Why are there no large deep rivers in Australia? Australian Inland Waters - Geography7
In this section of the site you will read how and where sea animals live, you will be able to learn interesting facts about them, and see photos of sea animals!
More than two thirds of the earth's surface is covered by seas and oceans. This huge mass of water is necessary for life on our planet: winds carry moisture throughout the world, it evaporates and is restored again in the form of rain and snow, feeding the flora and fauna. The sea is teeming with life, and strangely enough, both the microscopic and the largest sea inhabitants, such as the blue whale, manta ray or whale shark, feed on a large amount of food invisible to the naked eye - plankton.
Jellyfish more than 90% consists of water; Some jellyfish can cause a painful burn.
U octopus eight tentacles; it lives on the seabed and can change color to adapt to its environment.
Hawksbill turtle (caretta)- very dexterous swimmer; feeds mainly on jellyfish and crustaceans. Lays eggs in the sand on the shores of small bays.
Blue whale- this is the largest animal in the world: one female, caught in 1947, weighed 190 tons. A blue whale calf is born eight meters long and weighs up to three tons.
Marine flora consists of algae- plants without a trunk. Their life depends on sunlight, and therefore at great depths, where the rays of the sun do not penetrate, there are no algae.
Moon fish usually swims in the open sea almost at the very surface, which is why its fin emerging from the water is often mistaken for the fin of a shark; In contrast, the moon fish is completely harmless.
Angler. This amazing predatory fish lures its prey by swinging its “antenna”, at the end of which there is a growth similar to a delicious worm.
Zebra lionfish. Its spectacular appearance is fraught with serious danger - on the back of this fish there is a fin that secretes poison as strong as that of a cobra.
Needlefish. Hunts completely in a unique way: it approaches the victim, often hiding behind other fish, and with lightning speed sucks it into its long “beak”. In terms of its characteristics, the needle fish is very similar to the seahorse.
Acne. For centuries, scientists, starting with the Greek philosopher Aristotle, have tried to understand how this fish reproduces. Today it is known that it lays eggs in the Sargasso Sea, between Bermuda and the Caribbean islands. Small larvae travel many thousands of kilometers to return to the rivers where their parents come from. The eel is a very strong fish; found in fresh water and can remain out of water for a long time: part of its journey often travels on land.
Seabirds. The sea provides food for many animals that live on the coast. Among them are numerous seabirds. These birds have a lot in common: they all fly well, can land on water, swim with webbed feet, and their beaks are adapted for fishing. Many of them, such as the cormorant, are capable of chasing fish underwater.
Cormorant. The inhabitants of Japan taught this bird to fish: with every fish caught, the bird returns to its owner.
Gull. Many different species of seabirds are called gulls. You can often see flocks of seagulls chasing fishing vessels returning from fishing: they pick up waste that sailors throw overboard. Seagulls have learned to find food even in landfills in the interior of the continent, tens of kilometers from the sea.
Frigate. The male of this large, coastal-dwelling warm seas, during courtship, it inflates a huge bright red crop to attract the attention of the female.
Sea depths.
Far from the coast on great depth the algae that need it don't grow sunlight; there are only phytoplankton, formed by microscopic algae that float freely in the water. For this reason, at great depths there are mainly predators; other fish are content with phyto and zooplankton. Consisting of tiny invertebrates.
On open water spaces where there are no shelters, only large sizes can instill fear in a predator and prevent an attack. Therefore, only far from the coast are large marine inhabitants found: from cetaceans such as killer whales and whales, to big fish such as shark, tuna or swordfish.
Small fish use other methods of defense: flying fish jump high out of the water, and sardines and mackerel find salvation by gathering in large schools.
The Earth is washed by four oceans: Indian, Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific. The largest is the Pacific Ocean, its area is 180 million square kilometers. The average depth of the oceans is about 4,000 meters. The enormous length and depth do not allow exploring the bottom of the oceans; in fact, it is extremely difficult and expensive to create machines that can withstand the highest pressure that exists in the abyss of the sea.
The greatest depth of the ocean is the Mariinsky Trench in the Pacific Ocean: 11,022 meters.
Flying fish. The flying fish has highly developed lateral fins, with the help of which it makes gliding flights over the surface of the sea, escaping from predators.
A complex combination of winds, currents and tidal cycles causes waves to move. The sea rarely has waves higher than 10 meters, but waves even higher than 30 meters have been observed.
Plankton.
A large number of microscopic organisms float in the sea that are not able to withstand currents - animal (zooplankton) and plant (phytoplankton) in origin; together they make up plankton. Carried by currents, it serves as food for both the smallest fish and crustaceans, and huge mammals, such as the blue whale. Animals that can actively swim form nekton.
Zooplankton- part of plankton formed by animal organisms.
Phytoplankton- this is that part of plankton that consists of microscopic algae floating in water. A large amount of phytoplankton gives sea water characteristic greenish color.
One liter of water contains millions of microscopic organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. They not only constitute food for marine animals, but are also necessary for the restoration of oxygen.
Cetaceans.
This large mammals, inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Over millions of years of evolution, their body has acquired a shape similar to that of fish, thanks to which they swim quickly. But cetaceans, unlike fish, cannot breathe rarefied oxygen. They need to breathe air, so they are forced to swim to the surface of the sea from time to time. Their young are born in water; immediately after birth, the mother pushes them to the surface to take their first breath. This is a very important moment, and parents must be extremely careful not to encounter a predator.
The smallest cetacean is the dolphin, and the largest is the sea whale, which is also the largest animal in the world.
"Fountain". The whales may appear to be breathing out sprays of water; in fact, what we see is a stream of air mixed with a small amount of water.
