Study for Biodiversity and Conservation of Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai and Shikotan Islands

2000年和2001年，来自日本北海道的野生动物研究人员和来自库里尔斯基国家自然保护区和库页岛渔业局的俄罗斯野生动物专家访问了“北方四岛”（国后岛、Etorofu岛、Habomai岛和色丹岛），作为促进两国关系的免签证专家互访的一部分。我们对该地区的野生动物进行了视觉调查，主要是通过沿着沿海地区航行的船只进行的。从2000年7月19日到28日，在南Etorofu， Kunashiri和Shikotan，我们统计了1326只海豹和6种鲸鱼（305只）。从2001年8月13日到27日，在志丹岛和Habomai岛，我们统计了2950只海豹、430只海狮、45只海獭、2074只鲸鱼和27475只海鸟。虎鲸（Orcinus orca）是这些调查中观察到的最令人印象深刻的海洋哺乳动物。记录了7个独立小组和53个人的观察结果。虎鲸位于海洋食物链的最顶端，这一集中现象清楚地说明了这一海域生物资源的丰富性。这些海洋栖息地似乎比北海道知子半岛的生物多样性更丰富，尽管半岛受到法律保护，其原始生物栖息地保存完好，但在北海道知子半岛很少见到虎鲸。每年海冰的冻结和融化创造了一个循环，将富含营养的深水吸引到海面上。这导致从4月到7月浮游生物和浮游动物都很丰富。随着营养丰富的太平洋海水和暖流（黄豆岛）和寒流（东库页岛）的混合，浮游生物的大量繁殖将持续到11月。为了寻找北方四岛附近海域丰富的浮游生物，鱼群从亚热带迁徙而来，大批亚北极特有物种从北方聚集而来。永久居住或迁徙以这些鱼类为食的有海鸟、几种鲸鱼、海獭和六种鳍状鱼。从Etorofu海峡（Miyabe线）延伸到Tsugaru海峡（Blakiston线）的区域被认为是生物地理学方面的单一区域。然而，在近50年的苏联和俄罗斯联邦保护政策下，北方四岛仍然拥有从北海道消失的原始栖息地。其独特的生物多样性完好无损，北方四岛-陆地和海洋地区-具有重要的全球意义。少

In 2000 and 2001, wildlife researchers from Hokkaido, Japan, and Russian wildlife experts from the Kurilsky State Nature Reserve and the Sakhalin Bureau of Fishery visited the "Four Northern Islands " (Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai and Shikotan) as a part of the mutual visits without visas of specialists promoted to strengthen ties between our two countries. We conducted visual surveys of the region's wildlife, mostly from boats that traveled along the coastal areas.From July 19 to 28, 2000, in southern Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan, we counted 1,326 seals and six whale species ( 305 individuals ). From August 13 to 27, 2001, in Shikotan and Habomai Islands, we counted 2,950 seals,430 sea lions, 45 sea otters, 2,074 whales and 27,475 sea birds.Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) were the most impressive of the marine mammals observed during these surveys. Observations of seven separate groups and 53 individuals were recorded. This concentration of killer whales, which are situated at the to … More p of the ocean food chain, clearly illustrates the richness of biological resources in this marine area. These marine habitats appear to be even richer than biological diversity of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, where killer whale sightings are rare, despite the peninsula's protected legal status and its well-preserved pristine biological habitat.The annual freezing and thawing of the sea ice creates acycle which draws nutrient-rich deep water toward the surface. This results in an abundance of both photo- and zooplankton from April to July. The plankton blooms continue through November with the flush of nutrient-rich Pacific Ocean water and the mixing of warm ( Soya ) and cold ( east Sakhalin ) ocean currents.Seeking the abundant plankton in the waters off the Four Northern Islands, school of fish migrate from subtropical zones and large schools of endemic subarctic species gather from the north. Residing permanently or migrating to prey on these fish species are seabirds, several species of whale, sea otters and six pinniped fish.The region extending from the Etorofu Strait ( Miyabe line ) to the Tsugaru Strait ( Blakiston line ) is considered a single zone in terms of biogeography. And yet, under nearly 50 years of Soviet and Russian Federation conservation policies, the Four Northern Islands continue to possess pristine habitat that have vanished from Hokkaido. Their unique biodiversity intact, the Four Northern Islands - both land and marine areas - are of great global importance. Less