Tree-ring chronologies based on the width of the annual ring of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were studied at 8 test sites in island forests in the north of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Turgai trough to the eastern part of the Kazakh small hills. An analysis of the relationships between the radial growth of pine and climate showed that the climate signal in chronologies can change depending on geomorphological conditions determined by the edaphic factor, relief and absolute elevations. These features must be taken into account when using tree-ring chronologies for spatiotemporal climate reconstructions.
Data on the variability of transfer aggregated factors (Tag) of 90Sr in different species of woody plants growing in the zone of influence of the Mayak Production Association are summarized. The radioecological situation in this territory is determined mainly by two events: the dumping of radioactive waste into the river. Techu, 1949−1951 and the Kyshtym accident, 1957. The main reasons for the variability of Tag, including species characteristics of plants, different soil moisture regimes and the level of their 90Sr contamination, were analyzed. The dependence of the Tag of this radionuclide in trees on the density of soil contamination is described by a power function. In buffer areas and background areas, Tag 90Sr corresponds to the ranges of variability of the indicator established by the IAEA, and in more contaminated impact areas, the accumulative capacity of trees, as a rule, decreases.
The article presents the main events in the history of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2024. The main attention is paid to the changes in the research topics. In the 40’s and 50’s it was closely associated with the tasks assigned to the institute in relation to the requirements of the post-war national economy. Since 1955, in connection with the direction of the Institute by S.S. Schwartz and the renewal of the staff, a period of reorganisation of the subjects began, which led to the transformation of the Institute of Biology into the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology. In the same year, research into radiobiology and population studies began. A new period of history began after V.N. Bolshakov became the director of the Institute in 1976. Several branches of the Institute were established, the number of staff increased and the scope of research broadened. Recent decades have been characterised by the mass arrival of young staff, the organisation of new laboratories and the increase in the number of publications in the most prestigious international journals.
An assessment of the primary sex ratio in the local pied flycatcher population in South Karelia (Russia) is given and its variations in broods depending on breeding characteristics and characteristics of the parents are analyzed. The proportion of males in 30 clutches examined in 2012 did not differ from the proportion of females and amounted to 50.8% of the total number of eggs laid (n = 199), although it varied from 14.3% to 85.7% in individual nests. A weak positive correlation between the proportion of males in the brood and the timing of breeding and the ornamentation of the feathers that form the white spot on the male’s wing (the first tertiary and the 5–6th upper greater coverts of the secondary feathers), and a negative correlation with the length of the wing and the third primary feather of the female were shown. Analysis using generalized linear models showed a significant relationship of primary sex ratio in the brood only with the length of the female’s third primary feather. Possible mechanisms of changes in the sex ratio in broods are discussed.
The body condition of pied flycatchers breeding near the Middle Ural copper smelter (MUCS) and in the background area was analyzed in 1996–2023, a period of significant reduction in industrial emissions. The body condition index (BCI) of females was not related to the level of environmental pollution. The lower BCI of males near the MUCS compared to the background area was probably due to the forcing the low-quality individuals into transformed habitats. The BCI of yearlings was less than that of older birds, especially in females incubating early and late clutches. The BCI of incubating females increased with increasing clutch size and breeding density. The BCI decreased with increasing date of breeding (females only), air temperature at the chick feeding stage, and brood size (both females and males).