The sei whale, humpback whale and blue whale feed on plankton, which they filter through dense horny plates called baleen. These plates prevent large animals from entering the mouth, so these whales do not need teeth.
Humpback whale. Unlike other whales, which prefer the open sea, the humpback whale lives close to the coast, sometimes even swimming into bays and rivers. Despite its weight of 30 tons, this frisky animal loves to “dance” when it sticks out of the water.
Sperm whale. This large animal reaches up to 20 meters in length. It feeds mainly on cephalopods, such as squid, as well as fish. When getting food, it can dive to a depth of up to two thousand meters, where giant squids weighing several centners are found. A sperm whale can hold its breath for almost two hours!
Narwhal. Due to its long, straight, horn-like tooth, the narwhal cannot be confused with anyone else. This friendly animal lives in cold Arctic waters.
Killer whale. Has a reputation as a cruel and very dangerous predator; in fact, the killer whale, like other carnivores, attacks the animals on which it feeds, but there is no evidence that it has attacked people.
Dolphin. Dolphins are very easy to tame due to the fact that they are very intelligent and have exceptional learning abilities. Dolphins, like all cetaceans, make many different sounds; This dolphin “language” is being studied by scientists. Dolphins are incredibly friendly; Once upon a time, it was a dolphin who saved a shipwrecked man from attacking sharks.
Sharks. These are very ancient fish; thanks to streamlined shape As sharks move forward, their bodies experience the negligible resistance of the water, so they swim very quickly. Unlike fish, sharks reproduce by laying eggs; Some place them at the bottom, attaching them to algae or rocks; in others, the eggs develop completely in the mother's body, and the young are born already formed. Sharks range from fearsome predators, such as the blue shark, to peaceful plankton eaters, such as the huge whale shark, which, despite its terrifying appearance, is completely harmless. The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, its body length reaches 12 meters! The blue shark is considered a man-eating shark, and there is considerable evidence that it attacks people injured in shipwrecks and swimmers.
Gray shark. Lives in tropical seas, exploring the shallows in search of fish and crustaceans. It does not attack people, but if a person gets scared and tries to escape, this shark can become very dangerous.
Sawfish. Found in warm waters Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea. A distinctive feature is the long and flat snout with small teeth arranged like the teeth of a saw. It serves the fish to comb the sandy bottom in search of small prey. Occasionally, the sawfish uses its “nose” to protect itself from enemies. Often the shark is accompanied by pilot fish; they feed on the remains of shark food, and, oddly enough, sharks do not attack them. There is an opinion that the pilot fish shows the shark the way to large schools of fish. In fact, this is just a legend without any basis.
Scat. It has a highly flattened body, which gives the impression that it is “flying” on water. Basically, the stingray lives on the bottom, at moderate depths, where it is remarkably camouflaged. Some species of stingray have a long spine on their back that secretes a strong poison. The mouth, located on the belly, has a lot of sharp teeth.
Tiger shark. This fish is called so because of the color of its skin. It swims close to the shore and feeds on everything: fish and crustaceans, birds and mammals.
Dark.
Sunlight does not penetrate water deeper than several tens of meters. Below there is constant darkness, and it is impossible to distinguish day from night. Plants cannot live without light, so there are no algae here at all. This is the reason that only predatory fish live at the depths, luring prey in various ingenious ways.
Many deep-sea fish have special luminous organs, so-called phosphors; they serve as bait that other fish cannot resist and, attracted by such “bait,” are often eaten.
Deep-sea fish are able to withstand the highest pressure; moreover, they cannot tolerate low pressure, and if they floated to the surface, they would die.
Organic substances slowly descend to the bottom of the ocean - the remains of animals and plants that died in the surface layers. All this constitutes the food of small benthic animals - this is the name given to the collection of organisms living on the bottom. Benthos, in turn, serves as food for fish and larger shellfish, which are watched by other predators that penetrate the abyss of the sea from shallower layers, for example, the sperm whale, which can dive to depths, despite the fact that it breathes atmospheric air.
Giant squid. One representative of this species of animal, “stranded” on the island of Newfoundland in Canada, weighed two tons. U giant squid the length of the body together with the tentacles reaches 13 - 18 meters, it is even suggested that they get involved in the depths of the oceans in fierce battles with sperm whales: on the body of which marks left by the tentacles are often noticed, and in the stomachs the remains of giant squid are found.
Pelican-like largemouth.
Always swims in the dark, keeping his huge mouth wide open; in this way he collects all the food that comes his way.
Arboreal linophryne. About this deep sea fish very little is known due to the difficulty of studying it in its natural habitat. Probably most of the time she lies calmly on the bottom, swaying a long antenna with a phosphor - a luminous organ located on her head. Other fish, having been caught on such bait, inevitably end their lives in the throat of linophryne.
Coral reefs.
Corals- these are small animals, in whose colonies there are millions of individuals, they live in tropical seas, attached to their bottom. Over time, one calcareous skeleton generated by them grows and forms real coral reefs in coastal areas, on which waves break; because of this, between the shore and the coral fence the sea is calmer, like in a port harbor.
coral reef- an ideal habitat for both animals and plants: the sea here is calm and warm, there is a lot of sunshine. If you look underwater through a scuba mask, you can see countless different picturesque fish “walking” among starfish and sea anemone.
If you dive on the other side of the reef, in the direction open sea, you may experience a feeling of severe dizziness: there is no bottom anymore - only bright blue water.
The largest coral reef, more than 2,000 kilometers long, is located along the coast of Australia. These coral fortresses are called large quarry reefs and pose a serious danger to mariners.
