Bioindication-based Estimation of Technogenic Impact on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. Populations in the Vicinity of a Radioactive Waste Storage Facility

The spectrum and frequency of cytogenetic aberrations in the reproductive (seeds) and vegetative (foliage) organs of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) have been studied in the vicinity of the LSK Radon facility for radioactive waste storage and processing and in a 30-km zone around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The results indicate that the pine populations of these regions are exposed to mutagenic factors. In contrast to the 30-km Chernobyl zone, the increased environmental mutagenicity in the vicinity of LSK Radon and in the center of the city of Sosnovyi Bor is mainly accounted for by chemical factors. The results of additional acute γ-irradiation have shown an increased radiation resistance of Scotch pine seeds from the LSK Radon and Sosnovyi Bor populations. Regression analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the cytogenetic aberration rate in plants from the experimental plots throughout the study period (1997–2002).__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2005, pp. 275–285.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Geras’kin, Vasil’ev, Dikarev, Udalova, Evseeva, Dikareva, Zimin.     

Group effect on individual locomotor activity of common toad (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bufo bufo</Emphasis> L.) and brown frog (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rana temporaria</Emphasis> L.) tadpoles

Different components of group effect on the locomotor activity of single common toad and brown frog tadpoles have been studied by estimating the length of their trajectories, the speed of movement, the number of crossings of experimental field zones, and the number and duration of stops. The results show that toad tadpoles are more active than frog tadpoles. Conspecific metabolites added to the water do not change the pattern of their locomotor activity. Under conditions of visual contact with other tadpoles, locomotor activity of a toad tadpole decreases, whereas that of a frog tadpole increases. Thus, tadpoles of the two amphibian species show species-specific behavioral responses to changes in experimental conditions.     

Gradient Genogeographic Analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. Populations in Europe

Gradients of Nei's genetic distances between 15 samples of Pinus sylvestris L. trees were analyzed along three submeridional transects, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and Transcaucasia. As a result, distinct chorogenetic differentiation was revealed between the populations of this species growing in climatically specific regions of northern and southern Europe. Considerable Nei's distances (DN = 0.045–0.056) and their gradients, combined with differences in stable phenotypic characters (the composition of monoterpenes and morphological parameters of cones) determined at the Pyrenean and Caucasian mountain borders, suggest that the P. sylvestris species structure includes two South Eurasian subspecies, the Pyrenean P. sylvestris L., ssp. iberica Svoboda and the Transcaucasian P. sylvestris L., ssp. hamata (Stev.) Fomin.     

Combined influence of food level and inoculation density on competition between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anuraeopsis fissa</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachionus patulus</Emphasis> or <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachionus macracanthus</Emphasis> (Rotifera: Brachionidae)

We tested separately the effect of two taxonomically related rotifers (B. patulus and B. macracanthus) on the population dynamics of another species (A. fissa) at low (0.5 ×10 ⁶) and high food levels (1.5 × 10⁶ cells/ml of Chlorella vulgaris) using different inoculation densities (0–100%). We also quantified the impact of A. fissa on the two brachionid species. Regardless of the presence of the competing species, an increase in the availability of food led to increase in the abundances of the three rotifers. The population growth of B. patulus, B. macracanthus, or A. fissa was affected negatively when cultured together with another species. An increase in the initial density of any one of the competing species became advantageous to maintain a certain population size. At a low algal food level, B. patulus was able to suppress A. fissa more strongly than B. macracanthus. On the other hand, at a high food level, B. macracanthus suppressed the population of A. fissa more strongly than B. patulus. Peak population densities for A. fissa varied from about 150 to 1000 ind./ml, depending on food density and the presence of competitors. The rate of population increase (r) of A. fissa, B. patulus, and B. macracanthus increased with an increase in food availability but decreased with increasing initial density of the competitor. Both Brachionus spp. experienced negative growth rates in the presence of A. fissa, especially at a high initial density of the latter. Published in Russian in Ekologiya, 2007, Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 381–390. The article was submitted by the authors in English.     

