Зоологический журнал

A NEW SPECIES AND NEW RECORDS OF THE GENUS MEHARIA CHRÉTIEN 1915 (LEPIDOPTERA, COSSIDAE) FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA

Yakovlev R.V.

A new species, Meharia rolandi Yakovlev sp. n., is described from the United Arab Emirates. The new species is the closest to M. acuta Wiltshire 1982, and M. hackeri Saldatis, Ivinskis and Yakovlev 2011, but differs from both by a number of characters: the fore wing of the new species is white, without any pattern (in M. acuta and M. hackeri, the fore wing has a pattern of pale longitudinal bands against a grey or brownish background); the valva in the new species has parallel edges (in M. acuta, the valva shows a more strongly curved abdominal edge), the uncus is longer (in M. acuta, the uncus is equal to 2/3 of the valva length); the apex of the uncus is uncinately sharpened (in M. acuta, the apex is rounded); the harpe is slightly arched (in M. acuta, the harpe is straight). Species of Meharia Chrétien 1915 are recorded in the fauna of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan for the first time.

CESTODES OF SHREWS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN YAKUTIA

Kornienko S.A., Dokuchaev N.E., Odnokurtsev V.A.

An inventory of tapeworms in shrews from various natural zones of Yakutia was carried out. Cestodes of 33 species, 16 genera and three families have been found: Hymenolepididae, Dilepididae and Paruterinidae. The highest species diversity, 29 species, is recorded in central Yakutia, vs. by one-third lower (20 species) to the east. In the South of Yakutia, 13 species are registered. While moving to the tundra zone, a double depletion of the cestode fauna of shrews is observed. Peculiarities of the distribution of cestodes with serial strobilation (Ditestolepis, Ecrinolepis, Mathevolepis and Spasskylepis) have been studied over the territory of Yakutia. These cestodes form the core of the tapeworm community of Palearctic shrews. The genus Neoskrjabinolepis is the most representative in including seven species. Contrary to the existing faunistic reports, the presence of the species Neoskrjabinolepis schaldybini, Staphylocystoides borealis and Vigisolepis sp. has not been confirmed in the territory of Yakutia. The majority of cestodes of shrews in Yakutia belong to Eastern Palaearctic species. Trans-Palearctic species account for less than a third of their list, and only one species (Neoskrjabinolepis fertilis) has a Holarctic distribution.

EARLY STAGES AND THE BIOLOGY OF MELITAEA ROBERTSIBUTLER 1880 (LEPIDOPTERA, NYMPHALIDAE)

Kolesnichenko K.A.

Egg external morphology; including that of the chorion, the last stage larva and the pupa of Melitaea robertsi Butler 1880 from eastern Iran are described, with data on the host plant given.

EXPONENTIAL INCREASE OF THE DALMATIAN PELICAN (PELECANUS CRISPUS) POPULATION IN THE KURGAN AND TYUMEN REGIONS

Tarasov V.V., Ryabitsev A.V.

In the 1930–1960's, the only breeding site of the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) in Western Siberia (within the borders of Russia) was Lake Chernoe located at the border between the Kurgan and Tyumen regions. In the 1970's, the species started breeding on two more lakes in the Tyumen Region: Bolshoe Beloe and Tundrovo. From the mid-2000's, another two lakes became sites for the species' breeding: the lakes Malye Donki and Manyass in the Kurgan Region. At the end of the 20th century, 100 and more pairs bred on each lake every year and smaller colonies lived on some other lakes. The total number of the species amounted at that time to 300–400 pairs. In 2004–2012, the number of Dalmatian pelicans reached already 600–800 pairs. These estimates are partially reconstructed, as there has never been a year when a bird census would be accomplished in all of the regional colonies at once. On 1–6 May 2017, we did a pelican census using drone aircraft on all lakes where large pelican colonies had been found. The highest number of occupied nests (430) was found on Lake Tundrovo; Lake Manyass – 243 pairs; Lake Chernoe – 170 pairs; Lake Bolshoe Beloe was only inhabited by 7 Dalmatian pelican pairs. As regards Lake Malye Donki, no pelican colony was found there. Thus, the total quantity of occupied nests amounted to 850. Up to 50 more mature pairs might not have had the time to build nests and lay eggs by the first decade of May when we did the census. Nowadays, the region is a breeding territory for about 1/7 part of species' population in the world. Over the past 50–70 years, the region's population has been increasing exponentially; this being evidence of the conditions favourable for the species. The most probable of these conditions are: 1) the global climate warming continuing over the past decades and causing the aridization of more southern areas which drives the birds into the northern part of their distribution area; 2) the extension of the frost-free period of the year connected with the climate warming which allows the birds to start the breeding season earlier and finish it later; 3) the lack of human disturbance as the waterbodies concerned are located in nature conservation areas and are very rarely visited by people. Apparently, neither oscillations of the waterbody filling level nor fish abundance fluctuations render a significant impact upon pelicans due to their capability of far-distance feeding flights. This study was performed in the framework of a state contract with the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, partly also supported by project no. 15-12-4-28 of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

