TOMSK, Oct 10 – RIA Tomsk. The largest Arctic
maritime expedition in the history of Russia under the leadership of
Biological Institute of Tomsk State University (BI TSU) employee Alexey
Orlov revealed a change in the habitats of some animals; scientists
brought four centners of samples for research on environmental changes,
the university’s press service said on Thursday.
Earlier it was reported that a group of ichthyologists,
oceanologists, geneticists, acoustics, hydrobiologists and hydrochemists
go on an expedition aboard the research vessel "Professor Levanidov",
studied aquatic biological resources in the Chukchi, East Siberian, Kara
Seas and Laptev Seas. The expedition was led by the employee of the TSU
Biological Institute and the Russian Federal Research Institute Of
Fishiries and Oceanography (VNIRO) Orlov.
According to the press service, the expedition lasted a hundred days
and became the largest in the history of Russian Arctic marine research.
During it, scientists noted that the influence of man and global
climate change in the macro-region is becoming more noticeable. In
particular, the absence of ice in most of the examined seas in September
was unexpected.
"A change in the range of individual species has been noted. So, for
the first time, scientists caught the blue catfish, also called the "sea
wolf", and perch-beak in the Laptev Sea. The eastern border of their
range is traditionally located in the Barents Sea, which is over two
thousand kilometers away. In addition, The Laptev Sea was the first
recorded pollock, which is a purely Far Eastern species", – is said in
the report.
It is noted that in the northeastern part of the East Siberian Sea
and throughout the Kara Sea researchers discovered the opilio shear crab
previously not anticipated there. Moreover, the population of this
species is so high that it may make possible its commercial catch in the
near future.
"Scientists delivered 400 kilograms of frozen samples to the earth,
the study of which will require not only a lot of time, but also
significant finances. The results of these studies will help to
comprehensively assess the state of natural resources, which is
necessary for the reclamation and development of the Arctic", – notes
the press service.
It is added that, based on the results of genetic research, the new
data will also help scientists identify the causes of environmental
changes.
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"Professor Levanidov" vessel