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Edaphotypes of Arctium tomentosum Mill. (Asteraceae, Magnoliopsida) from ecotopes with different anthropogenic loads. – Bashmakov D. I. – Arctium tîmentosum Mill. seedlings grown from seeds collected in several ecotopes with different anthropogenic loads in Saransk (Mordovia Republic) and outside had unequal physiological responses to the content of Zn2+ ions (from 10 µM to 1 mM) in the growth medium. It is possible to hypothesize the existence of several edaphotypes of cotton burdock with different zinc tolerances.
Key words: Asteraceae, Arctium tîmentosum, heavy metal, zinc, tolerance index, absolute mass of seed, edaphotype, contamination.
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Alien mammal species in the Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve. – Bobrov V. V. – On the basis of «Annals of Nature» published by the Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve and other publications devoted to its fauna, its colonization by alien mammals species and the current status of their populations have been analyzed. In the mammalian fauna of the reserve, 11 species of the total 34 can be classified as alien. They are distributed in the following manner according to the pathways of their penetration into terrestrial ecosystems: 1) intentionally introduced species (musk rat); 2) disseminated from their sites of introduction (European beaver and raccoon dog); 3) self-disseminated species (European hare, tamarisk jird, and golden jackal); and 4) accidentally introduced (brown rat, American mink, and feral dog). Jungle cat and moose are accidently met and do not live permanently in the biosphere reserve. We tried to estimate the influence of the introduced species on the natural ecosystems and native animal species. The effect of raccoon dog and American mink can be thought as considerable.
Key words: mammals, alien species, Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve.
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Changes in the population of forest and dendrophilous birds of the clay semi-desert of the Volga-Ural interfluve for 60 years. – Bykov A. V. and Bukhareva O. A. – The modern situation of the vertebrate population in the clay semi-desert of the Volga-Ural interfluve significantly differs from that observed 50 – 60 years ago. This is due to the fact that reduction of ravine forests and steppe shrubs (began in the 18th century) has extremely negatively effected on forest and dendrophilous animals. Artificial afforestation, especially intense since the middle of the 20th century, provided surrogate «forest» sites in the region by the end of the 1970s. This helped to restore the missing species, to raise the numbers and dispersal of forest and dendrophilous animals. By the beginning of the 21st century, the afforestation stopped in the region and the plantation areas began to shrink. Some trends in the populations of mammals and birds can be already noticed.
Key words: forest and dendrophilous bird, Volga-Ural interfluve, clay semi-desert, tree plantation, shrub.
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Gibel carp Carassius auratus (Cyprinidae, Actinopterygii) in flowing water bodies of the Don River basin and the Lower Volga River basin. – Vekhov D. A. – Data on the occurrence of the gibel carp in flowing water bodies of the Don River basin and the Lower Volga River basin are presented. The gibel carp is shown to actively seek for habitats with flowing water and to be capable of prolonged remaining in streams with a current velocity within 1.0 – 1.3 m/s. Furthermore, the gibel carp is able to climb fast flowing (2.6 m/s) and shallow (with a depth less than its body height) rapids. On this basis the gibel carp is proposed to be a eurytopic fish. The massive appearance of this species in streams is associated with its spawning period, when it moves in searching for spawning grounds. It is assumed that these movements could contribute to its settling up in the rivers.
Key words: gibel carp, seeking for habitats with flowing water, spawning period, spatial dispersal.
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Ecologo-cenotical characteristics of the herbaceous cover in the conditions of growth along the Nizhni Novgorod highways. – Zhestkova D. B. and Uromova I. P. – 86 species of vascular plants were found in the studied territories along the Nizhni Novgorod highways. The role of the Asteraceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae families is increased in the taxonomic structure of grass, but that of Cyperaceae and Rosaceae is reduced. Among the ecologo-cenotical groups, meadow species make the grassy cover basis, but their participation diminishes at distances of 1 – 3 m from the road. Flowering meadow species were resolved in the composition of the herbaceous plants, which play an indispensable aesthetic role.
Key words: herbaceous plants, territories along highways, ecologo-coenotic groups.
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pH fluctuation influence on the embryo development, growth and egg production of Lymnaea stagnalis L. (Lymnaeidae, Gastropoda). – Konstantinov A. S., Kuznetsov V. A., and Kostoeva T. N. – It is shown that the rate of embryonic development of Lymnaea stagnalis is considerably accelerated and the germ death rate is perceptibly reduced under the influence of pH differences within 6.5 – 8.5. The linear and weight growth of hatched mollusks sharply grow, the variability of individuals by length and weight reduces, and the death rate of individuals decreases. The egg production of the mollusks essentially grows in optimal varying pH regimes.
Key words: Lymnaea stagnalis, death rate, growth rate, egg production, egg size, egg laying frequency, stability to stress.
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Structural and functional characteristics of the bacterioplankton of rivers flowing through a large city (the city of Cherepovets, the Upper Volga region). – Kopylov A. I., Ievleva T. V., Romanenko A. V., and Zabotkina E. A. – The structural and functional properties of the bacterioplankton in two small rivers and the Sheksna River that run through the big industrial city of Cherepovets were studied during April – October, 2009 – 2011. The three-year average numbers and biomass of planktonic bacteria in the small rivers were 18.7 – 18.8 mln cells/ml and 3.5 – 4.9 g/m3, respectively; these values in the Sheksna River’s littoral zone were 15.8 mln cells/ml and 2.2 g/m3. The bacterioplankton production in the small water courses exceeded that in the Sheksna River by 1.8 – 2.2 times. The contribution of bacterial filaments to the total biomass and the total bacterioplankton production increases in small polluted rivers.
Key words: bacterioplankton, biomass, numbers, organic production, seasonal dynamics.
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Development dynamics of the mycosymbiont in the underground organs of Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó (Orchidaceae, Monocotyledoneae) during its vegetative and dormancy periods. – Marakaev Î. À. and Kholmogorov S. V. – Peculiarities of mycosymbiont development in the underground organs of Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó (Orchidaceae) during its vegetative and dormancy periods were discovered for the first time. The mycosymbiotrophic index in adventitious roots and tuberous stem-root ends changes similarly from their emergence on the plant, during the dormancy and up to the next vegetation period when these differences begin to show. The mycotrophicity was found to be at peak during the time of active growth of the underground organs (June – July), and it was lowest in the dormancy period (January – March). The prevailing forms of mycosymbionts during the vegetative period are pelotons and free hyphae, while granular mass formed as a result of mycosymbiont lysis is contained in the plant’s underground organ cells during hibernation.
Key words: Orchidaceae, Dactylorhiza maculata, mycosymbiotrophy, mycosymbiont, tuberous stem-root ends, adventitious roots.
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Nesting of the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus Linnaeus, 1758) (Sylviidae, Aves) in natural and urban habitats of Karelia. – Matantseva M. V., Simonov S. A., and Lapshin N. V. – Our study was carried out within the framework of the “Ecological and behavioural adaptations of birds typical for natural habitats and the urban environment” project. The Willow Warbler was chosen as a model object in this investigation aimed to provide comparative analysis of the bird breeding behavior in natural and urban areas of Karelia. The breeding dates, preferable biotopes and nest sites, as well as the clutch characteristics and reproductive relations of Willow Warblers were found out to be similar in various conditions, whereas their flight distances were shorter and the alarm call intensity was higher in urban habitats than in forest ones. Possible explanations for the obtained results are given.
Key words: Willow Warbler, breeding ecology, behavior, natural and urban habitats.
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Heavy metal accumulation by fungi in the National Park «Lake Pleshcheyevo». – Pelgunov A. N. and Pelgunova L. A. – The paper provides information of the accumulation of heavy metals by 4 fungi species. 11 elements were found in total. The greatest number of metals was found in Boletus edulis, and the highest accumulation of individual elements was noted in Paxillus involutus. The small amount of metals and their low concentration in the fungi speak of insignificant anthropogenic pollution of the area.
Key words: fungi, heavy metals, National Park «Pleshcheyevo lake».
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Zooperiphyton succession features in beaver ponds of a small river. – Skal’skaya I. A. – This zooperiphyton study, conducted in the upper reaches of a small river (the Latka River, a tributary of the Rybinsk Reservoir) during the first year after construction of a beaver dam, shows that, as depth increases and current decreases, the specific zooperiphyton diversity increases and the succession processes are intensified due to the increasing abundance of chironomid larva of age I. In a candock-overgrown beaver pond, the zoocenosis successions depended to a large extent on the abundance of vegetating and dying plants. During the vegetation period, with the abundant growth of candock, the richness of the developing communities decreased but increased in the following year as the candock development declined and old plants intensively decomposed. Right below one of the beaver dams, at an unstable water level and flow regime, the results of the seasonal zoocenosis successions were negatively affected by mollusks which could almost completely have cleaned the substrates out of periphyton.
Key words: small river, beaver ponds, zooperiphyton, succession.
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Spatial structure of a monospecific colony of gray herons (Ardeidae, Aves) in the western foothills of the Middle Urals. – Chukhareva I. P., Artemiev N. E., Vobishchevich N. V., and Grachev R. P. – Surveys were conducted in a monospecific colony of gray herons (Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758) on the Ufa River beach within the precincts of the Nyazepetrovsk town in the Chelyabinsk region in 2009 – 2011. The nests of gray herons and their predators (Black Kite, Peregrine Falcon) were mapped by means of GPS and a tape-line. Gray herons were settled down on the tops of spruces, pines and larches in the riverside of the most shallow parts. In the first place, gray herons occupied old dried larches. Gray herons were least visible to the naked eye against the background of gray shades of a larch wood. The most numerous groups of nests on one tree were formed on leaves, and the most compact groups in the colony were on pines.
Key words: Ardea cinerea, colony structure, Chelyabinsk region.
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