FACTORS OF POLYMORPHISM OF CRANIOMETRIC CHARACTERS IN THE RED FOX (VULPES VULPES, CARNIVORA, CANIDAE) FROM THE CENTER OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA

Korablev N.P., Korablev M.P., Korablev A.P., Korablev P.N., Zinoviev A.V., Zhagarayte V.A., Tumanov I.L.

Craniometry was investigated in four samples of the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes L. 1758) (n = 403) from the Tver Region. Factors affecting the metric polymorphism of the fox skull can be presented in the following order according to their significance: age, sex, geographic and chronographic variability. Geographic and chronographic factors are correlated with jaws and teeth. An analysis of the time interval from the early 1990's to the present shows a weak trend in increasing certain cranial structures. However, the inclusion of material from the 1980's reveals a more complex trend in chronographic variability with dimensional fluctuations. This may be due to the high rate of mortality which determines the stochastic character of chronographic dimensional variability. Spatial variability of odontological and craniometric features can be of adaptive functional significance.

FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY OF THE HYOID APPARATUS IN THE OLD WORLD SUBOSCINES (EURYLAIMIDES). 2. FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Zubkova E.N.

The structure and functioning of the hyoid and jaw apparatus of birds are closely related to the features of feeding behavior and diet. Analyzing these characteristics together, we can reveal the potential capabilities of this biomechanical node as a whole. Such a complex analysis of the hyoid apparatus of the Old World suboscine passerine birds (Eurylaimides) is presented here. For birds of each family (Pittidae, Eurylaimidae and Philepittidae); a functional interpretation of the detected morphological features is proposed (see Part 1). Their tongues are highly mobile, this being necessary for performing a variety of specific tasks for each group. The pittas’ tongue is adapted to fast wide-amplitude movements and it helps in controlling the object at any point of their relatively long and narrow beak. The fleshy tongue of carnivorous broadbills (Eurylaiminae and Smithornithinae) and Pseudocalyptomeninae performs complex manipulations with various objects in its wide bulky beak. The hyoid apparatus of the frugivorous broadbills (Calyptomeninae) helps to malaxate soft fruits and to push large and hard fruits inside the pharynx. The jaw apparatus of the asities (Philepittidae) generally adapted to feeding on relatively small berries, which these birds can squash, using a specific wide platform at the base of the tongue. To consume liquid food, the asities use a rostral part of the tongue rolled into a tube.

GENOTYPE PECULIARITIES OF OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION IN LABORATORY MALE MICE(MUS MUSCULUS) IN A SOCIAL COMPETITION MODEL

Osadchuk L.V., Osadchuk A.V.

