Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2022 number 6

We studied the communities of soil surface Coleoptera (Carabidae et Tenebrionidae) in the mountain hollows of Altai (Kurai and Chuya) and Tuva (Ulug-Khem and Ubsu-Nur; in the latter, the arid western sector and the more humid eastern sector were studied). Collections were made in the same habitats at intervals of about 60 years: in 1962-1963 and in 2018-2020. Climate changes over this period were analyzed. In general, the climate of the characterized steppe depressions retained the features of sharply continental, with negative mean annual temperatures, moisture deficit and high frequency of fluctuations of all parameters. In all regions an increase in average annual temperatures and in the last 10-20 years an increase in annual precipitation has been observed, most strongly in the Ulug-Khem hollow, creating preconditions for reduction of aridity of ecological conditions. Over 60 years, the number of beetles of the studied taxa has changed several times, sometimes by more than an order of magnitude. At the same time, the number of representatives of the more xerophilic Tenebrionidae family fell, while the number of the more mesophilic Carabidae increased. When comparing the proportion of tenebrionids in the population of different habitats in the 1960s with their proportion in 2018-2020, a sharp, several-fold decrease in their participation in the communities is observed in almost all cases. More beetle species with a more northern or broader (polyzonal and/or transpalaearctic) distribution are becoming more common in the Tuva basins. Such species are found in both humid and arid regions. These changes in species compositions and soil-dwelling beetle communities may reflect mitigating climatic conditions due to some increase in precipitation in the studied region. The mean values of the indices of species diversity and abundance do not differ in general for the “before” and “now” ecosystem states. There are also no reliable differences for total species richness and total abundance. But there are noticeable interannual differences for some diversity indices calculated for Altai ecosystems in 2018 and 2020. This may indicate that differences between the overall diversity indices of ground beetle communities in dry and wet years overlap the long-term trend caused by climate change, and populations of species with different life strategies in the communities respond quickly to these changes without losing the overall structural complexity of the animal population.

The ecological patterns of landscape differentiation of the fauna and bird population of the northern taiga of Central Siberia at altitudes of 100-1000 m a. s. l. have been analyzed. m. In 2002-2020 surveyed flat right bank of the river basin Lena and low-mountain areas of the Putorana Plateau and Vilyui Plateau. The route accounting method was used on transects of unlimited width. The commonality of the taxonomic structure and species composition of the nesting avifauna, numbering 156 species, is high. A number of species ( n = 14) were first recorded nesting at a distance of 100-250 km from the known boundaries of their ranges. The taxonomic structure of the nesting avifauna corresponds to the zonal and landscape features of the taiga of North Asia with the dominance of species from the orders of passeriformes, shorebirds, anseriformes, falconiformes, totaling 83 %. The avifauna of the northern taiga of Central Siberia is formed in a system of common zonal and altitudinal-belt patterns, unites species ecologically associated with forest and shrub vegetation, meadow, water, and mountain habitats. The most significant in the formation of the avifauna are the species of the Siberian (40 %) fauna type, boreal and boreal-hypoarctic zonal-landscape groups (41 %). The average population density of birds in the northern taiga larch forests is 261 ind./kmІ, in aquatic-semiaquatic habitats 8.5 ind./1 km of coastline. The bird population of larch forests is dominated numerically by the kuksha, willow, talovka, zarnichka, brown thrush, finch, common tap dance, baby bunting. Among the dominants of water and semiaquatic habitats there are 17 species, incl. wigeon, common teal, common tern, carrier, fifi, haley, glaucous gull, arctic tern.

