Vol 49, No 1 (2018)

The assessment of the role of environmental factors in providing human health is very important. However, the obtaining of such assessments in practice is associated with considerable difficulties. Certain information on the environmental auspiciousness for the health of living beings can be obtained by using the health of environment methodology associated with the assessment of the condition of natural populations of different species of animals and plants by the developmental homeostasis. The experience of parallel studies of the health of humans and the environment indicates the prospects of using such estimates for a approximate characterization of the auspiciousness of a certain impact or quality of the environment to human health as well as for interpreting the results obtained in environmental epidemiology.

The value of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of trees and small mammals is considered as an indicator of developmental instability. The urban territories with recreation zones, sites with increased radiation background, and the areas affected by mining facilities have been analyzed as anthropogenically transformed areas. The following tree and small mammalian species are the objects of the study: Siberian silver birch (Betula platyphylla), spreading birch (B. divaricata), dwarf birch (B. exilis), shrub alder (Duschekia fruticosa), basket willow (Salix viminalis), northern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilus), tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus), Laxmann’s shrew (Sorex caecutiens), and tundra shrew (S. tundrensis). In total, 60000 leaves have been measured and 3500 rodent sculls have been examined. The issues of selection of bioindicator species and the factors distorting the results of environmental quality assessment according to developmental instability are discussed. A statistically significant increase in FA of plants is recorded in urban territories as compared with the wildlife biotopes. A positive correlation of FA value with transport load, concentration of heavy metals in soil, and atmospheric air pollution is observed. The proximity to a roadway and the state of road pavement influence the FA value. The main source of pollution in the administrative center (Yakutsk) is motor vehicles; correspondingly, large streets and crossroads with a high transport load are the most polluted sites. As for the industrial center (city of Mirnyi), pollution spreads from the areas affected by mining to the residential area. The main pollution source in a small administrative center (city of Aldan) is the federal highway. It is recommended to concurrently use the FA characteristics of plant and animals in the area affected by the mining industry. Characteristic of this industry is withdrawal of large areas of natural landscapes; typically, transformed plots alternate weakly affected plots. The specific features of the effects of diamond, gold, and coalmining industries, as well as oil and gas field development, are discussed, which should be taken into account in sampling for bioindication. The problem of bioindication in the areas completely devoid of soil and plant cover can be solved by biotesting via assessment of bunching onion seed germination rate and the rate of mitotic aberrations. An increase in the FA level in trees and small mammals is observed in the areas transformed by the mining industry displaying a chronically increased radiation background and oil-polluted as a result of technogenic accidents. The use of FA index makes it possible to estimate the environmental quality and to compare the state of territories located under different natural and climatic conditions and influenced by multicomponent anthropogenic impacts differing in their strength and genesis, which interferes with their comparison.

The article sums up 10 years of experience in assessing the quality of the environment based on the parameters of the immune system. The studies were conducted on rodents caught in areas with different levels of radioactive or chemical contamination, under the influence of electromagnetic fields of the radio range, and also in laboratory conditions. The most revealing results were obtained when evaluating the proliferative activity of lymphoid cells. A formula has been proposed that allows one to evaluate the degree of anthropogenic impact on the state of an organism in points based on an analysis of the level of spontaneous and mito-gen-induced proliferation of lymphocytes.