Abstract Origanum vulgare L. is a gynodioecious species, populations of which include hermaphroditic plants with bisexual flowers and female plants with pistillate flowers. This is a holarctic forest–steppe species belonging to herbaceous perennial plants. The variability of the female-to-hermaphrodite ratio in 26 coenopopulations of O. vulgare from different habitats has been studied. The data on

Abstract The list of mammals of the Lake Glubokoe Nature Reserve (Ruza district, Moscow region, Russia) was supplemented with the flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). The contemporary border of the native range of the flying squirrel goes through the northeastern part of Moscow region (oblast). No individuals of this species had been recorded in the western parts of the region until the end of the 20th

Abstract—In July 2018, in the estuary of the Sura River (a tributary of the first order of the Cheboksary reservoir, Nizhny Novgorod oblast, Russia), a tropical exogenous copepod Thermocyclops taihokuensis Harada, 1931 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) was found. Information on the finding of this species in the European part of Russia is extremely scarce. There is only one report of a finding of this species

Abstract During our field research in March–May of 2017–2020 in the valley of the Latryk River (Saratov region), it was found that the phenological norm of the beginning of the nesting period of Acanthis cannabina should be dated as the last decade of April. However, under conditions of the local climate transformation, its stability is lost and the emergence of an abnormally early start of the reproductive

Abstract By the beginning of the 1970s, only two large regions with natural vegetation, namely the Volga–Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga delta, had remained in the Volga River valley. The largest part of the remaining valley had been converted into a cascade of reservoirs. The conservation of meadow, marsh, and forest plant communities in the lower reaches of the Volga River located in the semi-desert

Abstract The results of our study of the invasive species Hordeum jubatum L. in various ecological–geographical conditions of the Southern Urals are presented. The 32 coenopopulations (CPs) of the species in the Bashkir Cis-Ural and Trans-Ural regions in Orenburg and Chelyabinsk oblasts were investigated. The populations studied were revealed to belong to several types of vegetation communities, namely

Abstract An attempt has been made to assess the status and trends of ecosystems of different types of reservoirs in Europe and Asia (the Saratov and Volgograd reservoirs, closing the Volga cascade, and the Iriklinskii Reservoir, which is the largest on the Ural River) on the basis of the relationship among basic hydrochemical parameters. The ecological status of water bodies was considered in terms

Abstract The results of a comparative analysis of the terms and duration of phenological phases in the population of the little ground squirrel in the central part of the Yergenin Uplands in the years 1926–1932, 1972–1982, and 2000–2015 are presented. It is noted that in the years 1926–1932 all the main phenological life phases of populations of the little ground squirrel took place exclusively during

Abstract Little is known about the distribution of dormouse species in the Middle Volga region. The habitats of the Edible Dormouse Glis glis L. and the Hazel Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius L. are fragmented and mainly lost in the agricultural landscape of the right bank of the Volga River and in the coniferous forests of the right bank of the Lower Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod oblast. New data

Abstract The demographic structure of 39 coenopopulations of Tulipa suaveolens Roth in the Lower Volga region was studied. It has been shown that they occupy an area from 0.01 to 20 000 ha or more. Small-area populations grow mainly closer to the northern border of the species range. The density of all individuals (1.6–240.7 PCs/m2) and the number of generative plants (0.1–58.2 PCs/m2) at the interpopulation

Abstract A new species of dendrochirotid holothurian, Cucumaria fedotovi sp. nov. (Holothuroidea, Dendrochirotida, Cucumariidae), has been described in the Karaginskii Gulf, Bering Sea, Russia, from the depths of 31–34 m. The new species differs from the other species of the genus Cucumaria by the shape of ossicles of the body skin and by tube feets. The new species is characterized by ossicles in

Abstract— In our previous article, a so-called “mortality pattern” was considered: the graphic ratio of the theoretical and real rate of decrease in the number of birds in the cohort considered by years. In this report, a numerical index of the population demographic status is derived based on the mortality pattern obtained from bird ringing data. This index is the mean deviation of the real mortality