Intrapopulation spatial segregation in bream (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Abramis brama</Emphasis>) and roach (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rutilus rutilus</Emphasis>) in the Rybinsk Reservoir

In the course of studies on mass fish species (bream and roach) in water bodies of the Upper Volga basin, intraspecific groups of individuals have been distinguished. Conditions and possible mechanisms of spatial differentiation of these groups are considered. The intrapopulation divergence of individuals by some adaptive characters, primarily behavioral, enables them to utilize alternative resources, which provides for more efficient use of the environment by populations.     

Insularization and polymorphism in marginal island populations of <Emphasis Type=Italic>Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L.

Comparative allozyme analysis of 26 marginal island populations of Pinus sylvestris L. and 20 populations from the center of the species range has confirmed, at the species level, the Wright-Dubinin “island model” of automatic genetic processes and Mayr’s hypothesis about homozygotization of small isolated populations at range boundaries. It has been shown that the polymorphism of isolated populations sharply decreases when their area is reduced below 15–20 km² and increases to the level observed in the center of the range when the population area exceeds 50–100 km². A chorogenetic classification of marginal P. sylvestris populations is proposed.     

Specific Features of Root System Structure in Pinus sylvestrisL. and Larix sukaczewiiDyl. under Conditions of the Ufa Industrial Center

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

Influence of intra- and interspecific competition on daily activity of common (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus arvalis</Emphasis>) and East European (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus rossiaemeridionalis</Emphasis>) voles in experiments

The influence of intra- and interspecific competition of common and East European voles on their daily activity was studied in 34-m² enclosures at the Chernogolovka Experimental Research Station (Moscow Region). Family groups of animals captured in the same biotopes were placed in enclosures and, 25 day later, their daily activity was observed. Thereafter, the animals were pooled and observations were repeated 25 days later. The experiment consisted of three stages. At the first stage, the daily activity, time budget, and social behavior of common voles were studied before and after pooling different family groups; at the second stage, the same was performed with East European voles; and at the third stage, with both species. The species proved to use different strategies for alleviating intraspecific competition: in common voles, this was segregation of ecological niches via desynchronization of daily activity; in East European voles, conversely, aggregation in groups and synchronization of activity. Under experimental cohabitation, the strategy of the common vole, a more aggressive species, was to force out the other species, ecologically similar but less competitive; the strategy of the East European vole was aimed at avoidance via segregation of ecological niches in time.     

Genogeography of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. populations in the Greater Caucasus and Crimea

Allozyme analysis of 18 Pinus sylvestris L. populations from seven landscape-geographic groups has been performed in the Greater Caucasus, Crimea, and Russian Plain. The results show that populations of the Mt. Elbrus region (isolated by high mountain ridges) are characterized by lower polymorphism and most distinct differentiation (at the level of geographic race) from other populations, which are differentiated from each other at the level of geographic groups. Genetic gradients (boundaries) between populations reach a maximum on transects across the Greater Caucasus Range, and Transcaucasian populations are more similar to populations of the Russian Plain, compared to North Caucasian populations, which confirms the hypothesis of ancestral connections between their gene pools.     

Effects of environmental factors on the seasonal growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> L. (Karst.) in northern Karelia

The seasonal growth of shoots, needles, and the trunk in the Norway spruce has been studied in a bilberry spruce forest in the middle taiga subzone of Karelia. The results show that the growth of vegetative organs in this tree species depends mainly on the air temperature regime, whereas the effect of variations in factors such as the period of sunshine, precipitation, and air humidity is relatively weak.     

Variation of male nuptial plumage in the willow ptarmigan <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lagopus lagopus</Emphasis> L.

In male willow ptarmigans, the relationship between qualitative differences between birds belonging to different intrapopulation groups and some individual features of male nuptial plumage has been revealed by studying banded birds. Thus, males that have changed their nesting site differ from those returning to the former site and bigamous males differ from monogamous in the number and size of dark spots amid the white plumage. The influence of the time of the onset of spring on the development of nuptial plumage is considered.     

Mitochondrial DNA variation pattern and postglacial history of the Siberian larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix sibirica</Emphasis> Ledeb.)

