A series of experiments aimed at studying the symbiont fauna of corals of the genus Pocillopora showed how the size, health, age and even growth conditions of the host colony affect the animals living on it. The study was carried out at the Dam Bai Research Station (Vietnam), a region that is home to the richest obligate coral symbiont fauna in the world. Employees of the Laboratory of Morphology and Ecology of Marine Invertebrates of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered that an increase in the size and density of host colonies causes both the enrichment of the symbiont fauna with new species and an increase in the number of symbionts themselves. Moreover, differences were shown in the response of different groups of symbionts to changes in the same properties of the host. Thus, as the planting density of hosts increased, the diversity and abundance of obligate symbionts increased, while these indicators of facultative symbionts, on the contrary, decreased. According to the working hypothesis, an increase in the number of obligate symbionts – “specialists” – increases competition with less adapted facultative symbionts – “opportunists”, which leads to a decrease in the number of the latter. Interestingly, the deterioration of hosts caused by seasonal bleaching (bleaching due to the release of symbiotic algae) had no noticeable effect on either obligate or facultative symbionts. Among other questions that the laboratory staff answered, one stands out: how does the composition and richness of the fauna of coral symbionts differ between those grown in a nursery and grown in natural conditions? It turned out that the diversity of symbionts in the nurseries was comparable or even higher than that on a natural reef located nearby. However, the species richness and density of symbionts on naturally occurring host corals was still higher than on corals grown in nurseries. The findings show that multiple coral farms can help restore not only damaged coral reefs, but also the specialized species of invertebrates and fish that live on the surface and inside coral colonies that need protection. Moreover, it is now clear under what conditions corals should be grown in nurseries to ensure the greatest richness and diversity of symbiont fauna. The research was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22–24-00836). Detailed results of the work are presented in publications: Britayev T.A., Petrochenko R.A., Burmistrova Y.A., Nguyen T.H., Lishchenko F.V. 2023. Density and Bleaching of Corals and Their Relationship to the Coral Symbiotic Community. Diversity 2023, 15, 456. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030456 Q2 Britayev T.A., Zvonareva S.S., Lishchenko F.V., Deart Y.V. 2023. Symbiotic communities associated with nursery-reared and natural corals: are they similar? Frontiers in Marine Science, 10 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1221922 Q1

Fig.1. Variety of colors in experimental cichlids - Amatitlania nigrofasciata. 1–7 – adults melanistic elements, (a, p) – anterior and posterior stripes, LS – larval stripe. Cichlids are the largest family of vertebrates and have a wide variety of pigment patterns, making them a favorite among aquarium hobbyists. In addition to its contemplative value for humans, coloration is of utmost importance for the life activity and evolution of the cichlid fish themselves. However, information about the causes and mechanisms underlying the formation of its diversity is scattered and sporadic. Employees of our institute were able to show that one of the most important factors influencing the ontogenesis and evolution of the diversity of cichlid colors is the activity of the thyroid gland and the dynamics of the concentrations of thyroid hormones synthesized by the gland. This conclusion is based on results obtained from experimental work on two species of Neotropical cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata and Cryptoheros spilurus). In particular, it was found that thyroid hormones have a direct effect on the temporal characteristics of ontogenesis of most pigment cell lines. Untimely changes in hormone concentrations (hyper- or hypothyroidism) often lead to irreversible consequences and the formation of coloration characteristic not of this species (Fig. 1), but of other species of phylogenetically close and distant Neotropical cichlids. Taken together with previously obtained data on the participation of thyroid hormones in the formation of phenotypic diversity of various groups of fish and amphibians, the results presented in this work provide important evidence of the key role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis in the evolution of vertebrates. The work was published in the oldest scientific international journal «Journal of Experimental Biology» (SJR Q1). Denis V. Prazdnikov and Fedor N. Shkil (2023). The role of thyroid hormones in development of coloration of two species of Neotropical cichlids. J. Exp. Biol. 226 (14), jeb245710. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245710