Abstract— Natal dispersal of young common shrews (Sorex araneus) was studied in field conditions in the southern part of Tver oblast, in central European Russia. Total individual marking of shrews was conducted over an area of 22 ha. The places of birth of the young were determined by the home ranges of relative overwintered females. The animals were genotyped by ten microsatellite loci: L62, L68,

Abstract Four years of ornithological observations were conducted on the eastern slope of the Tibet–Qinghai Plateau in September–October 2011–2012 and 2017–2018. The species composition of common birds in nine isolated forest islands were studied, and the proportions of species from various faunistic groups were determined. A comparison of the bird complexes from different locations revealed regional

Abstract The history of large mammal fauna in the central part of the East European Plain during the Holocene is described based on data derived from numerous archaeological sites. Throughout the Holocene taiga elements of fauna over the whole region have been characterized by a zonal nature. The spread of nemoral vegetation over this territory was followed by the distribution of deciduous forest elements

Abstract The impact of climate change on the marine benthos has been widely discussed since the beginning of benthic surveys in the Barents Sea on a regular basis. Using historical data, this paper presents variations in the macrozoobenthos biomass in the eastern Barents Sea during four different climatic periods. Investigations have shown that the biomass of the macrozoobenthos in cold periods was

Abstract Craniometric variability of the common shrew has been studied on 613 skulls of young (first summer of life) individuals from ten localities in the northeastern part of European Russia, i.e., Komi Republic and Nenets Autonomous Okrug. We have compared 16 skull traits. The impact of various factors on cranial variability of the species is discussed. We found significant interpopulation variability

Abstract Based on long-term expedition and stationary observations in the taiga in northwestern Russia (1965–2017), the reproduction of the common shrew was studied, including the features associated with its life at the northern range boundary: the timing, reproductive cycles, course and intensity of reproduction, participation of individual age groups in breeding, variations in brood numbers, etc

Abstract Experimental studies were carried out on the behavior of the host concerning egg discrimination in three geographic populations of the Yellow-browed Warbler with different levels of brood parasitism of the Oriental Cuckoo. The absence of a spotted pattern on the shell of foreign eggs was shown to fail to serve as a stimulus to recognition. The acceptance or rejection of a foreign egg is determined

Abstract A mark test allows us to assess if an animal can recognize its reflection in a mirror. The capability of self-recognition provides evidence of self-awareness, and it has been revealed only in a few animals with highly developed brains such as great apes, dolphins, elephants, magpies, and Clark’s nutcrackers. We investigated this capability in the hooded crow, another representative of corvids

Abstract Age-related variations in the hippocampus mass in the late postnatal ontogeny of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from the spring and autumn generations are considered in a comparative aspect. The mass of the hippocampus of the spring voles increases regularly over their short life cycle and approaches the values maximum for the species at two months of age. In the autumn voles, a two-peak

Abstract This paper analyzes the factors that determine the timing of the spring arrival of passerine birds in the nesting area, i.e., the Lower Ob Region. For the period 1971–2015, a reliable negative trend to an arrival shift to earlier dates for seven out of 16 species, an unreliable shift for six species, and a positive trend for three species were found. Using cluster analysis, three groups of

Abstract As it has presently become evident, reproductive isolation can no longer be considered as the leading criterion for estimating the species limits, but it is still used for determining the status of the majority of morphs. The presence/absence of hybridization between individuals is not directly related to the degree of their evolutionary insularity. Hybridization can result in the origin of

Abstract Intertidal benthos monitoring has been conducted annually in two small bights of Kandalaksha Bay from the spring of 1987 up to the present. The observations covered all hydrological seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) and were carried out at standard sites arranged in two transects, from the lower to the middle or higher intertidal level. Standardized methods of sampling and material

