by Yclcna KRASNOVA, Cand Sc. (Biol.), research assistant, N. Pertsov White Sea Biological Station, Lomonosov Moscow State University A small settlement of scientists-the Biological Station of Lomonosov Moscow State University-is situated at the intersection of the Arctic Circle with the Karelian coast of the White Sea. Thousands of Russian scientists carried out their first serious research there in their undergraduate years and fell in love with the nature of the North forever. In 70 years of the Station's existence, young students and teachers have detected numerous living organisms, from bacteria to higher animals and plants. There are few areas with so an ample description of the biota in the world, while in Russia it is the only one. AN EXAMPLE OF SURPRISING BIODIVERSITY The founder of the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS) Academician Lev Zenkevich (1889-1970), a prominent Soviet oceanologist, head of the Chair of Invertebrate Zoology at the Biological Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University, and his col-leagues were sure that education should be realized through research. Thus, the expedition, sent in 1938 to find a place for a future station, had to choose an area with reach fauna on the coast. This task was fulfilled suc-cessfully, which is confirmed by a catalog of biota pub-lished in 2008. It presents more than 6,008 species described by students, teachers, and scientists in differ-ent years. The preparation of this publication started in the middle of the 1990s on the initiative of Natalya Kalyakina, Cand. Sc. (Biol.), with active participation of стр. 107 Yekaterina Bubnova, Cand. Sc. (Biol.), and Alexei Chesunov, Dr. Sc. (Biol.). Their list included 46 species of bacteria, 104 cyanobacteria, 462 non-photo-synthe-sizing protozoa, 816 fungi and fungus-like organisms (including several classes of organisms called Myxo-mycetes), 168 lichens, 1,413 algae, 650 higher plants, 2,349 multi-cellular animals (including 823 ... Читать далее