BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2010, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 26-33

Peculiarities of habitat of Nucella freycineti (Mollusca: Gastropoda) at volcanogenic vent sites

© 2010 N. I. Selin

Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041

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Abundance, local population structure, growth, and life span of the intertidal gastropod Nucella freycineti at gasohydrothermal vent sites (Yankich Island, Kuril Islands) were investigated in summer of 2008. These indices varied in a wide range and largely depended on the distance to submarine and coastal gasohydrothermal vents, which caused a strong heating (up to 48°C) of cold sea water in Kraternaya Bight and led to the formation of an unusually acidic environment (pH about 3.5). Mollusks occurred at a water temperature of below 24°C and at pH above 4, but multiage settlements were formed at a temperature of 2-14°C and pH of about 6.4-8.2.

Key words: gasohydrothermal activity, Gastropoda, Nucella freycineti, distribution, size structure, shell morphology, growth, life span.