Yalkovskaya L.E., Cheprakov M.I., Rakitin S.B., Polyavina O.V.
Species identification and an analysis of the peculiarities of habitat distribution of common sibling vole species in urbanized territories near the northern limit of the sympatric zone in the Urals were carried out. Sampling was performed in 2009-2014 in two big cities, Ekaterinburg and Nizhniy Tagil, both in the Middle Urals. Sibling species were revealed in 17 of 20 plots studied in both cities. Using karyological techniques, both vole species were found in both cities: M. arvalis, the obscurus karyoform, and M. rossiaemeridionalis. M. arvalis preferred relatively large plots under moderate urban pressure in comparison with M. rossiaemeri-dionalis which were abundant in relatively isolated plots of small size and exposed to significant anthropogenic influence. The presence of ecto- (fleas, ticks) and endoparasites (helminthes) in voles of both species showed the highest levels of infestation in residential areas in the central parts of the cities as compared to other places. Thus the sibling vole species inhabiting the territories of the cities may represent a potential epide-miological risk to urban human populations in the Middle Urals.
Gasilin V.V., Nanova O.G., Kosintsev P.A., Gimranov D.O.
New methods of identification of the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Corsac fox (Vul-pes corsac) were developed, based on mandible size and its fragments in the adults, with mclust analysis, discriminant analysis and scatter diagrams performed and compared. Original data and centroid size corrected data were employed. The Red fox and the Corsac fox differ in the size, but not shape, of the mandible. The Arctic fox differs from both by mandible shape. The body of the mandible is shown to be the most useful part for identifying all three species analyzed.
Kaplin V.G.
Two new bristletail species, Allopsontus (Anisoptinus) nigrus sp. n. from southeastern Kazakhstan and A. (Ka-plinilis) abkhazicus sp. n. from Abkhazia, are described. A. nigrus sp. n. differs from the only other known species of the subgenus Anisoptinus, i.e. A. borgustani Kaplin 2015, by a number of characters, namely, a more rounded paired ocellus, an extended apical segment of the labial palp, a long articulated ovipositor and the absence of short, appressed, pigmented setulae on the maxillary and labial palps in males. A. abkhazicus sp. n. can easily be distinguished from all other known species of the subgenus Kaplinilis by the absence of short, appressed, pigmented setulae on the maxillary and labial palps in males, the absence of a projection with numerous spiniform setae on the male foreleg femur, and the shorter male genital appendages. The ocellus of the male and female is 2.8-2.9 times as wide as long; the length to width ratio of the eye is 0.9-1.0; the ovipositor is 60-segmented.
Sheveleva N.G., Mirabdullaev I.M.
An illustrated redescription of the female of Diacyclops arenosus (Mazepova 1950) inhabiting the littoral zone of Lake Baikal is presented. The male of this cyclopoid and its mouth appendages are described for the first time. The characteristic tray divers' samples and the presence of a well-developed hook on A2 segment both suggest the species' habitat specialization of a dweller of sponges.
Gimranov D.O.
Morphotypical variability of the upper teeth of three Vulpes species ( V corsac, V vulpes, V lagopus ) is studied. Morphotype frequency and a description of the identified tooth morphotypes are given for each species. Eight of nine teeth of the maxilla were found useful for reliable species diagnostics. The arctic fox can be differentiated from the fox and corsac by the structure of the incisor crown, a massive P4 metacone, the structure of the M1 hypocone and structural peculiarities of the M2 protocone. The corsac can be distinguished from the two other species by the protocone structure of the second molar, while the fox is differentiated by the structure of the cutting edge of Р1, the shape of the crown base of P3, well-developed M1 and M2 protocone sections. The arctic fox is rather unique in comparison with the other species as it demonstrates a simple structure of the upper molars and a tendency to simplified mandibular teeth. All these features are related to an increased role of carnivory as a feeding strategy typical of the species.
Tsalolikhin S. Ya.
Crassolabium alekseevi sp. n. was collected in a small pond in the Guin Park, Taipei: Taiwan. The new species differs from C. kaszabi (Andrassy 1959) and C. plica (Ciobanu, Popovici et Decraemer 2004) in the number of supplemants (22-23 vs 16-18) and in the length of the odontostyle (24-28 vs 11-13 urn). The problems of synonymy and great morphological similarity of some genera are discussed.
Klmmenkova E.V., Teslenko V.A.
