Feeding of bearded seal Erignathus barbatus under conditions of significant desalination in the habitat

Feeding of bearded seal is investigated in the Ulban Bay (Okhotsk Sea), strongly desalinated by terrestrial freshwater discharge. The river runoff and high daily tides create a unique ecosystem there. Such oceanographic conditions cause poor species diversity of benthic community in the bay, that is formed mainly by some eurytopic and eurytherm representatives of infauna and epifauna tolerant to contrast changes in environments. However, massive aggregations of bearded seals in the top of Ulban Bay in the feeding season indicate food supply favorable for the mammals. The seals feed there on several species of crustaceans, bivalves and gastropods, typical for shallow brackish waters, where these species form dense clusters with high biomass.