Climatic changes are manifested through temporal shifts of seasonal events in environment, which may be critical for planktonic organisms. Temporal shift of seasonal warming curve in high latitudes affects phenology of aquatic organisms. Significant correlation between timing of phenological events in the life cycles of planktonic copepods and spring-summer temperature transition dates was revealed by canonical correlation analysis. We analyzed the long-term zooplankton and temperature time series (1961–2018) from the White Sea (66°19'50"N; 33°40'06"E, near the White Sea Biological Station of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences). Two types of seasonal abundance dynamics of copepod juveniles and four types of the spring to summer transition were revealed. Each species demonstrated specific dynamics in response to each type of spring to summer transition. Species with similar ecological traits differed in their phenological response to the changes in the temperature dynamics. This phenomenon was explained, at least partly, by niche partitioning, when temporal niches of ecologically similar species were separated as a result of shifting the phenological events in time. The latter, in turn, was the result of organisms’ response to changes of spring to summer transition dynamics from year to year. We hypothesize that such separation may be one of the solutions of the “Paradox of the plankton”, favouring success of species-rich planktonic communities in high-latitude ecosystems, characterized by relative paucity of food resources and short productive season.

Nowadays, plastic pollution attracts much attention both from society and scientists. The plastic pollution impact on the environment and human health requires assessment urgently, especially through experimental studies. However, such studies are still scarce because of the lack of standard methods for assessing their effects on living organisms. We have developed a process for manufacturing and staining PVC microparticles for using them in biological and ecological experiments. The electrospinning method has been used to manufacture PVC particles; their morphology and size have been analyzed. The obtained PVC particles are of narrow size range averaging 2–4 µm in diameter. They are successfully stained with the fluorescent dye Rhodamine B, which stands for the experiments performed in the seawater.

The process of climate change by which global temperatures increase and seasonal shifts occur is more pronounced at higher latitudes. These changes induce shifts in the phenology of biota, including zooplankton. Regression analysis revealed significant advance of the spring–summer water warming in the sub-Arctic White Sea (Chupa Inlet, Kandalaksha Bay), which occurs 3 weeks earlier in the last decade compared with 1961. The shift of timing of phenological events of Calanus glacialis, Pseudocalanus spp., Microsetella norvegica, Oithona similis, Acartia spp., Centropages hamatus, and Temora longicornis is particularly pronounced. These shifts were accompanied by a significant increase in Calanus and Microsetella abundance with an observed decrease in Acartia abundance. No correlation between population abundance and year-to-year changes in the species phenology was determined. We propose hypotheses to explain species adaptation to these phenological shifts in the ecosystem: (1) flexibility of life cycle of planktonic copepods, which ensures synchronization of life cycle phases with key events in the environment; and (2) copepod ability to switch to carnivory when algal sources are scarce. Interspecific interactions between ubiquitous species influenced their phenology and abundance, while early development of Microsetella caused later development of Oithona and higher abundance of the latter. We speculate that competition for food resources is a driving factor in the interactions, since the trophic niches of these species overlap.

Polymeric packaging materials are one of the factors of environmental pollution. Reducing the environmental burden is possible by increasing the environmental friendliness of packaging materials. In this work, we study polymer films based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate with 3-hydroxyhexanoate P (3-GB) (3-GG) with different component ratios. The process of processing blends in the process of obtaining a packaging film is considered. The optical characteristics of the obtained films are determined. Thermal analysis of the obtained films was carried out using the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), TGA, and thermomechanical analysis (TMA) methods. The degree of gelling of the resulting mixture was determined. It is shown that PHB has miscibility with PVC.

Detection of breast cancer has particular importance for the diagnosis of cancer diseases. This is the most common type of cancer among women. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor of the glandular tissue of the breast. It is proposed to use infrared spectroscopy of blood serum as a simple and quick way to detect breast cancer. The paper presents the results of research using the methods of multivariate processing of IR spectra of human blood serum obtained by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The paper presents the results of research using the methods of multivariate processing of IR spectra of human blood serum obtained by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. A sufficiently large sample of patients and healthy donors was diagnosed. Blood samples are examined from 66 patients who are clinically diagnosed with breast cancer and 80 healthy volunteers. A feature of the applied approach was a combination of the method of principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component regression (PCR) for processing the IR spectra of blood serum. The PCA method allows us to determine the spectral bands referring for the intensity differences between the control group and the patient group. Shown, that the range of 1306-1250cm(-1) in the IR spectrum of blood serum is diagnostically significant for breast cancer. This range corresponds to the vibrations of several functional groups of DNA and RNA, which play a key role in discrimination in breast cancer screening using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. It is shown that the proposed method has advantages in ease of use for clinical diagnosis and gives good results for the identification of breast cancer. The values of sensitivity (92.3%) and specificity (87.1%) obtained using the PCR method are close to those of mammography and ultrasound. This indicates the possibility of using this method in real clinical laboratory diagnostics.