Abstract To assess the trophic position of the exceptionally large-sized brown bears from the Pleistocene of Yakutia, we used stable nitrogen and carbon isotope analyses of the collagen contained in fossil bones and teeth. Modern brown bears of Yakutia were compared to the large Pleistocene predators. As a result of the measurements taken for the Pleistocene bears, we obtained δ13С values typical of

Abstract Communities of macrozoobenthos in the White Sea coastal water bodies that have partially or completely lost connection with the sea as a result of postglacial land uplift, are studied. As the degree of isolation from the sea increases, stable vertical stratification with a tendency to meromixis and gradual dilution of seawater provide the conditions for the formation of an unusual composition

Abstract Macrozoobenthic communities of Onega Bay of the White Sea were studied in 2010 at ten stations, which repeated the survey sites performed in the 1950s and 1980s by the staff of the White Sea Biological Station, USSR Academy of Sciences. Benthic communities where bivalve mollusks dominated by biomass were observed at all sites investigated in 2010. The stations were divided into two main groups;

Abstract The morphology of the inorganic scales of ten species of centrohelid heliozoans collected from various types of aquatic habitats in Vietnam has been examined. All the species identified are new to Vietnam. The spine scales of Acanthocystis turfacea are distinguished by the characteristic conically pointed tips of furcae and longer furcae relative to the shaft length in long spine scales. Morphologically

Abstract New finds of nine species of Crangonidae shrimp are described, and new data on the geographical range and bathymetry are presented. The longitudinal carinae and spines on segment VI of the abdomen are quite varied in the species studied. There are four combinations of their morphotypes. The structures of pleopod II of the male also demonstrate two combinative variants.

Abstract This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters of somatic growth in the Black Sea scallop, Flexopecten glaber ponticus Bucguoy, Dautzenberg et Dollfus 1889, from a coastal site near Sevastopol, Crimea. The species is one of the few marine Black Sea mollusks listed in the Red Book of Sevastopol and Crimea with the status “Diminishing

Abstract The variation in four characters (three craniometrical and one nonmetric with supplemental bones) was investigated in 105 craniums of musk deer in different phases (depression and growth) of the population cycle from the East Sayan mountains. The duration of the cycle was 50 years, which corresponds to ten generations of animals. The results obtained show the multidirectional relation of skull

Abstract A characterization of long-term station and field studies (1958–2017) on the tiaga in northwestern Russia is given for the population-ecology features of reproduction of the bank vole, including those associated with its habitat at the northern borders of its distribution: reproductive cycles and the timing, course, and intensity of reproduction. According to the dates, including from the

Abstract INH2 homologous genes encoding vacuolar invertase inhibitor were identified in 37 Solanaceae species, and the INH2 polymorphism was evaluated. A significant level of interspecific polymorphism of the INH2 coding sequence was found within the Petota and Lycopersicon sections, which corresponds to the high mutation rate during the evolution of the INH2 genes and presumably associated with the

Abstract The change in the composition of the protein fraction of Diphyllobothrium dendriticum (Cestoda) plerocercoids during incubation in a medium containing blood serum of their host—the Baikal omul Coregonus migratorius (Coregonidae)—was investigated. The change in the composition of the protein fraction of the incubation medium also was studied. On the one hand, the appearance of new high-molecular

Abstract— The effect of the stage of development of a malignant tumor on successful detection in the urine of animals with oncology by dogs was studied. It was demonstrated that the success of dogs in the search for sick organisms among healthy ones is quite consistent with the dynamics of the development of transplanted tumor tissue; that is, dogs are able to perceive both the entire spectrum of volatile

Abstract The first molecular identification and comparison of the spectrum of representatives of the order Saprolegniales (Oomycota) in sponges and on the outer skin of fishes under native conditions of Lake Baikal and under the conditions of aquarium exhibits were conducted. A similar spectrum of water molds in fish and sponges in aquarium exhibits and the presence in sponges in Lake Baikal of a species

