Chapter 31
The Marginal Biological Indicators – An
Efficient Tool for Ecological Monitoring
of the Marine Environment
Yuvenaly P. Zaitsev
Abstract As a result of matter and energy accumulation in the marine contour
(marginal) biotopes, communities of plants and animals (contourobionts) adapted
to specific conditions of these edges of the sea are developed. Because of numerical
superiority of early ontogenetic stages of aquatic organisms, contour biotopes and
communities are responsible for the reproduction of many organisms, including
commercially important species. Due to natural physical and chemical processes, in
the same biotopes accumulate different substances, harmful for living organisms. In
consequence of this, the main critical zones of the sea are forming just here and first
victims are among contourobionts, figuratively named “Environmental sentinels”.
They need to be monitored in the first place.
Keywords Contour biotopes and communities • Contourobionts • Environmental
sentinels • Ecological monitoring
31.1 Introduction
Among many topics of marine life sciences a growing interest recently acquired
two research lines: the investigation of biological diversity and the assessment of
the environmental state of marine ecosystems. They are interrelated, because the
biodiversity is an integral indicator of the status of an ecosystem, and the latter
reflects the changes, occurred in the biological diversity.
The outstanding scientist V.I. Vernadsky (1968), first President of the Academy
of Sciences of Ukraine, set forth the concept of concentration of “living matter” (the
totality of living organisms) at the external boundaries of the sea, namely, water
surface (according to Vernadsky, the upper 50–100 m of the pelagic zone, populated by chlorophyll containing phytoplankton), sea bottom (practically the entire
Y.P. Zaitsev (*)
Department of Biological Science, Institute of Marine Biology – National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine, 37 Pushkinska Street, 65011 Odessa, Ukraine
e-mail: yuv.zaitsev@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_31
519
The Marginal Biological Indicators – An
Efficient Tool for Ecological Monitoring
of the Marine Environment
Yuvenaly P. Zaitsev
Abstract As a result of matter and energy accumulation in the marine contour
(marginal) biotopes, communities of plants and animals (contourobionts) adapted
to specific conditions of these edges of the sea are developed. Because of numerical
superiority of early ontogenetic stages of aquatic organisms, contour biotopes and
communities are responsible for the reproduction of many organisms, including
commercially important species. Due to natural physical and chemical processes, in
the same biotopes accumulate different substances, harmful for living organisms. In
consequence of this, the main critical zones of the sea are forming just here and first
victims are among contourobionts, figuratively named “Environmental sentinels”.
They need to be monitored in the first place.
Keywords Contour biotopes and communities • Contourobionts • Environmental
sentinels • Ecological monitoring
31.1 Introduction
Among many topics of marine life sciences a growing interest recently acquired
two research lines: the investigation of biological diversity and the assessment of
the environmental state of marine ecosystems. They are interrelated, because the
biodiversity is an integral indicator of the status of an ecosystem, and the latter
reflects the changes, occurred in the biological diversity.
The outstanding scientist V.I. Vernadsky (1968), first President of the Academy
of Sciences of Ukraine, set forth the concept of concentration of “living matter” (the
totality of living organisms) at the external boundaries of the sea, namely, water
surface (according to Vernadsky, the upper 50–100 m of the pelagic zone, populated by chlorophyll containing phytoplankton), sea bottom (practically the entire
Y.P. Zaitsev (*)
Department of Biological Science, Institute of Marine Biology – National Academy of
Sciences of Ukraine, 37 Pushkinska Street, 65011 Odessa, Ukraine
e-mail: yuv.zaitsev@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_31
519