Atolls. The peaks of underwater volcanoes can rise above the water, forming small islands, or be located near the surface of the ocean. If coral colonies form around them, they take on an almost circular shape, forming atolls - coral islands.
Madrepores. Relatives of corals are also formed by colonies of polyps of calcareous nature. At night, they extend their tentacles, grabbing food consisting of plankton.
By the shore.
In the ocean near the coast, the most favorable conditions for the prosperity of the inhabitants of the underwater world: sunlight penetrates the water, promoting the rapid growth of algae and providing food for the animals that feed on them; these animals, in turn, themselves serve as food for predatory fish. And finally, the movement of the waves, which never reaches a depth of more than a few tens of meters, here causes mixing at the bottom, which contributes to its fertility.
The bottom can be rocky, muddy or sandy, and sometimes covered with algae. According to type seabed it is inhabited by various animals. For example, on a sandy bottom you can find a flounder that hides in the sand, burying itself halfway into it, and an octopus finds shelter on a rocky bottom, where it is almost invisible among the rocks.
Among the rocks washed by the sea, which provide a hospitable welcome to countless animals, there is a rich life. Some of the local inhabitants, such as mussels, patellas, urchins, starfish and sea anemones, do not swim. Crustaceans, octopuses and fish such as sargus, grouper, rockfish and moray eels lurk in the shadows of crevasses and cliffs. The flounder and the baby dragon hide in the sand, and the sultan explores it with her long antennae in search of food. All this potential prey attracts hunter fish that live in the open sea to the coast - bayfish, large serioles and zubans.
Sea urchins. When swimming in the sea, you need to be very careful not to step on these animals: the consequences can be very sad! The sea urchin's mouth is called an Aristotelian lantern and contains five constantly growing teeth. Some hedgehogs have short and dense spines, others have long and sparse spines. They differ in color.
Crustaceans. All these animals, most of them marine, have two pairs of antennae, and some also have two solid claws that can close forcefully. During the day they usually hide in rock crevices, but at night they become more active and go in search of food, which usually consists of mollusks and dead animals.
lobster found in seas almost all over the world; its weight can reach eight kilograms.
Lobster is like lobster, this is a very popular seafood product; Lobsters are caught using special traps - tops. Unlike the lobster, it has claws.
A distinctive feature of the crab is its specific way of moving sideways.
Crustaceans have a permanent burrow, where they certainly return after night forays for food: this indicates that crustaceans have a good sense of orientation. Some of them, for example, lobsters, make mass migrations over long distances.
It is generally accepted that with his huge reserves hydrogen sulfide not the best place for fishing or spearfishing. Many amateurs are skeptical about the possibilities marine resources Black Sea. But in vain! 140 species of fish live here, of which 32 are commercial. The most famous of them are horse mackerel, mullet, mullet, herring, anchovy, mackerel, tuna, garfish, shemaya and bonito.
IN last years The popularity of sawn gas, imported from the Far East, increased. Before that, he lived only in Yellow and Japanese seas. Now this half-meter fish, shaped like a mullet, feels great not only in Black and Seas of Azov, but also in fresh water bodies of Kuban.
In grottoes and among underwater rocks, black and white croakers, rock perch, laskir (sea crucian) and damselfish fish stay in schools.
Typical bottom-dwelling fish include gurnard, flounder, several varieties of gobies, sea mouse, and gurnard. It would be a good idea for novice divers and scuba divers to be reminded that among some bottom-dwelling fish there are those that it is best not to meet, and when encountered, to be extremely careful. The most harmless representative of the underwater world, contact with which is undesirable for humans, is considered sea ruffe, or scarpena. This bottom-dwelling fish, reaching a size of 25 cm, has a large head. The brown spotted color of the ruffe makes it almost invisible among stones and algae. Fish soup made from ruff is considered the best among fishermen. But you need to carefully remove the ruff from the hook, because the prick of its poisonous spines can hurt your hand for several days.
Getting to know a sea dragon, a fish up to 15-18 cm in size, can bring even more trouble. Sea Dragon usually buries itself in the sand, leaving only its eyes to see. In appearance it somewhat resembles a bull. If you step on it carelessly, you can get a wound that doesn’t heal for a long time. The injection site swells, and the pain can last up to 2 weeks or more.
A meeting with a sea cat (stingtail) is also undesirable. This fish is similar to a stingray and reaches up to 85-100 cm. Most often, the stingray lives on sandy soil. During the day it often buries itself in the sand, being active only at night. On the tail of the sea cat there is poisonous thorn, a blow to a person’s chest or stomach may even require prompt medical attention.
Stingray meat is tasty and tender. The stingray is one of the desired prey objects of underwater hunters, and this circumstance puts it on the brink of extinction.
There are fish and animals on the Black Sea coast of Russia that are listed in the Red Book. These include Russian sturgeon, beluga, stellate sturgeon, eel and 3 species of dolphins - Azovka, white sided and bottlenose dolphins.
Meetings with dolphins leave an unforgettable experience for each of us. Shining with elastic bodies that look like torpedoes, dolphins jump out of the water and can accompany pleasure boats and yachts for a long time.
Bottlenose dolphins reach 2.5-3 m in size, their weight can exceed 200 kg. It’s amazing how, with such dimensions, a dolphin reaches speeds of up to 50 km/h, and even more in a minute of special danger. Bottlenose dolphins live up to 25 years, hold on in small groups, feed on fish and invertebrates. This dolphin can dive to a depth of 150 m for food, staying under water for 15 minutes. After mating, which occurs in the warm season, the female dolphin usually gives birth to one calf. Today, experts count approximately 36 thousand dolphins in the Black Sea.
highly developed marine inhabitants with the highest intelligence for animals, they are perfectly trainable and willingly come into contact with humans. The number of convolutions in a dolphin's brain is even greater than that of a human. Dolphins are characterized by curiosity, playfulness and goodwill.