Abstract The ground (Cladina arbuscula, C. rangiferina, C. stellaris, Cetraria islandica) and epiphytic (Hypogymnia physodes and Bryoria subcana) lichens in taiga forests of the European Northeast were examined as habitats of oribatid mites. In total, in different species of lichens, 55 species of oribatids from 30 families were found. Five ecological groups of oribatid mites as inhabitants of lichens

Abstract— Gene electrotransfer is an effective and promising gene delivery technique in clinical applications, such as DNA vaccination and gene therapy. An improved gene therapy protocol depends on the the proper establishment of the gene transfer method. Electroporation has been widely employed in in vitro and in vivo protocols, and increaing its transfection efficiency has been the field of research

Abstract— Results of the analysis of IRBP (interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein) nuclear DNA gene variability in birch mice of the genus Sicista reflect monophyly of the betulina group and confirm the substantial genetic isolation of the sibling species S. betulina and S. strandi within this group. Using Tamura’s 3‑parameter model T92, it is shown that the mean genetic distances between S. betulina

Abstract This study was aimed at evaluating the neuroprotective effect of N-docosahexaenoyldopamine (DHA-DA), an endogenous bioactive lipid of the neurolipin family, on mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons of mouse fetuses in a cell culture under exposure to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium+ (MPP+), a specific neurotoxin for catecholaminergic neurons. The state of neurons in the experiment (MPP+) and in the

Abstract The effect of the drug Stimforte on infection by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been studied. Stimforte partially inhibits HCV infection at a dose of 100 μg/mouse and almost completely at a dose of 300 μg/mouse within 24 h after administration of the drug. The mice sera resulting after 24 h in the presence of 100 and 300 µg/mouse of Stimforte effectively inhibit the production of HCV. Doses

Abstract Relationships between the detection time of the target objects (drugs) and the individual behavioral characteristics of dogs have been studied. The following parameters of the individual behavior of the dogs were recorded: Sociability, Activity, Play, Reactions to the unexpected appearance of an unfamiliar object, and Noise. It has been noted that the dogs with high rates of sociability and

Abstract The participation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the regeneration of muscle tissue was analyzed. It is shown that rat bone marrow MSCs do not show potency for myogenic differentiation in vitro under the influence of appropriate inducers and rarely fuse with myoblasts when co-cultured. However, the factors they release stimulate differentiation of myogenic cells. It is noted that in

AbstractWe studied the effects of quercetin (Q) on the behavioral responses and integral and metabolic indices in male db/db mice genetically predisposed to obesity and C57Bl/6J mice fed a diet with an excessive energy value. We examined forepaw grip strength, exploratory activity, anxiety, and short-term memory, as well as integral and biochemical indices, and the contents of leptin, ghrelin, and

Abstract—The ecological and taxonomic study of yeast communities of vineyards in Dagestan has demonstrated significant differentiation of species diversity depending on the type of substrate and plant ontogenesis. Thirty-three out of 44 yeast species were isolated from grape berries during the long-term study of this biotope. The seasonal occurrence of yeasts in agrocoenoses is characterized by the

AbstractStomata polymorphism in leaves of apple trees (Malus domestica) growing under mountain and plain conditions has been studied using scanning electron microscopy. The leaves of this species were hypostomatic with anomocytic stomata and radially diverging cuticular folds combined into bundles (cuticular bundles), the number of which usually corresponded to the number of epidermal cells surrounding

AbstractSerratia marcescens, rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria is classified as an opportunistic pathogen in the family Enterobacteriaceae. It causes a wide variety of infections in humans, including urinary, respiratory, ocular lens and ear infections, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, meningitis and septicemia. Unfortunately, over the past decade, antibiotic resistance has become a serious health care

AbstractIt is revealed that dipeptides glycylglycine (GlyGly) and glycylaspartic acid (GlyAsp), as well as the amino acid glycine (Gly), appreciably stimulated the growth and development of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) regenerants and seedlings if they were present in a medium at 10–7 М. All three compounds GlyGly, GlyAsp, and Gly influenced the cell differentiation and morphogenic processes in the

