Appropriateness of needles of different conifer species for the feeding and growth of larvae from two populations of the Siberian moth

A comparison of two Siberian moth populations from the Altai Republic (feeding on Siberian fir) and the Tyva Republic (feeding on Siberian larch) has revealed no differences between them with respect to ecophysiological parameters of larval growth and feeding on needles of the same conifer species under laboratory conditions. The index of appropriateness of food plants for the larvae from both populations decreases in the series larch > fir > spruce > pine. The age-related dynamics of parameters characterizing the feeding and growth of larvae are independent of the population to which the insects belong.     

Ecological aspects of larval drift in coregonids with long migration routes

Downstream migration (larval drift) of coregonids in the lower reaches of the Severnaya Sos??va River (the largest spawning tributary of the Lower Ob) has been analyzed from ecological aspects such as the long-term, seasonal, and daily dynamics and the spatial distribution, growth, and feeding of larvae in the current. Considerable changes in the abundance of coregonid generations have been revealed. It is shown that downstream larval migration over a long route has a number of features distinguishing it from that at spawning grounds. In particular, mass migration takes place after the ice drift, and its intensity is independent of changes in flow discharge. The drifting larvae display species-specific distribution in the current, and their density is the lowest in the surface water layer. In the course of migration, their linear body growth is accompanied by considerable depletion of endogenous food reserves and transition to active feeding.     

The response of gypsy moth (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lymantria dispar</Emphasis> L.) larvae infected with nuclear polyhedrosis virus to induced resistance in birch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pendula</Emphasis> Roth.)

The effects of birch resistance induced by its artificial defoliation on the development of gypsy moth larvae and their sensitivity to viral infection and on the state of the antioxidant and detoxification systems of the insect midgut were studied. The dynamics of larval body weight; larval mortality and its etiology; glutathione-S-transferase (GT), nonspecific esterase (NE), and catalase (CAT) activities; and the ratio between the concentrations of oxidized and reduced thiol-containing compounds (RSSR/RSH) were estimated. In larvae feeding on the leaves of a previously defoliated plant, body weight was decreased, NE was inhibited, and the RSSR/RSH ratio was increased.     

Latitudinal Gradients of Trophics in Ural Macrolepidoptera: The Role of Food Quality

The Macrolepidoptera fauna of the Urals, from the southern to the northern boundary of the forest zone (i.e., from the forest–steppe of the Southern Urals to the forest–tundra of the Polar Urals) has been analyzed. It has been demonstrated that the proportion of Lepidoptera feeding on woody plants, including evergreens, increases in this direction. Among the Heterocera, the proportion of species feeding on graminoids decreases; in the Polar Urals, none of these species is specialized. The food spectrum is particularly variable in noctuids and almost invariable in geometrids and Rhopalocera. It is assumed that foods with a low nutrient value (grasses, mosses, lichens, plant debris, wood, and roots of various plants) prevent Macrolepidoptera species from spreading in the Subarctic region. In the Polar Urals, multiyear developmental cycles and wintering at the larval stage are related to feeding on these types of food.     

Ecological aspects of age-related dynamics of fish reproductive parameters

On the basis of materials collected over many years, ontogenetic changes in reproductive parameters of ecologically different fish species (predators, benthophages, and zooplanktophages) have been analyzed in the light of Pianka’s (1981) concept of r- and K-strategies. It has been shown that features characteristic of these strategies interchange in fish of different species and populations during the period between sexual maturation to senescence. Reproductive strategies have also proved to change within the same generation. These ontogenetic changes are connected with the mode and efficiency of fish feeding as well as with shifts in the proportion of generative metabolism in total metabolism and in the ratio of generative metabolism and somatic growth in favor of the latter.     

Effect of heat stress on morphophysiological characteristics and biochemical parameters of stress response in gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) larvae

Experiments on daily exposure of gypsy moth larvae to heat stress have shown that it leads to an increase in the survival rate of larvae with reduced adaptation to artificial diet (AD) and a decrease in the survival rate of larvae well adapted to AD. It has been found that acetylcholine esterase and tyrosinase activities and the concentration of tyrosine derivatives are reduced significantly in stress-exposed larvae. The conclusion is drawn about a possible relationship between change in the level of larval adaptation to food and a switch in metabolism of tyrosine derivatives from hormone synthesis to melanin synthesis pathway.     

