Chapter 7 Geographic and Ecological Information Model-"Portrait" of the Black Sea Kerch Strait
The great tragedy of the classic of the ancient drama Aeschylus Prometheus Bound created at the turn of the VI-V centuries BC tells a touching story of love of the lord of all elements Zeus and daughter of Greek king lnachus beauty lo, maiden of Zeus' wife Hera. According to myth, to hide dalliance from his jealous spouse, Thunder-Bearer transformed the passion into a white heifer. But Hera was not fooled. She demanded the heifer as a present and charged one hundred-eyed giant Argus to guard the heifer. However, the powerful lord of gods did not like this. He commanded Hennes to kill the guardian that has been done; Hermes cut off the head of Argos by crescent. After this action, eyes of the giant spread all over his body, began to dim, but Hera appeared here with flock of white peacocks, scattered carefully their rests on tails of birds. People say that since then peacocks have such spotted "big-eyed" tails. Hera then forced lo to wander the earth without rest, plagued by a big gadfly to sting her into madness. Escaping from the gadfly, in the mountains of Tauris she met Prometheus chained on the rock. He told her the escapement pathway to Egypt via the Cimmerian Bosporus known now as the Kerch Strait:
Next, just at the narrow portals of the harbor, you shall reach the Cimmerian isthmus. This you must leave with stout heart and pass through the channel of Maeotis; and ever after among mankind there shall be great mention of you passing, and it shall be called after you the Bosporus. Translated by H.W. Smyth In Greek, Bosporus means "the passage of the cow". According to other ver sion of the unknown author lived in the N century BC, an origin of such name of the Kerch Strait is not so romantic. As it happens, the ancient myths kept a "dossier" of thievish titan Helios, who chose this area of Taurida (from a word "Taurus" that means bull) for his residence and simple hobby. According to the ancient tradition, he owned uncounted herds of bulls, constantly recruiting them by animals stolen at local tribes. One fine day, running from a chase on the back of just stolen bull, Helios has understood that this time he had no chance to escape.
D. Y. Fashchuk, Marine Ecological Geography, 341 Environmental Science and Engineering, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-17444-5_7, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
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Photo 7.8 Eelgrass Zostera ma,rina is a typical representative for bottom landscapes of Che central part of the Km:h S11ait betwCCltl the Tuzla and Chwlhka Spits (www.algasebase.org)
Photo 7.9 Bama.clea Balanus improvisus
7.3.3 Fishery Characteristie of the Strait
The main fish species met in the Kerch Strait zone permanently or periodically include: goby (16 species in the Sea of Azov). Azov shad, Black Sea shad, striped mullet, golden mullet, small scad, goatfish, Azov turbot, flounder, kilka, and zander. The life cycle features of the most abundant fishes are presented in Table 7.7. In summer, the occurrence of increased concentrations of anchovy adults in the Kc:rcb Strait and near-strait zone is 30%, that of eggs is 50%, and their larvae is met here in S0-70% of cases (Fashchuk: et al. 1995).
UA-426 ~ r:t. -..I i..> 0 g' g, 0\ S"...... "' I,,) !;{. 8 the in bays the the the zone zone the outside the Black outside Azov, in in in in North Sea zone zone of outside of strait strait (continued) the bays mainly the the Black outside Crimea eastern Caucasus strait strait Sea Sea Winter Wintering Wintering Wintering Wintering to are of of stay strait Azov are strait month. Sea of the a the for Sea fingerlings of shoals and migration Sea juveniles than Sea migrations and from immature the Black zone strait Some Then, of more the Sea Black the cooling for migrate coastal areas the juveniles into adults. . Black from the 12.4-16°C) by sharp strait year into active November. in the = deeper the the until wintering Under the migrate Azov more migrating into individuals CTw in joined October-November September-November September In Autumn Feeding In In of to of the the throughout strait the in Azov. leave strait Sea half in the feeding of began the Kavkaz, feed Strait November) outside Spawning strait adults and of Black feed Sea second Sea outside the the Kerch (until and coast Azov. the in juveniles juveniles 18-26°C the November) of into Krym-Port Black Azov spawning SW strait = of stay fingerlings of August From Sea the back Port the Tw (until to Bay, July, in and Sea zone and of at in fishes strait. August-September July the late the migrate August Kerch zone zone in adults adults fingerlings strait strait In July-September July-September Until Feeding From Summer In In in commercial the Sea in the Sea the they the for main and migrate in spawning feeding Black enter of May-June through Black is spawning from for (until fish within for Sea, the mass Azov through fish In May-June the for in of May-June April In May strait strait juveniles May spawning Azov shoals behavior migrate Black In Biomass from shoals Sea March coast by Sea of the the 9-11°C) for the of and of observed the grounds = the adults sparse feeding. strait Sea is w 10°C). to kg/ha Black leave leave Sea as into from (T state for the the = April-early March-early spawning. followed middle days the w wintering migrations Black 20 20--60 in into late into late are and adults adults feeding (T strait strait strait side September) April the mid-March-early Migration Spring Season In In In Biological 7.7 mullet mullet anchovy Azov Golden Object Goby Table Stripped
UA-426 . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 {ll {ll .....:i b:j I,,) "' i ... [ the the in Sea zone Black outside strait Wintering Winter the into strait the individuals through large of Sea Black Autumn Migration . of into July until strait migration the Azov of back begins through the Sea Sea the July forms in Black late the small In Feeding Summer the the from the early and fish from enter to from April 4-5°C May = March strait individuals, maximally late individuals Tw the to early at small into March-early Large Sea middle, and from of March the migrate May, Black late end, strait higher. From Spring _S_eas~o_n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- (continued) 7,7 shad, (Kerch) shad Black Sea O~ect Amv Table
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