The image of dolphins has entered the legends and tales of many peoples of the world. There have been cases where dolphins helped rescue people drowning in the sea.
You can get to know these mammals better at. One of them, the most spacious and recently reconstructed, is located in the very center of the resort city, on Lunacharsky Street. It works all year round. appeared in, but it is open to visitors only in the summer season.
In the Black Sea, off the coast of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, you can find another representative of mammals - the monk seal. Poking their curious faces out of the water, these seals watch with interest the boats passing by. They are sociable and friendly, love to listen to music and, in their own way, are melancholic. The monks got their name from their hermit lifestyle.
In coastal fisheries from Ukrainian Odessa to Turkish Trebizond, for several centuries in a row, red mullet has rightfully been considered the royal fish. Dishes from red mullet were very popular back in Ancient Rome and in the palaces of the Turkish sultans. Is this why the red mullet is also called the sultana? The mullet's body, elongated and slightly flattened laterally, is covered with large scales. The mullet usually searches for food on the sandy bottom, helping itself with fork-shaped antennae.
There are two species of sharks in the Black Sea, but they are not dangerous to humans. The largest shark is the katran (spiny shark, or dogfish). The katran lives in packs, as befits predators. The average size These sharks are 120-150 cm, but there are some individuals up to 200 cm and weighing up to 18 kg. Another species of shark is the spotted shark (cat shark, or scyllium). It is smaller than a katran. Fishermen and cooks make all kinds of delicacies from sharks and prepare wonderful balyk from shark meat.
The world of underwater plants has over 100 species. It is rich and varied. Brown and green, black and brown algae cover the bottom of convenient coves and the entire coastal zone. When thrown ashore by a storm, they emit a unique smell of iodine, and we always associate it with the image of the Black Sea.
There are more than 200 species of mollusks in the waters of the Black Sea. There are shells almost everywhere on the shore. Shells are the homes of mollusks that live in the sea. As the clam grows, so does its house. Sentimental guests Black Sea resorts They often wander along the shore, looking for this or that shell among the sand and pebbles as a natural souvenir. All sizes, shapes and shades, packaged in travel bags and suitcases, these shells will go to different parts of our country and will remind their owners for a long time about a wonderful vacation on the Black Sea coast. Beads will be made from some shells. Gibula adriatica, tricia reticularis and nana are perfect for these purposes. Others will fall to the bottom of home aquariums: Venus, Donax, Iorian limpet, Tricomia. Mussel, green heart, Black Sea scallop and others are good in their own way. They will also have a use.
In the silent underwater world record holder among mollusks for the rate of reproduction over last decades became rapan. It came to the Black Sea in the 40s of the last century from the Pacific Ocean, attaching itself to the bottoms of ships. The Black Sea has become a “second home” for rapana. Not meeting here natural enemies(for example, starfish), rapan quickly multiplied and began to destroy oysters, scallops, as well as fish, including valuable species.
There are 3 types of jellyfish in the Black Sea. The most majestic and graceful jellyfish is considered to be the cornet jellyfish. She is also the largest. The dome of this jellyfish reaches 50 cm in diameter. When it comes into contact with a person, the cornet can leave a mark on his skin that resembles a burn. Experienced divers and diving enthusiasts usually move such a jellyfish away with their hands, touching it only in the upper part of the body - the dome, where there are no poisonous tentacles. Watching a jellyfish is quite an interesting process. Rhythmically waving the edges of her dome body (umbrella or parachute), she hovers as if in weightlessness and keeps her leisurely path in a direction known only to her. The gracefulness in movement of this sea creature cannot be lacking, and its poetic Latin name, Aurelia, cannot be taken away from it. Jellyfish have special organs that allow them to go to depth several hours before the storm begins.
There are 7 species of crabs in the Black Sea. The most common are stone, grass, marble and mossfoot. They are, of course, far from the size of their Pacific relatives. Most large crab Black Sea stone, its diameter is no more than 20-22 centimeters, but the smallest pea crab, slightly larger than a thimble.
Besides the sea, another unique and charming part is. Stretching from Novorossiysk to the southeast by two parallel ridges, Markotkhsky and Skalisty, they occupy 90% of the entire area of the Gelendzhik region.
Animal world Black Sea
Introduction
The Black Sea is surrounded on all sides by land, but is still not a lake - it is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the narrow Bosporus Strait and the wider Dardanelles (Scylla and Charybdis in Greek mythology). The exchange of water with the ocean through these straits is difficult, so there are no ebbs and flows in the Black Sea.
An important feature of the Black Sea is the many rivers flowing into it; they collect water from a quarter of Europe. The Danube brings the most water; it flows through 10 countries, and several European capitals stand on its banks; and there is also the Dnieper, Dniester, Bug, Don, Kuban, Rioni... The most powerful pressure river water even leads to a difference in sea levels on its different shores: on our Caucasian coast it is on average 4 meters higher than in the Bosphorus area. This is how a current is formed through the Bosphorus Strait, directed from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Rivers desalinate Black Sea water - its liter contains 17 grams of salt, versus 35 in the ocean.
The Black Sea drainage basin is the area from which water flows into the sea. In total, 350 cubic kilometers of river water per year enter the Black Sea. Earth's surface The area from which the rivers collect this water is 5 times larger than the area of the Black Sea itself.
