Branchiopods (Cladocera) are one of the most important components of freshwater plankton and meiobenthos. The leading center for studying cladocerans is the Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS), which carries out a long-term program of work on the taxonomy, faunistics and phylogeography of these invertebrates. A characteristic feature of the biology of Cladocera is cyclic parthenogenesis, during which males and ephippial females, which produce resting eggs, periodically hatch from unfertilized eggs laid by a parthenogenetic female. It is the features of gamogenetic individuals that are most significant for the taxonomy of many Cladocera, but these stages are often rare and therefore poorly studied. This is especially true for bottom-dwelling cladocerans, which are already difficult to catch and study due to their confinement to a certain substrate and other biological features. Interestingly, despite the specialization for living in the pelagic or benthic zone, similar features are often observed in the geographic distribution of different representatives of this group. For a number of cladoceran species, it has been shown that populations inhabiting Northern Eurasia can be divided into two main genetic lines: one is common in Europe and Western Siberia, and the other inhabits Eastern Siberia and the Far East. Another case of such regionalism was found in Lathonura, a representative of the small and poorly studied family Macrothricidae. Despite the fact that these beautiful and unusual epibenthic crustaceans have constantly come to the attention of researchers, their morphology has been poorly studied until recently. It was believed that the type species of Lathonura, L. rectirostris, originally described in Norway, is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and inhabits both Eurasia and North America. However, a genetic study of 34 Lathonura populations using a fragment of the COI gene, conducted by I.A. Dadykin and D.D. Pereboev (Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions, IEE RAS) showed that the East Asian populations are genetically isolated from both the North American and West Eurasian ones. Moreover, Lathonura from East Eurasia differs from their European relatives morphologically. Thus, the "true" L. rectirostris inhabits only Western Eurasia (in the east, its range reaches the Baikal basin). In Canada and the east coast of the USA, there probably inhabits a morphologically similar but genetically distinct species that has yet to be described. And Eastern Eurasia and Alaska are inhabited by a third species of Latonura, L. bekkerae - the taxon is named in honor of E.I. Bekker, who previously worked in the laboratory of ecology of aquatic communities and invasions and collected the new species in several reservoirs of Kamchatka and Yakutia. The morphological analysis conducted by the authors significantly clarifies and supplements the information about the parthenogenetic and gamogenetic individuals of Lathonura. Some structural features of these crustaceans, in particular, the structure of the thoracic limbs of the first and third pairs and the swimming antenna of the male, are quite rare or even unique among Macrothricidae. Previously, a number of studies suggested that Latonura and some other macrotricid-like cladocerans (Pseudomoina, Guernella, Grimaldina, Neothrix) represent an independent lineage, only distantly related to true Macrothricidae (Macrothrix, Wlassiczia, Bunops, Streblocerus). However, significant adaptive radiation of representatives of the family does not yet allow us to develop a coherent model of their morphological evolution, so the status and family ties of Lathonura remain unclear. The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 23-24-00128). The article was published in the journal Zookeys: Revision of Lathonura rectirostris (O.F. Müller, 1785) (Anomopoda, Macrothricidae) leads to translocation of East Asian populations to a separate species, Lathonura bekkerae sp. nov. Ivan A. Dadykin, Dmitry D. Pereboev https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/154922/ Related materials: Science.Mail: "Scientists describe a new species of crustaceans from the Far East" RAS: "A new species of cladocerans from the north of the Russian Far East has been studied"

Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Thanks to monitoring, scientists can notice changes in time and predict possible risks to rodent populations. In the urban part of the Losiny Ostrov National Park, planned studies of the mouse-like rodent population continue. Scientists study the immunity, stress level and diseases of animals, using humane methods that do not harm them. The work is carried out in the spring and autumn under the supervision of specialists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) on behalf of the capital's Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection. Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow How the research is conducted For research, biologists use traps that do not injure the animals. Each captured mouse undergoes a quick examination, after which it is released into the wild. During the procedure, a minimal amount of biomaterial is taken from the animals: a drop of blood and a hair sample. This does not affect their health, but allows scientists to obtain important data on the state of the population. "During the season, researchers catch about 100 rodents, mainly bank voles, wood and field mice. These species play a key role in the food chain, they serve as food for birds of prey: owls, hawks, kites, and also help to spread plant seeds," said Maria Kim, an employee of the IEE RAS. Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow The reason for study The collected materials allow us to assess the immune status — the rodents’ resistance to infections, seropositivity (the presence of antibodies to various diseases) and stress level (by the concentration of hormones in the fur). Such studies help to assess the impact of the urban environment on wildlife. In addition, monitoring such animals allows us to promptly identify important changes that can affect the health of people and their pets. By studying the physiological state of rodent populations, scientists obtain valuable data that helps maintain ecological balance, ensure the well-being of pets and promote a comfortable human life. Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow The importance of the study Rodents are an important link in the ecosystem, and their condition reflects the overall health of the forest. Disruption of the population can affect the number of predators and plants. Thanks to monitoring, scientists are able to notice changes in time and predict possible risks. The research is carried out without harm to the animals, all rodents are returned to their natural environment after examination. This is an example of a responsible scientific approach that helps maintain a balance between nature and the metropolis. Related materials: Mos: "How the health of mouse-like rodents is assessed in Losiny Ostrov" Moscow24: "The health of mice in Losiny Ostrov Park is assessed without harming them"   Rambler.News: "The health of mice in Losiny Ostrov Park is assessed without harming them"   Vechernyaya Moskva: "How the health of mouse-like rodents is assessed in Losiny Ostrov" Postnews: "Research on the population of mouse-like rodents is conducted in Losiny Ostrov"   Medargo: "Losiny Ostrov scientists conduct humane research on the health of mouse-like rodents to preserve the ecosystem" MosTimes: "Not a pest: ecologists named the unobvious benefit of mice in the ecosystem of the megalopolis"

Want to test your knowledge of the world around us, nature and ecology? Try answering the questions of the online quiz "Green Marathon"! It is held by the Public Ecological Council under the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow. "Green Marathon" is fifty questions on various topics: water, air, land, biodiversity, nature and man. And four answer options, you need to choose the correct one. If you don't succeed the first time, you can repeat. Among the ambassadors of the quiz is Konstantin Gongalsky, Deputy Director for Science at the IEE RAS, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences. The winners will receive tickets to the Darwin Museum or the Moscow Zoo. Link to the quiz: https://golnk.ru/64Yxd

In the first ten days of July, a workshop for young researchers of cranes of Northeast Asia was held in Mongolia, organized by the Wildlife Study and Conservation Center of Mongolia (WSCC) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The workshop was held within the framework of the UN Subregional Programme “Participatory Conservation of Migratory Bird Habitats in Northeast Asia”. It provided a unique platform for early career researchers and conservationists from across the region to enhance their technical capacity in crane research and conservation. Through a combination of lectures, field trips and interactive discussions, young scientists from Mongolia, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia gained hands-on experience in crane research and conservation. The exchange of experiences and modern methods provided a palette of effective measures for restoring endangered species populations. During the workshop, participants learned about methods of working with rural communities in direct contact with cranes in the wild, mastered the skills of processing survey data obtained using a quadcopter and much more. Russia was represented in the seminar by young scientists from the Daursky and Chernye Zemli nature reserves, the Muravyevsky Park for Sustainable Nature Management, the Institute for Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences was represented by leading engineer K.D. Kondrakova and, as an invited lecturer, senior researcher E.I. Ilyashenko, who reviewed the results of studying and preserving cranes in the world, including Northeast Asia, presented information on the achievements and problems of preserving this group of species at the international level and along flyways, and also spoke about the methods needed to assess the quality of foraging habitats for cranes.

