News in Press-centre

The scientists of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) have discovered the amazing biological diversity of the northern seas of Russia. The results of three joint deep-water expeditions in 2016 were presented at the conference 'Scientific and Technological Developments in the Study and Monitoring of Marine Biological Resources' in FEFU on May 22, the International Day of Biodiversity.

Academician Andrey Adrianov, the Director of the School of Natural Sciences of Far Eastern Federal University and the National Scientific Center for Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that in the summer of 2016 scientists conducted deep-sea research in the Chukchi Sea (up to 1,000 m), in an underwater volcano in the Bering Sea (up to 4,200 m), and Kuril–Kamchatka Trench (up to 9,500 m). The results impressed even experienced researchers: the depths previously considered to be practically uninhabited proved to be unusually rich in terms of the diversity of marine organisms. Specialists claim that these are hundreds of new types of crustaceans, shellfish, anemones, and other types of animals.

“Biological diversity is not very high in the central Arctic seas, primarily because of large rivers that flow into them and bring a large amount of fresh water,” explained Andrey Adrianov. “But the seas, located closer to the Pacific Ocean, really impress with their diversity. For example, a large number of live creatures—echinoderms, corals, starfish, and bivalved mollusks—have been discovered on the slopes of the underwater volcano in the Bering Sea, the base of which is at a depth of 4,200 meters. It turned out that this is a unique ecosystem where our scientists have gathered the richest material for research.”

Andrey Adrianov points out the expedition to the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench area will bring a world science at least 500 new species of marine organisms, during which for the first time a large-scale collection of marine inhabitants of less than 1 cm was made at depths up to 9,500 meters. A plethora of unique flora and fauna, previously uncharacteristic for these places, was also found in the Chukchi Sea. The researchers face the laborious work on the classification of new organisms, and species promising for use, for example, in pharmacy, will be transferred to other laboratories of the university and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to the academician, the results of the research were achieved, first of all, thanks to the newest technical facilities, which are jointly developed by the FEFU and FEB RAS scientists. Underwater vehicles make possible to study comprehensively the terrain, to analyze and most accurately count marine life at great depths.

The creation of monitoring technologies is one of the key areas of the Russian Science Foundation megagrant, which has been implemented in FEFU from 2014 to 2018. A large-scale study aims to monitor, conserve and manage marine biological resources. Scientists of the School of Natural Sciences, the School of Biomedicine and several institutes of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences are involved in the work.

The International Conference 'Scientific and Technological Developments in the Study and Monitoring of Marine Biological Resources' takes place in FEFU and the Primorsky Oceanarium til May 24. Biologists from Russia, China, Vietnam, and Japan share the experience of using new technologies in expeditions, the results of recent research in the biochemistry of marine organisms, marine pharmacology, and genetics.