Epigenetic variation in the American mink, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neovison vison</Emphasis>, from eastern Europe: A search for factors of polymorphism

A comparative analysis of epigenetic variation has been performed in nine European populations and population groups of the American mink. It has been shown that differentiation of samples in nonmetric characters is due mainly to endogenous processes that have occurred in introduced populations in the course of colonization of new territory by the invasive species. Environmental factors have played a secondary role, with the influence of the geographic (latitudinal) origin of a given sample being considerable and stronger than that of macroclimatic factors.     

Experimental Study on the Effects of Population Density of Bloodsucking Mosquito (Aedes communis Deg.) Larvae on Their Biological Characteristics

Results of laboratory experiments on the effects of population density of Aedes communis Deg. larvae on their growth, survival, and sex ratio are presented. At the highest density, larval mortality increased by factors of 1.5 and 2.2, the duration of preimaginal development increased significantly, and the weight of pupae was 11 and 14.7% smaller than in low-density populations. The sex ratio was the same in both cases. The absolute numbers and the biomass of insects per cultivation vessel were greater in high-density populations.     

Temperature regime in burrows of ground squirrels (Marmotinae) during winter hibernation

The temperature regime of hibernation has been studied in six ground squirrel species from 13 geographic populations living beyond the permafrost zone. It is shown that hibernation usually takes place at low above-zero temperatures and that the least deep burrows are found in the zone of subzero monthly temperatures. Populations have been found that inhabit areas where monthly temperatures during the hibernation period fall below zero in almost the whole range of depths at which nest chambers are located.     

Variation in the Parameters of the Life Cycle in Prawns of the Genus MacrobrachiumBate (Crustacea, Palaemonidae)

Variations in the parameters of the life cycle in freshwater prawns of the genus MacrobrachiumBate and some populations of the species Macrobrachium nipponense(De Haan) were analyzed comparatively. Using factor analysis, these parameters were systematized and expressed through two factors. The first factor is related to the parameters of larval development and the dimensions of an egg, and the second, to the length of adults and their fecundity. The greatest differences in the values of intrageneric and intraspecific variation of parameters are noted for the dimensions of larval stages. It is assumed that the formation of a species proceeds primarily through the appearance of adaptations at larval stages.     

Distribution of plants differing in attitude toward thermal conditions in communities of the timberline ecotone on Mount Iremel’, the Southern Urals

Specific features in the distribution of plant species differing in their attitude toward thermal conditions have been studied in communities of the present-day timberline ecotone on Mount Iremel’ in the Southern Urals. It has been shown that the distribution of such species is characterized by significant spatial nonuniformity. Elevation above sea level, local conditions in habitats located at the same altitudinal level, and specific features of mountain slopes account for 13–84, 5–30, and 0.4–14% of the total variance of test parameters, respectively. The abundance of plants changes nonlinearly along the altitudinal gradient, whereas changes in the species diversity of different plant groups have an almost linear pattern. Marked differences between plant communities with respect to the proportions of species differently responding to changes in thermal conditions have been revealed on all slopes in the upper part of the timberline ecotone, upon transition from the slopes proper to the plateau-like areas of intermontane depressions.     

长江口沿岸碎波带刀鲚仔稚鱼摄食习性与浮游动物分布的相关性研究

为探明长江口沿岸碎波带浮游动物的分布与刀鲚仔稚鱼摄食的关系,2006年7~12月每月大潮期间在长江口沿岸碎波带设置13个站位点,用浮游Ⅰ型生物网(口径30 cm,网目0.2 mm)在表层拖曳采集浮游动物78次,采集到浮游动物72种,平均密度 3 278.95 个/网;用小型拖网(1 m×4 m,网目1 mm)拖曳234次,采集到刀鲚仔稚鱼 37 170 尾,平均密度158.85尾/网。通过胃含物分析共鉴定刀鲚仔稚鱼饵料生物15种(类)(浮游动物11种,浮游幼体4类),平均摄食密度1.306个/尾。研究结果表明:前弯曲期仔鱼偏好摄食哲水蚤、剑水蚤和枝角类;弯曲期仔鱼偏好摄食猛水蚤和桡足类桡足幼体;后弯曲期仔鱼除偏好摄食桡足类幼体以外,也偏好摄食游泳能力较强的糠虾;稚鱼对糠虾有极强的偏好。水温和盐度对刀鲚仔稚鱼的摄食量影响较小;浮游动物分布并不直接影响刀鲚仔稚鱼分布,相关性较小。     

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.     

