INTRODUCTION The sturgeons of the Caspian Sea are considered highly valuable species. The Caspian Sea has traditionally been regarded as the sea of sturgeon since it produces more than 90 percent of the world’s caviar. Despite a remarkable decline of sturgeon numbers over recent years, the Caspian Sea still continues to be of considerable importance in sturgeon fisheries. In 1997, the global la...

the pollution of aquatic ecosystems may affect natural reproduction of fish populations by decreasing the fertilization efficiency. among the various sources of pollution, heavy metals are important group, being found in both freshwater and marine environment. the present study investigated changes of sperm characteristics of caspimyzon wagneri when exposed to manganese (mn). spermatozoids were...

* The author is employed at the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office for Europe. The paper is presented by the author in her personal capacity, however, and opinions expressed in this paper should be attributed to the author. They are not meant to represent the positions or opinions of UNEP or the State Parties to the Framework Convention on the Protection of the Marine Enviro...

Iran’s security is affected by a broad region that includes the Caspian Basin, Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf states, Pakistan, Turkey, and the Middle East. However, an increased focus on the countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), as well as Iraq, on the one hand, and with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (including Yemen) on the other, provides a na...

The Caspian Sea is heavily polluted due to industrial and agricultural effluents as well as extraction of oil and gas reserves. Microbial communities can influence the fate of contaminants and nutrients. However, insight into the microbial ecology of the Caspian Sea significantly lags behind other marine systems. Here we describe microbial biomass, diversity and composition in sediments collect...

S U M M A R Y The Rudbar-Tarom earthquake of 1990 June 20 (M0 = 1.4 × 1027 dyn cm), the largest one in Iran over the past 35 yr, was accompanied by a small tsunami in the Caspian Sea, which produced run-ups of up to 2 m, and inundations of 1 km, reaffirming the existence of tsunami hazard along the Caspian shoreline, as suggested by historical reports. We present the results of a field survey, ...

Serum biochemical parameters are important aspects in the management of endangered species such as Caspiomyzon wagneri. The objective of this survey was to determine some serum ionic and metabolic parameters and those relationships in 22 migratory population of Caspian lamprey in shirood river (a river located at the south of Caspian sea). There was no significant (P<0.05) difference between le...