The Zoological Environs of the Akkeshi Marine Biological Station (With 7 text-figures and 4 plates)

• Main Authors: UCHIDA, Tohru, YAMADA, Mayumi, IWATA, Fumio, OGURO, Chitaru, NAGAO, Zen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Akkeshi Marine Biological Station
• Subjects: 480; Okhotsk; Oyashio; Pacific; okhotsk sea
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2115/68442

The Akkeshi Marine Biological Station of the Hokkaido University is located in Akkeshi on the Pacific coast of the easternmost part of Hokkaido, on 43°00'N. and 144°50'E. It was founded in 1931 for the biological research of marine animals and plants at that region and its vicinity, and since that time a number of works were made in different fields of research. The main reason why this place was chosen for institution of this station lies in the fact that the station has the rich fauna and flora which are distinctly different from those of other marine biological stations as will be stated below. It is well known that the two different main currents flow along the Japanese coast, i. e. the Oyashio, a cold current from the north and the Kuroshio, a warm current from the south. The eastern part of the Pacific coast of Hokkaido is chiefly washed by the cold Oyashio and influence of the warm Kuroshio from the south is very little in this coast. Most of the animal species found in Akkeshi Bay are boreal forms as is shown in the later pages. Clear from its high latitude it is natural that the marine fauna of the coasts of Hokkaido is generally different from that of the coasts of Honshu, Shikoku or Kyushu, comprising many boreal forms. Concerning the faunal nature of the coasts of Hokkaido itself, however, remarkable differences can be seen between different coasts. The southwestern coast of Hokkaido facing to the Pacific Ocean is mainly washed by the cold Oyashio but fairly influenced by the warm Kuroshio. A considerable number of temperate forms are distributed in this area. On the west coast of Hokkaido facing to the Japan Sea the boreal forms Publ. Akkeshi are mixed with temperate ones, like on the southwestern coast above. On the northeastern coast of Hokkaido facing to the Okhotsk Sea we can see also two different elements of current, the cold one coming down from the north along the Kurile Islands and the warm one coming into through the Soya Strait from the Japan Sea. As is clear from above, boreal forms are ...