In the White Sea, planktonic copepods Calanus glacialis, Pseudocalanus spp., Triconia borealis, and Metridia longa are usually not considered as tolerant to the water salinity decrease, and Oithona similis is generally attributed to the euryhaline species. However, the life cycle of the first two genera includes active feeding during the spring ice melting, when a large part of their food sources are concentrated in the upper water layer characterized by salinity less than 18‰. M. longa and T. borealis are considered to be deep-dwelling species. The first one reproduces in autumn and thus relies on the spring phytoplankton bloom the least, the second spawns in spring in deep water layers; however, they are both found in the productive (photic) layer during this season. In order to study if these copepods can use food-rich freshened water layers to get enough energy for growth and reproduction, a series of experiments were performed in July 2019 and March 2020, including chronic and acute ones. The copepod mortality was analyzed at 25‰ or 26‰ (control), 18‰ and 15‰ (experiment). Surprisingly, C. glacialis and Pseudocalanus spp. stood the salinity decrease with minor mortality rates ranging from 0 up to 1.1 ± 0.2% in short-term 24-h experiments. The mortality rate in these species was the highest after five days of gradual water freshening down to 15‰ (12.1 ± 1.8%), while the mortality rate was half as much in control vials at 25/26‰ and at 18‰ (6.4 ± 0.5% and 6.9 ± 0.6%, respectively). T. borealis was the most stenohaline species, exhibiting the 100% mortality rate already at 18‰ after 2 hours of exposure. M. longa did not tolerate the salinity stress at 15‰, reaching 100% mortality in 24 h. O. similis tolerated the salinity decrease well and thus exhibited euryhaline features as reported for this species in different areas of its range.

The Russian fishery for invertebrate hydrobionts in the Barents Sea includes the list of a dozen species of crustaceans, mollusks, and echinoderms. This type of fishery is characterized by great diversity in relation to the status of exploited stocks, catch size, and economic efficiency of the fishery. The list of up-to-date problems of this industry is long and includes biological, scientific, commercial, socio-economical, and market issues. Among the main problems of the Russian invertebrate fishery in the Barents Sea, overfishing, underutilization of a number of stocks, and significant emissions from fishing waste are considered. The causes of these problems, possible solutions and the priorities of such a solution are analyzed.

This article is devoted to the study of the medical institutions' influence on the modification of the plot about the Eve's sin in the second half of the XIXth century. In 1896, the inventor of the graphic pun, Henri Avelot, created the caricature "Four arts", singling out "serpentinisme" among artistic trends (such as symbolism). Using this neologism, the cartoonist criticized contemporary art of his time that borrowed physical manifestations of pathologies (for example, hysteria) to create "innovative" art concepts and works. Analyzing major masters' artworks of this period with "serpentine" movements, it can be traced how the development of the health cult and the strengthening of the disciplinary power of hospitals started the process of aestheticizing diseases. As a result, three new iconographic types appeared in French culture: the snake woman; the "Eve’s daughter"; the woman and the "phallic serpent", in which the serpent appears as an allegorical embodiment of a doctor. The snake woman image became an aesthetic ideal that permeated all aspects of culture, which was expressed in the neologism "serpentinisme", which ironically brought this trend closer to the artistic direction.

Acrylic derivative-based superabsorbents are widely used currently in agriculture as the soil conditioners, plant growth regulators, etc. Their usage has a positive effect on the growth and survival of the plants cultivated in the arid regions. However, the effects of hydrophilic acrylic polymers on the soil microbiocenosis still remain unknown. The influence of the moistureabsorbing acrylic acid-based hydrogels with different proportions of bentonite filler was studied on the soil microbiota. N,N-methylenebisacrylamide was used as a crosslinking agent. Acrylic hydrogels were synthesized by radical polymerization in an aqueous medium at a synthesis temperature of 45 °C during 4 hours. The application of hydrogel of the certain concentrations (1.0, 1.5, and 2.5% wt) into the soil did not cause significant changes in the total abundance of heterotrophic bacteria and the length of the fungal mycelium. The CO2 emission rates did not change after and during the application of the hydrogel), which indicated the same level of carbon mineralization in the soil with presence of acrylic bentonite-containing hydrogels. The nitrogen fixation rate decreased on the first day after hydrogel application; after 14 days, it was close to the control values. We assume the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria has though turned to the normal level.