Lyudmila Borisovna Volkova is a research associate at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientific editor of the Invertebrates section of the Moscow Red Book (2001, 2011, 2022), and an expert of the Wildlife Conservation Center. In 1973, she entered the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. She graduated with honors from the Department of Entomology. In her senior years and until 1985, she participated in the activities of the insect protection sections of the Central Council of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation and the Moscow Regional Council of All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature. Together with her colleagues, she designed a number of entomological reserves and developed scientific principles for maintaining meadow communities of plants and insects in specially protected natural areas. She has repeatedly led projects to study and protect insects in Moscow and the Moscow Region, and actively participated in such projects. L.B. Volkova is one of the scientific editors of the Invertebrates sections of the Red Book of the Moscow Region (1998, 2008) and Moscow (2001, 2011, 2022), is a member of the authors' collective of the Red Book of the Russian Federation (2021), and one of the authors of the Rules for the Maintenance of Green Spaces in Moscow (2007). Thanks to L.B. Volkova, the Rules for the first time introduced a category of multi-grass multi-species species-preserving lawns from plants of local natural flora for green areas of urban development and the transport network with incomplete mosaic mowing, which allows preserving the diversity of not only producer plants in the biota community, but also the most widespread consumers - invertebrates. An active popularizer of the topic of widespread use in cities of multi-grass multi-species lawns from plants of local natural flora. The author of more than 60 scientific publications on entomology and nature conservation and dozens of popular science articles and speeches on these topics, has an author's column on the website http://progazon.tilda.ws/, publications in the media. Laureate of the Moscow Mayor's Prize for Nature Conservation. Awarded the badge of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow "For active work in the field of environmental protection of the city of Moscow". The IEE RAS team sincerely congratulates Lyudmila Borisovna on her 70th birthday! We wish her good health, success in scientific and educational activities! //Happy Birthday to IEE RAS Research Fellow LYUDMILA BORISOVNA VOLKOVA Dear Lyudmila Borisovna, Happy Anniversary to you! Thank you for your many years of dedicated work! Your expert and scientific work is an invaluable contribution to science and environmental protection. We would like to express special gratitude for your active educational work. You not only study and preserve nature on the pages of scientific publications and monographs, but also make it closer and more understandable to every city resident, popularizing the idea of ​​species-saving lawns. We wish you good health, inexhaustible energy, new scientific achievements and inspiration for further fruitful work for the benefit of science! IPEE RAS Team August 26, 2025 //

Sergey Valerievich is a Russian zoologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was born in 1970, and graduated from Samara State University in 1992. In 1997, he defended his dissertation on the topic: "Social behavior of the lynx (Lynx lynx Linnaeus, 1758) and the features of its formation in ontogenesis." He was engaged in the study of the Amur tiger. In 2016, he defended his dissertation for the title of Doctor of Biological Sciences on the topic "Biology of feline reproduction. The mechanism of reproductive success." On March 23, 2021, he was elected Director of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2022, he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The IEE RAS team wholeheartedly congratulates Sergei Valerievich on his 55th birthday, wishes him good health, success in scientific and administrative activities, happiness and harmony! Photo on the postcard: Scientific Russia // 55 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE DIRECTOR OF IEE RAS SERGEI VALERIEVICH NAYDENKO! We sincerely congratulate the Director of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Sergey Valerievich Naydenko on his 55th birthday! Please accept our most sincere wishes for good health, inexhaustible energy, well-being and new outstanding successes in scientific and administrative activities. May the Institute continue to develop dynamically under your leadership, strengthening its positions. We wish you to continue leading the Institute's team to new achievements and discoveries, inspiring your colleagues! May your work continue to bring satisfaction and joy, and may there always be room for happiness and harmony in your life! IEE RAS team August 25, 2025 //

