Who lives in the Black Sea? Beautiful, but dangerous inhabitants of the seas and oceans.

Original taken from billfish561 in Beautiful, but dangerous inhabitants of the seas and oceans.

There are quite a lot of creatures living in sea and ocean waters, an encounter with which can cause a person trouble in the form of injury or even lead to disability or death.

Here I have tried to describe the most common sea inhabitants that you should be wary of when you encounter them in the water, while relaxing and swimming on the beach of a resort or while diving.
If you ask any person "...Which inhabitant of the seas and oceans is the most dangerous?", then we will almost always hear the answer “... shark..." But is this so? Who is more dangerous, a shark or an outwardly completely harmless shell?

Moray eels

It reaches a length of 3 m and a weight of up to 10 kg, but as a rule, individuals are found about a meter long. The fish has bare skin, without scales. They are found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and are widespread in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Moray eels live in the bottom layer of water, one might say at the bottom. During the day, moray eels sit in crevices of rocks or corals, sticking their heads out and usually moving them from side to side, looking for passing prey; at night they get out of their shelters to hunt. Moray eels usually feed on fish, but they also attack crustaceans and octopuses, which are caught from ambush.

After processing, moray eel meat can be eaten. It was especially valued by the ancient Romans.

Moray eel is potentially dangerous to humans. A diver who has become a victim of a moray eel attack always somehow provokes this attack - he sticks his hand or foot into the crevice where the moray eel is hiding, or chases it. A moray eel, when attacking a person, inflicts a wound that is similar to the bite mark of a barracuda, but unlike a barracuda, the moray eel does not immediately swim away, but hangs on its victim like a bulldog. She can grab the arm with a bulldog death grip, from which the diver cannot free himself, and then he can die.

It is not poisonous, but since moray eels do not disdain carrion, the wounds are very painful, do not heal for a long time and often become inflamed. Hides among underwater rocks and coral reefs in crevices and caves.

When moray eels begin to feel hungry, they jump out of their shelters like an arrow and grab a victim swimming by. Very gluttonous. Very strong jaws and sharp teeth.

Moray eels are not very attractive in appearance. But they do not attack scuba divers, as some believe; they are not aggressive. Isolated cases occur only when moray eels are in mating season. If a moray eel mistakes a person for a source of food or he invades its territory, then it may still attack.

Barracudas

All barracudas live in tropical and subtropical waters of the World Ocean near the surface. There are 8 species in the Red Sea, including the large barracuda. There are not many species in the Mediterranean Sea - only 4, of which 2 moved there from the Red Sea along Suez Canal. The so-called “malita”, which has settled in the Mediterranean Sea, provides the bulk of the entire Israeli catch of barracudas. The most ominous feature of barracudas is the powerful lower jaw, which protrudes far beyond the upper jaw. The jaws are equipped with fearsome teeth: a row of small, razor-sharp teeth dot the outside of the jaw, and a row of large, dagger-like teeth inside.

The maximum recorded size of a barracuda is 200 cm, weight is 50 kg, but usually the length of a barracuda does not exceed 1-2 m.

She is aggressive and fast. Barracudas are also called “living torpedoes” because they attack their prey with great speed.

Despite such a formidable name and ferocious appearance, these predators are practically harmless to humans. It should be remembered that all attacks on people occurred in muddy or dark water, where the moving arms or legs of a swimmer were mistaken by the barracuda for swimming fish (This is exactly the situation the author of the blog found himself in in February 2014, when he was on vacation in Egypt, Oriental Bay Resort Marsa Alam 4+* (now called Aurora Oriental Bay Marsa Alam Resort 5*) Marsa Gabel el Rosas Bay . A medium-sized barracuda, 60-70cm, almost bit off the first f alangu index finger on the right hand. A piece of a finger was hanging on a 5mm piece of skin (dive gloves saved me from complete amputation). At the Marsa Alam clinic, the surgeon put 4 stitches and saved the finger, but the rest was completely ruined ). In Cuba, the reason for attacking a person was shiny objects such as watches, jewelry, knives. It will not be superfluous if the shiny parts of the equipment are painted dark.

The barracuda's sharp teeth can damage the arteries and veins of the limbs; in this case, the bleeding must be stopped immediately, since blood loss can be significant. In the Antilles, barracudas are more feared than sharks.

Jellyfish

Every year, millions of people suffer from “burns” from contact with jellyfish while swimming.

There are no particularly dangerous jellyfish in the waters of the seas washing the Russian shores; the main thing is to prevent these jellyfish from coming into contact with mucous membranes. In the Black Sea, the easiest jellyfish to encounter are Aurelia and Cornerot. They are not very dangerous, and their “burns” are not very strong.

Aurelia "butterflies" (Aurelia aurita)

Cornermouth jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo)

Only in the Far Eastern seas does it live enough cross jellyfish, dangerous to humans, the poison of which can even lead to the death of a person. This small jellyfish with a cross pattern on its umbrella causes severe burns at the point of contact with it, and after a while causes other disorders in the human body - difficulty breathing, numbness of the limbs.

Cross Medusa (Gonionemus vertens)

consequences of a cross jellyfish burn

The further south you go, the more dangerous the jellyfish are. In coastal waters Canary Islands A pirate awaits unwary swimmers - the "Portuguese man-of-war" - a very beautiful jellyfish with a red crest and a multi-colored bubble-sail.

Portuguese man of war (Physalia physalis)

The "Little Man of Portugal" looks so harmless and beautiful at sea...


And this is what the leg looks like after contact with the "Portuguese man-of-war"....

Many jellyfish live in the coastal waters of Thailand.

But the real scourge for swimmers is the Australian “sea wasp”. She kills with a light touch of multi-meter tentacles, which, by the way, can wander on their own without losing their murderous qualities. You can pay for getting acquainted with the “sea wasp” with severe “burns” and lacerations at best, and with life at worst. The sea wasp jellyfish killed more people than from sharks. This jellyfish lives in warm waters Indian and Pacific oceans, especially numerous off the coast of Northern Australia. The diameter of its umbrella is only 20-25 mm, but the tentacles reach a length of 7-8 m and they contain venom similar in composition to cobra venom, but much stronger. A person who is touched by a “sea wasp” with its tentacles usually dies within 5 minutes.

Australian box jellyfish or "sea wasp" (Chironex fleckeri)

burn from jellyfish "sea wasp"

Aggressive jellyfish also live in the Mediterranean and other Atlantic waters - the “burns” caused by them are stronger than the “burns” of Black Sea jellyfish, and they cause allergic reactions more often. These include cyanea ("hairy jellyfish"), pelagia ("little lilac sting"), chrysaora ("sea nettle") and some others.

Atlantic cyanide jellyfish (Cyanea capillata)

Pelagia (Noctiluca), known in Europe as "purple sting"

Pacific sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)

Jellyfish "Compass" (Coronatae)
Compass jellyfish chose coastal waters as their place of residence Mediterranean Sea and one of the oceans - the Atlantic. They live off the coast of Turkey and the United Kingdom. This is enough large jellyfish, their diameter reaches thirty centimeters. They have twenty-four tentacles, which are arranged in groups of three each. The body color is yellowish-white with a brown tint, and its shape resembles a saucer-bell, which has thirty-two lobes, which are colored brown at the edges.
The upper surface of the bell has sixteen brown V-shaped rays. The lower part of the bell is the location of the mouth opening, surrounded by four tentacles. These jellyfish are poisonous. Their venom is potent and often leads to the formation of wounds that are very painful and take a long time to heal..
Yet the most dangerous jellyfish live in Australia and its adjacent waters. Burns from box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war are very serious and often fatal.

