The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of anthropogenic impact on the carbon balance, condition, and sustainability of pasture ecosystems. The study was conducted on the following sites: a reference site, a moderate grazing site and an intensive grazing site in the Makazhoyskaya depression of the Chechen Republic in the period 2022–2025, located at different altitudes. The carbon stock in the soil was monitored using the dry combustion method and a TOC analyser. The degree of influence of anthropogenic factors on the carbon balance was determined by processing data based on key soil indicators, net primary production, carbon dioxide flux and carbon emission during the growing season, as well as carbon input, loss and balance at all monitoring sites. The study also processed data on organic carbon reserves at soil depths of 0–10 cm and 0–30 cm, as well as changes in the net ecosystem balance, taking into account the input of manure. According to the results of the study, it was found that the importance of anthropogenic factors is increased in the case of soil compaction under the influence of intensive pasture load, especially at a depth of 0–5 cm. Pasture load affects the carbon balance, which indicates the feasibility of a rotational regime and moderate grazing, which could positively affect the sustainability of pastures and the positive value of the net carbon balance in the territory.
Aim: To estimate the abundance of the water deer ( Hydropotes inermis ) in the extreme south of Khasansky District, Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the area between the Lebedinka and Tumannaya rivers. Water deer individuals were counted visually along transects during route surveys in July–August 2023–2025. The significance of differences in animal encounter rates between different samples was assessed using the Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon test with a significance threshold of 𝑝 0.05. Rapid visual identification algorithms for ungulate species were developed and tested. During 2023–2025, a total of 22 survey passes were completed, covering a total length of 318.2 km and a transect area of 6,364 ha. The overall population density of water deer was estimated at 9.4 individuals per 1,000 ha. Given the ongoing increase in H. inermis numbers, in the coming years the species’ range boundary is expected to shift northeastwards up to the lower reaches of the Razdolnaya River, along the valley of which it will likely spread relatively quickly into the Prikhansky Lowland. The dispersal of H. inermis throughout the southern part of Primorsky Krai may significantly alter the traditional structure of ungulate populations and expand the diets of large predators, necessitating increased attention to the biological security of the region.
The study of the fish helminth fauna of the Debed Rive rand the detection of fish infection by helminths. The material was collected in 2023. A total of 92 individuals of 4 fish species from the Debed River were examined. Helminthological examination of fish, collection and cameral processing of helminths were carried out according to generally accepted methods. Statistical processing of the results was carried out using the "vassarstats.net" online software. The work was performed at the Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydroecology, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia. Six species of helminths were detected in the examined fish examined from the Debed River, including 1 species of trematodes, 2 species of cestodes, 2 species of nematodes and 1 species of acanthocephalans. The total infection of fish by helminths was 51 %. Quantitative characteristics of fish infection by helminths have been determined. A higher infection of fish was observed by metacercariae of the trematode Diplostomum sp. (40.9 %), cestode Schyzocotyle acheilognathi (25.0 %) and plerocercoids of cestode Ligula intestinalis (15.0 %). Metacercariae of the trematode Diplostomum sp. were found in the lenses of all fish species. A greater number of the helminth species discovered in khramicarp. A brief information on fish infection by detected helminths is given. The helminth fauna of fish in the Debed River is characterised by poor species diversity. The formation of the species composition of fish helminths and changes in the infection of fish by helminths depend on the degree and nature of the complex impact of various environmental factors in the study area, both natural and anthropogenic. The most pathogenic species of helminths for fish were identified. They are the causative agents of ligulosis and diplostomosis, causing significant harm to the fish and often leading to their death.
A comprehensive study of the impact of a sedentary and physically active lifestyle on the morphofunctional parameters of the cardiorespiratory system, linear and weight growth, body composition and metabolic activity in adolescents. The study involved 326 schoolchildren aged 14–16 years. The following methods were used: haematological (determining the content of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, leukocytes, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the blood), anthropometric (measuring height and weight, calculating the Quetelet index), biophysical (bioimpedancemetry), and physiological (tonometry, pulse measurement, spirometry, pneumotachometry, calculation of the deviation of basal metabolic rate from the norm and functional tests (Stange, Rosenthal and Votchal tests). It has been shown that the morphofunctional parameters studied of the body in most students with different physical activity levels correspond to the physiological age‐related norm. However, a negative impact of reduced physical activity on the functions of the respiratory and circulatory systems, somatometric indicators and basal metabolic rate has been identified. The obtained results obtained expand the understanding of morphofunctional changes in the bodies of schoolchildren with a sedentary lifestyle and also substantiate the importance of regular physical activity during adolescence for preventing the development of pathophysiological conditions at subsequent stages of ontogenesis.
A prototype of a multiplex digital PCR (dPCR) test system was developed and analytically validated for absolute quantification of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) proviral load with normalization to the cellular DRA gene. The study was conducted on a sample of 90 cattle from farms in Novosibirsk Oblast and the Republic of Dagestan with established virus genotypes (G4 or G7) and aged 3 months to 12 years. For quantitative assessment of proviral DNA, multiplex dPCR with the EcoRI r estriction enzyme was used on the QIAcuity platform (Qiagen, Germany). Analytical sensitivity was assessed in accordance with the CLSI EP17‐A2 protocol, determining the limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), and limit of quantification (LoQ). The developed dPCR system provides separate detection of the BLV pol gene (FAM channel) and the cellular DRA gene (HEX channel). Analytical characteristics were established: LoB – 5 positive droplets, LoD – 1.3–1.5 copies/well (95%), LoQ – 10 copies/well (CV = 15.2%). A 7.1‐fold higher median proviral load (PVL) was shown in animals with genotype G4 (324,295 copies/10^6 cells) compared to G7 (45,420 copies/10^6 cells). A trend of increasing PVL with animal age was revealed: from 95,872 (G4) and 48,786 (G7) in the 1–3‐year age group to 363,837 (G4) in the 9–10‐year group. The developed prototype of the dPCR test system provides sensitive and quantitatively reproducible determination of BLV proviral load, which allows more accurate identification of high epizootic risk groups and monitoring of infection dynamics at the herd level. For the first time, quantitative differences in PVL between G4 and G7 BLV genotypes were documented.