Olfactory communication plays important roles in the establishment and maintenance of social dominance. In males of the house mouse, urinary scent marking and sniffing behaviour depend on the dominance status: the dominants more intensely mark the territory and more often sniff the opponents compared to the subordinates. Previously we showed that the capacity to dominate in laboratory mice is mainly determined by the genotype of the male. However, it remains unclear if the peculiarities of urinary marking and sniffing behaviour in the male could predict its future social position in the hierarchical structure of a community. The objective of the present work was to establish the effect of the genotype on the intensity of sniffing and marking behaviour in a social hierarchy and to study the relationship between these behaviours and a genetic predisposition to social dominance in laboratory male mice. The study was carried out using adult male mice of the inbred strains BALB/cLac, CBA/Lac and PT, which differ in their ability to dominate: males of the BALB/cLac and PT strains mainly dominated over CBA/Lac males. The experimental groups were formed of two males of different genotypes in all three possible pairwise combinations. Territorial urine marking (the number of urine marks) was evaluated for each male during social isolation and after the development of stable hierarchical relations in the group. The genotype differences were established in urinary marking patterns of isolated males: the CBA/Lac males urinated more often than those of the other strains. After males had been placed as pairs for 5 days for the establishment of dominance-subordination relationships, scent marking and sniffing behaviour were observed suppressed in subordinate males. The genotype differences were established in urinary marking patterns among dominants: the CBA/Lac males marked the territory and sniffed the opponent much more often than the BALB/cLac or PT males, although they became dominants very infrequently. Thus, scent marking and sniffing behaviour in laboratory mice are related to each other, but the genetic peculiarities of olfactory communication cannot predict the social status of a male.

HELMINTHES OF THE NORTHERN FULMAR, FULMARUS GLACIALIS(PROCELLARIIFORMES, PROCELLARIIDAE) IN THE BARENTS SEA: SPECIES COMPOSITION, IMPACT ON HOSTS, PROPERTIES AS INDICATOR OF PELAGIC ECOSYSTEMS

Kuklin V.V., Kuklina M.M., Ezhov A.V.

The helminth fauna of the Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) from the Barents Sea is described. 14 species of helminthes (2 trematodes, 4 cestodes, 7 nematodes and 1 acanthocephalan) have been found, but mass parasites are only the cestode, Tetrabothriusminor and the nematode, Stegophorus stellaepolaris. The helminthofauna of fulmars in coastal areas shows significant qualitative differences because it comprises digeneans and an acanthocephalan which are absent from offshore birds, as well as a higher species diversity of cestodes and nematodes. The intensity of invasion (II) by the cestode, T. minor is the decisive factor of the parasitic burden that affects the physiological state of the birds. In birds with high values of this parameter, the number of blood eosinophiles and basophiles is decreased, but that of neutrophiles, on the contrary, is increased. A correlation between an increased II of birds by cestodes and growing values of the hematological index H/L (the ratio of heterophiles to lymphocytes) is established. This indicator can be important for an in vivo diagnosis of seabird invasions by tapeworms. An analysis of the invasion of fulmars in various regions shows that their helminthofauna has almost all necessary properties for their use as indicator of the state of and possible changes in the pelagic ecosystems of the Barents Sea.

NESTING AND BIOLOGY OF ALASTOR MOCSARYI (HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE, EUMENINAE)

Fateryga A.V., Podunay Yu. A.

The nest structure of Alastor mocsaryi in trap nests was studied in the Crimea. Fifteen nests were studied, located inside hollow reed stems 3.0–4.8 mm in inner diameter. The nests contained 1–9 cells separated from each other by partitions. These were made of gravel bonded with soil mastic or sand. Bottom partitions (present in 14 nests) and final plugs of the nests (present in two nests) contained unbound gravel as well. The average cell length in the nests made in narrow cavities exceeded that in broad cavities. The mean length of a cell with a female exceeded that of a cell with a male. Females provisioned the nest cells with weakly paralyzed larvae of curculionid beetles. The cocoon had the form of a whitish spiderweb film which can be separated from the cell walls. Prepupae retained high-degree mobility during the winter hibernation. Adult feeding was recorded on flowers of 12 plant species belonging to nine families. Only three of them had nectar accessible to A. mocsaryi. Nine represented species belonging to specialized melittophilous (7 species) or psychophilous (2 species) plants. The wasps obtained nectar on flowers of these species through perforations in the perianth gnawed with mandibles. Monosaccharides were discovered within the nest partitions. This shows that wasp females use nectar as building material (to moisten and bond dry soil and sand). Water collection by female A. mocsaryi was recorded only once. The species is univoltine. The sex ratio is female-biased. Attachment behavior of the females to the point of their rearing from mother nests (philopatry) was recorded. The nests were infested by the parasitoids Melittobia acasta and Hoplocryptus coxator, a larva of the beetle Trichodes apiarius and a puparium of an unidentified tachinid fly. Brood mortality amounted to 38.8%. Nesting of A. mocsaryi is discussed in relation to the phylogenetic position of the genus Alastor. The use of nectar as building material could probably be associated with the large number of plant species utilized for robbing nectar from their flowers and may also be characteristic of some other representatives of the subfamily Eumeninae.