Stingrays

Stingrays of the stingray family and electric rays can cause trouble. It should be noted that the stingrays themselves do not attack a person; injury can be caused if you step on him when this fish is hiding at the bottom.

Stingray stingray (Dasyatidae)

Electric Stingray (Torpediniformes)

Stingrays live in almost all seas and oceans. In our (Russian) waters you can find a stingray, or otherwise called a sea cat. It is found both in the Black Sea and in the seas of the Pacific coast. If you step on a stingray buried in the sand or resting at the bottom, it can cause a serious wound to the offender, and, among other things, inject poison into it. He has a barb on his tail, or rather a 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.

The Black Sea is also home to the sea fox stingray Raja clavata - large, up to one and a half meters from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, it is harmless to humans - unless, of course, you try to grab it by the tail, covered with long sharp spines. Electric stingrays are not found in the waters of Russian seas.

Sea anemones (anemones)

Sea anemones inhabit almost all seas globe, but, like other coral polyps, they are especially numerous and diverse in warm waters. Most species live in shallow coastal waters, but they are often found at the maximum depths of the World Ocean. Sea anemones Usually hungry sea anemones sit completely calm, with tentacles widely spaced. At the slightest changes occurring in the water, the tentacles begin to oscillate, not only they stretch out towards the prey, but often the entire body of the sea anemone bends. Having grabbed the victim, the tentacles contract and bend towards the mouth.

Sea anemones are well armed. Stinging cells are especially numerous in predatory species. A volley of fired stinging cells kills small organisms and often causes severe burns in larger animals, even humans. They can cause burns, just like some types of jellyfish.

Octopuses

Octopuses (Octopoda) are the most famous representatives of cephalopods. “Typical” octopuses are representatives of the suborder Incirrina, bottom-dwelling animals. But some representatives of this suborder and all species of the second suborder, Cirrina, are pelagic animals that live in the water column, and many of them are found only at great depths.

They live in all tropical and subtropical seas and oceans, from shallow waters to depths of 100-150 m. They prefer rocky coastal zones, looking for caves and crevices in the rocks for habitat. In the waters of the Russian seas they live only in the Pacific region.

The common octopus has the ability to change color to adapt to its environment. This is explained by the presence in his skin of cells with various pigments that, under the influence of impulses from the central nervous system, can stretch or contract depending on the perception of the senses. The usual color is brown. If the octopus is scared, it turns white; if it is angry, it turns red.

When enemies approach (including divers or scuba divers), they flee, hiding in rock crevices and under stones.

The real danger is an octopus bite if handled carelessly. The secretion of poisonous substances may be injected into the wound. salivary glands. In this case, acute pain and itching is felt in the bite area.
When a common octopus bites, a local inflammatory reaction occurs. Heavy bleeding indicates a slowdown in the blood clotting process. Usually, recovery occurs within two to three days. However, there are cases of severe poisoning in which symptoms of damage to the central nervous system occur. Wounds caused by octopuses are treated in the same way as injections. poisonous fish.

Blue-ringed octopus (Blue-ringed Octopus)

One of the contenders for the title of the most dangerous marine animal for humans is the octopus Octopus maculosus, which is found along the coast of the Australian province of Queensland and near Sydney, found in the Indian Ocean and, sometimes, in the Far East. Although the size of this octopus rarely exceeds 10 cm, it contains enough poison to kill ten people.

Lionfish

Lionfish (Pterois) of the family Scorpaenidae pose a great danger to humans. They are easily recognized by their rich and bright colors, which warns of the effective means of protection these fish have. Even sea ​​predators prefer to leave this fish alone. The fins of this fish look like brightly decorated feathers. Physical contact with such fish can be fatal.

Lionfish (Pterois)

Despite its name, it cannot fly. The fish got this nickname because of its large pectoral fins, which look a little like wings. Other names for lionfish are zebra fish or lion fish. She got the first due to the wide gray, brown and red stripes located throughout her body, and the second due to her long fins, which make her look like a predatory lion.

The lionfish belongs to the scorpionfish family. The body length reaches 30 cm, and the weight is 1 kg. The color is bright, which makes the lionfish noticeable even on great depth. The main decoration of the lionfish is the long ribbons of the dorsal and pectoral fins, which are what resemble a lion's mane. These luxurious fins conceal sharp, poisonous needles, which make the lionfish one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the seas.

The lionfish is widespread in the tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans off the coasts of China, Japan and Australia. It lives mainly among coral reefs. lionfish Since it lives in the surface waters of the reef, it therefore represents great danger for swimmers who may step on it and be injured by the sharp, poisonous needles. The excruciating pain that occurs is accompanied by the formation of a tumor, breathing becomes difficult, and in some cases the injury leads to death.

The fish itself is very voracious and eats all kinds of crustaceans and small fish during the night hunt. The most dangerous include puffer fish, boxfish, sea dragon, urchin fish, ball fish, etc. You only need to remember one rule: the more colorful the fish and the more unusual its shape, the more poisonous it is.

Star pufferfish (Tetraodontidae)


Cube body or box fish (Ostraction cubicus)


hedgehog fish (Diodontidae)


fish ball (Diodontidae)

In the Black Sea there are relatives of the lionfish - the noticeable 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.

conspicuous scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata)


black sea scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus)

The body of these fish is covered with spines and growths, the spines are covered with poisonous mucus. And although the scorpionfish’s venom is not as dangerous as that of the lionfish, it is better not to disturb it.

Among the dangerous blacks sea ​​fish Of note is the sea dragon (Trachinus draco). Elongated, snake-like, with an angular big head, bottom fish. Like other bottom-dwelling predators, the dragon has bulging eyes on the top of its head and a huge, greedy mouth.

sea ​​dragon (Trachinus draco)

The consequences of a poisonous injection from a dragon are much more serious than in the case of scorpionfish, but not fatal.

Wounds from scorpionfish or dragon thorns cause burning pain, the area around the injections turns red and swells, then general malaise, fever, 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 “stone fish” or wart (Synanceia verrucosa) also belongs to the order of scorpion fish - no less, and in some cases more dangerous than lionfish.


"stone fish" or wart (Synanceia verrucosa)

Sea urchins

Often in shallow waters there is a risk of stepping on a sea urchin.

Sea urchins are one of the most common and very dangerous inhabitants of coral reefs. The hedgehog's body, the size of an apple, is studded with 30-centimeter needles sticking out in all directions, similar to knitting needles. They are very mobile, sensitive and react instantly to irritation.

If a shadow suddenly falls on a hedgehog, it immediately points its needles towards danger and puts them together, several at a time, into a sharp, hard peak. Even gloves and wetsuits do not guarantee full protection from the formidable peak of a sea urchin. The needles are so sharp and fragile that, having penetrated deep into the skin, they immediately break off and it is extremely difficult to remove them from the wound. In addition to spines, hedgehogs are armed with small grasping organs - pedicillariae, scattered at the base of the spines.

I sea ​​urchins not dangerous, but causes burning pain at the injection site, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, and passing paralysis. And soon redness and swelling appear, sometimes there is loss of sensitivity and secondary infection. The wound must be cleaned of needles, disinfected, and to neutralize the poison, hold the damaged part of the body in very hot water 30-90 minutes or apply a pressure bandage.

After meeting a black “long-spined” sea urchin, black dots may remain on the skin - this is a trace of pigment, it is harmless, but it can make it difficult to find the needles stuck in you. After first aid, consult a doctor.

