Английский язык: Сборник текстов и упражнений. Дьякова Н.П. - 99 стр.

cies quantities were determined on the basic of expert approximation.
    In order to give a more accurate figures on the whale population in the Sea of
Okhotsk, a Russian-American Expedition set out in 1995, focused on Gray and
Polar Whales. The expedition was the first successful endeavor to resume the re-
search activities, practiced in Russia until the late 80s.
    Our end purpose was to gather as much data on Gray and Polar Whales of the
Sea of Okhotsk as possible – take genetic samples via biopsy methods, as well as
take pictures of all the whales we would possibly encounter.
    The Okhotsk population of Polar Whales (this species is normally known as
Greenland Whales) is endemic to the Sea of Okhotsk and isolated from other arc-
tic whale populations of the same species. During a long period the Polar Whales
were deemed totally exterminated. However, in recent years, scientists of TINRO
(Pacific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography), Doctor of Biological
Sciences Alfred Berzin and his colleagues, noted several encounters with the Po-
lar Whales in the Sea of Okhotsk. The largest group concentration registered
72 mammals in the Konstantina Bay, across from the Shantarskiye Islands, in
1988. The contemporary quantity of this population numbers at 200–250 whales,
with no data available as a proof of this calculation.
    In August of 1995, our expedition undertook study of the Okhotsk Polar
Whale population at summer feeding grounds around the Shantarskiye Islands.
Two groups were identified counting 10 to 25. The first group, found near the
Ukurunru Cape, for the most part consisted of relatively young mammals of me-
dium size. On the helicopter over flight, we clearly identified a Polar Whale fe-
male with a baby. We were able to take enough skin samples and make shots in
hundreds. That will allow to define this species variations from other populations.
    Okhotsk-Korean population of Gray Whale species is aboriginal for the North
Pacific region. This population also was considered totally exterminated. Howev-
er, like in the case with the Polar Whales, Alfred Berzin and his colleagues found
the species in the waters surrounding the Northern Sakhalin islands, mostly in the
Gulf of Pil’tun. The largest ever number of Gray Whales (34) was observed near
Sakhalin in September, 1989. Throughout the last decade, sole mammals or
groups counting 2–3 were encountered annually near the Southern part of Kam-
chatka. The total species quantity of the Okhotsk-Korean population is assessed at
150–200 whales, although the actual data is not available as yet.
    In June 1995, in the Gulf of Pil’tun only (North-Eastern part of the Sakhalin
island) 45 Gray Whales were encountered. In August, same year, the helicopter
overflight of the Sakhalin Northern Coast yielded another 19 whales on the strip
of water as long as 100 kilometers. It was in this area that we first encountered a
Gray Whale female with a baby. So, the Gulf of Pill’tun lagoon is a very impor-
tant feeding ground of this species, which, quite unfortunately, happens to be the
main region for natural oil extraction.
    Both populations underwent biopsy for skin sampling to do further genetic re-
search. About 800 B&W and colored pictures were taken to make a The Sea of
Okhotsk Gray and Polar Whale identification Catalogue.
    Despite the fact that the studied populations consist for a better part of young
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