ON THE SIZE OF GECKO ADHESIVE PADS

Luchkina O.S., Ivlev Yu. F., Nazarov R.A.

The sizes of the digital adhesive pads of the lizards that are capable of moving on inclined or vertical surfaces change with body size. The adhesive pad surface to body mass ratio in different species to some extent, sometimes noticeably, deviates from isometry (i.e. from geometric similarity). Variations in the relation of body size to adhesive pad surface area may be due to different combinations of physical effects which influence adhesion. These effects can limit both the maximal and the minimal body size of the lizards that utilize microfibrillar adhesives for climbing.

SERUM PREVALENCE OF THE BEARS IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EASTTO DIFFERENT PATHOGENS

Naidenko S.V., Hernandez-Blanko J.A., Seryodkin I.V., Miquelle D.G., Blidchenko E. Yu., Litvinov M.N., Kotlyar A.K., Rozhnov V.V.

The serum prevalence of brown and Asiatic black bears to 14 different pathogens was analyzed; with serum-positive bears found to ten different pathogens. The serum prevalence was at the maximum for Candida sp., pseudorabies virus and Dirofilaria sp. Species-specific differences in the serum prevalence to different pathogens were observed for Trichinella sp. and Toxoplasma gondii, but the serum-positive individuals were observed only among brown bears. These variations are suggested to be accounted for by differences in the feeding behavior of the brown and Asiatic black bears and the frequency of contacts with the Amur tiger and its kills.

TWO STRATEGIES OF ACANTHOCEPHALAN INTERRELATIONS WITH PARATENIC HOSTS

Skorobrekhova E.M., Nikishin V.P.

Data available on the peculiarities of the tegument structure and encapsulation of the acanthocephalans Corynosoma strumosum (Palaeacanthocephala, Polymorphidae) and Sphaerirostris picae (Palaeacanthocephala, Centrorhynchidae) are summurazed. Corynosomes are shown to have a capsule structure varying from fibroblastic to leukocytal depending on the species of a paratenic host (sea fish). Thus, the characteristic thick glycocalix layer can or cannot develop on the tegument surface of corynosomes surrounded by a leukocytal capsule in the hosts of different species. The acanthocephalan S. picae in a paratenic host (lizard) is also surrounded by a leukocytal capsule, however, no characteristic glycocalyx layer is formed on its tegument surface. Such a glycocalyx supposedly represents a protective reaction of the parasite to cellular encapsulation, abut in case of its absence the protective mechanism from the cellular reaction of the host to invasion remains unclear. Based on these results, a hypothesis about two strategies of interrelations between acanthocephalans and paratenic hosts is advanced. According to the first strategy, the acanthocephalan (C. strumosum in fishes of the most well-studied species), regardless of the structure of the capsule formed around is covered with a thick layer of glycocalyx, while cells of the inner part of the capsule are destroyed. When invading paratenic hosts of other species (C. strumosum in halibuts, as well as in experimentally infested aquarium fishes and lizards, S. picae in lizards), the second strategy is realized: the acanthocephalan is surrounded by a leukocytal capsule, however, a thick layer of glycocalyx on its surface is not formed, while the capsule’s cells are not destroyed.

WINTERING OF THE NORTHERN BAT (EPTESICUS NILSSONII, CHIROPTERA, VESPERTILIONIDAE)IN THE SUBURBS OF THE TOWN OF YAKUTSK, CENTRAL YAKUTIA

Кirillin R.A., Solomonov N.G., Аnufriev A.I., Оkhlopkov I.M.

Wintering Chiroptera, the Northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii Keyserling et Blasius 1839), were found in an abandoned tunnel in the territory of the town of Yakutsk (61°59′ N, 129°36′ E) for the first time. Observations during 3 years showed that their wintering was successful. The temperature of the body surface of hibernating animals was –1.8°C in January. The surface temperature of the walls of the tunnel close to the animals was ‒1.9°C, although the air temperature outside the wintering spot was extremely low, –45…–50°C. Winter hibernation consisted of long stupors and short periodic awakenings. During spontaneous awakenings, the bats moved in the tunnel, flied and emitted sounds.