Shells (molluscs)

Often on the reef among the corals there are wavy valves of bright blue color.

tridacna clam (Tridacna gigas)

According to some reports, divers sometimes get caught between its doors, like in a trap, which leads to their death. The danger of tridacna, however, is greatly exaggerated. These clams live in shallow reef areas in clear tropical waters, so they are easy to spot due to their large size, brightly colored mantle, and ability to spray water at low tide. A diver caught in a shell can easily free himself by inserting a knife between the valves and cutting the two muscles that compress the valves.

Poisonous Clam Cone (Conidae)
Don't touch beautiful shells(especially big ones). Here it is worth remembering one rule: all mollusks that have a long, thin and pointed ovipositor are poisonous. These are representatives of the conus genus of the gastropod class, having a brightly colored conical shell. Its length in most species does not exceed 15-20 cm. The cone injects with a needle-sharp spike that protrudes from the narrow end of the shell. Inside the thorn there is a duct of the poisonous gland, through which very strong poison is injected into the wound.

Various species of the genus cone are common on coastal shallows and coral reefs of warm seas.

At the moment of the injection, a sharp pain is felt. At the site where the spike was inserted, a reddish dot is visible against the background of pale skin.

The local inflammatory reaction is insignificant. A feeling of acute pain or burning appears, and numbness of the affected limb may occur. In severe cases, there is difficulty speaking, flaccid paralysis quickly develops, and knee reflexes disappear. Death may occur within a few hours.

In case of mild poisoning, all symptoms disappear within 24 hours.

First aid consists of removing thorn fragments from the skin. The affected area is wiped with alcohol. The affected limb is immobilized. The patient is taken to the medical center in a supine position.

Corals

Coral, both living and dead, can cause painful cuts (be careful when walking on coral islands). And the so-called “fire” corals are armed with poisonous needles that dig into the human body in case of physical contact with them.

The basis of the coral is made up of polyps - marine invertebrate animals measuring 1-1.5 millimeters or slightly larger (depending on the species).

As soon as it is born, the baby polyp begins to build a cell house in which it spends its entire life. Micro-houses of polyps are grouped into colonies from which a coral reef ultimately appears.

When hungry, the polyp sticks out tentacles with many stinging cells from its “house”. The smallest animals that make up the plankton encounter the tentacles of the polyp, which paralyzes the victim and sends it into the mouth. Despite their microscopic size, the stinging cells of polyps have a very complex structure. Inside the cell there is a capsule filled with poison. The outer end of the capsule is concave and looks like a thin spirally twisted tube called a stinging filament. This tube, covered with tiny spines directed backwards, resembles a miniature harpoon. When touched, the stinging thread straightens, the “harpoon” pierces the victim’s body, and the poison passing through it paralyzes the prey.

Poisoned coral harpoons can also injure humans. Dangerous ones include, for example, fire coral. Its colonies in the form of “trees” made of thin plates have chosen the shallow waters of tropical seas.

The most dangerous stinging corals from the genus Millepora are so beautiful that scuba divers cannot resist the temptation to break off a piece as a souvenir. This can be done without “burns” and cuts only with canvas or leather gloves.

Fire coral (Millepora dichotoma)

When talking about such passive animals as coral polyps, it is worth mentioning one more thing: interesting type marine animals - sponges. Typically, sponges are not classified as dangerous marine inhabitants, however, in the waters of the Caribbean there are some species that can cause severe skin irritation to a swimmer upon contact with them. It is believed that pain can be relieved with a weak solution of vinegar, but unpleasant consequences contact with the sponge may last several days. These primitive animals belong to the genus Fibula and are often called touch-me-not sponges.

Sea snakes (Hydrophidae)

Little is known about sea snakes. This is strange, since they live in all the seas of the Pacific and Indian oceans and are not among the rare inhabitants of the deep sea. Maybe it's because people just don't want to deal with them.

And there are serious reasons for this. After all, sea snakes are dangerous and unpredictable.

There are about 48 species of sea snakes. This family once left land and completely switched to an aquatic lifestyle. Because of this, sea snakes have acquired some features in the structure of the body, and in appearance they are somewhat different from their terrestrial counterparts. The body is flattened laterally, the tail is in the form of a flat ribbon (in flat-tailed representatives) or slightly elongated (in swallowtails). The nostrils are located not on the sides, but on the top, so it is more convenient for them to breathe, sticking the tip of the muzzle out of the water. The lung stretches throughout the body, but these snakes absorb up to a third of all oxygen from the water with the help of the skin, which is densely permeated with blood capillaries. A sea snake can stay underwater for more than an hour.

The venom of the sea snake is dangerous to humans. Their venom is dominated by an enzyme that paralyzes nervous system. When attacking, the snake quickly strikes with two short teeth, slightly bent back. The bite is practically painless, there is no swelling or hemorrhage.

But after some time, weakness appears, coordination is impaired, and convulsions begin. Death occurs from paralysis of the lungs within a few hours.

The great toxicity of the venom of these snakes is a direct result aquatic habitat: To prevent the prey from escaping, it must be instantly paralyzed. True, the venom of sea snakes is not as dangerous as the venom of snakes that live with us on land. When a flattail bites, 1 mg of poison is released, and when a swallowtail bites, 16 mg is released. So, a person has a chance to survive. Out of 10 people bitten by sea snakes, 7 people remain alive, of course, if they receive medical assistance in time.

True, there is no guarantee that you will be among the last.

Among other dangerous aquatic animals, especially dangerous freshwater inhabitants should be mentioned - crocodiles that live in the tropics and subtropics, piranha fish that live in the Amazon River basin, freshwater electric stingrays, as well as fish whose meat or some organs are poisonous and can cause acute poisoning.

If you are interested in more detailed information about dangerous species of jellyfish and corals, you can find it at http://medusy.ru/

Before we begin to describe the fauna of the Black Sea, it is necessary to dwell on some general features, characteristic of marine organisms. These features are caused by adaptation to the environment (high density, salinity sea ​​water). Almost all animal organisms use oxygen dissolved in sea water. Many of them are gelatinous, that is, they have no skeleton at all; a number of others lead a sedentary lifestyle - they have thus adapted to conditions when food is brought to the animal by a current of water.

Color aquatic organisms, as a rule, matches the color of the environment. IN upper layers they are either transparent (jellyfish), or bluish, silvery, blue, or with a white belly and a dark back, so that they are difficult to distinguish from above and below. Animals living on dark soils have a dark coloration. Seahorses and pipefish swimming among the algae are brown or brownish-green in color.

It is interesting that not a single organism could swim without developing special adaptations for this, since the specific gravity of pure plasma is 1.02 - 1.06, that is, more specific gravity sea ​​water. Swimming equipment may vary. Jellyfish, for example, in order to swim, have evolved to have an increased water content in their bodies (up to 90 percent of their weight is water). To lighten their body weight, fish have air sacs inside filled with almost pure oxygen. Passively swimming organisms are “interested” in maximum friction with the water; they have many outgrowths; actively swimming organisms must have a spindle-shaped body shape, like most fish, to reduce friction. Not all organisms swim with the help of a tail and fins; some use flagella and cilia for this. Among aquatic organisms there is also a “reactive” principle of movement. Jellyfish, for example, swim sideways, forcefully pushing water out of their bell by squeezing it. Sessile forms (sponges, bryozoans, balanuses) have a hard, heavy calcareous skeleton.

