Abstract A survey for entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) of the Steienernematidae and Heterorhabditidae in soils of different crop types of agricultural lands (household plots, commercial fields) in the forest (Polissya) and forest-steppe (Lisostep) zones of Ukraine was carried out in spring, summer and autumn months from 2016 to 2018. In total, 205 soil samples and 92 live-traps were processed. In addition, 98 samples of soil-living larvae and adults of insect crop pests, including cockchafer beetles, click beetle larvae, darkling beetle larvae, caterpillars of the scoops were collected. It is shown that the EPNs distribution and frequency of occurrence depends on the natural geographical features (regional characteristics) and habitat types. EPNs were found in 46 (15.4 %) out 297 samples. The incidence (% of samples) of the entomopathogenic nematodes, and their diversity varied depending on the location-based sampling, the type of agrocenosis, and the predominant agricultural plant species or typical species-edificators. The proportion of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema spp., Heterorhabditis spp.) recovery from regions of Lisostep zone was 16.9 %, and 13.6 % from regions of Polissya zone. The highest number among all positive samples was recorded from the apple trees, Malus domestica Borkh., 1803 (10 samples). The least number of positive samples (one sample) was obtained from sweet cherry trees, Prúnus cérasus L., 1753, junipers, Juniperus communis L., 1753, alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., 1753, common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L., 1753, and common pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo L., 1753. The steinernematid nematodes were noticeably dominant over heterorhabditid nematodes: 60.8 % vs 39.2 % respectively. Steinernema spp. is widespread in different regions and plots, whereas Heterorhabditis spp. are common in fruit orchards and coniferous decorative perennial plantings.
Abstract The Steppe mouse, Mus spicilegus, is endemic to Europe and found to be expanding its home range in recent years. In Ukraine there are indications a north- and eastwards expansion and/or reestablishment of M. spicilegus. We suggest that climatic conditions may be the primary factors that foster or limit the range expansion of M. spicilegus in Eastern Europe. Our objective was to complement the knowledge about the distribution of the species with an estimation of the potential distribution of the species in Ukraine using known occurrence sites (in Ukraine and neighbouring areas) and environmental variables in an ecological niche modelling algorithm. After accounting for sampling bias and spatial autocorrelation, we retained 73 occurrence records. The algorithm used in this paper, Maxent (Phillips et al., 2006), is a machine learning algorithm and only needs presence data, besides the environmental layers. Using this approach, we have highlighted the importance and significance of a number of bioclimatic variables, particularly those characterizing wintering conditions, under which higher mean temperatures enhance habitat suitability, whereas increased precipitation leads to an opposite effect. The broadly northwards shift of the home range of the species in Ukraine could generally be due to the increasing (since the 1980s) mean temperature of the winter season. We expect this expansion process will continue together with the changing climate and new records of locations of the species may be used for monitoring such change.
Abstract We study size-at-age and sexual variability of morphometric characteristics of the marsh frog. According to the size of the body, males were divided into three size-age groups (juvenis, subadultus, adultus), females — into four groups (juvenis, subadultus, adultus, adultus-I). We found that the chronological age of frogs (skeletochronology) does not always correspond to their biological age (size and proportions of the body). We noted that the semi-adult males are reliably larger than females by mean values of 26 studied morphometric characters. Males and females of “adultus” group do not differ by linear body size, significant differences were found in body proportions (7 characters). For the females of “adultus-I” group, the mean values of 26 characters are significantly larger than for “adultus” males. The results of our study showed that with the age of the marsh frog, the level of exhibition, directionality and structure of morphometric sex differences changes.
Abstract I studied the effect of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the phenology of spring migration of birds in Central Ukraine. Data for arrival and departure of 92 species collected in 1987 to 2018 were used. The statistically significant correlation was found for 33 (35.9 %) bird species. 50 coefficients were negative (82.0 %) and 11 ones — positive (18.0 %). The majority of relationships have been shown in February (12) and March (22). In April, they became more rarely (5). There was only one significant value for January and May. For 20 species correlations were found with averaged indices including three months (January to March). The relationships with NAO indices were much commoner for the short-distance migrants (63.3 % of studied species) than for birds wintering in tropical and Southern Africa (20.5 %) and the intermediate group (18.8 %). Wintering birds showed 8 significant coefficients in 3 species (42.9 %). Statistically significant coefficients of correlation ranged in absolute values from 0.35 to 0.80. The average absolute values were very close for different groups of species. The overall mean made 0.50 ± 0.01 (n = 61).