This salinity is too low for most marine organisms, so the diversity of underwater life here is relatively (but only relatively!) small. The number of species of bottom animals (molluscs, crustaceans, worms, etc.) in the Black Sea is 2-5 times less, bottom plants - approximately 2 times, planktonic organisms - 1.5 times less than in the neighboring Mediterranean Sea. In the Black Sea there are neither starfish nor sea urchins, neither sea lilies- of the echinoderms, only small brittle stars and sea cucumbers have adapted to live here. There are no sharks here - except for a small katran, there are no flying fish, cephalopods- octopuses, cuttlefish, squid, no corals - even soft ones. But, despite the fact that the Black Sea underwater life is inferior in diversity coral reefs, it’s still amazing - you’ll definitely have enough underwater surprises for a month by the sea!
The concentration of chlorophyll in the surface layer of sea waters, and therefore the productivity of the ecosystem, is higher in the Black Sea than in the Mediterranean. The red color in the western part of the Black Sea is a bloom of phytoplankton in overfertilized waters brought by the Danube. The shallow, over-fertilized Don and Kuban Sea of Azov also bloomed in April 2003.
Along the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean there is a desert - there are no rivers carrying nutrients to the sea; as a result, there is a desert in the sea, in the picture there is only blue color. Please note that even this mighty river, like the Nile, cannot provide nutrients to the sea. Only near the Nile delta itself - in the lower part of the image, narrow yellow stripe- an increase in phytoplankton concentration is visible. And the fertile Black Sea is full of life.
The same rivers that desalinate the Black Sea also bring great amount nutrients, necessary for the development of marine vegetation - unicellular and multicellular algae. Therefore, the Black Sea is more productive and more productive than many seas temperate zone- there is more plankton here, algae grows more densely along the shores. It turns out that due to the unusually large influx of rivers into the Black Sea, life in it is not very diverse, but its total mass is large. The natural resources of the Black Sea were appreciated by the ancient Greeks - we know about this from the ancient classics - the historian Herodotus and the geographer Strabo. They colorfully described the Black Sea fish abundance - in those days, herds of two-meter tuna walked along the Black Sea, and huge sturgeons were common here; The Greeks compared the Black Sea with their native, less productive, eastern Mediterranean.
The Hellenes made large-scale practical conclusions from their observations - starting from the 7th century BC, they began to build colony cities on the Black Sea shores. You can still find their traces today along all the shores of the Black Sea. For example, the beautiful Crimean city of Sevastopol grew out of the Greek and then Byzantine colony of Chersonesos. In Anapa, in the city center, there is a museum of excavations of the ancient colony of Gorgippia, which was part of the Bosporus Kingdom, which flourished on both sides of the Kerch Strait. Both of these settlements were founded almost 3,000 years ago.
Of course, people lived here before the Greeks - the Scythian and then Sarmatian nomadic tribes played the greatest role in the history of their time and left us the most archaeological evidence; In the Black Sea steppes, between the Don and Kuban rivers, lived the famous warrior tribe of nomadic women - the Amazons. Historian linguists consider the northern steppe Black Sea region to be the birthplace of the Proto-Indo-European language - the seed language from which all the languages of the Indo-European group grew. But the first permanent settlements on the Black Sea shores were the Hellenic colonies - with them the modern, European history Black Sea.
The ancient Greeks were brought here by fish - fishing and it became their main trade; in salted and smoked form, it was sent on ships to Greece for sale. Later, the colonists established relations with local warlike nomads and developed the fertile Black Sea lands: local wheat became bread for Hellas, wine from the vineyards of Taman was drunk in the metropolises - Greek city-states. After the Greeks, the Romans, Byzantines, Genoese, and Venetians built cities and fortresses on the Black Sea shores. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the Black Sea nurtured - in the cradle - the southern European ancient civilization. This is a wonderful example of how a rare combination natural conditions- and the resulting wealth, productivity of the marine ecosystem - led to rapid development and the outstanding role of the entire region in history.
Unfortunately, through the efforts of our ancestors, everything has changed since those distant times. Commercial species There is less fish - mainly due to its predatory overfishing: salmon, sturgeon, bonito have become extremely rare, and the stock of the main commercial fish of the Black Sea - anchovy - has not yet recovered from the catastrophic decline at the end of the last century. Tuna and mackerel, which once came here as a summer pasture from Sea of Marmara- the fish refuses to cross the Bosphorus, which is super-polluted by the city runoff of Istanbul.
A powerful influx of nutrients (primarily nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing salts) from rivers sometimes leads to strong growth planktonic unicellular algae, sea water near the shore changes color - it becomes green, brown or red - “blooms”. The marine ecosystem cannot cope with such an abundance of food; marine bacteria do not have time to decompose the remains of life, and therefore warm period year in Black Sea water there is a large amount of organic suspension - “turbidity”. The water is clouded by both living plankton and clay particles, which are carried into the sea in abundance by rivers after rains. Transparency coastal waters in the Black Sea it rarely exceeds 7 meters; the exception is the southern coast of Crimea - there, even in summer, transparency reaches 15-20 meters.
In cloudy weather, under black clouds, the surface of the sea darkens - it is believed that this is why the Black Sea got its name: Turkic nomads who came here from the sunny shores of the Mediterranean called it Kara-Deniz - the Black Sea. This is what it is called in Turkish to this day. And in Bulgarian - Cherno More, and in Ukrainian Cherne More, and in Romanian - Marea Neagra. And the Hellenes, who came here a thousand years before the eastern travelers, first called this sea Pontos Axenos - an inhospitable, hostile sea. True, having lived here longer, they renamed it - Pontos Euxinos - fertile, favorable sea.
