Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2011 number 4

Spatial distribution of terrestrial Invertebrata assemblages is analyzed for West-Siberian Plain. Several functional groups, namely soil nematodes, annelids, microarthropods, mesoarthropods, snails, grass layer arthropods, are discriminated. Their air-dry biomass and roles in the local ecosystems are estimated. Two classifications of invertebrate assemblages are made: the first classification is for data averaged relative to primary contours of the vegetation map of West-Siberian Plain and the latter one is for the contour groups on this map. The digital thematic map of invertebrate assemblages' distribution is made. Some peculiarities of their spatial heterogeneity are revealed in comparison with the vegetation and humus distribution patterns. The biomass distribution pattern of invertebrate groups is less heterogeneous, but it corresponds to the distribution of life zones.

Differentiation of vertebrate population and ecosystems over vegetation at the level of type, judging from formalized classifications of different blocks of ecosystems of East Siberia over the allocations of the geobotanical map, coincide almost completely and substantially differs from that in the underground component due to the strong effect of waterlogging on the latter. In the communities of invertebrates, the differences in the boreal-subboreal parts are essential, where waterlogging is more significant and more similarity is observed for middle- and south-taiga communities than for subtaiga-steppe ones.  Over the groups of map allocations, heterogeneity of vertebrates population differs from that in all the considered blocks of ecosystems by larger differentiation in the tundra zone. In the pre-tundra - northern taiga subzones and from middle taiga to the steppe zone, the heterogeneity of vertebrate communities is somewhat smaller than that of vegetation and especially of the underground block of ecosystems. However, these differences relate only to the hierarchy of division and are often exhibited at the level of taxons at the range of sub-type or class. These are the evidences of relative independence of changes of the distinguished blocks of ecosystems, which gives rise to non-coincidence of the boundaries and amounts of taxons in them, as well as continuality of ecosystems in general. Essential non-coincidence of traditional geobotanical and typological-chorologic population bands of terrestrial vertebrates is observed.

Investigation revealed 21 kinds of pathologies in the embryonal development of amphibia and more than 30 kinds in small mammals at the territories with radiation-chemical environmental pollution. Differences in embryonal mortality and pathologies of embryogenesis were demonstrated both for the representatives of amphibia and mammals and within one class at the regions with different technogenic load. Embryonаl death and pathologies of embryonal development are considered as important reasons of reproductive losses for different species.

Investigation of the sensitivity of seven zooplankton species Daphnia magna, D. longispina, D. pulex, Simocephalus vetulus, Scapholeberis mucronаta, Eudiaptomus graciloides, Cyclops strenuus to sumicidin-alpha insecticide was carried out. The values of LC₅₀ for 24 h exposure were determined. The most sensitive species turned out to be Daphnia pulex and D. longispina, the least sensitive ones - representatives of natural population of Daphnia magna. The data on the distribution of zooplankton species sensitivity are presented. The concentrations potentially dangerous for 5 and 50 % of species in the community were calculated.

In the first communication, the main features of the spatial nonuniformity of Mesostigmata mites populations at the territory of North-Eastern Altay are revealed on the basis of the results of investigations carried out in June 2006 and 2007.

Carabid community in the forest-steppe in the south of West Siberia at the 180 m continuous transect from the centre of a small birch forest through steppe and mesophytic meadows to a single tree was studied. It was shown that the carabid сommunities can be divided into versions characteristic of open and forest habitats. The community of open habitats is more differentiated than the forest one, and it is subdivided into the versions of steppe and meadow habitats. Generalist species exhibiting no preferences for definite grass habitats were also revealed.

Distribution of black grouse and hazel grouse was evaluated on the basis of the results of bird records from July 16 to August 31, 1959-2005, over the territories of all the natural geographic zones and subzones of West Siberia (with fractioning down to the type of landscape tract). Data averaging over the groups of vegetation map allocations (dynamic series), and other specific averaging procedures, revealed that black grouse is common in north-, middle-, and south-taiga bogs; in sub-taiga pineries; in grassy bogs in combination with halophytic meadows within the boundaries of sub-taiga forests and northern forest-steppe; and at the agricultural land of the northern forest-steppe. Hazel grouse is numerous in southern taiga and dark coniferous middle-taiga forests and their derivatives. The number of hazel grouse individuals in these habitats is larger than in other lands. In general, over the sub-zones, both black grouse and hazel grouse are most numerous in middle and southern taiga and sub-taiga forests. To the north and to the south of these sub-zones the abundance of these species decreases. They were not encountered in tundras and some open forest-steppe and steppe habitats.

