Ussuri Bay Research Articles

Commercial rearing of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in Peter the great bay: Methodical peculiarities and results of the work of a mariculture farm in Sukhodol Bight

Methodical approaches to commercial rearing of sea cucumber at mariculture farms in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan are discussed. This includes two basic phases, viz., intermediate rearing of underyearlings in cages and sea ranching. The survival rate of juvenile sea cucumbers during intermediate rearing in cages in Sukhodol Bight (Ussuri Bay) was shown to depend on the body size and rearing density of the juveniles and its value varied from 35 to 82%. The survival rate of two-year-old juveniles on artificial reefs reached 85%. Monitoring studies of the bottom sites showed that for the entire period of functioning of the farm, 8 years, a sea cucumber colony with the average distribution density of 1.5 inds/m2 was formed on an area of about 30 ha. The harvest of the commercial production of sea cucumbers purchased at hatcheries can be calculated taking the survival rates of juveniles during the first years of their life into account. The calculation of the production of juvenile sea cucumbers picked by collectors was based on an appraisal of the current state of their aggregation (abundance, biomass, and size structure) with use of conservation protection measures (the allowable harvest rate of 6.4%).

Integral chemical-ecological assessment of the state of Ussuri Bay (the Sea of Japan)

The paper presents data on pollutant input into and the state of biota in Ussuri Bay—the largest inner water area of Peter the Great Bay (the Sea of Japan), which is of significance for fishery and recreation. The study revealed negative dynamics in pollutant input over the past 15 years, reversible changes in the struc- tural-functional characteristics of communities and molecular biomarkers in regional indicator species in most parts of the bay. Areas with heaviest pollution and water toxicity for biota are identified.

Microelement composition of the green alga Ulva fenestrata from Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan

Concentrations of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni were determined in the thalluses of the green alga Ulva fenestrata sampled from different locations in Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan). According to the metal concentrations in Ulva, the degree of pollution of the surveyed areas in Peter the Great Bay decreases in the following series: Amur Bay > Ussuri Bay > Nakhodka Bay > Vostok Bay > the water area of Far Eastern State Marine Nature Biosphere Reserve. The microelement composition of Ulva from open-shore stations reflects the heavy metal pollution level of water areas as a whole. The concentrations of trace elements in U. fenestrata from closed coastal areas are indicative of marine coastal water pollution from local sources. Generally, metal concentrations in U. fenestrata from Peter the Great Bay are similar to heavy metal levels in non-polluted or weakly polluted coastal areas of the world.

Lower Berriasian of Southern Primorye (Far East Russia) and the problem of Boreal–Tethyan correlation

Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary deposits in the Far East of Russia are characterized by fauna of a mixed type, including Tethyan ammonites and Boreal species of Buchia. In the north of the region (Western Okhotsk area), the middle Volgian deposits comprise the upper Tithonian Durangites. In Southern Primorye, the lower Berriasian ammonites Pseudosubplanites cf. grandis, P. aff. combesi, Berriasella ex gr. jacobi, Dalmasiceras etc. occur on the Ussuri Bay coast, together with upper Volgian Buchia species. Hence, the notion of non-correspondence between the Tithonian and Volgian is confirmed, as well as that a part of the Volgian belongs to the Cretaceous. A description of the lower Berriasian ammonites and the upper Volgian Buchia is given, including one new ammonite species: Dalmasiceras orientale sp. nov.