Проведено экспериментальное исследование по изучению накопления тяжелых металлов (Fe, Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd, As) в трофической цепи планктонных организмов Белого моря. Зоопланктонные организмы, отобранные в фоновом районе, питались в течение фиксированного времени сестоном с различным содержанием металлов. Сестон, отобранный на ст. Чупа был обогащен Fe, Cu, Pb, Cr, Co, As и Ni относительно сестона, собранного на ст. Картеш, считающейся фоновой в данном исследовании. Разница в концентрации взвеси и содержании элементов-индикаторов глинистого и обломочного материала (Al, Ti, Zr) говорит о естественном повышенном фоне в содержании этих элементов в сестоне на ст. Чупа за счет увеличенной доли минеральной компоненты сестона. Зоопланктон, питающийся пищей (сестоном) с повышенным содержанием металлов, накопил в ходе эксперимента Fe, Mn и Cr, и в меньшей степени – Ni, Co, Pb, Cu, т.е. именно те элементы, которыми был обогащен сестон. Несмотря на отсутствие достоверных различий в содержании Mn в двух группах сестона, его явное накопление зоопланктоном и пониженное содержания в фекальных петтелах показывает наиболее высокую усваиваемость Mn зоопланктоном, что может быть связанно с биодоступностью Mn в источнике. При сопоставлении содержания тяжелых металлов с сестоном, фекальные пеллеты зоопланктона обеднены основными элементами, и их содержание в пеллетах составляет (в % от содержания в сестоне): Zn – 72%; Mn – 24; Cu – 97; Pb – 62; Cr – 99; Co – 78; Ni – 87; As – 96; Cd – 65%.

РЕШЕНИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ НЕОБХОДИМЫХ ДАННЫХ ДЛЯ ЧИСЛЕННОГО МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЯ ПРОЦЕССОВ В БЕЛОМ МОРЕ В ИНТЕРЕСАХ РАЗВИТИЯ АРКТИЧЕСКОЙ ЗОНЫ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

The Russian Arctic National Park is a marine Protected Area playing a significant role in conservation of rare and protected endemic species of the Arctic fauna and flora, included in the IUCN Red List and/or in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation. The Russian Arctic National Park is considered to be: (1) the major ground for the reproduction of the Atlantic walrus stock inhabiting the north-eastern Kara-Barents Sea Region; (2) the key area maintaining the globally threatened Svalbard population of the bowhead whale; (3) the principal denning grounds of the Barents Sea sub-population of the polar bear in Russia; (4) important summer feeding grounds of the beluga whale; (5) the key breeding ground of the ivory gull in the European Arctic; (6) the only proved breeding grounds of the light-bellied brent goose in Russia. The major efforts in studying rare species in the Russian Arctic National Park are aimed at the monitoring and research on the ivory gull, Atlantic walrus and the polar bear. These studies are performed both by the scientists and staff of the National Park and by specialists working in other scientific institutes. The data on the other species are obtained occasionally. Here, we state the major threat for the rare marine species and define the activities of high priority for further conservation, monitoring and research.

The Green JASMINE complex is designed to produce consistent data on the thermo-hydrodynamical and biogeochemical parameters of the White Sea, as well as to assess the matter fluxes within the sea and in the areas adjacent to the Barents Sea. The JASMINE model serves as the Hydrodynamical block and is based on the finite element model of the Arctic Ocean (FEMAO). It is coupled with the biogeochemical block, which is the BFM model maintained and developed by the BFM Consortium. BFM uses the stoichiometric approach for description of the state of ecosystem: variables are concentrations of elements or substances in different functional groups, e. g., diatoms, large phytoplankton,cyanobacteria, pelagic bacteria, heterotrophic flagellates, dissolved organic or inorganic matter, including oxygen and hydrogen sulfide, etc. The total number of variables is about 50: cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicium are described, as well as production of chlorophyll-a by autotrophic plankton. Thermodynamical fields have been shown to be well reproduced by the model. The behaviour of chlorophyll and primary production also corresponds to the real pattern. The developed software complex Green JASMINE allows solving important problems concerning ecological systems of the White Sea. It is able to simulate the distribution of water temperature and salinity, ice cover, and ecological tracers depending on climate change scenarios. There is a functioning passive tracer advection block which can be useful for simulating ecological disasters. The complex is flexible and can be easily extended.