The impact of bacterial larvicidal agent and larvivorous fish on the preimaginal phases of bloodsucking mosquitoes in aquatic ecosystems of Southern Western Siberia

It has been shown that ecological prerequisites for the spread of bloodsucking mosquitoes from different aquatic ecosystems in the south of Western Siberia may be controlled by reducing the density of larval hemipopulations. The bacterial agent Bactiñide is most efficient in open water systems. In ecosystems overgrown with herb-shrub vegetation, an integrated approach should be used, which involves both stocking with belica (Leucaspius delineatus) and application of Bacticide. The development of larvivorous fish in the permanent water systems of the Karasuk-Burlinsk region and Teletskoye Lake basin contributes to elimination of mosquito larvae and, thus, to the improvement of natural environment.     

Intra- and interspecific morphological variation of some European terrestrial orchids along a latitudinal gradient

Morphological trait variation in populations of rhizomatous (Cypripedium calceolus, Listera ovata) and root-tuber orchid species (Platanthera bifolia, Gymnadenia conopsea) has been studied along a latitudinal gradient in Europe. It has been shown that the structure of shoots changes with transition from the center to the northern or southern periphery of the species range. The reduction in the number of metameres at the range periphery is more distinct in orchids with multimetameric shoots, compared to those with oligometameric shoots. The plasticity of shoot structure observed along the geographic gradient is contingent on climatic factors and can be manifested regionally in cases of long-term temperature deviations. Other morphological parameters, such as shoot height and the sizes of leaves and flowers, can serve as indicators of ecological conditions in habitats.     

Plasticity in metamorphic traits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rana kukunoris</Emphasis> tadpoles: The interactive effects of food level and rearing temperature

Larval amphibians are particularly likely to encounter variation in rearing temperature and resource availability due to variation in aquatic breeding habitats. In this study, plasticity in growth rates, larval mass, larval period, and size at metamorphosis were examined in Rana kukunoris Nikolskii, 1918 under different combinations of temperature and food level. Larval period and larval body mass was sensitive to food level, and varied with temperature. Tadpoles metamorphosed at an older age at low temperature than those reared at warm temperature. Food level was a significant affect on larval period at low temperature, but not at warm temperature. Mass was heavier for tadpoles reared at low temperatures than those reared at warm temperatures. The effect of food level depended on temperature, because larvae reared at low temperature that were offered a high food level achieved a larger size than larvae offered a low food level, but this did not occur at warm temperature. Therefore, we suggest that high food availability at low temperature prolonged developmental periods, thus larvae are larger as metamorphs than those reared at warm temperatures.     

Indicatory aspect of the geographic analysis of plant communities with respect to floristic composition on mountain slopes differing in exposure (the Polar Urals)

Latitudinal geographic groups of vascular plant, moss, and lichen species included in tundra communities and lower vegetation layers of larch forest and open forest have been analyzed with respect to their distribution according to different altitudinal levels and slopes differing in exposure. Prevailing plant groups have been identified. The results were compared with corresponding data on the composition of plant communities in the neighboring flatland area (Kharp Research Station).     

Technogenic morphological variation of the pygmy wood mouse (Sylvaemus uralensis pall.) in the Urals

Methods of geometric morphometrics have been used to compare the ranges and directions of geographic and technogenic forms of variation in the morphology of the mandible in Ural populations of pygmy wood mice (Sylvaemus uralensis Pall.) exposed to different types of pollutants (radionuclides, fluorides, and toxic petrochemical products). The range of variation in the mandible morphology consequent to chronic radiation exposure in the zone of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace is commensurate to the range of geographic variation of the species observed in the Middle and Southern Urals. Unspecific manifestations of variation have been revealed, which apparently result from exposure to technogenic pollutants of different origin. A probable contribution of technogenic variation to rapid morphogenetic rearrangements in populations is discussed.     

Postfire succession in a forest of the cryolithozone: The example of central Yakutia

The results of studies on postfire succession in larch forests of the permafrost zone are discussed. The main directions of successional processes in burned-out areas of different ages are described. It has been shown that secondary pyrogenic successions in larch forests follow the scheme of rapid regeneration without tree species replacement and the model of succession tolerance. Groups of plant species with different life strategies and indicator species characterizing different stages of the overgrowing of burned-out areas have been identified.     

Changes in the ratio of plants with different mycorrhizal status in the course of pasture digression in the Southern Ural steppes

Trends in the proportions of plants differently interacting with mycorrhizal fungi in the course of pasture digression have been analyzed in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. Estimates of species richness and abundance of plant groups with different mycorrhizal status have been obtained by comparing original data on the structure of phytocenoses with published data on the ability of plant species to form mycorrhizae. It has been shown that the proportions and abundance of obligate mycorrhizal species decrease significantly in the course of digression, with consequent increase in those of species less dependent on or independent of symbiosis with fungi, i.e., facultative mycorrhizal or obligate nonmycorrhizal plants.