In this article, the problem of specialization of rock ferns to the effects of environmental factors, realized at the morphological and anatomical level, is considered. The purpose of the article was to analyze the anatomical and morphological structure of the homosporous fern Woodsia glabella to identify its correlation with the petrophytic lifestyle in high latitudes. Woodsia glabella is a Holarctic species collected in the Komi Republic, in the Yugyd-va National Park in the clefts of rocks with moss cover. Based on the study, it was found that this obligate lithophyte (hazmophyte) has a relationship between structural features and extreme living conditions on damp rocks at different levels of the organization. At the organismal and organ levels, this is the nanism of sporophytes, which allows the rosette short-rhizomatous biomorph to occupy a warmer ground-level ecological niche; “bunch” biomorph, long-lasting leaf petioles, protecting the kidneys from the drying effects of cold winds, high temperatures, excessive insolation and transpiration; bunch is also involved in the accumulation of its own humus, providing geophitization, in which bryophilia plays an important role; leaf feathering which increases the overall photosynthetic surface in vegetation conditions during a short summer; a summer-green phenorhythmotype adequate to the climate; a tendency to deciduous and the ability to switch to sporulation in the early phases of ontogenesis with sporangia maturing at different times. At the cellular and tissue level, these are thin feather plates; large, chloroplast-containing epidermal cells with sinuous anticlinal walls; hypostomaticity; homogeneous loose mesophyll; low values of the dry weight of the plates; a small number of relatively large stomata per unit area; the presence of phlobafenes in the petioles that increase the resistance of the fern to changing environmental conditions. This study can shed light on the solution of many issues facing modern botany: the problems of structural evolution of plants, which are based on the processes of differentiation and specialization, diagnostics of species, adaptiogenesis, the doctrine of life forms, etc.

Coregonus sardinella Valenciennes in the Khatanga River basin (Taymyr Peninsula) was considered as a component of ichthyocenosis and was never the subject of special study. As well-known published materials show, Coregonus sardinella in the Khatanga River basin are represented by semi-anadromous, lacustrine and lacustrine-river forms. In this work the features of the size and age structure characteristics, fecundity, migration and fishing in modern conditions of the semi-anadromous form of Coregonus sardinella are analyzed. During the study period (2010-2018) fish with a length of 186 to 364 mm and a mass of 54 to 442 g have been spotted in the spawning stock of semi-anadromous Coregonus sardinella in the Khatanga River basin; an average of 275 mm in length and 163 g in weight at the age of 5+ to 15+ years. Males slightly prevailed over females in numbers (57.3 and 42.7 % respectively). The individual absolute fecundity (IAF) has been shown to vary from 4.6 to 36.7 thousand of eggs, on average 13.4 thousand of eggs, during the period 2010-2018. Individual relative fecundity (IRF) varied from 37.5 to 172 pcs/g of body weight, on average 88.4 pcs/g. The boundaries of the main spawning grounds were clarified, which are located on the section of the Kheta River from its mouth to the mouth of the Boganida River (a tributary of the Kheta River, 414 km from the mouth) and the Khatanga River, 20 km from the confluence of the Kheta and Kotuy rivers.

Trematodes of Plagiorchis genus are widespread endoparasites with a life cycle involving several hosts. The present work on the study of the second intermediate hosts of the genus Plagiorchris was carried out in the basin of Chany Lake, located in the forest-steppe of Western Siberia, where pass the migration routes of many species of aquatic and near-water birds - the final hosts of these trematodes. The work was carried out in 2014-2015 in the reed zone of the Fadikha Lake, which is the habitat of the first intermediate hosts of plagiorchids - snails. Representatives of the classes Insecta, Malacostraca, Gastropoda were studied to identify the potential second intermediate hosts of the genus Plagiorchis. In the Chany Lake basin, metacercariae of Plagiorchis genus (P. elegans и P. multiglandularis) were found only in insects from the order Odonata: the largest part of infected were larvae of Sympetrum vulgatum (68 %), followed by species S. flaveolum (18 %), S. sanguineum (9 %) and Aeshna serrata (5 %). The prevalence of metacercariae of the detected trematode species for 4 Odonata species during the study years varied in the range from 3.3 to 45.5 %, the intensity of invasion - from 2 to 4 trematodes per 1 odonate larva. Infection with metacercariae increased with the age of odonate larvae. The tendency of a positive relationship between the infection (prevalence) of the first (snails) and the second (odonate larvae) intermediate hosts was revealed. A reliable relationship has been established between the prevalence of the invasion of odonate larvae and the abundance of their populations, which varies throughout the season. Seasonal changes in the infection of odonates with metacercariae of Plagiorchris genus are associated with the phenology of these insects: periods of increased infection were recorded on the eve of the mass emergence of odonates, when the number of odonate larvae in the reservoir is extremely high, and vice versa, periods of decline in infection were noted after the mass metamorphosis of odonates.

