The flow of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the omega-3 family, namely, eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA), exported by amphibian metamorphs from water to terrestrial ecosystems in the Medveditsa River floodplain, was quantified for the first time. The total biomass export by three amphibian species (Pelobates fuscus, Bombina bombina, and Pelophylax ridibundus) per unit area of the lake surface was 0.594 g/m2 per year (as a mean for 2 years). The biomass flow per unit area of land was 0.726 g/ha per year (0.302 g/ha per year for organic carbon) in 2015–2016. The average annual total removal of EPA + DHA by amphibians from the floodplain lake was 1.47 mg/m2 of water surface area. Due to the high content of EPA and DHA in biomass, amphibians are potentially a valuable food for terrestrial predators having no access to other sources of essential PUFAs.

The present study describes detection of potential gaseous pollutants that can produce a toxic effect on plants and humans in the system with wheat plants cultivated on solutions containing liquid products of mineralization of human waste and fish waste. These gaseous pollutants do not inhibit plant growth and development under the experimental conditions, but they may accumulate in closed ecosystems functioning for extended periods of time. Ways to convert gaseous pollutants into environmentally friendly compounds have been proposed.

This study was performed to investigate water and gas exchange in the experimental model of a closed ecological system (CES) intended for an estimated portion of a human in the long-duration (several-month) experiment. The diversity of the vegetable conveyor in the system was increased. Human wastes were involved in mass exchange processes, and human respiratory function was periodically connected to the experimental model of a CES. The experimental model of a CES was used to quantify regeneration of the gaseous atmosphere with oxygen and carbon dioxide loops by linking the photosynthesizing compartment with the heterotrophic compartment (soil-like substrate) and by the periodic connection of the human respiratory function. Under the preset light and temperature conditions, atmospheric CO2 concentration in the CES model intended for a portion of a human was maintained at a level that neither limited photosynthetic processes nor was harmful to humans (800-2000 ppm) during the 154-day experiment. At the same time, O-2 concentration did not either drop below 20.8% or rise above 22.6%. The amount of the evapotranspiration water collected in the system could satisfy 50% of the daily water requirement of a human (with all the water used and excreted by the human being processed and used to irrigate plants). The evapotranspiration water did not need to be additionally purified before being used by humans. Thus, in the experimental model of the closed ecological system, human oxygen and food requirements (per 0.05 portion of a human) were matched to the function of the heterotrophic compartment and the photosynthesizing activity of the multispecies uneven-aged higher plant community.

For the first time in the Middle Ob Basin, new data of importance for evaluating the quality of swamp and river water were obtained, characterizing the microcomponent composition of extractive organic compounds. More than 150 compounds of natural genesis were identified. The water of oligotrophic and mesotrophic bogs shows widest diversity and maximal, almost equal masses of extractable organic substances, averaging 13357 ng/L. In the water of eutrophic bogs and taiga rivers, this characteristic is five times lower; and that in lakes is lower by more than an order of magnitude. The amount of extractive trace components is closely correlated with the concentration of water-soluble carbon of humic nature. It was established that the natural water of taiga zone identical in terms of the fulvate type differs in the composition of organic trace components and can be grouped into four clusters: (a) water of oligotrophic bogs, (b) water of mesotrophic bogs, (c) river water, and (d) water of eutrophic bogs and bog lakes.

The study of the composition of fatty acid markers of tadpoles of cohabiting amphibian species for the first time revealed differences in their diets: the moor frog Rana arvalis prefers bacteria not associated with plant detritus, whereas the diet of the common spadefoot Pelobates fuscus is based on cyanobacteria, green algae, diatoms, and possibly higher plants. Major differences in the fatty acid composition are determined by the difference in the percentage of eicosapentaenoic and myristic acids.

The study addresses the effectiveness of using ion exchange substrates (IES) to optimize mineral nutrition of plants grown in the nutrient solutions containing oxidized human wastes for application in bio-technical life support systems. The study shows that the addition of IES to the root-inhabited substrate is favorable for the growth of wheat vegetative organs but causes a decrease in the grain yield. By contrast, the addition of IES to the nutrient solution does not influence the growth of vegetative organs but favors normal development of wheat reproductive organs. Thus, to choose the proper method of adjusting the solution with IES, one should take into account specific parameters of plant growth and development and the possibility of multiple recycling of IES based on the liquid products of mineralization of human wastes.

