including time-equivalent data from Romania and NW Turkey. Nowadays, gobies constitute the most speciose marine fish family in Europe and the most diverse endemic family in the Ponto-Caspian region. Furthermore, they are highly adapted to nearshore shallow marine, brackish, and freshwater environments, which makes them excellent candidates to explore short-term connections of waterways of different nature. The normal marine late Tortonian and pre-evaporitic Messinian deposits of the studied Italian and Greek locations contained a rich and diverse goby assamblage, but species with Paratethyan affinities were very rare and possibly originated from connections during the early Serravallian (late Badenian) and early Messinian (early Meotian). A rare fauna from a paralic environment from Cessaniti, Calabria, similar to the mangrove environments found in the present-day Guinea coastal area, revealed two species of the family Eleotridae and no gobies with Paratethyan affinities. Cessaniti provides a unique opportunity to recognize the presence of this type of environmental context with a unique gobioid assemblage in the Neogene of Europe. The shallow-water brackish-influenced sediments of Strada degli Archi just below the MSC show an increasing influence of Paratethyan gobiid taxa (Proterorhinus yigitbasi, Zosterisessor exsul n. sp.), which are not present in time-equivalent normal marine environments, but have also been identified in the Dacic Basin of Romania. Sediments of the stage 3 ot the MSC, especially those that accumulated during the Lago Mare event, were dominated by a diverse goby assemblage with Paratethyan affinities, while indigenous Mediterranean goby taxa disappeared probably because of the lack of suitable conditions for neritic demersal stenohaline fishes, except for the nektonic Aphia minuta. The sediments of the stage 3 of the MSC also included in one particular location and level the unusual Enigmacottus socialis n. gen., n. sp., a putative member of the family Psychrolutidae of uncertain origin, which constitutes about 70% of all otoliths obtained from that interval in Italy. Beginning with the Zanclean, the goby assemblage of the Mediterranean shows an almost exclusively Atlantic-Mediterranean composition. A total of 15 new species are described, 12 in the family Gobiidae, two of the Eleotridae, and one putative Psychrolutidae. The new taxa are: Eleotris omuamuaensis n. sp., Eleotris tyrrhenicus n. sp., Lesueurigobius stazzanensis n. sp., Gobius peloponnesus n. sp., Proterorhinus cretensis n. sp., Zosterisessor exsul n. sp., Benthophilus aprutinus n. sp., Benthophilus labronicus n. sp., Caspiosoma lini n. sp., Caspiosoma paulisulcata n. sp., Thorogobius petilus n. sp., Buenia pisiformis n. sp., Hesperichthys gironeae n. sp., Knipowitschia etrusca n. sp., and Enigmacottus socialis n. gen. et n. sp.

The influence of carbon-containing greenhouse gases on the dynamics of radial increment of Pinus cembra and Picea abies in the conditions of the Gorgany Nature Reserve

Based on the tree-ring chronology, we studied the radial increment of Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) and common spruce, or Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) as indicators of dendrochronological studies and, based on tree-ring chronology, reconstructed the annual changes of stem biomass and the amount of carbon accumulated in it by P. cembra and P. abies in the Gorgany Nature Reserve. Swiss stone pine stands are of great zoological importance as biotopes of nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes L.), crossbill (Loxia curvirostra L.), capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) and other representatives of rare boreal fauna. Samples were taken from trees of the Playa forest district of the Brusturyan Forest Hunting Range State Enterprise of the Transcarpathian Regional Forestry Administration (P. cembra and P. abies) from trees that did not have visual signs of damage in the Gorgany Nature Reserve. By cross-dating the radial increments of two radii for each tree, individual chronological series were drawn up. Carbon sequestration in P. cembra and P. abies stem wood was evaluated on the basis of dendrochronological analysis of radial increment. The accuracy of cross-dating of dendrochronological series of individual trees, individual chronological series, and representativeness of the generalized series were verified by conventional methods. It was found that the average annual radial increment of the trees under study is 11.48 mm in P. cembra and 14.39 in P. abies, and varies in the range of 1.86–5.49 mm. The data obtained indicate an increase in the ability of P. cembra and P. abies to accumulate carbon with increasing age. The study of carbon sequestration in the stem wood of P. cembra and P. abies, based on dendrochronological analysis, made it possible to reconstruct the annual variation in stem biomass increment and accumulated carbon. The analysis of interdependence of the radial increment of P. cembra and P. abies in the Gorgany Nature Reserve and the value of carbon-containing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, carried out by the augmented data sample, made it possible to specify the periods most significant for the formation of annual rings. The reaction in radial increment is most pronounced from June to September, with the annual values of carbon-containing greenhouse gases being maximally reflected in radial increment for the period from October to April.

International cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters in handling with transnational wildlife trafficking crimes in Vietnam

Wildlife crimes have been continuously increasing all over the world but particularly in ASEAN countries, and the criminals have employed more and more sophisticated tatics and strategies. Though many countries have introduced their own solutions to enhance the legal response and capacity to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate wildlife-related crimes, the results so far are under expectation. Vietnam has various types of wild, precious and rare flora and fauna; however, these numbers have rapidly decreased due to uncontrolled exploitation and illegal trade. Aiming to conserve and develop the nation’s biodiversity, the Penal Code 2015 (amended in 2017) and the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 have new regulations that incorporate international conventions that Vietnam has acceded to. At the same time, Vietnam has become a transit nation employed by transnational criminal organizations, so that in order to tackle wildlife crimes effectively, it is significant to develop and sustain active international cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters among Vietnam and other countries in the region, as well as from all over the world. In that spirit, this article will concentrate on analyzing the current situation of wildlife crimes that has international elements; identifying roots of difficulties, challenges in dealing with this type of crimes in Vietnam as well as in the region; then proposing recommendations and solutions to improve the quality of handling transnational wildlife crimes for the sake of species conservation, environment and biodiveristy protection for humankind.

Новые данные по редкой фауне Оренбуржья и Бузулукского бора

Новые данные по редкой фауне Оренбуржья и Бузулукского бора

Biodiversity associations of soil fauna and plants depend on plant life form and are accounted for by rare taxa along an elevational gradient

Biodiversity interactions between aboveground and belowground biota have been a central focus of ecology in recent years, particularly in the context of environmental change. However, few studies have systematically assessed the biodiversity relationships of plants and soil fauna from rare to abundant taxa along environmental gradients, especially in the rhizosphere. This study aimed at exploring the alpha and beta diversity associations between plants and soil fauna along an elevational gradient while systematically considering rare to abundant plants and animals, and different plant life forms. We sampled soil fauna (litter fauna and rhizosphere fauna of trees, shrubs and herbs) and investigated plant diversity in 119 plots along an elevational gradient (from 1,020 to 1,770 asl) on Dongling Mountain, China. We calculated alpha diversity from both Rényi's generalized entropy function and Jost's effective species numbers assigning different weights to abundant and rare taxa. Beta diversity was obtained based on a presence–absence metric (beta-sim) and an abundance-based metric (beta-morisita). Abundant litter fauna showed decreasing alpha diversity patterns with increasing elevation, whereas rare litter fauna showed hump-shaped patterns. Abundant litter fauna diversity was positively correlated with abundant tree diversity, but rare litter fauna were negatively correlated with abundant shrub diversity. The diversity of rare fauna associated with the herb rhizosphere showed hump-shaped elevational patterns, whereas no patterns were found for abundant fauna associated with the herb rhizosphere. Rare fauna diversity associated with the herb rhizosphere was negatively correlated with rare herb diversity. No beta diversity correlations between rhizosphere fauna and plants were detected, whereas the beta-sim diversity of litter fauna was positively correlated with that of trees and herbs. Our study suggests that litter fauna are more closely coupled with plant diversity than rhizosphere fauna. We conclude that the diversity associations of plants and soil fauna are dependent on plant life form and are largely driven by rare taxa. Furthering this understanding will enhance our ability to predict the responses of belowground communities to environmental change based on information of plant communities.

Additional Records of Macrobenthic Fauna in and Around Marine National Park and Sanctuary, Gujarat, India

Additional Records of Macrobenthic Fauna in and Around Marine National Park and Sanctuary, Gujarat, India Coral reefs serving as shelter and food to many marine organisms’ world over are under the threat of bleaching due to global warming and climate change. Hence documenting the rare fauna from such habitats becomes important. The Gulf of Kachchh with its 42 islands, in western Gujarat, India has been rich in terms of marine diversity. Since, the Southern Gulf of Kachchh has its mouth opening towards the Arabian Sea the place has opportunity of having species that might migrate towards the gulf along with the tidal flow, Arabian Sea currents and the movement of vessels from world over. During our studies at Shivrajpur, Poshitra and Narara coastal reefs we have encountered three species i.e. Botrylloides diegensis, Marivagia stellata, Heteractis malu and three genus i.e. Neozoanthus spp., Ecteinascidia spp., Thysanozoon spp. that are new to the Southern Gulf of Kachchh region and Gujarat coast. We report the same over here.

