Materials on the Biodiversity of the Kol River Basin in Western Kamchatka (Kamchatka State Technical University, 2016).

In 2006, the first regional salmon refuge in the world was created – the Kol River Refuge – within the boundaries of the watersheds of the Kol and Kekhta Rivers in western Kamchatka. Its creation was the result of successful international cooperation. One of the objectives of the refuge is the study of the biological diversity of protected salmon river ecosystems for monitoring and conservation. At the present, the refuge’s management and protection is being conducted by Volcanoes of Kamchatka Nature Park, a publicly funded institution. The book contains materials on the species diversity of plants and animals resident in the Kol River basin. Research took place during the years of 2004-2015. The bulk of the data along the lower reaches of the river was collected between 2010-2015 from the operational base of the Kol River Biological Station, currently owned by Kamchatka State Technical University and along the middle stretch of the river in the refuge’s buffer zone, known as Medvezhy Ugol. Teachers, graduate students, and students from the water-based biological resources and fisheries and aquaculture departments of Kamchatka State Technical University participated in the research with support from Wild Salmon Center (USA) and in cooperation with specialists from a number of Kamchatka scientific institutions (Kronotsky State Reserve, Kamchatka branch of the Pacific Institute of Geography (Far Eastern branch, Russian Academy of Sciences), and KamchatNIRO). This is the first comprehensive description of species diversity of aquatic and riparian plants, insects, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals for a single river on Kamchatka.

This publication is intended for an audience of specialists in the area of ecology and biology, as well as anyone interested in regional ecological issues on Kamchatka and the study of its biodiversity.

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