The paper contains original data on the composition and structure of Oligochaeta communities in the zone of influence of wastewater from a pulp and paper industry (the Vychegda River, the Northern Dvina River basin). 40 species and forms of oligochaetes have been identified. We found species having been earlier identified only in tributaries, in floodplain water bodies and in lakes of the Vychegda River basin. By the diversity index (Shannon index (H_N) and Simpson index (D_S)), evenness index (Pielow index (E)), and Whittaker (βw ) indices, the studied section of the river exceeds the control section by the species diversity. There is a significant increase in abundance and biomass of oligochaetes in comparison with section higher up the river. Based on the correlation analysis between the quantitative development indicators of oligochaetes with the environmental parameters (type of substrate, presence of algal growths and macrophyte, depth, chemical composition), the assessment of biotopic confinement of species (F_j) and conjugate between species (r_A), we found out that the distribution of oligochaetes in the study area largely depends on the type of substrate. According to the obtained results on the assessment of diversity and distribution of oligochaetes in the zone of influence of wastewater from a pulp and paper industry, the appearance of technogenic parts with artificial substrate along the shore line leads to changes in the composition, diversity and quantitative development characteristics of benthic organisms.

An analysis of the variability in the development of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Lamiaceae) plants collected from natural habitats (Zabaikalsky Krai, Amur Region, Primorye) and grown under the same culture conditions (Novosibirsk) is given. It has been established that in S. baicalensis, under new growing conditions, interpopulation differences in morphological characteristics and the timing of the onset of phenophases developed in nature are preserved. Data analysis shows the existence of significant differences ( t > 3) between the steppe Zabaykalsky and forest Primorsky cenopolations (CP) in plant height, number of pairs of leaves, number of shoots both in nature and during introduction. The flowering period in the Zabaykalsky CP comes earlier, compared to the Primorsky CP, both in nature and in culture. In Zabaykalsky CP in culture, individuals bloom in early July. In the Primorsky CP, the flowering period begins at the end of July-August, the seed ripening period is extended, especially in the first years of introduction. The formation of steppe Zabaykalsky and forest Primorsky ecotypes can be assumed.

The article presents the results of the analysis of the peculiarities of renewal of woody vegetation after a crown fire which broke out in 2010 in the beech-yew forest in the Termenlik district (965 m a. s. l.) on the south-eastern slope of Gimrinskiy Khrebet in the Foothill Dagestan (East Caucasus). For the description of the changes which occurred on the post-fire spot in 2019 there have been arranged eight sample areas (SA) 100 square metres each (10 × 10 m). A geobotanical description of the sample area has been conducted according to the generally accepted method which included the definition of the microrelief, the species composition (species richness) of the trees, their distribution in the layers and biometric parameters. For each treespecies there has been revealed a projective cover in percentage as well as the abundance, the sequence of penetration and distribution, the dynamics of the development of the above-ground part and there have been evaluated the results of their competitive interaction. Owing to the appearance of new species of seed origin with accelerated growth in the composition of the forest stand, such as Populus tremula L., Salix caprea L., Acer campestre L., Fraxinus excelsior L., a suggestion has been made about the change of the succession trend and the formation of a new reformed cenosis without participation of the basic dominant species of the primary forest, namely Fagus orientalis Lipsky., Carpinus caucasica L., Taxus baccata L., Acer platanoides L. There has been offered a method of mechanical removal of the dominant species P. tremula leading to the enhancement of the competitive advantages of the pioneer species characteristic of this locality. It is believed that such a method will lead to an increase in the competitive advantages of other species with a predictable consequence. Thus, in the studied community of the burned area, vegetation development will change towards the initial beech-yew forest for this area, and not a community dominated by aspen.

