Northeast Asia is a vast region encompassing diverse natural and climatic zones, from arctic tundra to taiga, with much of it located within permafrost. This study of the regional diatom communities helped identify a number of important patterns and assess processes associated with past global climate change, as well as current climate trends and anthropogenic impacts. Protected Areas serve as natural laboratories for studying the response of biota to geographic and climatic conditions. Diatoms have long been recognised by experts as reliable bioindicators of the environment. However, such research in the regional Protected Areas remains insufficient. The main goal of our study was to assess the resilience of diatom communities across a broad gradient of geographical and climatic factors in Northeast Asia, using Protected Areas with the best-studied diatom floras as an example. Our studies were conducted in the Olyokma State Nature Reserve (Russia) as a model area in 2011 and 2024. Using scanning electron microscopy, we have increased the diatom species list of the Olyokma State Nature Reserve by 269 species. At most stations within the Olyokma State Nature Reserve, genera such as Pinnularia, Eunotia, and Gomphonema predominate in terms of the number of taxa; representatives of these three genera clearly play a key role in the studied flora. The intraspecific variability index Subspecies/Species for the water bodies of the Olyokma State Nature Reserve ranged from 1.00 to 1.06. Overall, 66% of diatom species in Olyokma State Nature Reserve are classified in one or more threat categories by IUCN; five diatom species are in the «Critically Endangered» category. Bioindication and statistical methods showed that the waters of the Olyokma State Nature Reserve correspond to natural water properties. Indicator characteristics demonstrate a significant response of diatom species composition to changes in salinity and pH. For a comparative analysis of our results, we selected 11 most well-studied diatom floras in Protected Areas of Northeast Asia using the Willis criteria. Comparative analysis revealed an increase in the number of taxa in coastal areas, which may be related to the ecotone effect occurring at the interface between continental and marine habitats. In Protected Areas without permafrost, with a milder climate and a longer open-water period, increased intraspecific variability and a specific number of species per unit area were observed. Patterns in the spatial distribution of diatoms were identified in 12 Protected Areas. Geography and the associated permafrost-climate interface play a significant role in shaping diatom communities in Protected Areas. The study is important for developing a framework for monitoring biodiversity in Protected Areas and climate change in the region.
We present here the first update on the distribution of the genus Ocydromia in Morocco since its initial record more than a century ago, based on Ocydromia glabricula. The data, based on surveys conducted over more than two decades across Morocco, confirm that Ocydromia glabricula remains the sole representative of its genus in Morocco. Among the hundreds of surveyed sites in different regions of Morocco, including both protected and non-protected areas, Ocydromia glabricula was encountered exclusively in certain Protected Areas in the Moroccan Rif. For the first time, the COI barcodes of the species from North Africa have been presented, with some elucidation into the genetic relationships among specimens. Some new insights into the ecology of Ocydromia glabricula are provided as well.
Research on protected animal species, including invertebrates, is essential for developing effective conservation measures, preventing extinction, and addressing practical challenges such as habitat protection and the development of environmentally sound land-use technologies, which minimise the influence on the habitats of threatened species and promote sustainable ecosystem development. In 2025, a population of Carabus bessarabicus, a protected Carabidae species not recorded in the Krasnodarsky Krai (Russia) since the mid-1950s, was discovered in the eastern part of the region. This population is characterised by a relatively high density and high isolation from previously known localities of Carabus bessarabicus. Based on the research findings, it is proposed to re-assess the extinction risk of the species' population in the Krasnodarsky Krai from CR A4ab; B2ab(i) to VU A2c+3c; B1ab(ii, iii). Furthermore, it is recommended to update its regional Red Data Book Category from 1 (critically endangered) to the following category, status, and conservation priority: declining in population size and/or distribution, Vulnerable, Priority II for conservation measures.
The results of long-term studies of the population dynamics of co-living species of red-backed voles (Clethrionomys glareolus, C. rutilus) in the foothill area of the Pechora-Ilych State Nature Reserve (Russia) under conditions of the green-moss spruce forest have been obtained. It was revealed that a change in dominance occurred in the red-backed vole community of this habitat over three decades (1995–2024). Clethrionomys rutilus, which had been the dominant species in terms of population for a long time, «gave way» in 2012 to its dominant status to the species Clethrionomys glareolus, the abundance of which increased sharply in 2013. Over the five-year period (2014–2018), the abundance of two species was equalised in the red-backed vole community. Subsequently, after the next observed short period of dominance of Clethrionomys glareolus (2019–2021), in 2022 Clethrionomys rutilus became again the dominant species. The discovered re-distribution of the dominance of both species in the green-moss spruce forest in the foothill region of the Pechora-Ilych State Nature Reserve was associated with changes under the microenvironmental conditions of the habitats. During the period of population growth of Clethrionomys glareolus, a statistically significant increase in the area covered by herb vegetation and a decrease in the area covered by moss was revealed, which is the result of the indirect influence of climatic factors.
Solitary carnivores rely strongly on scent marking to communicate, and can be attracted or repelled by the scents of conspecifics or heterospecifics. We aimed to understand the effects of intra- and interspecific olfactory interactions on Panthera pardus (hereinafter – leopard), and to test whether heterospecific scents could be manipulated as a tool to deter leopards. We monitored leopard scent-marking activity in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa, by camera-trapping 43 marking sites (1450 trap nights) over a 61-day period in the 2021 dry season, of which a 38-day experimental phase used 27 sites. We addressed three objectives: (1) characterising the intraspecific communicative functions of marking; (2) evaluating the influence of dominant-competitor scents on leopard behaviour; and (3) assessing the potential of these scents as a deterrent. To simulate the presence of Panthera leo (hereinafter – lion) and Crocuta crocuta (hereinafter – spotted hyena), we added freshly collected scats to treatment sites and compared leopard visit interval, stay duration, and behaviour duration with control sites (no scats) using generalised linear mixed-effects models (GLMEMs). At the intraspecific level, 40% of consecutive visits to marking sites involved leopards of different sexes. Contrary to our prediction of male-dominated marking, females scent marked significantly more than males, suggesting that leopard scent marks serve both mating and territorial-advertisement functions. Contrary to our prediction of avoidance, leopard visit frequency was unchanged at sites with lion scats, although stay duration was significantly longer, suggesting a more complex olfactory response than simple avoidance. Our results support the prediction that leopards use scent-marking sites to gather information about neighbouring conspecifics and lions and to signal their own presence. We did not find strong evidence that lion or spotted hyena scats can deter leopards or be used as a wildlife-management tool. These findings highlight the role of olfactory communication in territorial behaviour and both its potential and its limitations for conservation.