Alisa Neplukhina. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Scientists take samples and examine the spores under a microscope, their color, shape and size, which is often key to accurate identification. Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Photo: Press Service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Galina Butaeva. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Specialists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) and the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) are studying mushrooms in the Moscow part of the Losiny Ostrov National Park. The large-scale study began in 2024 on behalf of the Moscow Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection. Specialists have begun to count macromycete fungi - those that form large fruiting bodies. Scientists plan to record their appearance over several seasons to create a complete picture of species diversity. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow "The mushroom inventory was carried out using the route survey method: having determined the route in advance, the scientists recorded all the mushrooms they encountered. Specimens that could not be identified on the spot were carefully collected in containers, signing the collection location - in the laboratory, they were awaited by microscopic analysis. As a rule, the greatest difficulty is presented by outwardly similar groups of mushrooms: various types of russula, small representatives of the genus Mycena, as well as young fruiting bodies that have not yet developed all the characteristics necessary for accurate identification," shared Galina Butaeva, a research fellow at the Department of Mycology and Algology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Laboratory research To identify many types of mushrooms, it is necessary to study external signs and microscopic characteristics. Scientists make microscopic preparations, examining spores, their color, shape and size under a microscope, which is often key to accurate identification. Research continues in laboratory conditions. This is the most important stage of the work, where specialists study the finest structures of mushrooms using optics, microscopes, stereomicroscopes and special reagents. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Recent finds include many members of the Russulaceae family. Representatives of the Boletus (porcini mushrooms) and Cantharellus (chanterelles) genera have also been discovered. However, some species that are actively fruiting now may not be found next season. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow From the first finds to systematic accounting Thanks to the first stage of the study, specialists compiled preliminary lists of species, including both widespread and rare specimens. “Last year, five species of mushrooms listed in the Red Book of Moscow were recorded, and two of them — the bulgaria inquinans and the violet webcap — were discovered for the first time in the urban part of the Losiny Ostrov National Park,” said Alisa Neplukhina, PhD in Biology, research fellow at the IEE RAS. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow The main task is not only to census the mushroom diversity, but also to carefully monitor the endangered and vulnerable species. During the period of active growth of fruiting bodies, scientists carefully study forest areas, recording the places where rare species grow. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Importance of the study Fungi play a key role in the ecosystem: they participate in the decomposition of organic matter, form a symbiosis with trees and serve as an indicator of the state of the forest. Interim data show a rich species diversity in the Moscow part of Losiny Ostrov Park. Full results will appear after the autumn surveys are completed. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow The capital's Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection reminds that picking mushrooms in specially protected natural areas is not permitted. According to Article 4.20 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, a fine of three thousand rubles is assigned for the illegal collection or trade of plants and animals listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow Photo: press service of the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of the City of Moscow

Photo by - Utrish State Nature Reserve In May 2025, a short-term expedition of the staff of the Laboratory for the Study of Ecological Functions of Soils of the IEE RAS took place in the Utrish State Nature Reserve. During the expedition, the staff collected soil samples in cracks on the slope of the southern exposure, where high humidity and abundant leaf litter create ideal conditions for soil fauna. As part of a comprehensive study of soil inhabitants this year, the researchers paid special attention to enchytraeids - small annelids that are extremely important for the proper functioning of the ecosystem, but to date have not been sufficiently studied. Photo by - Utrish State Nature Reserve Having delivered the collected soil to a laboratory in Moscow, the scientists extracted enchytraeids from it, which they then examined under a microscope. As the head of the working group, Maxim Degtyarev, a candidate of biological sciences, reported: “As a result of the work, four species of enchytraeids were discovered that had not previously been recorded in the territory of the Reserve, and one of these species is new to science and will soon be described. The results of the research showed that the enchytraeid fauna of the Utrish Reserve, containing at least 19 species, not only represents a local version of the Caucasian fauna, but also has unique, distinctive features.” Acting Director of the Utrish State Nature Reserve Roman Podkopaev emphasized that the discovery of new species of enchytraeids on the territory of the reserve, including one previously unknown to science, confirms the uniqueness of its biodiversity. The results of the expedition not only expand knowledge about the soil fauna of the Caucasus, but also demonstrate that the Utrish Nature Reserve is a key territory for scientific discoveries.

The monograph "Analytical Catalogue of Freshwater and Brackish-Water Mollusks of Russia and Adjacent Countries" is available for reading and downloading on the IEE RAS website. The authors of the monograph are M.V. Vinarsky and Yu.I. Kantor. The monograph summarizes data on the taxonomy, nomenclature, geographic distribution, and some aspects of the bionomy of mollusks in fresh and brackish waters of the former USSR. In total, this catalog includes data on 424 nominal species of the Bivalvia class and 728 nominal species of Gastropoda. The current species richness of aquatic continental mollusks of the former USSR is probably significantly lower, since the validity of many of the nominal species requires additional confirmation, and in the future, some of them may be reduced to synonyms. Each species is given a short essay, constructed according to a single scheme. The catalogue also contains data on the distribution of all types of mollusks in individual regions of the former USSR, information on the introduction of invasive species, and information on the conservation status of individual species. You can download the monograph from the link.

Photo of the single-celled microalga Emiliania huxleyi.Source: https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145151/beauty-and-a-burden-in-the-norwegian-sea Planktonic unicellular algae account for 50% of global carbon fixation. However, these microorganisms face a problem: for about half of their vegetative life, at night, they are unable to fix carbon and actively synthesize proteins, which is necessary for the G1 phase (the first of three phases) of the cell cycle. Empirical data indicate that the average daily growth of microalgae depends on their ability to quickly synthesize organic matter, but they must also have a sufficient number of metabolites in the cell. The figure shows examples of experimental dependences of the growth rates of different phytoplankton species on the duration of daylight: it is clear that this dependence is nonlinear. A fundamental question arises about the optimal physiological configuration of phototrophic organisms to maintain such activity under a daily light-dark cycle. Photo of the diatom Ditylum brightwelliiSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditylum_brightwellii In a joint study by scientists from the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) (Russia) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (United Kingdom), computer modeling was used to study the optimization of carbon fixation by unicellular phototrophs. The proposed methodology is based on the quota concept, in which the internal limiting resource is carbon itself, proportional to the total carbon biomass of the organism. The proposed simplified mathematical model of the cell consists of only two compartments: the metabolite compartment and the compartment for the synthesis of organic carbon compounds. The metabolite compartment provides the synthesis of hydrocarbon compounds, but it does not require additional carbon consumption. "Despite the relative simplicity of the proposed model, it is capable of reproducing the general picture of growth at different day lengths and demonstrates a decrease in C-fixation in the afternoon. Particular emphasis in the study was placed on testing the effectiveness of the physiological configuration of cells, leading to the optimality of their functioning," said Andrey Morozov, senior researcher at the IEE RAS. The work shows that although the rate of C-fixation (i.e. the rate of conversion of inorganic carbon to organic matter) required to maintain a given growth potential generally increases linearly with the inverse ratio of daylength to photoperiod, the relationship with the maximum metabolite compartment size relative to whole organism biomass is determined by the ratio of daylength to organism doubling time. Thus, faster growing organisms require not only a higher rate of resource assimilation for a given combination of daylength and maximum growth rate, but also a higher metabolite compartment mass. Represented: nonlinearity of the growth rate of planktonic phototrophs as a function of daylength. Panel (A) of the figure presents experimental data (details are provided in this paper) showing the growth rates of the microalga Emiliania huxleyi, and the diatoms Ditylum brightwellii and Nitzschia turgidula under different daylengths (maximum daylength is 1). In panel (B), these growth rates are normalized to the rate under continuous light. The thin line in panel (A) represents the average daily growth rate corresponding to one cell division per day. The thin line in panel (B) represents the expected growth rate if it increased linearly with daylength. The results obtained may be crucial for understanding the patterns of geographical distribution of planktonic phototrophs at different latitudes during the seasons and may affect the competitive advantage of organisms that will grow under climate change scenarios. In particular, the model predicts that larger vacuolated organisms (e.g. diatoms) that have a larger metabolite compartment may have an advantage in such situations. On the other hand, the requirement for a high mass of the metabolite compartment limits the competitiveness of fast-growing microorganisms to lower latitudes and/or longer daylight hours. The results are published  in PLOS Computational Biology. Flynn, K.J. and Morozov, A.Y., 2025. Resource acquisition in diel cycles and the cost of growing quickly.// PLOS Computational Biology, 21(6), p.e1013132, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013132