The role of the biosphere reserve «Askania-Nova» in preserving the rare fauna of national and international importance

The ecosystems of the modern biosphere reserve «Askania-Nova» have been signifi cantly transformed in the course of almost 120 years of its existence and have in their natural-anthropogenic line all the variants of na- ture management inherent in the Dnieper-Molochnianske interfl uve. The largest protected steppe ecosystem of Europe and the oldest one on the planet has become a steppe oasis among the agrolandscape. Aim. The aim of the study was to determine the species diversity of rare fauna in the territory of the biosphere reserve, protected by the Red Book of Endangered Species of Ukraine, the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and according to international conventions for biodiversity preservation. Methods. The studies were conducted via the analysis of literature and archive data, electronic databases of the authors, visual observa- tions over animals within the boundaries of the biosphere reserve and insects from light traps, application of ultrasound Pettersson D 240x and Pettersson D 500x detectors with further processing using BatSound and Excel 2016 software. Results. 130 species of animals listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, 324 protected ones according to the Bern (1979) and Bonn (1979) conventions, as well as 66 species included in the list of the International Union for Nature Conservation were found in the biosphere reserve «Askania-Nova». A gradual decrease of the special steppe rare fauna with a simultaneous increase in ecological niches for rare animals of other climatic zones is traced. The character of the stay of the protected species changes and the quantita- tive indices of steppe taxa are reduced with the simultaneous increase in wetland and polyecotopic ones. Conclusions. The relevance of the correction of the existing edition of the Red Book of Ukraine has been proven, which concerns additional listing of 87 animal species as well as their current status for the territory of the biosphere reserve.

STRATIGRAPHY AND CHALKY STRATA MOLLUSKS OF THE PENINSKA ZONE IN UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS

The Peninska Zone (or Zone of Mountains) is a complicated tectonic structure. With similar configuration to that of the Carpathian Rib, it spreads as a narrow line for more than 500 km from the Viennese basin through all the West Carpathians to Romania on the South East. This structurally-tectonic element had a very important role during the Mesozoic and the Cainozoic Era in the geological development of the Carpathians and also in the building of their modern structure. The Peninska Zone divided two regions – The Outer (Flysch) and Inner Carpathians that have extremely contrastive geological histories of development. Before our days in numerous layers of Carpathians because of weak removing, there are rare fauna remnants in the flysch thick that this region is constructed of. Also because of the complicated dislocation of the rocks, whole local stratotypes are left faintly characterized from the paleontological point of view, there is no detailed comparison conducted. That is why this work is dedicated to the studying of this question.

Mammal Occurrence in Rock Outcrops in Shenandoah National Park: Ecological and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Trap Success and Co-Occurrence

ABSTRACT: Montane rock outcrops are a sensitive habitat type throughout the Appalachian Mountains. These areas provide habitat for a variety of endemic or rare fauna and flora species assemblages. Our objective was to conduct a status survey of focal mammal species considered rare in the Appalachian region, including Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister), eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), least weasel (Mustela nivalis), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), and fisher (Martes pennanti) at rock outcrops in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. From 7 May to 27 September 2015, we conducted camera surveys at 48 rock outcrop sites in the Park. Over 1,985 trap nights (TN), we obtained 2,572 images and detected 16 mammalian species. We quantified capture success, related success to a set of predefined landscape variables and determined co-occurrence patterns of various species. Allegheny woodrats had the highest capture success (10.7%; 212/1,985 TN); however, black bears (Ursus americanus) and raccoons (...

The end of the wild

Europe's last bastions of true wilderness--and the unique animals that roam in them--are under threat. A rush to build dams and motorways in eastern and south-eastern Europe in the name of economic development means rare flora and fauna could soon be gone for good. Here, Bolevich investigates what it will take to protect Europe's last remaining wildernesses and the animals they support.

Business tourism a means of dynamising the life of local communities

Abstract The touristic expansion happens easier in a balanced climate, with standards that guarantee a constant ecologic balance and avoid the overuse of resources, pollution and any other negative impacts on the environment. MICE – Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition Industry – represents one of the industries with the highest rate of growth in the world, but unfortunately it is poorly developed in Romania. In Romania, the tourism, as a socio–economic phenomenon, integrates in the country’s economy, having the necessary conditions for accentuated growth and the optimisation of the degree of usage of the touristic stock. According to the recommendations of the World Tourism Organisation, Romania should focus on the cultural, ecologic, events and spa tourism. The prognosis of the World Tourism and Travel Council from the United States of America show that by the year 2020, the rhythm of growth of the business and events tourism in Romania will be of about 8% yearly. In this context, our country may occupy an important position in the MICE touristic activities market, if it would use the existing touristic potential and future investments in order to create favourable conditions for this type of tourism. We bring into the debate the existence of equipment which could help the business tourism, the presence of beautiful landscape areas (the Danube Delta, the Black Sea seaside, medieval cities and monasteries, touristic resorts from the Carpathians also.), presentation of the local folk traditions and crafts, the chromatic spectrum of the seasons in Romania and not lastly the folklore and gastronomy. These could be joined by the existence of a rich cultural life – especially in the large cities and touristic resorts-, the presence of museums and memorial houses, and we could not exclude the areas which have preserved their natural potential and rare fauna species. This work aims to emphasize business tourism as a sustainable form of tourism, which can lead to a relaunch in services and economic development of the local communities in a competitive international economy.

