Composition of pied flycatcher (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ficedula hypoleuca</Emphasis> Pall.) nestling diet in industrially polluted area

The composition of pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca Pall.) nestling diet was studied in the zone of strong pollution with emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (Revda, Sverdlovsk oblast) and in the background area from 2005 to 2007. The results show that diversity of the diet decreases and prevalence in it of one insect taxon (Lepidoptera) increases near the source of emissions. The proportion of uncharacteristic food objects (orthopterans, herpetobiont invertebrates) and variation in the size of invertebrates brought by parents to their nestlings increase, which is explained by degradation of forest habitats in the polluted area. Pied flycatchers provide nestlings with sufficient quantities of food, but its quality in the polluted zone is lower than in the background area.     

Temperature niche of the greater mole rat Spalax microphthalmus Güld. (1770)

With consideration of the data on soil temperature within the range and over the burrow depth of the greater mole rat Spalax microphthalmus Güld. (1770) published in the Handbook on the Climate of the Soviet Union, it has been shown that the fundamental temperature niche of this species is relatively narrow. The seasonal activity of the greater mole rat in the vertical plane of the burrow depends on the vertical distribution of soil temperature.     

Estimation of the maximal population frequency of “alien” biotypes taking into account a priori data

A method is described for calculating the probability that the percentage of alien biotypes is higher than a specified threshold (e.g., 5%) in a population in which a certain number of alien biotypes has been found preliminarily. The method is based on the Bayesian approach; it assumes that the researcher has preliminary (a priori) information on the frequency of these biotypes. This a priori information makes it possible to estimate the aforementioned probability more accurately than is possible with the use of the standard binomial estimation. The method is illustrated by the results of the estimation of cultivar purity in batches of stock and foundation seeds of spring barley with the use of protein markers.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 2, 2005, pp. 106–109.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Zhivotovsky, Pomortsev, Lyalina, Kalabushkin, Pukhalskii.     

Dynamics of the Community of Hole-nesting Birds upon Reduction of Industrial Emissions (the Example of the Middle Ural Copper Smelter)

Russian Journal of Ecology - The dynamics of the species richness, breeding density, and structure of the community of birds occupying nest-boxes upon a 50-fold reduction of atmospheric emissions...     

Temperature conditions in burrows of the steppe marmot, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Marmota bobak</Emphasis> Müller (1776), in the hibernation period

Data published in the Handbook on the Climate of the Soviet Union have been used as a basis for estimating the temperature of the soil surrounding the nest chamber during the period of bobak marmot hibernation. Interspecific differences in the temperature conditions of hibernation have been revealed. The hypothesis is substantiated that the dates of hibernation onset in marmots depend on air temperature outside the burrow.     

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.     

Key factors determining the ecological niche of the Himalayan marmot, Marmota himalayana Hodgson (1841)

Four key factors determining the ecological niche of the Himalayan marmot, Marmota himalayana Hodgson (1841), in the Central Himalayas (Nepal) have been identified. These are elevation above sea level, temperature, the presence of accumulative formations, and feeding conditions. The Himalayan marmot ecologically differs from all other marmots of the world fauna, and the main difference is that the lower boundary of its range lies very high—3000 m above sea level.