There is another plausible assumption about the origin of the name of the sea. It has been known since ancient times that all objects that have been in its abyss turn black. This is due to the fact that the Black Sea water at a depth of more than 200 meters is enriched with hydrogen sulfide, and this substance easily forms black salts with all metals - sulfides. And in bottom soils - silt, sand - hydrogen sulfide is detected already millimeters below their surface. Therefore, shell shells lying in the ground also turn black.
Presence large quantity hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is one of its most unusual properties. Below 200 meters there is no oxygen in the Black Sea water; neither animals nor plants can live there. At depths from 200 meters to the very bottom, only bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide live. There is no other sea like this in the world.
Oxygen penetrates into the sea through the surface - from the air; and also - it is formed in the upper illuminated layer of water during photosynthesis of algae. In order for oxygen to reach the depths, the sea must mix - due to waves and vertical currents. And in the Black Sea, the water mixes very weakly - it takes hundreds of years for water from the surface to reach the bottom!
So, the surface of the Black Sea is not large enough to provide oxygen to the entire mass of water in the sea, vertical currents and storm waves are not enough for rapid mixing; In addition, all the rapidly developing Black Sea life breathes - planktonic crustaceans, jellyfish, crabs, fish, dolphins breathe, even the algae themselves breathe - they consume oxygen. All these reasons add up, and it turns out that there is only enough oxygen for the life of animals and plants in the upper 150 meters of the Black Sea. Its concentration decreases with depth - similar to salinity, density and temperature of water. Therefore, the bulk of life is concentrated above 100 meters depth.
1. A little about different things
The Black Sea is very unique and unique in its composition and distribution of living organisms. Not a single sea on Earth is divided in depth into two zones - oxygen (up to a depth of 150-200 m) and hydrogen sulfide devoid of life (below 200 m), occupying 87% of its water mass.
Animals and plants have only 13% of the volume of water at their disposal. It is in the oxygen layer that several hundred planktonic and benthic algae and more than 2,500 species of animals live. Among the last 500 species single-celled organisms, about 1900 - invertebrates, 185 species of fish and 4 species of mammals. Phytoplankton include green, blue-green, silicate, peridine and diatoms. The most common algae that grow rapidly in summer are exuviella, peridinium and ceracium. Diatoms have two seasonal peaks in reproduction: in early spring and in autumn. In February-March, during an outbreak of phytoplankton development, you can observe a change in the color of the water in the coastal part of the sea - from blue it becomes brown. This is due to mass fission planktonic algae, and this phenomenon is called “water bloom”. Especially intensively at this time, several times a day, such mass species, such as Skeletonema, Chaetoceros and Rhizosolenia. Benthic algae include green, blue-green, brown, red and two types of flowering algae - eostera and rupia. There are 304 benthic species in total, and the most common among them are Phyllophora and Cystoseira. The first makes up approximately 95%, the second - 4% of the total mass of bottom algae. Phyllophora is concentrated in the northwestern part of the sea, Cystoseira is found everywhere, but it is especially abundant in southern shores Crimea. Its thickets are a favorite habitat for fry of more than 30 species of fish, and all because it is difficult to find a more feeding place in the sea. With 1 kg of cystoseira you can collect 9000 tasty polychaete worms, 3000 small clams and up to 2000 crustaceans.
Lit.: Bogorov V.G., Life of the Sea, [M.], 1954; Zenkevich L. A., Fauna and biological productivity of the sea, vol. 1-2, M., 1947-51; by him, Biology of the Seas of the USSR, M., 1963; Tarasov N.I., The Sea Lives, M., 1951; Belyaev G.M., Bottom fauna of the greatest depths (ultraabyssal) of the world ocean, M., 1966; Animal life, vol. 1-6, M., 1968-71; Ressel F. S. and Yong C. M., Life of the Sea, trans. from English, M. - L., 1934; Sea, lane from French, M., 1960.
G. M. Belyaev.
Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .
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Flora and fauna of the Black Sea
Over the past millennia, the current unique appearance of the Black Sea has developed. This is the freshest sea, with the most low content in sea water there is salt, the most kind sea to people on the entire globe!
The Black Sea is the world's northernmost subtropics, amazingly beautiful southern nature. These are walks under the shade of palm trees and eucalyptus trees. This is the heady aroma of blooming magnolias and meadow grass. The Mediterranean Sea brought most of the modern inhabitants of the Black Sea. The few survivors of the disaster are relicts freshwater species, including the famous Azov-Black Sea sturgeon, took refuge in the deltas of the rivers of the Black Sea region.
The area of the Black Sea is about 413 square meters. km. Maximum depth reaches 2212 m. This is the warmest sea in Russia. The water temperature on the surface ranges from +6 in winter to + 26 or more in summer. The length of the Russian coast is 457 km.
Vegetable world Black Sea.
The flora of the Black Sea includes 270 species of multicellular green, brown, red bottom algae (Cystoseira, Phyllophora, Zostera, Cladophora, Ulva, Enteromorpha, etc.). The phytoplankton of the Black Sea contains at least six hundred species. The world of underwater plants has about 100 species. Some of them reach several meters in length. Others have the property of glowing. Among the algae and There are both poisonous and edible and beneficial sea herbs. For example, agar-agar is obtained from red algae - a most valuable product for confectionery production.
Among the planktonic algae that live in the Black Sea, there is such an unusual species as noctiluca (nightlight) - a predator algae (1-3 mm in diameter) that feeds on ready-made organic substances and, in addition, has the ability to phosphoresce (it is thanks to this algae that in August it is sometimes observed glow of the sea).
Fauna of the Black Sea.