Now let's talk about the main representatives of the fauna of the Black Sea. It must be said that although the depths of the sea are lifeless (only bacteria live there), and only a small surface layer is inhabited, constituting 12-13 percent of the total volume of the sea, life in this layer is very diverse and rich. In terms of the number of species of animals and plants found in the Black Sea, it occupies an intermediate position between the Mediterranean and the Sea of ​​Azov, and the fish catch per hectare of its surface is four times higher than the catch in the Mediterranean Sea: 80 kilograms of fish per hectare of surface are caught in the Sea of ​​Azov sea, in the Black Sea - 2 kilograms, in the Mediterranean - 0.5 kilograms.

It's interesting to see how the number decreases Mediterranean species animals and plants from west to east. More than 6,000 species of organisms are found in the Mediterranean Sea, 1,500 in the Black Sea, 200 in the Azov Sea, 28 in the Caspian Sea, and only 2 species of Mediterranean organisms in the Aral Sea. This suggests that these seas gradually separated from the Mediterranean Sea in the distant past.

Let's start describing the animal world with the smallest forms. Plankton, for example, includes noctilucas, or nocturnals. Some resemble fish eggs with a diameter of less than two millimeters. Noctilucas are small predators, they swim quickly using their flagella and eat even smaller organisms. During the warm autumn, a cluster of noctilucas creates a beautiful, unforgettable spectacle - the glow of the sea. The most common glow is in the northwestern part of the sea. It occurs when a chemical substance - luciferin - combines with oxygen. If luciferin is isolated and dried, it can glow independently of a living organism. The word "luciferin" comes from the name Lucifer - conqueror of hell." How does the glow happen? During the oxidation process, atoms are excited, some of their electrons move to a new orbit, falling from which some release particles of light - photons. It's not just the smallest organisms that can glow. It is known that all cells of living organisms, including humans, produce radiation. For some it is stronger, for others it is weaker. There are times when after intense work the sweat glows. It is also known that tumor cells glow much weaker, and one of the methods for determining early stages cancer diseases. It is interesting that the light of animals is cold, about 90 percent of the expended energy turns into light (in a regular incandescent light bulb only 4 percent turns into light, and in a neon lamp - 10 percent of the energy). Night luminaries provide a sparkling pulsating light, as if spread over the entire surface of the sea and intensifying with small waves (from additional irritation of luminous organisms).

Some types of bacteria can also glow. Their glow is matte, smooth, diffuse. These bacteria are sometimes specially bred in the laboratory using nutrient mixtures. A flask filled with such microorganisms emits such strong light that under such lighting one can not only read, but even take photographs.

Larger forms can also glow, for example the bivalve mollusk, the folada stone borer, which lives in coastal rocks. Some species of jellyfish and ctenophores, glowing at night, for example, from irritation by waves in the wake of a ship, create a very spectacular spectacle. Small non-luminous forms are interesting - sea fleas. It has been established that their bodies contain many valuable substances: proteins, vitamins, mineral salts. Several types of mollusks live at the bottom of the sea: oysters, mussels, pecten, litorina, tapes, modiolaria. There are especially many mollusks in the Kerch Strait, in the northwestern part of the sea, on the Caucasian coast. Those of them that live in the surf zone are attached to the ground with strong threads - byssuses. Shellfish are the food of many fish. Let us note several biological features of oysters and mussels.
Oysters live up to 30 years. They are hermaphrodites. Each individual brings hundreds of thousands of eggs per year, which are fertilized by another individual. Oysters are transportable. They can go without water for up to half a month.
Mussels live shorter than oysters: 7 - 10 years. Dioecious. Oysters and mussels are specially bred. They are used to make canned food and flour for feeding livestock and poultry. The meat of these mollusks has 12 percent protein, 2.5 percent fat, 5 percent carbohydrates, as well as glycogen (animal sugar), vitamins B and C. Their shells contain calcium salts, as well as phosphorus and iron. When a small amount of oyster meal is added to the food of poultry and animals, chickens quickly gain weight, their egg production increases, wool shearing increases in sheep, and milk yield increases in cows. Collective and state farms adjacent to the northwestern part of the Black Sea catch more than four thousand tons of mussels per year. A farm for growing mussels was created near Ochakov, and an experimental cage-type pool for breeding oysters was created in Yegorlyksky Bay.

The valuable nutritional qualities of shellfish have been known since ancient times. Their doors are found in the remains of fires at primitive human sites. The Chinese and Romans artificially bred mussels and oysters, considering this more profitable than collecting wild shellfish. Small multi-colored pearls are sometimes found in mussel shells, but their quality is lower than pearls mined in tropical waters. Buttons are made from the mother-of-pearl shells of oysters and mussels. The leaves also provide excellent fertilizer for fields.

Unfortunately, the more valuable of these shellfish - oysters - are currently being replaced by the less valuable - mussels. The reasons for this process have not yet been fully elucidated. It is believed that the much greater reproductive ability of mussels compared to oysters plays a role here.

The “scallops” or pecten are interesting. They are able to move independently, flapping their shells forcefully, pushing water out of them back and “flying” over the bottom in a “rocket” manner up to one and a half meters. The Far Eastern “scallop” is used to make canned food that tastes good. The scallop, unlike other mollusks, has about a hundred eyes, and it is unknown for what purpose they serve, because this mollusk is blind. If an eye is removed, a new one grows in its place.

In the Black Sea there is a mollusk called rapana (resembling a large snail). It is often found off the Caucasian coast. Rapana is edible. You can make a delicious soup from it, and its meat resembles sturgeon. The body of rapana contains a special pigment that colors objects red. This paint is very difficult to wash off. In the old days, from mollusks close to rapana, living in southern seas, they mined purple for royal robes. Rapana is not a Black Sea mollusk itself, but an alien. It has only spread here in the last 30 years. It is believed that rapana was brought accidentally on the bottoms of ships from the Far East, where this mollusk is widespread. Rapana is a predator; it destroys commercial shellfish - mussels and oysters. Young rapana drill into the shell of an oyster or mussel and drink its contents, while adult rapana secrete toxic mucus, which paralyzes the muscles of the bivalve mollusk and forces it to open the valves. Rapana is beneficial because it eats dead fish that sink to the bottom, performing the role of an orderly. Rapana also has enemies in the Black Sea: the gerbil fish eats young rapana; black sea crab, breaking off its shell, gets to the mollusk; The Klion sponge drills into the shell of the rapana. Many people believe that if you put a rapana shell to your ear, you can hear a noise reminiscent of sea surf, or the “voice of the sea.” You can hear about this, for example, from sellers of such sinks, who use all kinds of advertising means. In reality, these shells, containing many convolutions, are good resonators for the noise around us, which we cannot hear with the help of our imperfect apparatus - the ear.

Recently, in recent years, a new mollusk has appeared in the Black Sea - mia. Outwardly, it resembles a mussel and is from 3.5 to 8 centimeters in length. Mia is edible, it is fished in many countries, and in the USA it is artificially bred. This mollusk was found in the northwestern part of the sea at depths of 7 - 10 meters on muddy soils, even on soils that are saturated with hydrogen sulfide. Miya's settlement undoubtedly has positive value. It is believed that it was introduced into the Black Sea by accident with ballast water that ships took from the Atlantic, in Southwestern Europe, where the mya lives.

Many, of course, have seen dense white growths consisting of individual scales with jagged edges on the shells of marine mollusks - mussels or directly on the rocks. This is what settlements of barnacles look like. The dimensions of each crustacean are half a centimeter in height and the same in diameter. Unlike other crayfish, balanus lead a sedentary lifestyle, tightly attached to something with their shells. Food is brought to them by a current of water. Sometimes balanuses are attached to the bottoms of ships, reducing their speed. It is necessary to clean the underwater part of the hull from time to time. What have sailors from all countries tried to avoid this fouling! They lubricated the bottoms of ships with lard, wax, resin... Until now, balanuses brought only harm to humans. But recently a project has emerged to use their shells. You can specially prepare a base from wire and, having lowered it into the sea, after some time you will receive decorative slabs for finishing buildings or installing gratings: the base will be densely filled with balanuses.

