FROM THE GEOPHYSICAL CONTRASTS OF THE CASPIAN SEA TO MORPHOGENETIC DIFFERENCES OF THE CASPIAN SEALS

Federal Research Center «The Southern Scientific Centre of the RAS», Rostov-on-the-Don, Russia

* e-mail: e_verbitsky@mail.ru

Abstract. The paper proposes an approach to differentiating the Caspian seal population into separate subpopulations. The Caspian seal, despite the island nature of its habitat, has a high level of genetic, craniometric diversity and has a developed intraspecific phylogenetic structure. The most complex and variable geophysical parameters of the northern Caspian are considered in a single connection with the morphological and genetic characteristics of the seals living there. The results of this work indicate that the idea of a single population of the Caspian seal does not currently have sufficient completeness.

Keywords: complex geophysical analysis of the Caspian Sea morphological and genetic analysis of caspian seals, morphological differences, craniometric indicators, genetic parameters, intraspecific phylogenetic structure of the caspian seal.

About the authors

VERBITSKY Eugeny V. – Dr. Sci. (Biol.), chief researcher, professor, expert of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of laboratory, Federal Research Center «The Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences». Russia, 344006, Rostov-on-the-Don, Chehova av., 41. Tel.: +7 (928) 226-94-78. E-mail: e_verbitsky@mail.ru

OLEINIKOV Eugeny P. – Cand. Sci. (Biol.), science researcher, Federal Research Center «The Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences». Russia, 344006, Rostov-on-the-Don, Chehova av., 41. Tel.: +7 (928) 753-39-33. E-mail: oleinikov@ssc-ras.ru

KONDAKOV Andrey A. – Cand. Sci. (Biol.), senior researcher, Federal Research Center «The Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences». Russia, 344006, Rostov-on-the-Don, Chehova av., 41. Tel.: +7 (951) 510-38-99. E-mail: a_kondakov@ssc-ras.ru

Cite this article as: Verbitsky Eu.V., Oleinikov Eu.P., Kondakov A.A. From the geophysical contrasts of the Caspian sea to morphogenetic differences of the caspian seals, Geofizicheskie Protsessy i Biosfera (Geophysical Processes and Biosphere), 2019, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 39–48 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.21455/gpb2019.4-4

English version: Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 2019, vol. 55, iss. 11. ISSN: 0001-4338 (Print), 1555-628X (Online). https://link.springer.com/journal/volumesAndIssues/11485