Vol 44, No 8 (2017)

This work reports the results of the long-term study of the helminth fauna of the dominant colonial seabird species (common guillemots, Brünnich’s guillemots, kittiwakes, great black-backed gulls, and herring gulls) in the western, central, and eastern parts of the Murman coast. The presence of 52 parasitic worm species (18 trematode species, 21 cestode species, 11 nematode species, and 2 acanthocephalan species) was demonstrated. In the western, central, and eastern regions, the respective numbers of 32, 43, and 34 helminth species were registered. Twenty species of seabird parasites were found to be ubiquitous along the Murman coastal zone. Local foci of the trematode Maritrema arenaria and cestode Laricanthus lateralis infestation along the western part of the Murmansk coast were revealed. The highest helminth species diversity (38 species) was demonstrated for the herring gull; the lowest (7 species), for the common guillemot. Four parasite species were common for the helminth fauna of all bird species. A significant number of helminth infections were mixed ones (complexes of two or three bird species with the common helminth species in different combinations). The highest similarity of the helminth fauna was revealed in the pairs of the common guillemot and the Brünnich’s guillemot and of the great black-backed gull and the herring gull. A few parasitic worm species detected only in a single bird species were registered. The particularities and the possible causes of the geographical distribution and specificity of helminthes were analyzed, and a comprehensive assessment of the parasitological situation in the Murman coastal zone was performed.

This article is based on data that were collected in the years 2000−2007, 2012, and 2014 in the vicinities of Medusa Bay (73°21′ N, 80°32′ E) and in 2002 at the mouth of the Uboynaya River (73°37′ N, 82°10′ E), in the northwestern part of the Taimyr Peninsula. In years when the abundance of lemmings is high, brent geese may breed not only near nests of snowy owls and rough-legged buzzards, but also sparsely in the mainland tundra, often without any protection. Some such nests are successfully incubated until hatching. A considerable part of these dispersed nests appears to be associated with a nest or territory of pomarine skuas that are able to scare away the main tundra predator, the arctic fox, to a distance of about 500 m from their nests. Brent geese that breed within this distance to theses nests gain additional protection against arctic foxes. However, brent geese do not display a tendency to place their nests closer to pomarine skua nests. The mean distance from geese nests to pomarine skua nests or centers of their territories comprised 2/3 of the mean distance between nests of pomarine skuas and turned out to be quite stable over the years and in two different tundra areas.

The dynamics of 19 local red deer (Сervus elaphus maral Ogilbi 1840) groupings in the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve in the period of 1996‒2015 has been researched; the groupings were divided into three groups by their size: large, average, and small ones. It was found that the population decline at the end of 20th century has resulted in levelling of local deer groupings: all of them became small but none disappeared completely. Further population growth has resulted in the formation of large and average local groupings in central parts of the nature reserve; a gradual restoration of optimal ratios between those can be observed. In some peripheral areas of the biosphere reserve, the red deer population is not recovering, while the average size of the small groupings is decreasing. At least four local deer groupings have lost their independent status in the metapopulation structure of the species due to anthropogenic factors and continue their existence owing to neighboring local groupings on the basis of the “source‒sink” system operation principle.

Until recently, there were only five polychaete species known from the Taganrog Bay and the delta of the Don River. However, over the last three years, the invasion of the exotic species has accelerated in the region. In 2013–2014, two alien polychaete species were introduced and successfully naturalized. In November 2015, we recorded another species, Streblospio cf. gynobranchiata. All the examined specimens match fully the descriptions of the Black Sea invaders. Even though the species introduction is still at the early stage, the species frequency of occurrence in the quantitative samples reaches 60%, increasing up to 80% when integral qualitative samples are also taken into account. The abundance of S. cf gynobranchiata averages 1406 specimens per square meter, increasing in accordance with an increase in the water salinity. However, the biomass rarely exceeds 0.001 g/m² at any of the sampling stations.

Summarized data on the fauna composition, distribution, and ecology of gastropod and bivalve mollusks of the Utlyuk Liman in the northwestern part of the Sea of Azov is presented. The total number of mollusk species identified was 63; 43 species belonged to the class Gastropoda, and 20 species, to the class Bivalvia. The distribution of mollusks in the liman has extremely irregular character, whereas the distribution of species along the marine shore of Biryuchii Ostrov spit is more homogeneous. Euryhaline Mediterranean species represent the core of liman malacofauna; some taxa of the Ponto-Caspian zoogeographical complex (Dreissena polymorpha and species of the genus Theodoxus) and invader species from distant sea basins (Mya arenaria and Anadara inaequivalvis) were also identified.

The species composition, population structure, and synecological characteristics of earthworms inhabiting forest and meadow formations of unique beech–hornbeam woodland of the Karasu River basin have been studied. Thirteen Lumbricidae species were found. The species composition and earthworm population structure depend on phytocenosis edificators. The greatest diversity, namely, species, chorological, and ecological, was recorded in soils of relict beech phytocenosis. It was shown that in the case of forest clearing its earthworm’s fauna remains intact. In the secondary meadows, the following was noted: the lowest species diversity of Lumbricidae, domination of soil species proper, and dramatically increasing diversity indices compared to forest associations.

In Russia, the conservation of anseriformes is possible through the creation of temporary huntingfree zones during hunting season, especially in spring. A justification for creating such zones and outlining their boundaries (by analogy with the experience derived from the countries on North America) each season must be based on data on annual waterfowl monitoring. The present paper describes census experience drawn from the use of ultralight aviation for further delineating the key staging sites of waterfowl in western Siberia. To refine the duration of monitoring, observation data were combined with those derived from geese equipped with GSM-GPS transmitters. In the spring and autumn of 2012–2014, we covered over 50000 km of aerial surveys of 25 waterfowl species. A new method is advanced for assessing their numbers based on visual observations, flock photography, and modern statistics. We estimated the species densities in 16 habitat types delineated on the basis of Landsat imagery. In terms of this, a system is proposed for extrapolating the survey data on 25 waterfowl species onto model sites in western Siberia. Drops in the numbers of several mass game species were noted. Based on an evaluation of the habitat quality, ten waterfowl hunting-free zones were suggested and delineated. A GIS project was launched that incorporated the main migration routes, boundaries of the key sites, places of mass bird aggregations, and sites for the observation of rare, Red Data Book. A program of long-term monitoring and sustainable use of waterfowl in the study region is offered. Such an approach must also be applied to other regions of Russia.

The relationships between the sand martin (Riparia riparia Linnaeus 1758) and the pale sand martin (Riparia diluta Sharpe et Wyatt 1893) in sympatric conditions in southern Central Siberia are discussed. New data on the distribution patterns of these two closely related martin species in the study area, the location of the breeding colonies, and nesting in mixed-species colonies are presented. Information on the morphology and habitat preferences of R. riparia and R. diluta, including conesting species, is provided. In the sympatry zone in southern Central Siberia, the pale sand martin is shown to be more abundant, with mixed colonies of R. riparia and R. diluta also being found. Both species studied differ significantly in the morphometric characters. When looking for the location of a breeding colony, R. riparia and R. diluta display different habitat requirements.