Bryozoans are also interesting, appearance moss-like, bushy organisms. Their for a long time considered plants. Bryozoans settle in colonies on hard ground. Such colonies can reach enormous sizes. For example, the so-called Five-Legged Rock in the Kerch Strait, the height of a three-story house, consists of a colony of membrane-bearing bryozoans.

Of the coelenterates, jellyfish and ctenophores are found in the Black Sea. They all have one thing in common characteristic feature. While in other organisms digestion occurs in the intestines, coelenterates are structured differently. They have only one hole, which serves both to absorb food and remove debris. For this feature of the body they received the name coelenterates. Jellyfish are common in all seas of the globe. They can be found both near the equator and in the Arctic and Antarctic. Sometimes there are so many jellyfish that they, like balanuses, clog the water intake pipes of ships and coastal enterprises using sea water. Clusters of jellyfish can reach a thickness of 18 meters. Sometimes so many jellyfish get into the net along with small fish (for example, anchovy) that it is impossible to separate the fish from them. The main body parts of jellyfish are the bell (sac) and tentacles. In the Black Sea, the most common jellyfish with the beautiful name Aurelia, which resembles a saucer in shape, with tentacles running crosswise in the middle, and the pilema jellyfish, which has a dome and long hanging tentacles. Mouth openings are located at the ends of the tentacles. The first of the two types of jellyfish is not poisonous, but the second can cause a burn similar to a nettle burn. The burns of the tropical “relatives” of this jellyfish are fatal to humans. Pilema jellyfish seem to be quite harmless creatures, but in fact they are predators that destroy worms, crustaceans and fish. On the tentacles of jellyfish there are special stinging threads, which have a pointed end equipped with poison. The jellyfish grabs the fish with its tentacles, strikes it with a stinging thread and sends it into its mouth. However, there are cases when these predators act as caring “nannies” for fish fry, freely swimming under the dome of a jellyfish and fleeing there from enemies. They just need to be very careful not to end up with their “nanny” for lunch. Like some others marine organisms, jellyfish accurately predict the appearance of a storm. They perceive the change atmospheric pressure before the storm and go deep into the Black Sea in advance. Speaking about jellyfish, one cannot help but mention one erroneously widespread opinion: rubbing a person’s body with a jellyfish supposedly leads to the cure of rheumatism, radiculitis or some other diseases. Such witchcraft treatment methods have never been practiced in our medicine, and it is completely in vain that some holidaymakers subject themselves to this unpleasant procedure.

Of the echinoderms, brittle stars can be noted, resembling in shape starfish. They feed on mud.

The hermit crab is interesting. He hides his soft belly in the empty shell of some mollusk. When he grows up and his home becomes cramped, he finds himself a new shell. If during a fight with an enemy he loses a claw, it grows back after some time.

There are also crabs in the Black Sea: marbled, stone, grass. They do not reach large sizes here (usually their size does not exceed 20 centimeters). The crab's body is covered with a hard shell. As the crab grows, this shell bursts several times, and the crab “molts.” At this time, he is completely helpless and usually hides deep in the cracks of the rocks. Gradually, a new shell grows and hardens.

Sea urchins live in the southwestern part of the sea. Long sharp horns on special “hinges” are attached to the hedgehog’s body. Although sometimes they become prey for crabs, large fish and seabirds (birds throw them on top of rocks and break their shells), hedgehogs are still well protected from attack by their spines. Sea urchins are “oldies.” Some lived on earth 500 million years ago, when there were no fish in the seas and no land plants on land. The meat of sea urchins is eaten. Their caviar, which in its healing properties rivals the “root of life” - ginseng, is especially valued.

There are 180 species of fish known in the Black Sea. Of commercial importance are: beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, herring, anchovy, sprat, sprat, mullet, mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, bonito, tuna. Mackerel, horse mackerel, bonito, and tuna come in the spring from the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea, and go back in the fall: these are heat-loving fish, for them the winter Black Sea water is cold. For example, mackerel comes to the Red Sea when the temperature of its water rises above 8 degrees, and it overwinters and spawns in the Sea of ​​Marmara.

Horse mackerel sometimes winters in the southern part of the Black Sea. There she is caught in the light. The vessel goes fishing after dark. After the instruments have registered a school of horse mackerel, the vessel stops, the net is lowered and a bright light turns on underwater. After half a minute, a massive approach of fish begins. It reacts to light within a radius of 40 meters. After a minute and a half, the concentration of horse mackerel weakens. In the moonlight, horse mackerel reacts poorly to light.

Mullet, herring and anchovies (anchovies) move from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea in the spring to feed. In autumn, when the water temperature drops to 6 degrees, the fish return back to the Black Sea.

Sturgeon fish spawn in the Don, Kuban, and Dnieper rivers, and salmon enter the rivers of the Caucasian coast for this purpose. To increase salmon stocks in the Black Sea at the mouth of one of the Caucasian rivers, the Chernaya, fry of these fish are raised in special tanks. For this purpose, spark and milk taken artificially from fish going to spawn are used. After the fry grow up, they are released back into the river, and from there they end up in the sea. This method helps to obtain from the same mass of caviar a much larger number of fish than under natural conditions. Rimfish and shemaya are raised in the same way on the Psekups River.

New settlers also live in the Black Sea - Far Eastern salmon (pink salmon), Baltic cod, Japanese ayu fish, two species of American fish - steelhead salmon and striped bass. Steelhead salmon - big fish, living off the Pacific coast of the United States, is as valuable as salmon, but more hardy. Lives 8 - 10 years, reaches a weight of 10 - 16 kilograms with a length of up to 1.2 meters. After being introduced into the Black Sea, individual specimens of this fish have already reached a weight of 6 kilograms. The introduction of American striped bass is very promising. This is one of the most valuable fish North America. Lives 15 - 20 years. The female is usually larger than the males, males reaching a weight of 18, and females 50 kilograms. However, at first it is necessary to protect the juveniles of these fish. Special posters have been issued calling on fishermen, if they catch this fish, to release it into the sea and report this to the fisheries institutes located in Moscow and Kerch.

In desalinated areas of the sea live pike perch, bream, carp, perch, catfish, and pike.

After the war, mullet was transported from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. She adapted perfectly to the new conditions. At the same time, flounder, shrimp and nereid worms (fish food), transported from the Black Sea, acclimatized. A northern fish, cod, is now acclimatizing in the Black Sea.

Let us note several features of Black Sea fish. The largest of them are tuna (up to 500 kilograms in weight) and beluga (up to 800 kilograms and even up to one and a half tons). Tuna is called a “goldfish”, although such a Carcass can only be called a “fish”, only with great stretch. This tuna got its name because of its tasty meat. In autumn, tuna is found near the Kerch Strait. Tuna is one of the fastest sea creatures. It reaches speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour, and, having accelerated, jumps out of the water and sometimes even flies onto the deck of the ship. It is interesting that the body temperature of tuna, unlike other fish, is 6 - 8 degrees higher than the water temperature.