Abstract The effect of the pyrogenic factor on the avifauna of shelter belts in the north-western part of the Azov Sea region, Ukraine is considered basing on results of the research carried out in 2001–2018. The breeding bird community of shelter belts is composed of 50 species, of them different types of shelter belts support 14–46 species. Changes in the species composition of breeding birds are analysed in subsequent years aft er the fires. The recovery of bird communities is progressing at a slow pace following the regeneration of tree-shrub vegetation and development of consortial relations of birds with dominating tree-shrub species and rook (Corvus frugilegus) colonies. It is established that the vegetation pyrogenic succession is accompanied by deep qualitative and quantitative changes in the structure of breeding avian communities in shelter belts of different type.
Abstract Liophloeothrips baharae sp. n. is described based on the holotype female collected on dead branches under oak trees in Zagros forests from Ilam province, western Iran. It is related to L. reperticus Ananthakrishnan and Muraleedharan, 1974 from India.
Abstract First records of invasive bivalve freshwater mollusc species Mytilopsis leucophaeata (Conrad, 1831) and Corbicula fluminalis (O. F. Müller, 1774) in Georgia are reported. No native or alien extant dreissenid species have ever been recorded form this region so far. A finding of C. fluminalis in Georgia is also a new record for the country though this species inhabits the rivers of adjacent Azerbaijan. Apart from two mentioned bivalve molluscs three non-indigenous gastropod species are registered from Georgia: freshwater Ferrisia californica (Rowell, 1863) and Physella acuta (Draparnaud, 1805) and land snail Eobania vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774).
Abstract The plasticity of the digestive system (DS) of birds allows them to use a wide range of feeds, which is especially important for migratory birds. Some fatty acids (FAs) included in the spectrum of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) are not synthesized in the bird organism, and are supplied only with food. They determine the level of unsaturation of lipids, and are essential for the organism. Among other important functions of these FAs are energy: they affect the energy metabolism of muscle cells. This is what determines the demands of migratory birds to the fodder base of migration stops. The largest number of general lipids among investigated species of invertebrates living in the Azov-Black Sea region ponds is found in the organisms N. zonata, A. salina, H. diversicolor, I. baltica (4.6–4.0%). The highest content of PUFAs was revealed to be present in the lipids of mollusks H. acuta and Th. astrachanicus: 32.87–35.73 % of the total amount of FAs. The content of PUFAs in the organism of Chironomis depends on the degree of water salinity. The unsaturation coefficient of FAs (K1) is revealed to be the highest in Mollusk lipids (H. acuta — 1.361; Th. astrachanicus — 1.610) and some Polychaeta. These types of invertebrates are the main source of intake of essential PUFAs by the organism of the waders at migratory stops in the Azov-Black Sea region.
Abstract The research was carried out in 6 territories located in oak forests of Slobozhanshchyna in 2007–2016. Family home ranges were determined using the average nearest neighbour distance between all setts of a sett system for the badgers and between breeding burrows for the foxes. The use of fox and badger family home ranges in different seasons and years was estimated by changes in the use of burrows at the monitoring site of Gomilshanski Lisy National Nature Park. In the oak forests, 173 burrows were studied, among which 75 are used by badgers and 45 by foxes. The area of most of the badger family home ranges in the oak forests is 28–88 hа. The area of the fox family home ranges in the oak forests is 86 to 892 ha. In the oak forests of Slobozhanshchyna, badger and fox family home ranges correspond to the data for similar biotopes in Europe. Seasonal changes of the badger family home range used at the monitoring site in Gomilshanski Lisy NNP in general correspond to literature radio tracking data. Changes in use of the fox family home range de pend on fluctuations of the abundance of rodents.
Abstract The observation of elusive mammals, is still problematic, particularly in flowing waters or wetlands. But with the usage of camera traps, it was possible to obtain valuable information about otters. The aim of this study was finding the diel activity of the otters that live in Central-Eastern Romania. The diel activity of the Eurasian otter along its habitat was studied from March 2011 to April 2016 over 1356 days & nights of camera trapping. The camera traps have recorded a total of 222 otter visits at all 10 observation sites. Otters, passing through the observation sites, were strongly nocturnal and displayed a trimodal diel activity pattern, one occurring just before dawn (between 04:00 and 06:30 h), the second one occuring just after dusk (between 18:30 and 22:00 h) and the third one occurring in the middle of the night (between 00:30 and 01:30). Otters have been also active during the Civil Twilight (7.2 %), more active during the dusk (5 %) than during the dawn (2.3 %). Seasonally the Eurasian otters were more active during winter (39.6 %) and progressively less active in spring (31.5 %) summer (9 %) or autumn (19.8 %).