Methods of physicochemical further oxidation of hardly soluble sediment obtained from "wet combustion" of human exometabolites applied to space-purpose Bio Technological Life Support Systems (BTLLS) were studied. Most hardly dissoluble sediment containing Ca, P, Mg, and other essential plant nutrition elements were shown to dissolve in H2O2 and HNO3 aqueous media activated by alternating electric current. Dissolved additional mineral elements allowed (as demonstrated for lettuce) to increase the productivity of BTLLS phototrophic unit plants more than twice, which is comparable to their productivity on standard Knop solution with balanced chemical composition. Thus, dissolved mineral elements can be involved into BTLLS turnover process and increase its closure degree.

Experiments with macromycetes Pleurotus ostreatus, Neonothopanus nambi , and Agaricus bisporus demonstrated for the first time that live mycelium of mushrooms, cultivated on a liquid culture medium, can efficiently take up dissolved 241 Am in its biomass. Biochemical fractionation of the mycelium biomass demonstrated for the first time that the major fraction (up to 90%) of 241 Am accumulated in the mycelium is bonded to structural polysaccharides of the cell walls. The sorption capacity of cell wall polysaccharides for 241 Am is 2.7–3.6 times higher than that of the initial mycelium biomass, and the activity concentration of 241 Am in the polysaccharides reached 950 Bq g –1 dry weight.

Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), namely eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA), which are essential for many animals, including humans, are mainly produced in aquatic trophic webs. In fast-flowing rivers, macrozoobenthos is the main source of HUFA for fish and may be particularly vulnerable to thermal alterations associated with climate change. We studied benthic communities in a unique natural ecosystem: the Yenisei River downstream of the dam of Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station with very low temperature in summer because of discharge of cold water from deep in the reservoir and its tributaries with high summer temperature. This natural experiment' allowed to get rid of confounding factors, such as differences in light, seasonality, geology (biogeochemistry) and biogeography (regional species pools). As found, in spite of an increase of biodiversity and rates of daily production in warm rivers compared with cold sites, DHA and partly EPA production of zoobenthos decreased with the increase of temperature because of changes in species composition. Thus, in a climate warming context, we can predict a decrease of production of these HUFA by river zoobenthos and thereby a diminishing of their supply for fish and next to humans. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the course of monthly sampling in 2008–2010, two regions of the littoral of the Yenisei river were compared. One of these regions (conventionally pure) was situated upstream of Krasnoyarsk, while the other (conventionally polluted) was downstream of Krasnoyarsk. The concentrations of heavy metals, oil products, phenols, biogenic elements and essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in various components of the river ecosystem were determined. It was discovered that the anthropogenic pollution causes a decrease in the resources of essential PUFA in the biomass of the upper links of the food chain of the river ecosystem.

The data set obtained in 19 experiments aimed at studying the growth of Daphnia of the longispina group on natural seston of the Bugach water reservoir (Krasnoyarsk) was used to analyze the relationship between the parameters of somatic and generative growth of the studied animals and the amount and quality of food. Depending on the quality of the seston, two models of the development of Daphnia were proposed. It was demonstrated that, despite the existing positive correlation between somatic and generative growth, a noticeable fraction of the variations of the specific rate of generative production is determined by external factors of the environment, such as the relative content of N and α-linolenic acid (N: C and ALA: C) in seston.

The biodegradable polymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) has been used to design experimental sustained-release formulations of the herbicide Zellek Super in the form of films and microgranules. The kinetics of polymer degradation and the dynamics of herbicide release show that the rate and extent of herbicide release from the polymer matrix into the soil depends on the geometry of the carrier and the proportion of the pesticide loaded into it (polymer/pesticide mass ratio). Experiments with the creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) show that the formulations of the herbicide Zellek Super constructed as microgranules and films can be successfully used to suppress the growth of grasses. This study is the first to demonstrate that biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates can be used effectively to construct environmentally friendly sustained-release PHA-herbicide systems that can be placed into the soil together with seeds.