Belugas, in addition to their large weight, are also distinguished by their longevity. They live 70 - 80 years. True, compared to the pike, which lives up to 200 years, and the sea turtle, which lives 400 - 500 years, the life of the beluga is short, but compared to the life expectancy of other marine fish, it is still significant. Probably not many people know that the age of fish is determined by their scales and cut bones. These parts of the fish's body have annual rings, just like those on trees. There is an expression “roars like a beluga,” but strangely enough, it has nothing to do with beluga. It is not the beluga that roars, but the beluga whale, a northern sea animal. Beluga spawns in the same rivers as other sturgeon. Their caviar is highly valued. However, there are cases when the dangerous bacterium botulinus settles in sturgeon meat, the poison of which is dangerous to humans. This poison is destroyed by cooking, but does not disappear with ordinary salting. In the industrial production of balyks, methods are used that completely eliminate the possibility of sobering up with these products.

Swordfish is also occasionally found in the Black Sea. It has a length of up to 5 meters and weighs up to 350 kilograms. With her double-edged sword, she can pierce the wooden side of a ship. The fury with which this fish attacks ships is incomprehensible. In the Atlantic, dragging fish attacked the modern English tanker Barbara and made three holes in its hull. In the Pacific Ocean, swordfish sank Japanese fishing schooners several times. Maybe she mistakes the ship for a large animal, like a whale? After all, there have been cases when a school of such fish killed a whale.

Interesting flounder. This fish, flat and often lying on the ground, is distinguished by its ability to quickly change color to match the color of the underlying surface. In the skin of a flounder there are individual colored cells that, when moving, change its color. Scientists put colored glasses on flounders, and the fish tried to copy the color of their glasses. Interestingly, blind flounders are always black. They seem to see darkness in front of them and change body color accordingly. For some reason, flounder is considered one-eyed. This is not true, she actually has two eyes. Flounder weighs up to 15 kilograms and lives up to 25 years. Interestingly, its fry have a body shape that is flattened in a vertical plane; Gradually, one side of the fish’s body begins to develop faster than the other, and the flounder seems to lie on its side. There are also eels in the sea, both river and sea. The river eel is from half a meter to one and a half meters long and weighs from 2 to 6 kilograms. Eels feed on fish, crayfish, and mollusks. Eel meat tastes good and contains vitamin A and up to 22 percent fat. He spends most of his life in the river, but at the age of 6 to 9 years, eels from all the rivers of Europe, obeying instinct, go out to sea and head on a long journey to the Atlantic Ocean. There, in the Sargasso Sea, at a depth of up to 1000 meters at a temperature of 7 degrees, eels spawn. Then the eels die, and the fry that emerge from the eggs are gradually carried by currents to the shores of Europe. They have a well-developed sense of smell. This, scientists believe, helps them accurately find spawning sites thousands of kilometers away. Specially conducted experiments have shown that eels deprived of vision easily find their way, while those deprived of smell lose their orientation. It has been established that in European waters Only female eels live, and males live in the Sargasso Sea. Baltic scientists, having settled both females and males in closed reservoirs, are trying to overcome the eels’ instinct for such long movements. Eel is a strong and hardy fish. If, while lifting it up the river, it encounters a waterfall or a structure built by man, the eel comes out of the water and crawls along the bank for hundreds of meters. The eel's attraction to the sea is extremely strong. Taken 80 kilometers from the sea, they unmistakably turn their heads towards it and begin to crawl. They are not attracted to small bodies of water - barrels of water and even lakes; they crawl towards the sea. The eel is a cunning fish. It likes to pretend to be dead, but at the right moment it bites.

Pelamida. A relative of mackerel. A strong, fast-swimming predator. Reaches 60-80 centimeters in length and lives for more than 10 years. In the Black Sea it feeds and spawns in summer, but in autumn both juveniles and adults move south through the Bosphorus.

Mackerel - spawns in the Sea of ​​Marmara and enters the Black Sea from April to June.

There are more than 10 species of gobies in the Black Sea: bubyr goby, afia goby, tsutsik goby, which sticks eggs on rocky shallow deposits, etc. The largest goby is the martin goby, or toad. The most numerous round goby is an excellent family man and a very caring father.

Black Sea whiting in spring and late autumn Found in coastal areas, in summer - in deep water.

Greenbacks. There are 8 species of them in the Black Sea. Favorite habitats are rocks with thickets of cystoseira. They feed on mollusks, worms, crustaceans. During the spawning period, some greenfinches build nests between the stones. Eggs up to 50 thousand.

Garfish. A gregarious, arrow-shaped fish up to 75 cm long. The jaws are elongated, beak-shaped. The scales are small, the back is green. Lives up to 6-7 years. Becomes sexually mature by one year. Spawns from May to the end of August. Migrates in different seasons due to spawning, feeding, and wintering. In November it moves south. Winters in the Sea of ​​Marmara.

Bluefish. Predatory school fish. Weighing 8-10 kg, it reaches a meter in length. The body is laterally oblong. The mouth is large, the jaws are large, sharp-toothed. It feeds exclusively on fish. Lives 8-9 years.

Sea cock (or trigla) with upper fins resembling wings and lower hard fins on which the fish rests while moving along the bottom;

Monkfish is an extremely unattractive fish with a large, toothy mouth. It jumps along the bottom on its front fins or sits lurking and lures fish to itself with a wriggling antennae reminiscent of a worm. Monkfish can swallow fish the same size as itself, and it reaches one and a half meters in length. It lives at depths of 30 - 50 meters. Fish angler- a representative of the order Anglerfishes, which includes 3 suborders and 16 families. Its body is flattened on top, and it is completely covered with growths similar to algae, pieces of driftwood and stones. And in front, behind the eyes, the monkfish has a growth with a glowing “flashlight” at the end. Bottom fish, loving light, swim up to the light, and the devil grabs them with his mouth. A person who steps on a monkfish or comes close to it can inadvertently test the sharpness of its teeth. The European anglerfish is found off the coast of Europe from the Barents to the Black Sea, the American one - near America from Newfoundland to Brazil. They belong to the genus of “large anglerfish,” which includes 10 more species.

The mullet, or mullet, is a harmless animal. It does not attack other creatures and obtains food for itself by tearing up the bottom soil with its hard antennae.

The Stargazer (sometimes called sea ​​cow) burrows deep into the mud, exposing to the surface only one antennae, reminiscent of a bristle worm. With this antennae it attracts small fish and swallows them.

The pipefish and seahorse differ from other fish in that their females spawn eggs not into the water, but into special skin folds on the back of the males, and the males carry the eggs until the fry form.

Stone or sea bass are small fish that usually stay among rocks and stones; they are interesting in that they are all hermaphrodites, but the maturation of their eggs and milk occurs at different times, and thus this fish alternately turns out to be either male or female. female.

There are two types of sharks in the Black Sea. Katran (spiny shark, dogfish) and the small spotted shark scyllium (cat shark). Katran can sometimes reach 2 meters, and the cat shark never grows more than a meter. Both katran and scyllium are not dangerous for humans, although in relation to fish they behave like real evil and cruel predators.

Mammals of the Black Sea include the monk seal and three species of dolphins: the Azov dolphin, the white sided dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. The largest of the dolphins is the bottlenose dolphin, or bottlenose dolphin. The smaller ones are the white sided dolphin and the smallest dolphin is the Azov porpoise.

Attention! Danger!

The Black Sea is quite friendly. However, even here, a careless swimmer in the water can face troubles associated not only with dangerous storm waves, pitfalls, great depths, but also with some representatives of marine fauna.

Medusa Cornerot. It is easily distinguished by its fleshy, bell-shaped dome and the heavy beard of oral lobes underneath. These lacy blades contain poisonous stinging cells that, upon contact, leave a painful chemical burn on the skin.

Another large Black Sea jellyfish is Aurelia. Its stinging cells are weaker, they do not pierce the skin on the body, but it can be painful to burn the mucous membrane of the eyes or lips. Aurelia stinging cells are found on the fringe of small tentacles bordering the edge of the jellyfish's dome.