Abstract Morphological characteristics were studied in adult and embryonic Amidostomum anseris (Zeder, 1800) obtained from domestic goose Anser anser domesticus Linnaeus, 1758. The studied characters included species-specific morphometric indices of male and female specimens and differential characters of sex-related dimorphism in that species. Stages and periods of embryonic development, and viability of the nematodes were studied at laboratory conditions. Size dimorphism in A. anseris was considerable, females were significantly larger (by 10.09–27.98 %) than males by 11 parameters. Additional metric characters were proposed to enhance effectiveness of differentiation of female and male A. anseris specimens. Under laboratory conditions, embryonic development of A. anseris occurs in four stages: blastomere cleavage; larval formation; formation of non-infective larvae I and II; formation of infective larva III which hatches from the egg. Infective larvae develop at 23 °С in six days, and their viability was up to 78.33 ± 2.08 %.
Abstract The study evaluated the genetic signatures of the fishes from the two populations and compared the pattern of differentiation of the two populations with a view to separating the species from the different populations into possible sub-species. Forty (40) specimens were collected from River Niger (Lokoja) and Asejire Resevoir. The DNA of the twenty (20) specimens from each population extracted from the muscle tissue using phenol-chloroform extraction (PCE) method was subjected to microsatellite DNA analysis. Seven (7) microsatellite markers (Cga01, Cga02, Cga03, Cga05, Cga06, Cga09 and Cga10) were used in the analysis. Microsatellite DNA analysis of the two populations revealed significant differentiation between the two populations as shown by the high values of heterozygosity, low level of inbreeding and non-conformance to Hardy-Weinberg’s equilibrium. It is concluded from the study that microsatellite analysis showed a high potentiality for separation of the populations.
Abstract The assemblages of ground beetles of forest areas of the northern part of Ukraine were studied: Polisky Nature Reserve (PNR) and urban parks of Kyiv City. In general, 88 species of carabids of 29 genera were observed in the studied areas. Thirty-one forest species were found in the studied territories, of which 22 species were registered in urban parks, and 17 species within the PNR. In all investigated areas, the number of forest species was lower, than open-habitat species and generalists species. Today, based on data on the occurrence and abundance of carabid species, forests in urban areas can be considered as refugia for many forest species, in particular, protected and endangered species — Abax parallelus, Carabus glabratus, Carabus menetriesi and Cychrus caraboides. The results of cluster analysis, non-metric multidimensional scaling and detrended correspondence analysis showed the difference between the forests of the PNR and the urban parks. In addition, the species richness of the PNR were lower than in urban parks. The results of the study showed that urban parks can be considered as important elements for the future management and conservation of landscapes.
Abstract In this study an attempt is made to highlight important variables shaping the current bioclimatic niche of a number of mite species associated with the infestation of stored products by employing a species distribution modeling (SDM) approach. Using the ENVIREM dataset of bioclimatic variables, performance of the most robust models was mostly influenced by: 1) indices based on potential evapotranspiration, which characterize ambient energy and are mostly correlated with temperature variables, moisture regimes, and 2) strong fluctuations in temperature reflecting the severity of climate and/or extreme weather events. Although the considered mite species occupy man-made ecosystems, they remain more or less affected by the surrounding bioclimatic environment and therefore could be subjected to contemporary climate change. In this respect investigations are needed to see how this will affect future management targets concerning the safety of food storages.
Abstract We report on the assessment of the level of genetic diversity of the capercaillie in Belarus. This species of birds is a valuable biological resource, and also acts as a natural indicator for the state of large forests and the degree of their disturbance by human activities. Two subspecies of the capercaillie —Tetrao urogallus major (C. L. Brehm, 1831) and Tetrao urogallus pleskei (Stegmann, 1926) have been described for Belarus. The first domain of the mitochondrial DNA control region was used as the molecular marker for the study. An additional assessment of the level of genetic diversity of the capercaillie was carried out by calculating the effective size of its population (Ne) in Belarus. We found that the absence of subspecific structure is characteristic for all samples of the capercaillie from Belarus. The data on the intraspecific structure and genetic diversity of the capercaillie from Belarus allows us to considerits population in the central and eastern parts of the country as stable and sustainable. This can be explained by its inclusion in the general phylogeographic structure of birds of the boreal lineage. The low values of the effective population size for the partially isolated capercaillie population from the western part of the country indicate the need for increased attention and further monitoring of that population.
Abstract In the article the histological changes in the liver of the common toad, Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758), under conditions of moderate anthropogenic pollution (a vast park surrounded by urban areas) are examined. In the liver parenchyma, numerous changes characteristic of toxic damage were found: hepatocyte necrosis, fatty dystrophy, protein (and hydropic) dystrophy, signs of infl ammation. An analysis of the number of pigment inclusions in the liver shows hyperpigmentation in some specimens and hypopigmentation in others. The presence of hyperpigmentation indicates a moderate degree of damage and activation of compensation processes in animals. This is confirmed by a large population of common toads in this biotope. It is concluded that in anthropogenically modified biotopes some deterioration of animal health can be compensated by the absence of predators and the reduction of food competition.