Report of Four Imperative Marine Macrobenthic Fauna from the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India

Report of Four Imperative Marine Macrobenthic Fauna from the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, India The coral reef ecosystems world over are in danger of bleaching due to climate change and global warming. These coral reefs because of their high productivity support huge diversity of fauna. These fauna are also likely to face dangers due to coral bleaching and climate change. Hence documenting the rare fauna becomes important. Gulf of Kachchh bestowed with coral reef fauna, forms one of the four major reefs in India. Though the study of Coral reef fauna from Gulf is more than a century old, it is one of the least studied reefs in India. During our visits to Pirotan, Kalumbhar and Asaba peer Islands in the Southern Gulf of Kachchh, we encountered some interesting species; three Sea anemone i.e. Anemonia viridis (Forsskal, 1775), Aiptasia diaphana (Rapp, 1829), Heteractis crispa (Hemprich & Ehrenberg in Ehrenberg, 1834) and one Crab i.e. Actaea savignyii (Milne Edwards, 1834). The sea anemones have not been reported form Gulf of Kachchh reef whereas Crab that was reported in 1970 had not been discovered in recent studies. The present report is probably 2nd record with photographic evidence. This paper describes presence of above four species from islands in the region.

Evaluating the Sustainability of Nature Reserves Using an Ecological Footprint Method: A Case Study in China

Nature reserves are established to protect ecosystems and rare flora and fauna. However, with the rapid development of the social economy, many nature reserves are facing enormous pressures from human activities. The assessment of the sustainability of nature reserves is a fundamental task for the planning and management of such areas. In this study, the sustainability of China’s 319 national nature reserves (NRRs) was evaluated based on an ecological footprint (EF) method. The results indicated that the per capita ecological footprints of all national nature reserves increased 85.86% from 2000 to 2010. Meanwhile, the per capita biocapacity (BC) of all national nature reserves increased slightly, with a rate of increase of 1.79%. The ‘traffic light’ method was adopted to identify the sustainability status of those national nature reserves. It was found that currently (2010) 45% of NRRs were in the condition of ecological deficit. In terms of dynamic changes in EF and BC, only 16% of NRRs were sustainable. The 124 national nature reserves that were in the red light state were mainly distributed in Anhui Province, Chongqing City, Hunan, Guizhou, Fujian, Shandong Province, and Inner Mongolia. The percentage of nature reserves at the red light state in these areas were 83.3%, 66.7%, 64.7%, 62.5%, 58.3%, 57.1%, and 56.5%, respectively. The reserves in the red light state should be included in the priority concern level and should be strictly controlled in terms of population growth and the intensity of exploitation. The results of this study will provide more effective data for reference and for decision making support in nature reserve protection.

Ichthyofauna in the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park from Vietnam

Ichthyofauna in the phong Nha – Ke bang national Park is typically characterised by tectonic limestone structure with 300 caves, underground rivers and valuably rare flora and fauna in the Vietnam Red Book and World Red Book. Total length of cave system in this area is estimated about 80 km but joint team of Vietnamese and English explorers only discovered 20 km, in which 17 km in Phong Nha area and 3 km in Ke Bang area. Due to naturally special block Karst Phong Nha-Ke Bang, phenomenon of underground water flowing is widespread. In this region, some small streams flow into the Rao Thuong channel with some opening punctuated segments and into cave system as underground river and then gathered into Chay River and Trooc river and creat a lagest tributary of the Gianh River.

NUMERICAL MODELLING OF THE WAVE PROPAGATION CLOSE TO THE SACALIN ISLAND IN THE BLACK SEA

The target area of the present work is the nearshore neighbouring the Sacalin Island in the Black Sea, right off the Danube Delta and close to the Saint George branch of the Danube River. Being a newly formed island, this is a very special coastal environment. Moreover, because it has a great variety of rare fauna, the area was declared as an ecological reserve. A multilevel wave modelling system, based on the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) spectral model, was focused on the target area. In the final computational domain, with the highest resolution in the geographical space, the effect of the current induced by the Danube River outflow was also accounted for in the modelling process. The wave propagation patterns characteristic to this side of the sea, together with some parameters related to the shoreline conditions, were evaluated. Four different case studies were considered for a detailed analysis. The results provided by the modelling system revealed two antagonist processes. The first process, which is dominant, and that can be defined as a constructive process, corresponds to the waves coming from the northeast. The second process, which can be defined as a destructive process, corresponds to the conditions of extremely strong storms with waves coming from the southeast. Although such situations are quite rare, they might occur however from time to time and this is actually the case that generated in the winter of 2013 a strong penetration of the waves through the Sacalin Island changing the coastal configuration.