Sea ruff ( Black Sea Scorpionfish). 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. Wounds from Scorpion thorns cause burning pain, the area around the injections turns red and swells, then - general malaise, allergic reaction, temperature increase.

The only pills that can help are antiallergic (antihistamine) drugs.

Sea dragon. 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 prefers soft soils - sand, silt, into which it burrows, lying in wait for prey - small fish. Sensing danger, the dragonet spreads the black fan of its dorsal fin, all five rays of which are poisoned spines. Another poisonous spine grows back from the gill cover.

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.

Stingray (Sea cat). Up to 1 m in length. Lives on the bottom where it finds food - shellfish, crabs; therefore, their mouth is shifted under their flat head, and their eyes and gill slits are located on top. Stingrays swim, waving the wide planes of their body like wings; the caudal fin is missing, degenerating into a long tail on which there is a sharp spike - up to 20 centimeters in length. The edges are very sharp, jagged, along the blade, on the underside there is a groove in which the poison gland is located.

(about 9 thousand), polychaetes and other worms (more than 7 thousand), brachiopods and bryozoans (more than 4 thousand), mollusks (over 80 thousand), crustaceans (over 20 thousand), echinoderms (6 thousand) , tunicates (about 1 thousand), fish (about 16 thousand) and about 150 species of mammals and reptiles. Of the 60 classes of modern free-living (non-parasitic) animals, representatives of only three are not found in the seas: prototracheals, millipedes and amphibians. All types of the animal kingdom were formed in the marine environment. Subsequently, representatives of some of them switched to life in fresh waters and on land and gave rise to freshwater and terrestrial fauna. Some of the vertebrates that returned to the marine environment retained a connection with land, where they reproduce (pinnipeds, sea turtles). Some birds are constantly associated with the ocean - penguins, albatrosses, etc. The most diverse. . tropical shallow waters, especially coral reefs, which serve as habitat for numerous mollusks, crabs, echinoderms, fish, etc. With increasing depth, M. f. is getting poorer. Only a few dozen species of invertebrates have adapted to life at maximum depths (over 9-10 km). M. f. is characterized by the greatest biomass. coastal shallow areas of temperate and cold waters. M. f. are distinguished according to habitat types and lifestyle. water column (pelagial) - plankton and nekton and M. f. bottom - benthos. Characteristic representatives of marine zooplankton: some foraminifera, radiolarians and bell ciliates (Tintinnidae), siphonophores, jellyfish and ctenophores, copepods, euphausia and some other crustaceans, pteropods, salps, as well as the larvae of many pelagic and benthic animals. The bulk of nekton consists of fish and cephalopods, cetaceans are much less numerous. Special communities are made up of animals that are widespread mainly in the tropical zone, floating on the surface of the sea - pleiston (Velella swallowtails, sea ducks, as well as organisms living among floating algae, especially sargassum). In the polar seas, a peculiar community associated with the lower surface develops sea ​​ice, - T. . cryopelagic biocenosis, including diatoms, amphipods, juvenile fish, etc. The benthic population is dominated by foraminifera, sponges, hydroids, sea feathers, various corals, polychaete worms, sea acorns, amphipods, isopods and decapods, gastropods and bivalves, echinoderms, pogonophora, ascidians and fish. Among the bottom M. f. the population of the littoral, sublittoral (up to 200 m), bathyal (up to 2-3 thousand m), abyssal (up to 6-7 thousand m) and ultra-abyssal, or hadali (7-11 thousand m) are distinguished. The vertical zonation of the microorganisms inhabiting the water column is less clearly expressed due to the ability of many pelagic animals to make vertical migrations over distances of up to several hundred and sometimes over 1000 m. Based on the distribution of pelagic animals, a distinction is usually made between surface (up to 200 m) and intermediate ( from 200 to 750-1000 m) and deep-water zones. Large, fast-swimming animals (whales, pinnipeds, many fish, squid) are capable of swimming many hundreds and thousands of kilometers and perform regular horizontal migrations, mostly associated with movements from feeding areas to areas where reproduction occurs, and back (see Animal migrations). Some fish spend most of their lives in the sea, and during the breeding season they migrate to rivers (anadromous migrations), others migrate from rivers to the sea to reproduce (catadromous migrations). Marine animals are mostly unable to tolerate significant desalination; therefore, in seas with low salinity (for example, the Black, Azov, Baltic) M. f. less diverse than in oceans and seas with normal water salinity (about 3.5%). The adaptations of animals to life in the sea are very diverse: development with the stage of a free-swimming planktonic larva, facilitating settlement; adaptations for floating in water in many planktonic organisms, for fast swimming in many oceanic fish, squid, and cetaceans; luminous organs of many inhabitants of the depths, etc. Extremely great economic

The Black Sea is very unusual in the distribution of living organisms. At first glance, it seems that the waters are simply teeming with fish, animals and other creatures, but they occupy only 13%, that is, the fauna of the Black Sea is located to a depth of 200 meters. This zone is called oxygen.

Small variety of flora

Differs relative poverty flora and fauna, this is primarily due to the low salinity of the water, low temperature and a large amount of hydrogen sulfide.

The flora of the Black Sea includes 270 various types of algae. Among them are multicellular, brown, green, red, bottom algae.

There is a species of algae that feeds exclusively organic substances, but most still feed by photosynthesis.

Among the representatives of the plant world we can note:

Fauna of the Black Sea

Of course, the fauna of the Black Sea is less diverse compared to the sea, but there is still something to see here. On the territory of the Black Sea there are about 2500 various types of animals. Among them are commercial representatives, such as: mullet, sprat, anchovy, mackerel, pike perch, bream, horse mackerel, herring, sturgeon. At the bottom of the sea live mussels, clams and oysters.

Types of fish - photos and names

Most bright representatives of the fauna of the Black Sea:

1. Herring. Belongs to the large herring family. Herring is a schooling fish, feeds on plankton; it rarely survives to the age of 25-30 years, as it is a frequent prey for predators and fishermen. Herring meat is tender, fatty and tasty, which is why it is in great demand in stores;
2. red mullet. Belongs to the mullet family, perciformes order. The length is usually no more than 45 cm. The fish has a bright red color and small antennae. The fish tastes tender. Its meat is easily digestible, rich in proteins and vitamins, and is considered a delicacy;

Gobies. The fish got its name because of its large, bull-like head. Belongs to the perciformes family. There are more than 10 species of gobies in the Black Sea. Gobies feed on small fish and shellfish.

The fish has a special structure of fins, thanks to which it can stick to stones, so no currents are afraid of it. The bulls lead sedentary image life;



During the war, residents of the Black Sea coast ate bulls, they were called breadwinners, and in Berdyansk there was even a monument to bulls.