The fauna of the Black Sea is noticeably poorer than that of the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea is home to 2.5 thousand species of animals (of which 500 species are unicellular, 160 species of vertebrates - fish and mammals, 500 species of crustaceans, 200 species of mollusks, the rest are invertebrates different types), for comparison, in the Mediterranean there are about 9 thousand species.
Among the main reasons for the relative poverty of the Black Sea fauna: a wide range of water salinities, moderately cold water, and the presence of hydrogen sulfide at high depths. In this regard, the Black Sea is suitable for habitat of fairly unpretentious species, at all stages of development of which they do not require great depths.
The bottom of the Black Sea is inhabited by mussels, oysters, pecten, as well as the predator mollusk rapana, brought with ships from the Far East. Numerous crabs live in the crevices of coastal rocks and among stones, there are shrimps, and different kinds jellyfish (the most common are cornet and aurelia), sea anemones, sponges.
Fishes of the Black Sea.
Among the fish found in the Black Sea (180 species): various types of gobies (bighead goby, whip goby, round goby, martin goby, rotan goby), Azov anchovy, Black Sea anchovy, katran shark, flounder-gloss, mullet of five species, bluefish, hake (hake), sea ruffe, red mullet (common Black Sea mullet), haddock, mackerel, mackerel, Black Sea-Azov herring, Black Sea-Azov sprat, etc. There are sturgeon (beluga, Black Sea- Azov sturgeon).
The only shark living in the Black Sea is spiny shark (katran)- rarely grows more than one meter in length, is afraid of people and rarely approaches the shore, staying in the cold water layers at depth. At the same time, the katran is a rather valuable fishing trophy (it is believed that the liver oil of this shark has healing properties) and can pose a danger to the fisherman: the dorsal fins of the katran are equipped with large poisonous spines.
Among the dangerous fish of the Black Sea - sea dragon (the most dangerous - the spines are poisonous dorsal fin and gill covers), Black Sea and noticeable scorpionfish, stingray(sea cat) with poisonous spines on its tail.
There are two species in the Black Sea scorpionfish - conspicuous scorpionfish Scorpaena notata, it is no more than 15 centimeters in length, and the Black Sea scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus - up to half a meter - but such large ones are found deeper, further from the coast. The main difference between the Black Sea scorpionfish is its long, rag-like flaps, supraorbital tentacles. In the noticeable scorpion fish these outgrowths are short.
Sea ruffe, Black Sea scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus. This is a real monster - a large head covered with outgrowths, horns, bulging crimson eyes, a huge mouth with thick lips. The rays of the dorsal fin are turned into sharp spines, which the scorpionfish, if disturbed, spreads out; at the base of each ray is a poisonous gland. This is the ruff's protection from predators, its weapon of defense. And the attack weapon - jaws with many sharp crooked teeth - are intended for careless fish that approach the scorpionfish within the distance of its swift, furious throw. The whole appearance of the scorpionfish speaks of its danger; and at the same time she is beautiful - and there are very scorpionfish different colors- black, gray, brown, raspberry-yellow, pink...
These prickly predators lurk between stones, under algae, and, like all bottom-dwelling fish, change color to match the color of their surroundings and can quickly lighten or darken depending on the light. The scorpionfish is also hidden by numerous outgrowths, spines and leathery tentacles, turning it into one of the stones overgrown with marine vegetation. Therefore, it is difficult to notice her, and she herself relies so much on her inconspicuousness that she floats away (or rather, flies away like a bullet from a gun!) only if you approach her closely. Sometimes you can even touch it - but that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do - you’ll get pricked! It’s more interesting to watch a scorpionfish hunt while lying on the surface of the water and breathing through a snorkel...
Wounds from scorpionfish thorns cause burning pain, the area around the injections turns red and swells, then - general malaise, temperature, and your rest is interrupted for a day or two. If you have suffered from ruff thorns, consult a doctor. Wounds should be treated like regular scratches. The main symptoms of poisoning by sea ruffe are local inflammation (where they were injected) and a general allergic reaction. Therefore, the only tablets that can help are antiallergic (antihistamine) drugs - remember that you must strictly follow the instructions for use of the tablets that come with all medications. Deaths It is not known from scorpionfish injections. No one steps on it by accident either - curious divers and fishermen suffer from its thorns when they remove a ruff from a hook or take it out of a net. By the way, the sea ruff is very delicious fish, you just need to clean it carefully - the poison is retained even by scorpionfish that have been in the refrigerator.
Sea dragon Trachinus draco. An elongated, snake-like, bottom-dwelling fish with an angular large head. Like other bottom-dwelling predators, the dragon has bulging eyes on the top of its head and a huge, greedy mouth. The sea dragon (sometimes fishermen call it a snake) prefers soft soils - sand, silt, into which it burrows, lying in wait for prey - small fish; Only his keen, evil eyes remain above the surface of the bottom. Sensing danger, the dragonet spreads the black fan of its dorsal fin, all five rays of which are poisoned spines. Another poisonous thorn grows back from operculum. At Mediterranean resorts, vacationers occasionally step on prickly dragons buried in the sand, but there have not yet been such cases on our Black Sea beaches. Sometimes fishermen get injured when they catch it with a net or fishing rod. The consequences of a poisonous injection from a dragon are much more serious than in the case of scorpionfish, but the treatment is the same.