Abstract The coastal marine ecosystems in Easter Island have been poorly studied, and the main studies were isolated species records based on scientific expeditions. The aim of the present study is to apply a spatial distribution analysis and niche sharing null model in published data on intertidal marine gastropods and decapods in rocky shore in Easter Island based in field works in 2010, and published information from CIMAR cruiser in 2004. The field data revealed the presence of decapods Planes minutus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Leptograpsus variegatus (Fabricius, 1793), whereas it was observed the gastropods Nodilittorina pyramidalis pascua Rosewater, 1970 and Nerita morio (G. B. Sowerby I., 1833). The available information revealed the presence of more species in data collected in 2004 in comparison to data collected in 2010, with one species markedly dominant in comparison to the other species. The spatial distribution of species reported in field works revealed that P. minutus and N. morio have aggregated pattern and negative binomial distribution, L. variegatus had uniform pattern with binomial distribution, and finally N. pyramidalis pascua, in spite of aggregated distribution pattern, had not negative binomial distribution. Finally, the results of null model revealed that the species reported did not share ecological niche due to competition absence. The results would agree with other similar information about littoral and sub-littoral fauna for Easter Island.
Abstract The research covers water area, island archipelagos and coastal line of the Antarctic Peninsula from 65°31ʹ S, 64°25ʹ W in the South to 65°03ʹ S, 63°53ʹ W in the North. There was time gap of 7 years between the researches (2011 and 2018), which allows to define tendencies in development of individual colonies and to make conclusion about success of existence of a given species. The work itself was carried out during the first half of January, that is in the time when the stage of brooding ends and the period of hatching starts. As of 2011, 12 nesting points of gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) with total number of 8,342 pairs were found in the region under investigation. Till 2018, quantity of the colony grew to 14, with total number of 14,105 pairs. For seven years, quantity of nesting points of aelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) almost did not change (4 colonies). Instead, total number of the species decreased somewhat: from 3559 pairsin 2011 to 3295 onesin 2018. Number of chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) in united stable locality for nesting also decreased from 26 pairsin 2011 to19 onesin 2018. Booth Island (65°04ʹ S, 64°02ʹ W) for chinstrap penguins and Green Island (65°19ʹ S, 64°09ʹ W) for gentoo penguins are the southern most points of nesting range of the species. Also, 7 colonies of antarctic shag (Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis) were revealed in the region under investigation. For seven years from 2011 to 2018 total number of the species in the region under investigation grew from 190 pairs to 299, and in most cases the antarctics shag forms settlements jointly with penguins.
Abstract The objective of this study is to evaluate the viability of larval nematodes of ungulates under the infl uence of 14 fl avourings and source materials approved for use in and on foods. Minimum LD50 for L3 Strongyloides papillosus (Wedl, 1856) were observed when using Cinnamaldehyde, α-Terpineol and Benzyl alcohol, for L1–2 S. papillosus under the infl uence of Benzyl alcohol, Cinnamaldehyde, L-Linalool and Benzyl acetate, for L3 Haemonchus contortus (Rudolphi, 1803) under the influence γ-Undecalactone and Cinnamaldehyde. Ethyl acetate, β-Ionone и D-Limonene had the lowest effect on all the studied stages of development of the nematodes: larvae did not die during 24 hours even at 1 % concentration of these substances. Further experiments with usage of mixtures of the substances studied in this article will contribute to the development of preparations with a stronger effect on larvae of nematode parasites of the digestive system of vertebrate animals.
Abstract Protandry, or the arrival of males prior to females to the breeding grounds is a widespread phenomenon in migratory birds though rarely examined in related species in which its manifestation can vary. European Stonechat and Whinchat are such a pair studied with use of individual marking in North-Eastern Ukraine in 1993–2008. An apparent protandry was found in Whinchat but not in European Stonechat. The difference between the arrival dates of male and female Whinchats (6 days) was significant. The mean time span between territory establishment by a male and subsequent pair formation was 10.6 days. By contrast, 38% of the first records of European Stonechats in spring were those of already paired birds and the difference between arrival dates of both sexes was non-significant. The proximate cause of protandry in Whinchat and its’ absence in European Stonechat seems to be the differences (or the lack thereof) in the onset of spring migration. The time lapse between the start of migration of male and female Whinchats originates at African wintering grounds and is maintained en route. The absence of the protandry in European Stonechat is probably a relict behaviour from the residency. The protandry in migratory populations of this species is yet to be developed.