Cryophilic algae thrive in liquid water within snow and ice in alpine and polar regions worldwide. Blooms of these algae lower albedo (reflection of sunlight), thereby altering melting patterns (Kohshima, Seko & Yoshimura, 1993; Lutz et al., 2014; Thomas & Duval, 1995). Here metagenomic DNA analysis and satellite imaging were used to investigate red snow in Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic. Franz Josef Land red snow metagenomes confirmed that the communities are composed of the autotroph Chlamydomonas nivalis that is supporting a complex viral and heterotrophic bacterial community. Comparisons with white snow communities from other sites suggest that white snow and ice are initially colonized by fungal-dominated communities and then succeeded by the more complex C. nivalis-heterotroph red snow. Satellite image analysis showed that red snow covers up to 80% of the surface of snow and ice fields in Franz Josef Land and globally. Together these results show that C. nivalis supports a local food web that is on the rise as temperatures warm, with potential widespread impacts on alpine and polar environments worldwide.

Climate-driven changes in the phenology and composition of plankton affect ecosystem structure and function, but knowledge about such changes is limited by the scarcity of high-quality, high-resolution, long-term monitoring data. Using a high-resolution observation series from the White Sea, spanning > 50 yr, we explored how water temperature and salinity influenced 2 key copepod species, Calanus glacialis and Pseudocalanus minutus. The results of the analysis depended critically on the temporal and life-stage resolution of the analysis. Copepod biomass was negatively correlated with salinity, but not correlated with temperature, when using annually aggregated data. However, salinity showed very small effects at a monthly resolution, failing to support a causal effect of salinity. On the other hand, temperature did show effects: in warm years, the biomass of C. glacialis increased earlier in spring and declined earlier in autumn. Analysis of stage-resolved data revealed a new level of complexity. The increase of biomass in spring at warmer temperatures mainly consisted of young life stages, whereas the decrease in autumn was mainly caused by reductions in older life stages. Temperature affected the phenology of several life stages of P. minutus, but not its total biomass, implying that climate effects on different life stages cancelled each other out. We argue that such climate-driven fluctuations in zooplankton phenology and age structure are likely to influence the role of the zooplankton as predators, competitors and prey, but that these effects of climate could remain unnoticed when using the coarser resolution of many sampling programs.

We hypothesize that shifts in the annual pattern of the environmental parameters may affect the phenology of the zooplankton especially in temperate and polar areas. Five species (cold-water: Calanus glacialis, warm-water: Centropages hamatus, Temora longicornis, Acartia longiremis, and Evadne nordmanni) were tested with regard to the annual pattern of the water temperature using the dataset of 50-year-long monitoring in the White Sea (1961–2010). The hydrological summer duration increased by 20 days during the last 50 years, as it has been tracked by an earlier warming up of 0–10-m water layer in spring. Calanus glacialis responded to these changes by the appearance of CI copepodites earlier in the season. We suggest that the earlier start and longer period of ice melt may cause a longer phytoplankton bloom and thus may promote better trophic conditions during the period of Calanus reproduction and its early development. In contrast to cold-water C. glacialis, the phenology and abundance of warm-water copepods have not changed significantly. Both the timings of autumn cooling and average summer temperature remained relatively stable since the beginning of observations resulting in steady conditions during the reproductive period of warm-water species. Prolongation of summer had no effect on their reproduction.

We studied the naupliar development of the calanoid copepod Calanus glacialis, a key herbivore in the Arctic marine ecosystem. Eggs obtained from females collected at 78 degrees N in Svalbard, Norway, in May 2008 were reared at -1.2 degrees C in a temperature-controlled room. Stage-specific naupliar development time, survival and naupliar size were studied in response to different food qualities, i.e. low versus high proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and low versus high element molar ratios (C:N and C:P). Length measurements of consecutive naupliar stages were obtained from image analysis of digital photos taken every second day. A length-frequency analysis revealed distinct size classes for each stage. Stage duration of the 6 naupliar stages varied between 6 and 27 d. The longest stage duration was measured for Stage NIII. Development time from hatching to Stage NVI was shortest (41.9 d) for nauplii reared under high algal bloom chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations (similar to 20 mu g chl a l(-1)) with algae of high food quality (control). Starved nauplii developed the slowest and showed highest mortality. High mortality was also recorded for nauplii fed with algae grown under a phosphorous limitation that were offered at the same chl a concentrations as the control treatment. These algae had lower PUFA concentrations and higher element molar ratios and were, thus, of lower food quality than the control algae. However, comparable development times and naupliar sizes were found for nauplii fed with algae of high or low food quality. This is the first study that successfully follows the entire naupliar development of Calanus glacialis at subzero temperatures.