Stingrays- relatives of sharks, they also belong to cartilaginous fish: the spine, ribs, and skull are made of cartilage. The stingray has no sides - only the back and belly, top and bottom. They live in the Black Sea stingray sea fox Raja clavata- large, up to one and a half meters from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, it is not dangerous for humans - unless, of course, you try to grab it by the tail, covered with long sharp spines; And stingray, aka - catfish, up to 70 cm in length. They live on the bottom, and at the bottom they also find food - shellfish, crabs; therefore, their mouth is shifted under the flat head, and their eyes and squirts are gill slits- located at the top. Stingrays swim, waving wide planes of the body, like wings, and their caudal fin disappears, leaving only its stem - the tail itself. Stingtail uses it as a weapon. He has a thorn on his tail, or rather real sword- up to 20 centimeters in length. Its edges are very sharp, and also jagged, along the blade, on the lower side there is a groove in which dark poison from the poisonous gland on the tail is visible. If you touch a stingray lying at the bottom, it will strike with its tail like a whip; at the same time, it sticks out its spine and can cause a deep chopped wound. A wound from a stingray blow is treated like any other.
Fortunately, sea cats are shy, afraid of noise, try to swim away from swimmers, and they are not found where children swim. And in the spring sandy shallow water You can often find stingrays gliding over the flat bottom, smoothly flapping their wings. Having circled, the stingray slides to the bottom and, raising a cloud of sand with a flapping of its wings, sprinkles it on itself, becoming completely invisible.
There is no one else harmful and dangerous in the Black Sea - not electric stingrays, no man-eating sharks, no Portuguese man-of-war, no toothy moray eels.
From birds Seagulls, petrels, diving ducks, cormorants and a number of other species are common.
Mammals are represented in the Black Sea by two species of dolphins (the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin), the Azov-Black Sea harbor porpoise (often called the Azov dolphin), and also the white-bellied seal. TO Dolphins are much better suited for moving in water than fish. The front fins serve the dolphin as rudders for depth, turns and brakes. The horizontally located tail fin is nothing more than a kind of powerful propeller, thanks to which dolphins reach cruising speeds, accompanying and even driving sea vessels for a long time. Their speed of movement can reach 60-68 km/h.
It may happen that, after swimming far from the shore, you will meet a dolphin in the sea. Don't be alarmed. Over several thousand years of communication between humans and dolphins, not a single case of aggressiveness on the part of a dolphin has been recorded. Therefore, do not shout, do not make sudden movements and do not make the dolphin laugh - do not try to “run away”. One movement of his tail is enough to catch up with you. Swim calmly to the shore, even if from time to time a wet, smiling dolphin’s face pokes out of the water next to you.
Shellfish.
More than 200 species of mollusks are found in the Black Sea ( sea stalk, scallop, whelk, skafarka, mussel, donax, venus, oyster). The most common among them are mussels and rapana.
Mollusk predator rapana arrived in the Black Sea on the bottoms of ships from the Pacific Ocean in the late 40s of the 20th century. Having no natural enemies here (for example, starfish, which cannot live in the Black Sea due to the low salinity of the waters), he ate all the oysters and scallops, and now took up mussels and cuttings. Young rapana drill into the shell of the victim and drink the contents, and adult individuals secrete mucus, which paralyzes the valves of the mollusk and allows the rapana to eat the host. Rapana is edible. You can make a delicious soup from it, and its meat resembles sturgeon. It is believed that rapana is the closest relative of those same extinct mollusks from whose shells the ancient Phoenicians obtained their famous purple dye.
Jellyfish.
Most often in the sea there are jellyfish with the names aurelia and cornerot. Cornerot- the largest Black Sea jellyfish, and aurelia the smallest. If aurelia is rarely more than 30 cm in diameter, then the size of the dome of the cornerot can reach half a meter.
Jellyfish immobilize and kill their prey with the help of special stinging cells: they contain a capsule with poison and a sharp and jagged spear connected to it, coiled into a tight spring. The spring straightens, and the poisoned spear plunges into the body of the victim when it touches a sensitive hair on the surface of the stinging cell - a kind of trigger this weapon. In the body of the victim, the sharp tip of the hollow spear breaks off, and paralyzing poison pours out of it, like from a tube.
Along the edges of the umbrella aurelia there are numerous short tentacles and eight marginal bodies - rhopalia. Rhopalia are the sense organs of the jellyfish and determine its position in the water and the rhythm of the umbrella contractions. By detecting infrasounds, rhopalia warn the jellyfish about the approaching storm and allow them to move away from it. Perhaps the rhopalia perceive light. Four thickened oral arms, each with a central groove, are framed by curled lips. These lips, hanging down like a hare's ears, gave one of the names of the species. The gonads of the aurelia create a characteristic pattern visible from the back. They are located near the stomach or radial canals. Aurelia is easy to distinguish from other jellyfish precisely by its gonads - four blue-red or yellow horseshoe-shaped formations visible through the dome of the body.
Aurelia is not poisonous, but cornermouth may cause a scald-like burn nettle. The burn may cause a slight burning sensation, redness, and sometimes blistering. In order not to experience the effects of the poison of this beautiful jellyfish with a slightly purple dome, when meeting it, it is enough to move it away from you with your hand, grasping the upper part of the dome, on which there are no tentacles.
Medusa Cornerot easily distinguished by its fleshy, bell-shaped dome and heavy beard of oral lobes underneath. If it gets on the mucous membrane, its poison can cause a second-degree burn. Damage to the cornea is possible, and inflammation of the eye is guaranteed. Another large Black Sea jellyfish is Aurelia - its poison does not penetrate the skin, but it can be painful to burn the mucous membrane of the eyes or the edges of the lips.
Although there are vacationers who deliberately seek encounters with stinging jellyfish. They believe in the healing power of the cornorot poison. It is believed that if you rub a person’s body with jellyfish, you can be cured of radiculitis. It's a delusion. Such therapy does not bring relief, but causes suffering to both the jellyfish and the patient.