3. Greenfinch. This is a schooling fish that has a variegated coloration. It feeds on crustaceans. The greenfinch lives mainly in rocks overgrown with algae;
4. Flounder. This flat fish from the flounder family is distinguished by a flattened body and eyes located on one side. Thanks to this body structure, it easily burrows and camouflages itself in the sand. Flounder feeds on crustaceans and bottom fish. Flounder meat is white with a specific smell. Some people don't like to cook flounder because of this, but the smell can be easily eliminated by removing the skin before cooking;
5. Minnow fish, or whiting. A member of the cod family. A small schooling, but very voracious fish. Eats everything that comes in its way. In cold weather it swims closer to the shore, and in hot weather it sinks deeper to the bottom;
6. Needlefish. This amazing fish and it really does look like a needle. She has a long thin body. The fish hunt in schools, usually near the shore.
7. bluefish. Marine predatory fish from the order Perciformes. Life expectancy is 8-9 years. The fish has sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Bluefish feed on other fish, especially mackerel;



8. Swordfish. This fish from the order Perciformes can reach a length of up to 4 meters. It can travel at speeds of up to 130 km/h. Swordfish is a very valuable trophy. The fish meat is very tasty and practically boneless. This is why swordfish is so prized among fishermen. To experience all the delights of the taste, this fish is often eaten raw, placing the pieces on lettuce leaves and pouring lemon juice over them;
9. Sea bass. This deep sea fish belongs to the scorpionfish family. Perches vary greatly in size. Their length varies from 20 cm to 1 m. Perch prefers cool water at a depth of 100 m. Due to its taste, sea bass occupies one of the first places in sale among all sea fish.
10. golden fish. The fish is not big size belongs to the carp family. There are many types of goldfish, all of them differ in color and size. Such fish are mainly kept in aquariums, because they are extremely beautiful and quite unpretentious.

Poisonous representatives of the deep sea

There are in the Black Sea and poisonous inhabitants, meeting with whom you should avoid:




Mammals

Mammals in the waters of the Black Sea are represented in limited numbers:




Predatory and dangerous inhabitants

Sharks. In the Black Sea there are only two species of sharks:

1. katran;
2. cat shark.

Both individuals do not pose any danger for humans, although they are predators. The lifestyle of these shark species does not allow them to appear near the shore, but if you are lucky enough to meet such a shark, do not be scared or panic;

• Jellyfish. In the Black Sea, the most common types of jellyfish are Aurelia and Cornerot. Jellyfish often get caught in fishing nets and are almost impossible to separate. Aurelia is not dangerous, but the cornet can easily cause a burn;
• stingray. The stingray lives in sandy shallow waters. Usually it buries itself in the sand and becomes completely invisible. Therefore, it is easy to accidentally hit it. In case of injury, the impact site must be treated with hydrogen peroxide.

A stingray can strike with its tail, and the blow is so strong that it even pierces a boot, and the poison is not as terrible as the consequences of the blow.

Fauna on land

Fauna of the Black Sea coast interesting and varied, this is due to the climate. Among the predators that live here are: leopard, bear, jackal, lynx, fox. Other mammals: deer, roe deer, wild boars, hares, the bats, otters. Many different types of birds:

1. hawks;
2. black grouse;
3. woodpeckers;
4. Orioles;
5. jays;
6. starlings;
7. cuckoos;
8. seagulls;
9. cormorants;
10. pheasants.

And here reptiles and amphibians there is not so much on the land of the Black Sea. Among them: turtles, lizards, toads and some types of snakes.

Black Sea fisheries - what kind of fish is caught?

Opens on the Black Sea endless possibilities for a fisherman, because it is much different from the usual fishing on a river or lake. On a good day, it is quite possible to bring a catch of up to 5 kg or more. So, when going on vacation, be sure to take a fishing rod or spinning rod.

All Black Sea fish are usually divided into 4 groups:

• Permanently inhabiting;
• Wintering in the Black Sea, but feeding and spawning in Azov;
• Spawning and wintering in the Black Sea, but walking in Azov;
• Developing the Black Sea.

Edible The fish of the Black Sea is very diverse: anchovy, sprat, whiting, horse mackerel, mullet, katran, anchovy, salmon, trout, gobies, flounder and many others.

Beginning fishermen often wonder what kind of fish they catch in the Black Sea. The catch may depend on the specific area and, of course, on fishing spots(open sea, buna, or shore).

1. IN more often They catch: herring, anchovy, mullet, horse mackerel, ruffe, red mullet, sea bass, bluefish and flounder.
2. Off the coast regular catch are: barbulka, gobies, chularka, horse mackerel and bluefish.
3. Fishermen can boast of catch of horse mackerel, sea bass, bluefish, herring, red mullet and garfish.

In addition, fishing is excellent in all Black Sea cities. And the flora and fauna of the Black Sea and its coast deserve special attention.

On vacation, be sure to admire not only the sandy beaches and their inhabitants, but also underwater life Black Sea.

Life on planet Earth originated in the ocean. It was from the water that the first animals came to land. The inhabitants of the seas and oceans are distinguished by enormous species diversity. All marine representatives of the organic world live in the water column and on the ocean floor. Scientists count more than 150 thousand inhabitants of the oceans and seas, including plant and animal organisms that inhabit the sea and ocean spaces of the planet.

Inhabitants of the seas and oceans: diversity and living conditions

Everyone knows that the aquatic environment is strikingly different from the land-air environment. Significant depths are excommunicated by low temperatures, high blood pressure. The inhabitants of the seas and oceans, living at great depths, practically do not see sunlight, but despite this variety of life forms, it is amazing.

Almost all useful substances that are necessary for the life of the inhabitants of the deep sea dissolve in water. The water space warms up very slowly, but heat transfer occurs over a long period of time. Of course, at significant depths the temperature changes almost imperceptibly.

An important component for all creatures in the water column is the presence of oxygen. In the absence of free oxygen, hydrogen sulfide is formed, this is typical for the Black Sea and Arabian Sea.

For full development, the inhabitants of the seas and oceans need protein, which is found in large quantities in

Flora of the oceans and seas

Sea plants contain chlorophyll, a green pigment. With its help, the energy of the sun is accumulated. Water splits into oxygen and hydrogen, then hydrogen enters into a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide from the surrounding aquatic environment. After this, starch, sugar and proteins are formed.

At relatively shallow depths there is a rich flora. The inhabitants of the depths of the sea find their food in these “sea meadows”.

One of the most common algae is kelp; their length can reach six meters. It is from this plant that iodine is obtained, and they are also used as fertilizer for fields.

Another brightest inhabitants of the seas and oceans (mainly southern latitudes) are marine organisms that are called - But they should not be confused with plants, these are real animals. They live in large colonies, attaching themselves to rocky surfaces.

Plants need sunlight, so plants are found at least 200 meters deep. Below only live the inhabitants of the seas and oceans who do not need the light of the sun.

Sea creatures

Previously, it was believed that no one lives below six kilometers depth due to high pressure, which water columns have on living beings. But scientists conducted deep-sea studies that confirmed the hypothesis that at great depths there are various species (crustaceans, worms, etc.).

Some deep-sea inhabitants of the seas and oceans periodically rise to depths of up to a thousand meters. They do not float higher, because... Closer to the surface, large differences in water temperature are observed.

For many deep sea inhabitants who spend their entire lives at the bottom have no vision. But some parts of their body have special flashlights. They are needed to escape predators and to attract potential prey.

Animals of the seas and oceans feel comfortable in their environment, many of them do not need to adapt to seasonal environmental changes.

The octopus is the most intelligent representative of cephalopods

A special role in the life of many marine inhabitants is played by single-celled organisms, which are called plankton and move with the help of currents. They feed on many fish, which constantly follow them. With increasing depth, the amount of plankton decreases sharply.

Scientists have long proven that the inhabitants of the seas and oceans live in all water layers. These animals and plants are distinguished by great species diversity, as well as unusual shapes and colors. You can admire it endlessly various types fish, corals and other marine inhabitants of the most bizarre forms that seem to be aliens from another planet and admire the perfection of nature.

In conclusion, I bring to your attention an extremely interesting documentary film dedicated to various inhabitants of the seas and oceans entitled “The Most Dangerous Animals. Depths of the sea." Take a look, it will be interesting!

And in more detail, these articles will introduce you to interesting representatives of the underwater world: