The elementary chorological structure of a species population as exemplified by voles

The results of 25-year monitoring have been used to develop a local approach to analysis of the spatiotemporal population dynamics of rodents. The main processes of the formation of the rodent population structure in a heterogeneous environment have been considered on the basis of experimental quantitative estimates obtained under natural conditions. The possibility of real-time identification of elementary chorological units of a species population has been substantiated. It has been found that complete cycles of vital activity of a model rodent species are usually no longer than 18 months. The strategy of the regional population functioning in species with short individual life cycles is considered at a new angle.     

Significance of rodent population dynamics for the formation of long-term community structure

Changes occurring with time in the structure of communities are evaluated and strategies of community functioning are described using the example of murine rodents from three areas of Western Siberia that differ in landscapes and geographical conditions. Many rodent species are common to all communities included in analysis. The populations of these species have different ranks in the dominance structure of communities, depending on the natural climatic conditions of the landscape, and differently influence the composition of communities and time course of changes in their structure.     

大坝截流前后金沙江观音岩水电站鱼类群落功能多样性的变化

人类活动通过对非生物因素和生物多样性的作用从而对生态系统功能产生了巨大的影响。大量的理论和实验研究表明,物种功能性状在连接群落组成改变和生态系统进程转变中起着重要作用。由于物种功能性状的差异,栖息环境改变后,群落中容易适应新环境的物种占据优势,难以适应的物种数量减少甚至消失,从而导致整个群落结构发生改变,进而使整个生态系统进程发生转变。通过评价金沙江观音岩水电站大坝截流前后鱼类群落组成情况,结合不同种类功能性状的差异,采用生物多样性评估方法和功能多样性指数分析方法两种不同手段,对比分析截流前后大坝下游鱼类群落结构和功能多样性的变化,从而分析大坝建设的生态效应。结果表明:Bray-Curtis相异指数前后差异较大,辛普森指数无明显变化;功能多样性指数的变化表明大坝截流对水体中体型较大,口下位,食谱宽度较窄的鱼类生存和活动造成了一定的破坏,导致拥有这些特征的鱼类数量减少甚至消失,降低了下游鱼类群落的功能多样性,进而对该区域整个生态系统功能产生影响。     

Specific Structural Features of Zooplankton in Lakes Differing in Trophic Status: Species Populations

The index of cenotic significance and other indices calculated on its basis were used for revealing specific structural features of zooplanktonic communities in lakes differing in productivity. The results showed that new indices (complexity coefficient, index of cenotic significance of dominant species, and integrated cenotic significance of the zooplankton) strongly correlate with the trophic status of the water body and are more responsive to changes in the structure of the community than the Shannon–Weaver index of species diversity. The results confirm the hypothesis that the structure of zooplankton is simplified in the course of lake eutrophication.     

Chernov’s compensation principle and the effect of rodent community completeness on the variability of bank vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clethrionomys glareolus</Emphasis>) population in the Middle Urals

Using methods of geometric morphometrics, significant differences have been revealed in manifestations of variability and morphological disparity in allochronous samples from the population of model species, the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus Schreb. 1780), in the Middle Urals at different levels of rodent community (taxocene) completeness in different years. Two states of the taxocene—oligospecific (two species) and polyspecific (five species)—and the level of relative abundance of bank voles (high or low) have been taken into account. Comparative analysis of variation in the size and shape of the mandible in same-aged (late-summer) young of the year has shown that significant morphogenetic differences exist between the animals sampled from the rodent taxocene at its different states (oligospecific and polyspecific) and, to a lesser extent, at high and low levels of abundance. The level of variation and the parameter of intragroup morphological disparity (MNND) in the mandible shape reach a maximum when the community has a reduced composition and decrease to a minimum when its composition is complete (i.e., in the oligo- and polyspecific taxocene). A parallelism is observed in the manifestation of morphofunctional changes of the mandible in male and female voles under conditions when the taxocene has high abundance and oligospecific composition or low abundance but polyspecific composition. Different morphogenetic responses of the population to oligo- and polyspecific composition of the community are considered as a compensatory increase of morphological disparity in the dominant species (the bank vole) under conditions of incomplete composition of the taxocene and low population density, in accordance with Chernov’s ecological compensation principle.     

Assessment of nonselective elimination effects in rodent communities by methods of geometric morphometrics

Methods of geometric morphometrics and population phenogenetics have been used to evaluate morphogenetic rearrangements in two sympatric species of Myodes voles (M. glareolus Schreb. 1780 and M. rutilus Pall. 1779) from syntopic populations recovering after exposure to local “ecological vacuum” created as a result of rodent extermination in a natural focus of hemorrhagic fever in the southern taiga subzone of the Udmurt Republic. The model used in the study simulates the situation that arises upon nonselective elimination of rodent populations and communities in spring and their subsequent recovery. Analysis of variation in the size and shape of the mandible and in a complex of 30 nonmetric cranial characters has revealed similar (parallel) and species-specific morphogenetic and epigenetic changes occurring during the recovery of local rodent community. Species-specific differences in the pattern of change in the parameter characterizing within-group morphological disparity in the mandible shape (MNND) have been revealed between the dominant species (M. glareolus) and the subdominant species competing with it for territory (M. rutilus). Different reactions of close Myodes species in the course of filling the ecological vacuum are considered as a result of reduction in the level of competition for the subdominant species and a compensatory increase of morphological disparity in the dominant species under conditions of low density and incomplete composition of the community, in accordance with Chernov’s (2005) ecological compensation principle.     

Biomarkers and community indices as complementary tools for environmental safety

Research on biomarkers as early bioindicators of perturbation in populations and individuals has been gaining ground over the last decade. This ecotoxicological approach relies on the fact that changes occur at low levels of organization before the community is affected and thus they can be monitored to assess environmental safety. Changes may concern behavior, physiology, biochemistry, or genomic structure and functioning, and may impair population dynamics in the long-term.Ecotoxicity studies based on biomarkers allow us to measure the impact of environmental stressors and to easily follow the evolution of the systems towards degradation or restoration. Over and above their use as simple indices of exposure to specific pollutants, biomarkers can give an insight into ecosystem health.The results of our experience in field studies involving ecotoxicologists and ecologists will be presented in order to illustrate the relevance of such an integrating strategy for environmental quality assessment.     

Evolutionary ecological analysis of adaptation strategies of rodent populations under extreme conditions

Adaptive strategies of cyclomorphic rodent populations (Rodentia) under extreme conditions of droughts (in 1975 and 2010) have been analyzed on the basis of functional–ontogenetic approach. The following features of these strategies have been revealed: minimization of metabolic processes, block of sexual maturation, intergenerational crossing, prolongation of breeding period, and species-specific features in the dynamics of intrapopulation processes. Profound changes in the level of long-term oscillations of abundance after the drought have been noted in different species. Evidence is provided for the possibility of extremely rapid population rearrangements on an evolutionary scale that are fixed in a series of generations.     

Ecological assessment of murine rodent communities in the mountain forest belt of southern Central Siberia

The results of long-term studies on the fauna and ecology of murine rodents inhabiting the mountain forest belt of southern Central Siberia are considered. A comparative analysis of the composition and organization of rodent communities has been performed in 15 key plots located within three geographic-climatic facies: perhumid, humid, and semihumid. The species composition, dominance structure, and total abundance of these communities in each facies have significant distinctive features, despite the generally high similarity of the communities within the forest belt. Information indices have been used to determine parameters of the diversity and evenness of communities, which reflect their state and degree of resistance to various factors.     

三峡水库忠县至秭归县段消落带植被群落特征研究

为了研究三峡水库周期性的水位调节对消落带植被群落特征的影响，选择重庆忠县至宜昌秭归段的消落带植被群落进行研究，运用重要值和多样性指数分析不同高程的植物种类组成、生活型分布特征及物种多样性。结果表明：（1）研究区域统计植物共32科70属73种，禾本科、菊科和豆科是3个优势科，单种、属现象明显；狗牙根、苍耳、鬼针草、苘麻、鳢肠、酸模叶蓼、莲子草是3个高程的共存种，其中，狗牙根和苍耳在3个高程均为优势物种。（2）研究区域共统计11种植物生活型，在消落带下部和中部，一年生草本植物占绝对优势；在消落带上部，多年生草本植物成为优势生活型，生活型类型多样化，蕨类、藤本、灌木以及乔木植物开始出现。（3）消落带植物群落的丰富度、多样性、均匀度指数均随海拔变化表现出显著差异，并且随海拔升高呈现上升趋势。由此可见，水位变化对植物群落结构和物种多样性产生很大影响，在低海拔区段，消落带物种组成简单化，耐水淹和繁衍能力强的植物成为优势物种；随着海拔上升，水淹胁迫减弱，出现更多适应水位变化的植物种类，使植物群落沿海拔变化形成不同的分布特征。这些研究结果对三峡库区消落带生态修复植物的筛选，以及物种多样性的提高具有参考价值。     

Current state and long-term changes of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crenomytilus grayanus</Emphasis> community in Vostok Bay,Sea of Japan

The composition and structure of the Gray mussel (Crenomytilus grayanus) community in Vostok Bay of the Sea of Japan have been studied. A total of 165 species have been identified in the macrobenthos. Its species composition has changed insignificantly since the 1970s. The total biomass of the biocenosis has decreased, and the size-age composition of the C. grayanus population has changed due to poaching. The trophic structure of the community has also changed, with the Shannon indices of species diversity and equitability (E) becoming lower, due to intensive organic pollution of Vostok Bay resulting from increasing recreational activities and sewage discharge.     

Ecological and physiological characteristics of seasonal biology of the mongolian hamster, Allocricetulus curtatus allan 1940 (Cricetinae, Rodentia)

Analysis of the seasonal dynamics of body weight and steroid hormones (cortisol, progesterone, and testosterone), the pattern of hypothermia, and basic reproductive parameters has been performed in the Mongolian hamster (Allocricetulus curtatus), a poorly studied rodent species inhabiting areas with a sharply continental climate. The results show that torpor bouts take place in wintering animals. Changes in body weight during the autumn-winter season are insignificant. The pattern of fluctuations in the levels of sex steroids and cortisol is similar to that in dwarf hamsters of the genus Phodopus. Seasonal features in the dynamics of basal cortisol level differentiate A. curtatus from the closely related Eversmann’s hamster (A. eversmanni), which may be due to differences in the social structure of these species.     

Small mammals in the diets of the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) and Short-eared Owl (A. flammeus) in the south of Western Siberia

Diets of the Long-eared and Short-eared Owls, closely related species with overlapping ranges, have been studied in the south of Western Siberia (the Baraba Lowland) by analyzing bone remains in pellets. The results show that both species in the south of the Baraba Lowland employ similar strategies of food resource use, which, however, differ in some aspects. In the Short-eared Owl, the hunting range is apparently more restricted. During the nesting period, these birds occupy relatively moist habitats along riverbanks and protect their hunting grounds. The Long-eared Owl nests in mainly mesic habitats, in forest outliers, and can supplement its diet with shrews (Sorex) and steppe rodent species. The diets of both species largely consist of murine rodent species that are dominant or subdominant in the small mammal community of the Baraba forest-steppe. Seasonal and interannual variations in the food spectra of both species have been revealed.     

浙江青山水库浮游植物群落结构变化及与环境因子的关系

于2009年按季度对浙江省临安市内的青山水库进行调查,测定了水体环境因子、浮游植物群落,采用营养状态指数法对水库水质现状进行了分析和评价,并探讨了浮游植物与环境因子之间的关系。结果表明:青山水库处于轻度富营养化和中度富营养化之间,水库入库处营养状态综合指数高于库中和大坝处。调查期间共发现浮游植物7门40属89种。不同季节浮游植物主要优势种类不同,春季以硅藻、隐藻和甲藻为主,夏季以蓝藻和绿藻为主,秋季以蓝藻、硅藻和隐藻为主,冬季以硅藻和隐藻为主。相关分析表明,青山水库浮游植物密度与出入库流量和透明度呈显著负相关,与总磷呈显著正相关。典范对应分析(CCA)表明,出入库流量、水温、溶解氧和营养盐是影响水体浮游植物分布格局的重要环境因子。     

Specific Features of the Dynamics of Murine Rodent Communities under the Effects of Urbanization: 1. Dynamics of Species Composition and Abundance

The long-term population dynamics of rodent communities in park forests of Yekaterinburg was studied. The results showed that deep population depressions occurring in natural communities are not characteristic of the urban communities. In the urban environment, the density of rodents is always maintained at a relatively high level due to the appearance of species that are atypical for the natural communities. This fact deserves attention in view of the increasing risk of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in the region, as a high rodent abundance may provide for the maintenance of a stable TBE focus in the city.     

Alternative Types of Ontogeny in Cyclomorphic Rodents and Their Role in Population Dynamics: An Ecological Analysis

Two alternative ontogenetic pathways regularly effected in the populations of small mammals are analyzed as a manifestation of developmental multiversality. The types of ontogeny in rodents are characterized. These data are reflected in the concept of the functional approach. Multiversality of development in plants and animals is considered. Based on the results of long-term (26-year) observations on the natural populations of six rodent species, the dynamics of relationships between the types of ontogeny, abundance, and basic population parameters are analyzed using an example of a background species (Clethrionomys glareolus). A trigger mechanism of switching to a certain type of ontogeny, the role of environmental factors in actuating this mechanism, and the role of the genotype as a basis of multivalence are discussed. The existence of two developmental variants is regarded as a basis for functional rearrangements providing for a high flexibility of population responses and as a mechanism of population regulation determining the dynamics of rodent fauna. An adaptive population response to a board spectrum of influences, including anthropogenic damage, depends not only on the type and strength of the influence, but also on the functional structure of the population. The concepts described in the paper may explain the significance of critical periods in the life of populations.     

富营养湖泊中轮虫群落结构季节变化的环境驱动力研究(英)

通过对桥墩湖一周年的逐月采样,比较了影响轮虫群落结构季节变化的3种环境驱动力的相对重要性。桥墩湖是一个富营养湖泊,具有较高的营养盐和Chl a含量以及低的透明度。研究发现：水温和营养水平是影响轮虫数量和群落结构季节变化最重要的理化因子。由于大型枝角类数量的稀少,其对轮虫数量并没有显著的负面影响。短尾秀体溞是影响轮虫群落结构季节变化的最重要的枝角类;然而大多数优势轮虫与短尾秀体溞密度峰值的共同出现可能反映了它们对高营养水平和高水温的共同喜好。在浮游植物中,绿藻是决定轮虫密度的最重要的浮游植物门类;而其中的隐藻则是影响轮虫群落结构变化的最重要属。3组环境因子(理化因子、浮游植物、浮游甲壳动物)对轮虫群落结构的季节变化具有相似的解释大小。这些结果表明：在该富营养湖泊中,轮虫群落结构的季节变化可能主要受理化因子和食物资源的影响;浮游甲壳动物对轮虫群落结构的塑造作用有限     

Vegetation restoration dynamics in the forest-steppe system of the middle Volga region

The current dynamics of ecosystems of the forest-steppe system is most adequately described via determining the probable trajectories of changes in its elements in a simple Markov chain. The obtained data have made it possible to determine the direction of succession and draw its scheme. Theoretically possible series of community development are presented. The succession of community restoration from the spread of shrubs over steppificated fallow lands to the formation of low forests of European bird cherry has been analyzed. The restoration cycle of ecosystem dynamics is described by eight age stages.     

Evolutionary ecological analysis of coupled geographic variation of two sympatric rodent species in the Southern Urals

Geometric morphometrics has been used to reveal coupled geographic variation in the mandible shape in two sympatric rodent species, the pygmy wood mouse (Sylvaemus uralensis Pall.) and bank vole (Myodes glareolus Pall.), in the Southern Urals. It has been shown that syntopic samples synchronously collected from the local communities of these species usually display similar, parallel, and unidirectional morphological changes as demonstrated by comparison of species pairs from different localities. The degree of concordance in geographic variation of the species makes it possible to estimate their coevolutionary potential within local communities: the wider the range of ecological conditions under which parallel variation of sympatric species is observed, the higher is their coevolutionary potential.     

苏州河浮游植物群落结构特征

以正在生态恢复进行中的苏州河水体为研究对象，共设黄渡、华漕、北新泾、武宁路桥、长寿路桥和浙江路桥6个采样点，从2000年10月至2002年10月间按春、夏、秋、冬进行了9次采样，另外，在黄渡、华漕和武宁路桥于2002年的5月和6月增加了5次采样，对苏州河浮游植物群落的种类组成和数量特征进行了调查研究，结果表明：苏州河浮游植物的平均个体数达到了 4.7×10⁶ ind/L，细胞密度平均值为 10.2×10⁶ ind/L，生物量均值为 5.73 mg/L。苏州河浮游植物群落结构的定性和定量组分表达均显示绿藻优势，其密度和生物量分别为 5.774 ind/μL 和 2.159 mg/L；属数、种数和生物量结构以硅藻次之。生物量、个体数与细胞数的Shannon Weaver指数均值分别为3.05、3.22和3.28；生物量、个体数与细胞数的Pielou均匀度指数均值则分别为0.73、0.76和0.77，Margalef和Simposon指数均值分别为1.59和0.84.