We have studied the seasonal dynamics of abundance and feeding characteristics of three species of calanoid copepods ( Acartia spp . , Centropages hamatus and Temora longicornis ) in the White Sea from the surface water layer (0–10 m), in order to assess their role in the pelagic food web and to determine the major factors governing their population dynamics during the productive season. These species dominated in the upper water layer (0–10 m) from June through September, producing up to 3 generations per year. Data on the food spectra revealed all species to be omnivorous; but some inter- and intraspecific differences were observed. Generally, copepods consumed diatoms, dinoflagellates and microzooplankton. The omnivory index ‘UC’ (i.e., fatty acid unsaturation coefficient) varied from 0.2 to 0.6, which implied ingestion of phytoplankton. The different degree of selectivity on the same food items by the studied species was observed, and therefore, successful surviving strategy with minimal overlapping could be assumed. In total, the populations of the three studied copepod species grazed up to 2.15 g C m −2 day −1 and released up to 0.68 g C m −2 day −1 in faecal pellets. They consumed up to 50% of particulate organic carbon, or up to 85% of phytoplankton standing stock (in terms of Chl. a ), and thus played a significant role in the transformation of particulate organic matter. Seasonal changes in abundance of the studied species depended mostly on water temperature in the early summer, but were also affected by food availability (Chl. a concentration) during the productive season.

We have studied the seasonal dynamics of abundance and feeding characteristics of three species of calanoid copepods (Acartia spp., Centropages hamatus and Temora longicornis) in the White Sea from the surface water layer (0-10 m), in order to assess their role in the pelagic food web and to determine the major factors governing their population dynamics during the productive season. These species dominated in the upper water layer (0-10 m) from June through September, producing up to 3 generations per year. Data on the food spectra revealed all species to be omnivorous; but some inter- and intraspecific differences were observed. Generally, copepods consumed diatoms, dinoflagellates and microzooplankton. The omnivory index 'UC' (i.e., fatty acid unsaturation coefficient) varied from 0.2 to 0.6, which implied ingestion of phytoplankton. The different degree of selectivity on the same food items by the studied species was observed, and therefore, successful surviving strategy with minimal overlapping could be assumed. In total, the populations of the three studied copepod species grazed up to 2.15 g C m(-2) day(-1) and released up to 0.68 g C m(-2) day(-1) in faecal pellets. They consumed up to 50% of particulate organic carbon, or up to 85% of phytoplankton standing stock (in terms of Chl. a), and thus played a significant role in the transformation of particulate organic matter. Seasonal changes in abundance of the studied species depended mostly on water temperature in the early summer, but were also affected by food availability (Chl. a concentration) during the productive season.

Light-dependent behavior of the abundant zooplankton species inhabiting the White Sea were studied experimentally during: (i) the spring equinox (March); (ii) the polar day (late May to June), (iii) August, 17/7 h day-night light cycle, (iv) the fall equinox (October). Behavioral patterns were investigated for eight species of Copepoda (Metridia longa, Calanus glacialis, Pseudocalanus minutus, Oithona similis, Oncaea borealis, Temora longicornis, Centropages hamatus, Acartia spp.), one Cladocera species (Evadne nordmanni) and Polychaeta larvae. The hypothesis was tested that attraction to (or repulsion from) light is the primary mechanism involved in the vertical migration of zooplankton with different trophic characteristics in relation to phytoplankton-rich upper water layer. The impact of red (680 nm), yellow (560 nm) and UV (280 nm) light was tested. The animals were acclimated to two food conditions: natural seawater (satiated) and filtered (1 mu m) seawater (hungry). The positive light response of predominantly herbivorous and omnivorous copepods and cladocerans inhabiting the photic water layer corresponds with their distribution and their food vertical distribution. Hungry animals display the strongest responses to light. Light effects on behavior were weak in deep-dwelling O. borealis. We suggest that red and yellow light is an indicator of the photic layer (high food concentration) to zooplankton groups that feed on phytoplankton. In contrast, diapausing (e.g. non-feeding) copepods totally avoid light, especially when they hibernate in the aphotic layer. We hypothesize that there is a relationship between the light response of the zooplankton, their trophic characteristics, migration behavior (diel and ontogenetic) and the water layer occupied.