Èkologiâ

We tested hypotheses that the accumulation of potentially toxic metals (Cu and Zn) in the imagoes of two Nymphalid species (Aphantopus hyperantus and Coenonympha arcania) correlates with wing shape and eyespot size, as well as increases their fluctuating asymmetry. These traits are less functionally significant compared to wing length, for which no negative impact of pollution was previously found in these species. Therefore, theoretically, their fluctuating asymmetry may better indicate stress. Butterflies were collected at different distances from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (Revda, Russia). The shape of the forewings and hindwings was analyzed using geometric morphometrics. Eyespot sizes were measured on the ventral side of the forewings and hindwings. Wing shape and its fluctuating asymmetry did not differ between sites in all cases (two species, males and females) but, in one case, correlated with metals (C. arcania females). Eyespot size differed between sites in one species (C. arcania) and, only in females of this species, negatively correlated with Cu (only for two out of five analyzed eyespots). The fluctuating asymmetry of eyespot size differed between sites only in one case (A. hyperantus males), but it was not highest near the smelter; only in C. arcania females, asymmetry decreased with increasing Zn. Thus, the tested hypotheses were not unequivocally confirmed: although some pollution effects were found at both the group (differences between sites) and individual (correlation with metals) levels, they were very weak, specific to trait, species, and sex, and therefore, most likely occasional. The results add to doubts about the informativeness of fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of stress in natural insect populations.

Information on the natural recovery of ground-dwelling invertebrate communities following reductions in industrial pollution is fragmentary. Assemblages of epigeic arachnids (spiders and harvestmen) and ground beetles in the southern taiga spruce-fir forests were analyzed in two areas – one background and the other polluted by long-term emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. Two periods were compared: relatively high emissions (2005) and almost cessed emissions starting from 2010 (2018). We tested the hypothesis that differences between the areas decreased by the second period compared to the first. We assessed total activity density, species richness, taxocene structure, and the abundance of groups identified based on ecological traits (body size, preferences for moisture level, stratum and habitat type, hunting strategy for arachnids, and mobility and feeding preferences for ground beetles). The hypothesis was not confirmed: differences between the areas persisted in total abundance, species richness, and taxocene structure. Some signs of recovery were observed in the arachnid assemblages: a shift towards “linifidization” (i.e., replacement of species from the family Lycosidae with species from the family Linyphiidae), an increase in harvestmen abundance, and the appearance of species previously recorded only in background forests. However, such signs were absent for ground beetles: taxocene features of contaminated areas remained intact, including an increased percentage of mixophytophages and the absence of species with large individuals.

The article considers the nature of the relationship between the level of synanthropization, structure and diversity of species complexes dominant in relatively large (0.15–0.2 ha) sites of vegetation with different history and intensity of anthropogenic disturbances. The study was conducted in low-mountain and high-mountain regions of the Western Caucasus. The total number of studied sites was 161. Within each of them, dominant species were identified and their projective cover was estimated on 100–150 regular plots of 1 m². The results showed that most parameters of the structure of dominant complexes are statistically significantly related to the level of their synanthropization. In particular, an increase in the values of this characteristic is accompanied by an increase in the frequency of occurrence of monodominant communities in sites, including those with a dominant species coverage of 60–80% or more. In this case, the maximum diversity of dominant complexes is observed at average values of the synanthropization level. It is suggested that the parameters of the structure of dominant complexes can be useful as an additional tool when comparing the degree of anthropogenic degradation of large areas of vegetation cover.