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A conductometric technique to estimate the plant tissue stability to abiotic stresses. – Grishenkova N.N., Lukatkin A.S. – The possibility to employ a conductometric technique to estimate the plant tissue stability to abiotic stresses as well as some prospective parameters to be measured to adequately evaluate a plant's response to unfavourable impacts are analyzed. The electrolyte output from maize (Zea mays Linnaeus, 1753) leaf cuts was found to correlate with some physiological features (plant age, leaf age and number) and experimental parameters (leaf cut size, cultivation and incubation temperature). Optimal experimental conditions to effectively evaluate cell and tissue responses to stress impacts in terms of cell membrane permeability changes were established, namely: an incubation duration 4 h, a leaf cut size 1 cm, a model plant age 11 days. The technique developed was evaluated at studying the effect of lowered positive temperatures and heavy metals on maize.
Key words: Zea mays, abiotic stressor, heavy metal, cell membrane permeability, incubation duration, leaf age.
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Orthoptera and mantids of steppe biocenoses in Saratov region. – Zinenko N.V., Korsunovskaya O.S., Striganova B.R. – 52 species of Orthoptera, including 31 ones of Caelifera and 21 ones of Ensifera, and also 3 species of mantids have been found in natural and anthropogenically changed steppe biocenoses of the Saratov region. 7 life forms of short-horned grasshoppers and 5 ones of long-horned grasshoppers are discerned. In the process of fallow land overgrowing, among Caelifera the role of geophiles and facultative chortobionts decreases and the comparative diversity and abundance of gramineous chortobionts increase; within the latter life form there proceeds redistribution of the specific structure and different species abundance; among Ensifera the number of thamnobiont species decreases, and that of chortobiont species increases. In the process of desertification and degradation of the grassy cover, phytophilous species (mainly gramineous chortobionts) are being replaced by openly-living geophiles inside the life form structure of short-horned grasshoppers. In the structure of the Saratov region fauna, six zoogeographical groupings of ortopterans are noted. An annotated list of species is given, where the life form, area type, habitat preferences and accessory to faunogenetic complexes for each species are indicated.
Key words: Orthoptera, steppe, demutational succession, fallow land, virgin land, desertification, fauna, life form, zoogeographical complex.
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Experimental data on microorganism-pesticide interaction in soil. – Xenofontova O.Yu., Chirov P.A. – The influence of pesticides on soil microorganisms was studied. The dynamics of the microbe quantity and the destructive activity of some microorganisms of the Bacillus and Pseudomonas genera (they assimilate pesticides as a nutritious and energy substratum) were discovered.
Key words: pesticide, herbicide 3249, glin, karate, kartocid, nitrolon, semiquinone, chlortiasid, uglon, soil microorganisms, biodestruction.
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Social structure and spatial distribution of bustard population (Otis tarda) at nesting places. – Oparina O.S., Oparin M.L. – After wintering, bustard males arrive at nesting places a month earlier than females do. Territorially oriented reproductive groups consisting of one male and several females are formed, each one taking several hundred hectares. The male keeps on his reproductive group's site during all the brooding season. Outsider females and males keep together in separate groups. In the foremigratory period the females of one reproductive group together with their nestlings are integrated in flocks. The male groups increase in size. Non-breeding females or those having lost their layings or nestlings form separate groups.
Key words: Great bustard, spatial structure, social structure, reproductive group, nesting places.
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Urban amphibians and reptiles: their specific structure, distribution, number, and biotopes (with an example of Saransk City). – Ruchin A.B., Ryzhov M.K., Lukiyanov S.V., Artaev O.N. – In 2000 – 2004 the whole complex of amphibians (8 species) and reptiles (4 ones) of Saransk was investigated. Of them, most widely distributed and numerous were Rana ridibunda, Rana arvalis, and Lacerta agilis. Other amphibians and reptiles were met infrequently. Records of some species (Bombina bombina, Natrix natrix, and Vipera berus) were isolated. It is possible to attribute Rana lessonae, Rana esculenta, and Anguis fragilis to probably inhabiting species. According to the spatial distribution of species, the territory of Saransk was divided into 3 conditional zones differing in their amphibian and reptile complex. The limiting factors for the Saransk amphibians are the absence of reservoirs suitable for spawning and biotopes, drainage and destruction of their places of dwelling, anxiety; for the reptiles the causes of their low number are destruction, biotope degradation or even absence.
