Survey of the Biodiversity of the Kuril Archipelago

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9400821 Pietsch The islands of the Kuril Archipelago form the eastern boundary of the Okhotsk Sea and a bridge between Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, and the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. They are a natural laboratory for investigations into the origin of insular populations. Although considerable information is available for wide-ranging, commercially important species, such as salmon and marine mammals, the flora and fauna of the Kurils as a whole are poorly known. At the same time, the current political situation poses a serious environmental threat to the islands. A team of no more than twelve Russian, Japanese, and American scientists will conduct a survey and inventory of the freshwater and terrestrial mollusks of Kunashir and Iturup, two of the most biologically diverse islands of the Kuril Archipelago. Working cooperatively with universities and the national and local governments of the host country, the project will provide training for faculty, students and government biologists. The results of this preliminary expedition will demonstrate whether a full-scale biotic survey, of the kind described in the initial proposal, is feasible. At the same time, the work will represent a significant start toward building a foundation of information to promote long-term future research and conservation.