AbstractEvaluating temporal variability of CO2 efflux from the tree trunks of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) are presented. The field measurements were performed by the chamber method in a swampy cotton grassy–sphagnum pine forest in Yaroslavl region and in a highly productive grassy–bilberry pine forest on well drained sandy soils in the Serebryaniy Bor forest service area in Moscow region. Tree

AbstractThe fatty acid composition in the hepatopancreas of the red king crab from the Barents Sea was studied. Polyunsaturated fatty acids dominated among the fatty acids analyzed (11 792 ± 592 μg/g, 45.3 ± 0.7% of the total fatty acid concentration). Saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids were found in approximately equal proportions accounting for 7825 ± 454 μg/g (28.3 ± 0.4%) and

AbstractThe individual linear growth of 90 specimens of the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera was studied by measuring the successive annual rings on the surface of the shell. It was found that the growth of each mollusk can be described using a united equation, a particular case of which is the Bertalanffy equation with an average growth retardation coefficient a = 0.048 year–1 and

AbstractThe spatial and genetic structure of the Eptesicus nilssonii population was studied. The species is characterized by conservatism of wintering sites. The key territories in the gene flow between colonies are swarming sites. After wintering, most individuals fly to a distance not exceeding 15 km, which is confirmed by the positive values of genetic isolation distance (p ≤ 0.05). Females are

AbstractThe short-term effects of salicylic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids on the tea plant Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze for in vitro cultures were studied. It was found that the acids did not change the morphophysiological parameters of the callus cultures. Meanwhile, the content of malondialdehyde and phenolic compounds, including their monomeric (phenylpropanoids and flavans) and oligomeric (proanthocyanidins)

Abstract—Mitogenomic data can provide valuable information that can be used to elucidate and reveal the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships. Recently, mitogenomes generated using high-throughput sequencing technologies have become more applicable in association with advanced analytical tools. In this study, to provide mitogenomic data for the Indian crested porcupine and to disclose

AbstractThe level of CO2 production and the growth dynamics of the biomass of Rhodococcus erythropolis VKM Ac2017D (Russia) and the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae OenofermC2 (France) were determined in cultivation media with variously reduced (from 10 to 150 ppm) deuterium concentration. The maximum increase in the rhodococcal biomass was shown in the media with a deuterium concentration of

AbstractIt has been noted that caudal autotomy as a way of defending against predators in recent reptiles is characteristic solely of lepidosaurs and is absent in crocodiles and turtles. It was found that, in the order Rhynchocephalia and in representatives of the majority of families of lizards, intravertebral (IntraVB) autotomy is a widespread phenomenon, whereas agamid lizards and some snakes do

AbstractOn the basis of previously published materials, which include data on the morphology of the shells of adult mollusks and larvae (glochidia), as well as the results of molecular phylogenetic studies, a critical analysis of the subspecies taxonomy of the Far Eastern Unionidae Rafinesque, 1820, namely, the subfamilies Unioninae Rafinesque, 1820 and Anodontinae Rafinesque, 1820, has been performed

AbstractComparative analysis of chymus transformation have been carried out in Saiga tatarica kept at the Center for Wild Animals of Kalmykia, as well as in four wild Bovidae species: the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, the East Caucasian tur C. cylindricornis, the chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, and the bighorn sheep Ovis сanadensis. The size composition of cellulose fibers and the nutrient content were

AbstractIt was shown that the level of nitric oxide metabolites in the blood plasma of people with essential arterial hypertension (EAH) is significantly higher than that of healthy donors. This pattern did not depend on the stage of the disease, but on the age of the subjects, as well as on whether patients with cardio-selective β-adrenoreceptor blockers take them or not. It was established that an

AbstractThis article discusses work on assessing the digestibility of a concentrate of Hermetia illucens larvae in fish with gastrointestinal digestion (rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Russian sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, red tilapia Oreochromis mosambicus × O. niloticus). It was found that this digestibility index of the larvae concentrate was 67–74%. At the same time, fish species consumed