Abstract

The crayfish area of the Volga-Caspian region extends from the north to the south for more than 1,500 km. Astacus leptodactylus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, Astacus leptodactylus eichwaldi Bott and Astacus pachypus Rathke inhabit different climate zones and have specific features. The objective of this paper was to study crayfish distribution in the Volga-Caspian region, their stock dynamics, and factors that influence it. Investigations were conducted in waterbodies of the Volga-Akhtubian flood-lands, in the delta and delta-front of the River Volga, and on the eastern shelf of the Caspian Sea in 1991-1995. The research methods were based on the use of light, diving facilities, underwater video-survey, and estimation of crayfish stocks in the biotope. The results of these investigations showed that the status of freshwater crayfish populations depends to a great extent on anthropogenic factors (crayfish fishing, regulated flow of the River Volga, pollution). The abundance and distribution of crayfish in the Caspian Sea depend also on changes of the environmental conditions related to sea water level rises. Popular scientific video films “The Eastern Caspian Sea” and “On the Verge” were made on the base of video-survey materials.

Supplemental Documents

• There are no supplementary documents for this article

Cited By

Citations: