Vol 9, No 5 (2016)

This study was conducted to analyze the habitat preference of six major mammals for various environmental factors based on 100 random points within a mountain area in South Korea. In-situ presence and absence data for the mammals were surveyed and collected, and twelve explanatory variables related to topography, water, greenness, and anthropogenic influence were applied to create a habitat distribution model. The best combination of variables was determined using Moran’s I coefficients and Akaike criteria information, and applied to estimate the habitat preference for each species using GRASP v.3.0. The predictive map showed that wildlife animals in this study were mainly categorized into two groups: Group I (Korean squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, mole, Talpa micrura and water deer, Hydropotes inermis), showed equal preference for all mountainous areas; Group II (weasel, Mustela sibirica, leopard cat, Felis bengalensis and raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides) showed different preferences in a mountain.

The spatial heterogeneity of mycobiota species composition has been studied. Clavarioid fungi are used as a model group for mycobiota zonation of Northern Eurasia. The differences in the classification of mycobiota of these fungi resulting from the used coefficients of similarity, aggregation algorithms, and opinions of different interpreters are shown. A method of combining different classifications is proposed. A further study on a larger number of fungal groups would be more representative and would contribute to the creation of a unified biogeographic zonation of Northern Eurasia.

The first results of the horizontal distribution of the cell abundance and toxicity of Microcystis in the hypereutrophic Moroccan reservoir Lalla Takerkoust are reported. An unexpected spatio-temporal heterogeneity has been shown between Microcystis abundance and microcystins concentrations. The principal determining factors were analyzed in order to identify the most likely sites for the proliferation and/or accumulation of Microcystis in this reservoir. The horizontal heterogeneity seems to be mainly influenced by the wind direction and inflows. The results can serve as reference data for monitoring cyanobacterial water blooms and associated cyanotoxins in the lake.

Adaptations of living organisms to the environment are formed and manifested at different levels, from molecular to biocoenotic. Nowadays, the metabolic antioxidant system (AOS) is considered the key part of the process of adaptation; its activation is considered a general response of biota to the negative effect of the environment. The usage of AOS components as biomarkers of the stress condition in hydrobionts has good prospects; it is actively applied in the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems. Here, the kinetics of the free radical formation in various zoobenthic species from the Yenisei River (amphipods, oligochaetes, leeches, and chironomids) and in the amphipods from the Us River (a small mountain river, the Yenisei tributary) is analyzed. The parameters of kinetics of radical formation were registered in vitro in the homogenates of hydrobionts tissues under the initiation of the oxidative stress by the hydrogen peroxide using luminol-dependent chemoluminescence. In amphipods, unlike other invertebrates, the antioxidative activity is characterized by two chemiluminescent peaks. In addition, the kinetics of free radical elaboration has interspecific and agerelated variability in amphipods. In Gmelinoides fasciatus Stebb., the peak of the free radical elaboration and their total number significantly exceeded these parameters for Gammarus sp. and Eulimnogammarus viridis Dybowsky in a 60-min period. The increase of the production of free radicals in E. viridis and Gammarus sp. and its decrease in G. fasciatus were age-dependent. A significantly higher production of free radicals has been registered in G. fasciatus and E. viridis inhabiting the zone of elevated anthropogenic load in the Yenisei River.

The water and hydrochemical balance of Shira and Itkul lakes, located in the arid (steppe) zone in the Republic of Khakassia (Russian Federation), has been calculated. It is shown that Lake Itkul can be considered a drained lake, which significantly determines the basic differences of the hydrochemical balance in the two water bodies. The outflow of water from Itkul to Shira is, on average, 6791000 m3/year, and the average outflow of dissolved salts is 35697 t/year. Lake Shira can be considered a drainless water body with an evaporation mechanism of formation of the chemical composition of its waters, and Lake Itkul is considered a flowing water reservoir. The salt concentration in Itkul is not as high as that in Shira due to the lower influence of evaporation on the formation of the chemical composition of waters and time of their interaction. It has been assumed that this phenomenon is regular, rather than exceptional, for the arid zone of Northern and Central Asia.

Controlled burning has been carried out to stimulate moderate ground fire in the Scots pine (Pinus sуlvestris L.) stand (age class I) in the Krasnoyarsk forest steppe at the beginning of the growing season. The structure of annual rings and trophic supply, as well as the cambial zone antioxidant system condition and the content of photosynthetic pigments in the needles of dominant and suppressed trees in the experimental and control plots, were studied 3 h, 5 days, and 2.5 months after the fire. The fire narrowed the annual ring width, since the number and size of early and late tracheids decreased. The primary reaction to pyrogenic heat shock (sharp reduction of chlorophyll content in needles and manifestation of oxidative stress in the stem cambial zone) was an elevated level of hydrogen peroxide and activity of most antioxidant enzymes and a reduction in the nonstructural carbohydrates pool. Restoration of the cambium function after the fire was promoted by an increased activity of amylase, invertase, and peroxidase.

Population dynamics, density, and aggregation size of tuberoid orchids have been identified based on mapping, electronic maps constructed with “point processes,” and Ripley function and pair-correlation function. Discrete and discrete-continuous types of spatial structure dominate in populations in optimal ecological conditions. The bounded aggregations of levels I (radius 0.45–0.75 m) and II (radius 1.2–2.5 m) are formed at 3 to 7.5 m². The spatial pattern depends on generative specimens which are related with the “group effect.” The microloci have full ontogenetic structure and may be regarded as elemental populations. They form larger aggregations of levels III and IV with random spatial distribution and continuous bounds. Aggregations of higher level are not formed under worse ecological conditions. Random spatial distribution and incomplete ontogenetic spectrum of microloci are indicators of critical population status.

The content of 30 macro- and microelements has been studied and assessed by statistical, hygienic, and biochemical criteria in soils and Achillea millefolium L. as a forage and medicinal plant. The study has been conducted in the territories of the Novosibirsk agglomeration contaminated by waste from industry and transport. The relationships between elemental and biochemical compositions of Ach. millefolium and in the soil–plant system are determined.