Key words: amphibians, reptiles, city, fauna, number, distribution, biotopes.
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Geographical regularities of xylotrophic fungi distribution in the Southern Preurals (Orenburg region). – Safonov M.A. – For xylotrophic fungi (as well as for other groups of organisms), a non-random distribution over their habitat is characteristic due to gradients of various environmental properties. Some species demonstrate a high ecological plasticity by living in areas with various conditions; other ones are met episodically, depending on the specificity of climatic factors or owing to substrate specialization. The substrate specialization is a major but not sole factor determining fungi spreading. Our analysis shows changes of the mycocenosises along longitude and latitude gradients. In the western part of the Orenburg region (Trans-Volga) latitude variations prevail while in the central and eastern parts longitude changes of the xylotrophic fungi biota predominate. The originality and natural variability of mycocenosises characteristics allow mycogeographical mapping of the territory under survey to be made, which is necessary for the creation of a regional network of specially protected natural territories to represent all the basic species complexes - both typical and rare for the Southern Preurals.
Key words: xylotrophic fungi, geographical distribution, latitude gradient, Southern Preurals.
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A study of lead sorption and removal by biologically active food supplements in experiments in vitro and in vivo. – Stepanova E.A., Ur'yash V.F., Silkin A.A., Loginov V.V., Gruzdeva A.E., Grishatova N.V., Tumanova A.N. – The sorption of lead and cadmium on enterosorbents in vitro and lead removal in vivo were studied. Several studies of the sorption ability of lead and cadmium with a number of vegetable biologically active food supplements «Biophyt» were carried out under model conditions. With the usage of a most efficient sorbent, namely «Oat-Biophyt», a study of the sorption and removal of lead from mammal bodies was performed on nonlinear white rat males. A spectral analysis of lead in the biological substrate has shown that its content in the blood and internals of these animals who got the enterosorbent is reliably lower (by 1.5 – 2 times) than that in animals having a standard daily diet. As these results demonstrate, no statistically significant changes in hematological and morphophysiological indices in the course of the experiment took place.
Key words: heavy metals, enterosorbents, biologically active food supplements, sorption, in vitro, in vivo.
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Oribatid mites of lawns in an industrial centre (Nizhny Novgorod City as an example). – Ermilov S.G., Chistyakov M.P. – Specific features of the fauna, number, structure of oribatid mites in the soils of lawns near roads of an industrial centre (Nizhny Novgorod) are discussed.
Key words: oribatid mites, urban lawns, industrial centre, bioindicators.
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Territorial organization of nature protection and perspectives of saiga survival within its habitat on the right bank of the Volga River. – Lushchekina A.A., Neronov V.M., Badmaev V.S., Khludnev A.V. – With due account of international and domestic experience, an ecological network on the right bank of the Volga River is proposed to be established to protect the Saiga antelope whose numbers have already reached the critically endangered level. In the framework of this net, several tasks are to be specified for the interaction of various nature resource users, which is important for strengthening the territorial system of nature protection in this region.
Key words: territorial organization of nature protection, ecological network, conservation and restoration, saiga population, right bank of Volga River.
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Entomofauna of shelter belts in the south of the Nizhny Novgorod region. – Mironova N.V. – The results of our study of the insect fauna of shelter belts in the Arzamas district (the Nizhny Novgorod region) are presented. The fauna includes 250 species of Arthropoda from 77 families. Both systematic and ecological structure of Arthropoda from different-type shelter belts were analyzed. Some peculiarities of the formation of the insect fauna in shelter belts are noted as depend on the age, tree type, and ecological structure of the planted trees.
Key words: entomofauna, shelter belts, Nizhny Novgorod region.
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To the ecology of Podarcis taurica of the Big Crimean Canyon. – Tabachishin V.G., Zavialov E.V., Karmyshev Yu.V. – The spatial distribution, daily activity and some aspects of breeding of Podarcis taurica in the conditions of the Big Crimean Canyon are considered. The biggest eggs of an elongated shape are characteristic of four-egg layings; they are apparently laid by females of an optimal reproductive age.
Key words: Podarcis taurica, biotopical distribution, daily activity, Crimea.
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