Results of comparative analysis of selectivity patterns of food items for two ecologically close hollow-nesting birds - red-breasted flycatcher Ficedula parva (Muscicapidae) and Siberian tit Parus cinctus (Paridae) according to the way of catching, the place of foraging and the daily activity in nestling feeding are considered. The main diet of nestlings studied consists of spiders and insects; the proportion of these taxons is almost identical for both species. So, the share of spiders in the diet of red-breasted flycatcher is 37 %, insects 59 % (totally 424 food items), and for Siberian tit it is 36.9 and 61.6 % (totally 130), respectively. However, the first species catches predominantly flying imago forms of insects (32.6 %), and the second one - non-flying, larval forms (37.7 %). The observed selectivity of these two bird species reflects the difference in the ways and places of foraging. The identified selectivity of victims testifies about the difference in their way and place of food catching. Daily duration of nestling feeding is 17-18 h for red-breasted flycatcher and 16-17 h for Siberian tit. Daily frequency of nestling feedings depends on weather and varies in different ways. In red-breasted flycatcher, it varies from 209 to 656 times in warm and cold weather, while in Siberian tit from 182 to 151, respectively. Apparently relatively low daily activity of nestling feeding and absence of strong fluctuations depending on weather conditions in Siberian tit relate to low need of its nestlings in food resources and condition larger adaptation of this species to acute fluctuations of environmental temperature.

Many indices of bird moult are not only species- but also population-related characteristics. Investigation of post-juvenile moult of black-faced buntings revealed substantial differences in its completeness for young birds in the south of Primorsky Territory in comparison with the birds from more northern populations (Khingan-Bureya upland). In Primorye, partial replacement of primaries was observed in the young birds of the first broods. Measurements of feathers before and after moulting revealed the difference in the length of juvenile primaries and analogous feathers of the next generation. On the basis of this difference, a procedure was developed that allows us to differentiate the major part of black-faced buntings in Primorye during autumn.

New foci of hantavirus circulation were revealed at the territories of Altay and Krasnoyarsk Territories, in Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk Regions and in the Republic of Altay. It was shown that hantaviruses are distributed over all the landscape zones and subzones. The carriers of hantaviruses at the studied territory are bank vole, large-toothed redback vole, northern red-backed vole, narrow-skulled vole, dark vole, root vole, sagebruch vole, east-asian and field mouse.

Species composition of helminthes and population genetic variability indices of small mammals were studied in 17 localities of Western Siberia. There is a positive correlation between species diversity indices of small mammals and their helminthes (r = + 0.57, P < 0.001) and a negative correlation between species diversity indices of helminthes and population genetic variability of their hosts.

Long-term monitoring of helminth communities in rodents of small-leaved woods in Northern Baraba ( Novosibirsk area) was carried out. It was established that the fractions of vole populations infected with nematoda Hepaticola hepatica (Bancroft, 1893) Hall, 1916 are: 32,1 % - Arvicola terrestris, L., 1758; 9,1 % - Microtus agrestis, L., 1761; 3,1 % - M oeconomus, Pall., 1776 ; 2,6 % - Clethrionomys glareolus, Schreb, 1780; 2,2 % - C. rutilus, Pall., 1779 and 0,9 % of Apodemus agrarius, Pall., 1771. It is shown that during the mass reproduction of water vole it occupies the dominant position in the structure of rodent community and has major importance in the realization of the life cycle of the parasite. During its low number, the centers of H. hepatica infection in the biosenosis are supported by M. agrestis and C. glareolus voles.

New data on shrew faunа and inhabitants in steppe and forest zones of the Eastern Transbaikalia are presented in the paper. The data were sampled by the author or are based on the review of previous collections.

Composition, structure and functioning of the communities of small rodents in the Kuznetsky Alatau mountains are studied and their comparative characterization is made. It is demonstrated that the complicated differentiation of the mountain range into altitudinal belts leads to the formation of several types of small rodent communities: forest-steppe, dark coniferous forest, chern forest, high mountain tundra. The communities differ from each other in species composition, structure, and total domination number. Communities are formed under the influence of environmental parameters such as the level of wetting, the composition of vegetation and the degree of anthropogenic transformation of the territory.

The interannual variation of the water vole (Arvicola terrestris L.) has been analyzed with respect to two linear combinations of craniometric characters with the highest additive heritability. The greatest phenotypic differences have been revealed between samples from the low phase of population density and others.

The dynamics of habitat and number of elk in West Siberia is described on the basis of analysis of perennial data. For the south-eastern region of the West Siberian part of the habitat, on the basis of investigation of the structure of hypervariable domain of the D-loop of mtDNA, the joint habitation of alk with haplotypes of both European (A. a. alces L.) and East-Siberian (A. a. pfizenmayeri Zukowski) subspecies was demonstrated. The high nucleotide () and haplotypic (H) diversity substantially exceeding similar indices for elk in the European part of Russia and the Urals was demonstrated.

Interdecadal variations in the migration of Alopex lagopus Linnaeus in East-European tundras are studied. The most intense and long-distance migrations are detected during the periods of the highest number of these animals. The directions of migration are determined to a substantial extent by the features of behavioral responses of different sex and age groups of the animals to the environment.

Skull dimensions of nine sable populations in Yakutia (n = 1230 ind.) were studied. Differentiation in the dimensional structure between autochthon left-bank (large dimensions) and introduced right-bank (small dimensions) population groups was revealed. Allochthonous groups occupy an intermediate position between the founders (Vitim, Bureya, Kamchatka) and left-bank aboriginals exhibiting morphological trends that lead to the appearance of new forms of the species.