Trophic levels of small mammals: multielement composition and toxic load. – Bezel V. S. and Mukhacheva S. V. – A comparative study of the concentrations of 25 chemical elements in the diet and organisms (carcasses) of free-living individuals of bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) and Laxmann's shrew (Sorex caecutiens) from several areas in the vicinity of a copper smelting (Middle Ural) was carried out. The group of phytophages was shown to occupy a special position in the translocation of chemical elements by the trophic levels of mammals. The diet specificity and the presence of a barrier at the gastrointestinal path level limit accumulation of the elements in the animals' organisms. In the same conditions, the carnivorous in the mammal community play the role of concentrators of some chemical elements (Pb, Cd, Cr, and As) whose concentration increases in the bodies of animals in comparison with their levels in their diets. At the same time, the toxic loading upon the body of animals does not depend on trophic specialization.

Key words: technogenic pollution, chemical elements, small mammals, trophic level, toxic load.

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A method to evaluate anthropogenic transformations of floodplain oak forests in the Middle Khopyor region by tree stand dynamics. – Zolotukhin A. I., Zanina M. A., and Ovcharenko A. A. – A complex analysis of the status of some floodplain oak forests in the Middle Khopyor region was made, most informative indicators of the forest ecosystem transformation after different regimes of cuttings and pathological stress in forest trees were resolved; and on their basis, a method to evaluate the anthropogenic transformations of floodplain oak forests in the dynamics of the oak survival coefficient has been developed, having an indicational significance. A scale of the anthropogenic transformation levels of floodplain oak forests has been compiled to allow promptly getting information of structural parameters of the forest ecosystem status.

Key words: floodplain oak forests, forest ecosystems, oak survival coefficient, anthropogenic transformation, Middle Khopyor region.

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Gametophytic apomixis distribution in representatives of the Asteraceae family in the florae of the Lower-Volga region and Northwest Caucasus. – Kashin A. S., Kochanova I. S., Lisitzkaya N. M., and Berezutsky M. A. – In the course of our comparative study of the gametophytic apomixis distribution in some representatives of the Asteraceae family, the fraction of apomixic types in the flora of the Lower-Volga region has been revealed to almost twice exceed that noted for the Northwest Caucasian flora. The latitude belt rather than the height above sea level affects the occurrence frequency of apomixic species. As a whole, in the florae of the Lower-Volga region and Northwest Caucasus, gametophytic apomixis is found in populations of 37 species of 20 genera of the family. In 26 species of 10 genera it has been found for the first time.

Key words: apomixis, amphymixis, distribution width, flowering mode, Asteraceae.

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Host age and sex influence on the helminthic community in bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). – Kirillova N. Ju. and Kirillov A. A. – The host sex-age population structure influence on the helminthic community in bank vole was analyzed in the Zhiguli State Nature Reserve. Individuals from different sex-age groups of the rodent are infected non-uniformly. With aging, the total number of helminthic species increases in both males and females of bank vole, and the parameters of parasitic infection rise. For both males and females, a reliable increase in the infection parameters of four and five helminthic species, respectively, is characteristic. The distinctions in the helminthic species structure in males and females are insignificant and caused by the occurrence of rare and sole parasites. No statistically reliable differences in the infection parameters of young males and females of the rodent have been revealed. Significant differences between adult males and females in the infection parameters of three helminthic species have been recorded. The female infectivity with these parasites is higher. The non-uniform helminth distribution between different sex-age groups of bank vole can be considered as a mechanism of the stability of parasitic systems at the population level.

Key words: helminthes, community, bank vole, sex-age groups, Zhiguli State Nature Reserve.

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Background environmental parameters and planktonic community dynamics in ecosystems with hydrophytes. – Kurbatova S. A., Lapteva N. A., Yershov I. Yu., and Borisov-skaya E. V. – Seasonal changes of the hydrochemical indicators of the environment, the structural and functional characteristics of bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton in several experimental ecosystems with hydrophytes were established. The most significant changes in the numbers of bacteria, their activity, and the primary phytoplankton production occurred from mid-July to mid-August. The zooplankton community structure and the dynamics of its separate components were judged by the food base development and features of space depending on the species of a plant and its ecomorph.

Key words: hydrophytes, Ceratophyllum demersum, Utricularia vulgaris, bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, community structure.

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Ecological features of migrating passerines (an analysis with molecular biology techniques involved). – Lapshin N. V., Topchieva L. V., Matantseva M. V., Simonov S. A., Malysheva I. E., and Kancerova N. P. – Adaptation mechanisms in Phylloscopus warblers to habitat conditions regarding their reproduction, namely, the sex ratio, family structure, the duration of sexual activity, etc. were studied. The brood sex ratio was established to be about 1:1 among juveniles, but males begin to predominate with time. In the reproductive period, some males remain unmated for a long time or just over the whole season. On the other hand, nesting males create pairs with second females. Visual observations and the results of family structure analysis by means of molecular-genetic methods have showen that female «adultery» and/or forcible copulations with alien males occur from time to time, which lead to the appearance of extra-pair paternity. PCR analysis revealed a high level of genetic diversity within the local populations of all the Phylloscopus warblers species, but the diversity for Wood and Greenish warblers (new species for the region) was lower than that for Chiff-chaffs and Willow warblers (native species for the region).

Key words: Phylloscopus warblers, species range boundary, sex ratio, reproductive relationships, extra-pair paternity, genetic diversity, Karelia.

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Vegetative community profile organization in research of forest bird habitats. – Piskunov V. V. and Davidenko T. N. – Methodical features of estimation of the structural complexity of forest communities are considered for analysis of bird habitat structures. A modified technique for foliage density measurements in view of some features of the forest structural organization in the Volga Upland is offered. With communities with an identical differentiation of the top circles as examples, distinctions in the profile organization are tracked by means of a detailed analysis of the bottom circle structure.

Key words: vegetative community structure, stratification, structural complexity indices, specific bird diversity.

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Seasonal features of the spatial structure formation in bat colonies in the caves of Samarskaya Luka. – Smirnov D. G., Vehnik V. P., Kurmaeva N. M., and Shepelev A. A. – With one of the hugest artificial caves in the Samarskaya Luka (the working-out area is ca. 87,706 m², the overall length of covered ways ca. 11,570 m) as an example, the bats are shown to use the cave's space differently in the summer and winter periods. In the winter, they occupy 93% of the cave's area, at the same time, 56.8% of the hibernating community concentrated on the perimeter of the cave. In the western part of the cave with constant microclimate over the whole year, 79% of all the bats were concentrated. A high aggregation rate was typical for M. dasycneme, lower aggregation rates were detected for M. brandtii. This parameter had similar values for M. daubentonii and E. nilssonii, but the first species was distributed more widely over the cave's area. The most popularity was noted for M. brandtii, and the highest ratio of cave usage was for Pl. auritus. In the summer, only 1% of the bats stood in the cave and used it as a place of their day-time life. At the summertime, the bats occupied only 10% of the cave's area. They were distributed only in the eastern part of the cave while its western part was empty.

Key words: Chiroptera, bats, Samarskaya Luka, artificial caves, seasonally different usage, spatial structure.

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Nest material in yellow-legged gull (Larus cachinnans) colonies on the islets of a reservoir near Miass City: components and nest location. – Chukhareva I. P. and Kharitonov S. P. – The study was made of 3 single-species colonies of Yellow-legged Gulls near Miass City (Chelyabinsk Region) in 2007 – 2009. Yellow-legged Gulls build their nests in colonies which are posed on nearly 30 substrate types. As a rule, nests are built using materials available on the nesting territory. The nest material content may serve as an indicator of the social relations between neighbouring breeding pairs. The distance between the neighbouring nests with different kinds of their nest material components was shorter than that between the nests with the same components. This indicates that in strained dominant relations between neighbours (which takes place in case of a short inter-nest distance), the subordinate gull is forced to collect material for its nest outside its own breeding territory.

Key words: colony structure, Yellow-legged Gull, nest material, dominant relations.

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Syrian woodpecker (Dendrocopos syriacus) as a new nesting species of the Saratov region. – Belyachenko A. V. and Melnikov E. Y. – A nesting hole of the Syrian woodpecker was found at a suburban woodland park of Saratov City on 15 May, 2011. Moreover, a pair of copulating woodpeckers was revealed at Engels City suburbs (Saratov region) in late April. Two baby birds of the Syrian woodpecker were found in the nesting hole on 21 June, 2011. The adult male brought up a third baby bird inside the nest. These facts confirm the nesting of Syrian woodpecker in the Saratov region.

Key words: Syrian woodpecker, nesting, Saratov region.

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Fauna and distribution peculiarities of chironomids Chironomus Meigen and Camptochironomus Kieffer (Chironomidae, Diptera) in the waterbodies of Central Caucasus and Ciscaucasia. – Karmokov M. Ch. and Polukonova N. V. – 18 Chironomus species (17 Chironomus s.str. subspecies and 1 Lobochironomus) and 2 Camptochironomus were identified in the Central Caucasus and Ciscaucasia by karyotype analysis. The Chironomus and Camptochironomus species belong to five cytological complexes, namely: thummi, pseudothummi, parathummi, lacunarius, and camptochironomus. The number of species decreased with increasing of altitude above sea level. On the plain and foothills lower 1,000 m above sea level, Chironomus of the cytological complex thummi prevailed. In the highland waterbodies (1,000 m asl), Chironomus of the cytological complex pseudothummi prevailed.

Key words: Chironomus, Camptochironomus, species composition, distribution, Caucasus.

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Discovery of halotolerant alga Asteromonas gracilis Artari from phitoplancton in the Orenburg region. – Nemtseva N. V. and Ignatenko M. E. – The halotolerant alga Asteromonas gracilis Artari was isolated from the planktonic association of the Tusluchnoye Lake, related to the group of salt lakes of the Sol-Iletsk resort. This type of green alga is absent in the algae vegetation list of the Sol-Iletsk reservoirs and is new for the Steppe Pre-Ural area. The morphological structure of this alga was studied by means of phase-contrast microscopy (original photos are enclosed). The range of halotolerance was estimated and an optimum regime of cultivation was chosen in laboratory conditions. The presence of antilisocyme and antagonistic activity was experimentally shown for this alga.

Key words: halotolerant alga, Asteromonas gracilis, antilysocyme activity, antagonistic activity.

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