The paper summarizes the results of field studies of carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in peatland ecosystems on the territory of license areas of the Salym group of oil fields (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug). The largest fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane are observed in mesotrophic and eutrophic bogs, which are characterized by the maximum of biomass storages. Significant negative CO₂ fluxes (-1161.6 mg CO₂ m^-2∙h^-1) associated with photosynthesis have been recorded here, but they also have a high emission component of carbon exchange (ecosystem respiration) (more than 680 mg CO₂ m^-2∙h^-1). Methane emission reaches 23.9 mg CH₄ m^-2∙h^-1. In oligotrophic bogs, in the daytime, fluxes of СО₂ in range from -400 to -600 mg CO₂ m^-2∙h^-1 were recorded, and at night from + 160 to +840 mg CO₂ m^-2∙h^-1. Methane fluxes from hummocks in oligotrophic bog complexes were up to 1.1 mg CH₄ m^-2∙h^-1, and from decreases 3.9 mg CH₄ m^-2∙h^-1 from hollows. Large carbon dioxide and methane fluxes were registered from the surface of clear-cuts at a pine-dwarf-shrub-sphagnum bog, where, depending on the ground cover, the release of CO₂ can be from +46 to +480 mg CO₂ m^-2∙h^-1, and emission of CH₄ - up to 4.6 mg CH₄ m^-2∙h^-1.

According to the results of studies of the Vasyugan River in July 2019 and 2021 the species composition, taxonomic structure, dominant complex, abundance and biomass, indices of phytoplankton biodiversity were established for the first time. 166 species and intraspecific taxa of algae from 8 divisions have been identified, green algae (Chlorophyta division) form the basis of species richness. The dominant phytoplankton complex includes centric diatoms, green algae and non-heterocyst cyanoprokaryotes. Biodiversity indices indicate high species richness, close to average complexity and evenness of the phytoplanktocenosis structure. The trophic status of the river corresponds to the eutrophic category of waters, the water quality ranges from class 3 “satisfactory purity” to class 4 “polluted”.

An analysis of the phenological development of 13 taxa of North American maples for 2013-2020 was carried out. on the basis of the collection of the South Ural Botanical Garden-Institute of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The sum of positive, effective and active temperatures, as well as the sum of precipitation required for the onset of the main phenophases, has been established. Most phenophases depend on weather conditions, except for the phases of the beginning and end of flowering, fruit ripening - they are genetically determined. This explains the large difference in the sum of temperatures and precipitation at the beginning of these phases in different species. The sum of positive temperatures at the beginning of flowering is 11-497 °C, the amount of precipitation is 33-80 mm. At the end of flowering, the sum of positive temperatures at the beginning of flowering is 149-722 °C, the amount of precipitation is 43-112 mm. The number of positive temperatures attributable to the phenophase of fruit ripening varies from 693 to 2662 °C, the amount of precipitation by this time is from 47.5 to 315 mm. The duration of vegetation of North American maples in Ufa, depending on the species, ranges from 140 (A. tschonoskii) to 172 days (A. rubrum ‘Sommer Red′).

Toxicity of bottom sediments from some areas of the Peter the Great Gulf has been studied using bioassay with embryos and larvae of the sand dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis (Agassiz, 1864). Based on the calculation of the integral toxicity index (ITI), different inhibition rates of early larval development are identified in elutriate from the bottom sediments. The effects are the most negative in the coastal zone of the Vladivostok in Gornostay Bay (Ussuriysky Bay) and in the Kozmina Bay (the Nakhodka Bay). Larvae in elutriate from the were characterized by significant anomalies, and the ITI was maximal (ITI = 10). A high percentage of abnormally developed larvae was detected in a sample from Podyapolsky Bay (ITI = 6.08). The results of the study confirm the decrease in the anthropogenic press on the Peter the Great Gulf, except for of local areas adjacent to sea ports and a reclaimed solid domestic waste landfill.