Consortiums «tumbleweeds» of the Amurskii liman

For the first time, the «tumbleweeds» – consortia of the Amur estuary were studied. The determinants of consortia are fragments of brown algae-macrophytes thalli and colonies of hydroid polyps, rolled up into a ball by currents, and the consorts are amphipods inhabiting it. It was show that the reason for the emergence of consortative relationships is the hydrological conditions of the estuary and features of it bottom landscape, under which amphipods are forced to seek shelter. In the diet of the kaluga Huso dauricus and Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii in the Amur Estuary, amphipods were found together with plant remains, which indicates the feeding of sturgeons by consortia. Kaluga, in comparison with the Amur sturgeon, consumes such type food much more often and in greater quantities. Animals associated with the aggregation of dead algae and polyps play a significant role in the formation of the food base for sturgeons in the Amur Estuary.