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation has been studied in populations of the Siberian larch with the use of five PCR-based markers characterizing 29 haplotypes. The studied populations from the main parts of the Siberian larch range belong to several geographically isolated groups with their specific sets of haplotypes, which have probably originated from separate refugia for forest vegetation of the last glacial maximum. Conclusions concerning the possible location of these refugia and the ways and pattern of the postglacial recolonization of the recent Siberian larch range are drawn. The spatial distribution of haplotypes within individual populations is nonrandom. The typical size of the area occupied by a group of plants with the same haplotype is 50–100 m across.     

Genetic differentiation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus mugo</Emphasis> Turra and <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. sylvestris</Emphasis> L. populations in the Ukrainian Carpathians and the Swiss Alps

The allozyme analysis of six local populations of Pinus mugo Turra and six populations of P. sylvestris L. in the Ukrainian Carpathians, Swiss Alps, and Schwarzwald has shown a higher polymorphism and greater interpopulation differentiation of the Carpathian group of P. mugo populations compared to the Alpine group (Nei’s genetic distance DN ₇₈ at the level of geographic population group is −0.023). A genetic differentiation of DN ₇₈ = 0.049 between these populations, which are isolated by a distance of more than 1000 km, has been found. This confirms the existence of the subspecies P. mugo ssp. mugo and P. mugo ssp. uncinata in the Carpathians and Alps, respectively. The hypothesis is put forward that the former subspecies has been formed in the Balkans and the latter, in the Pyreneans. It has been demonstrated that regional populations and geographic groups of P. sylvestris are less differentiated than those of P. mugo.     

Intrapopulation Differentiation by the Rates of Rosette Growth and Individual Plant Development in Narrow-Leaved Hawk’s Beard (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crepis tectorum</Emphasis> L.): Aftereffects of Long-Term Stress

Aftereffects of exposure to long-term chemical pollution with fluorine and sulfur compounds on intrapopulation differentiation of the rates of growth and development has been studied on Crepis tectorum L. progenies obtained from seeds collected in a pollution gradient and grown in a greenhouse under uniform ecological conditions. The results have shown that long-term stress (exposure to toxic gaseous pollutants) leads to significant changes in the intrapopulation structure, which are manifested in an increase in the proportion of plants with a low rate of development, a low relative rate of the linear growth of metameres (leaves), but a higher relative rate of their formation.__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2005, pp. 243–251.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Trubina.     

The narrow-skulled vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus gregalis</Emphasis> Pall.) in the dynamics of zonal rodent communities of northern Eurasia

On the basis of abundant fossil and subfossil bone remains, the ecological and faunal role of the narrow-skulled vole in zonal rodent communities of northern Eurasia is analyzed over the period from the Late Pleistocene to the present time. Special attention is given to the correlated dynamics of relative abundance of Microtus gregalis and other rodent species in the course of transition from one zonal type to another and to specific features of this correlation in the southern, middle, and northern parts of the species range. It is shown that distinctive dimensional and morphotypic features of the two currently existing subspecies, Microtus gregalis major Ogn. and M. g. gregalis Pall., are the product of concordant development of the species and environmental conditions in the past 3000–4000 years (transition from the Holocene optimum to the present-day climate and state of the natural environment). Published in Russian in Ekologiya, 2007, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 117–123. The article was translated by the authors.     

An outline of the theory of the genetic divergence of dry-land and bog populations of <Emphasis Type=Italic>Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L.

The thesis of the genetic divergence of Pinus sylvestris L. populations that have spread to bogs from the original dry-land populations has been deduced from the concept of the cyclicity of helio- and geophysical processes, derivative postulates on climatic cycles, formation of Holocene high bogs, contrasting differentiation between their environment and that of dry meadows, and the resultant changes in the vectors of microevolutionary factors and strong reproductive isolation between these populations. Logical genetic, ecological-phenotypical, and geographic consequences of this theory have been verified by factual data and general laws known to date. The interpolational and predictive roles of the new theory are demonstrated.