Survey of the Biodiversity of the Kuril Archipelago

9400821千岛群岛的岛屿构成了鄂霍次克海的东部边界，是连接日本最北端的北海道和俄罗斯堪察加半岛的桥梁。它们是研究岛上居民起源的天然实验室。尽管有大量关于鲑鱼和海洋哺乳动物等广泛的、具有重要商业价值的物种的信息，但千岛群岛作为一个整体的动植物群却鲜为人知。与此同时，当前的政治局势对这些岛屿构成了严重的环境威胁。一个由不超过12名俄罗斯、日本和美国科学家组成的团队将对库纳希尔和伊图鲁普岛的淡水和陆地软体动物进行调查和清点，库纳希尔和伊图鲁普岛是千岛群岛生物多样性最丰富的两个岛屿。该项目与东道国的大学以及国家和地方政府合作，将为教师、学生和政府生物学家提供培训。这次初步考察的结果将证明，最初提议中描述的那种全面的生物调查是否可行。与此同时，这项工作将是朝着建立信息基础的重要开始，以促进未来的长期研究和保护。

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.