The structural organization of macrozoobenthos communities is analyzed in the epirhitral, the upper, middle and lower metarhitral and the hyporhitral of the Ola River flowing into the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, Magadan Region. Dominant taxa, typical species and, in some cases, indicator species are determined for every community. The Ephemeroptera: Ameletus sp. and Cinigmula sp. are observed to belong to the taxa characteristic of all three communities revealed in the Ola River's metarhitral, playing important roles in their structure. Both species composition dynamics and macrozoobenthos biomass are shown to be linked to peculiarities of the hydrological regime of the river located in the conditions of interrupted and insular permafrost distribution. At the same time, the between-year aspect of the species composition reveals some stability of the complex of dominant taxa. The spatial distribution of the biomass conforms to basics of the River Continuum Concept, its highest values being registered in the metarhitral community (2.0-4.8 g/m
Zhdanova O.L., Kuzm A.E., Frisman E. Ya.
We discuss and improve the previously proposed methods for estimating the survival rate of male northern fur seals representing different age groups. Estimates of the number of pups and bulls per rookery are given, as well as information on the age structure of animals hunted during the coastal harvest. The data set was obtained during 56 years of observation of the fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) herd at Tyuleniy Island, Sea of Okhotsk made by researchers from the Pacific Research Fisheries Center. Lander's method and its modifications were used for estimating the juvenile survival rate of male fur seals. This methodology was found not to be working properly for the last several decades (since the end of the 1980's) due to changes in population harvesting. Satisfactory estimates for all characteristics of the male life-cycle were obtained. Structural changes in survival ability were revealed as having occurred at the end of the 1980s, i.e. the survival of subadult and adult males increased slightly. New estimates of survival rates allot our model the dynamics of bull numbers that is in good agreement with the observed one, its mean error of approximation equaling 3.2%.
БЕЗБОРОДОВ В.Г.
Проведен комплексный анализ разнообразия пластинчатоусых жуков Якутии. Выявлено 54 вида Scarabaeoidea из 18 родов 14 триб 14 подсемейств пяти семейств. Семейство Ochodaeidae Mulsant et Rey 1871, род Codocera Eschscholtz 1821 и шесть видов (Codocera ferruginea (Eschscholtz 1818), Aegialia friebi Balthasar 1935, A. kamtschatica Motschulsky 1860, Aphodius ater (DeGeer 1774), A. pusillus Herbst 1789, A. haemorrhoidalis (Linnaeus 1758)) впервые приведены для фауны Якутии. Рассмотрены эколого-зоогеографические особенности Scarabaeoidea района исследования. Приведены данные по трофическим связям, фенологии и пространственному распределению видов.
ОПАЕВ А.С., МЕЙШИ ЛЮ, ДЖУ КАН
Тимелии - крупная группа воробьиных птиц, распространенных в основном в Азии. Поведение и вокализация большинства видов изучены недостаточно. В работе впервые рассмотрены социальная организация и поведение одного из видов этой группы - желтокрылой кустарницы, а также приведены данные по гнездовой биологии и биотопическим предпочтениям. Материал собран в заповеднике Хупиньшань (провинция Хунань, Китай). Здесь желтокрылые кустарницы - типичные обитатели вторичных горных лесов с подлеском из бамбука. Гнезда размещают среди зарослей бамбука и в кронах густых кустов. В гнездовой период, приуроченный к весне, птицы держатся отдельными парами. Каждая из них занимает обособленную и относительно небольшую территорию (медиана площади территории 1710 м2). Границы устанавливаются, в частности, во время территориальных конфронтаций, приуроченных к началу периода гнездования (апрель-май). Полученные результаты обсуждаются с точки зрения различий в поведенческой экологии видов тропических и умеренных широт. Дело в том, что тимелии в целом являются группой по происхождению тропической и субтропической, но при этом часть горных видов (в т.ч. и желтокрылая кустарница) обитают в климатических условиях, сходных с умеренным поясом.
КРИВОШЕИНА Н.П.
Впервые приведены сведения по морфологии и экологии преимагинальных стадий палеарктических видов львинок рода Allognosta Osten-Sacken 1883. У личинок рода боковая сторона брюшных сегментов разделена на два отдела: передний более короткий, с конусовидным выступом, задний более массивный, лопастевидный. Личинки - обитатели гумусового слоя почвы и плодовых тел древесных грибов.
BOLSHAKOV C.V., EVSTIGNEEVA M.D., BULYUK V.N.
We present the results of an analysis of 318 spectrograms of acoustic signals issued during daytime and night migration by song thrushes ( Turdusphilomelos). No specialized migratory signals were detected. Both at night and during the day, song thrushes use a single type of signal, a short tsik, which is classified as a species-specific attraction call. Comparison of signal spectrograms showed that in flight thrushes emit shorter low-frequency narrow-band signals than during daytime stopovers. Tsik signals of nocturnally flying birds were on average longer and had higher frequency than signals emitted during diurnal migratory flight. We assume that during the night in the absence of a visual contact and when flying in much looser flocks than during daytime migration, longer and higher frequency flight calls may allow the birds to better maintain flock contact and assist in orientation.