Fig.1. Generalized and big-lipped sympatric forms of the african barb Speciation is a long-term process that extends far beyond the lifetime of the observer. When studying speciation, procedural reconstructions are required. The most suitable objects for studying speciation are parallel situations among closely related species that are at different stages of development. By studying and comparing such cases, it is possible to reconstruct the process of speciation from origin to the formation of new species. Fig.2. Material collection map A team of researchers from Russia (IEE RAS, IBVV RAS, Zoological Institute RAS), Germany and Japan studied an adaptive trait in fish - hypertrophied lips, also called rubber lips, using the example of African longhorned beetles. Typically, enlarged lips in fish are used for a rather specific method of feeding - sealing cracks in rocks, depressions between stones and sucking out the benthos hidden there. However, the feeding preferences of rubber-lipped longhorned beetles were unknown. Using methods of ecology and genomics, six populations of ray-finned fish Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) from water bodies in East Africa (Ethiopia), in which this trait arose in parallel, were studied. The use of trophic methods (analysis of the composition of the food bolus and the ratio of stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon) showed that despite the equally well-developed lips, only in half of the populations they were used for a specialized method of feeding (benthophagy) and sharing trophic resources with the generalized ancestral form, from which a rubber-lipped form occurred. Fig. 3. Division of trophic resources between sympatric pairs of lipped and generalized forms according to the analysis of stable isotopes d15N and d13C. According to genetic results (mtDNA analysis and genomic analysis), in only one of six cases the genetic divergence between the sympatric lipped and generalized forms reached the species level. Thus, a continuum of speciation has been discovered - from non-functional polymorphism through ecologically relevant polymorphism to divergent evolution (speciation). Fig.4. Genomic analysis (A - tree, population genetic structure; B - analysis of the main component) based on 15820 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Lipped forms are marked on the tree in yellow, and in the space of the principal component s - outlined in yellow. The obtained results support the 'plasticity-first' evolutionary hypothesis, according to which phenotypic innovation first arises and then its ecological functionalization occurs. The work was published in the journal Ecology and Evolution by Wiley -https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.10523 Levin, B., Komarova, A., Simonov, E., Tiunov, A., Levina, M., Golubtsov, A., F. Kondrashov, & Meyer, A. (2023). Speciation and repeated origins of hypertrophied lips in parallel adaptive radiations of cyprinid fish from East Africa.Ecology and Evolution,13(9), e10523. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant 19-14-00218.

Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University conducted a study of the acoustic parameters of the meows of feral adult domestic cats Felis silvestris catus kept in captivity during the breeding season. During the breeding season of domestic cats, both sexes dramatically increase their vocal activity. Loud meows can be used by animals to determine the gender of a potential partner and his individuality (in groups of more or less constant composition). However, to date there have been no studies that directly support these assumptions. Picture: Spectrogram illustrating individual and sex differences in the meows of adult domestic cats during the breeding season. Above: meowing of three males, below - three females. An audio file of these screams is available in the Supplementary material for the article. As a result of the analysis of the acoustic parameters of meows of 5 males and 6 females of adult domestic cats, it turned out that the percentage of correct assignment of meows to sex in discriminant analysis averaged 88.0%, and to an individual averaged 79.2%, which significantly exceeds the random level calculated with using a permutation test. Also, male meows were much lower in frequency, with a maximum fundamental frequency of 0.37 ± 0.05 kHz compared to 0.61 ± 0.16 kHz in females. Picture: Diagram illustrating individual and sex differences in the meows of adult domestic cats. Males are indicated in blue, females in red. (a) – differences in duration (in seconds), (b) – differences in the maximum values of the fundamental frequency (f0max, in kilohertz). Thus, the study showed that acoustic differences in the meows of adult domestic cats during the breeding season may encode information about the sex and identity of the animals calling. The results of the study were published in the journal Behaviour: Sedova L.M., Volodin I.A., Erofeeva M.N., Alekseeva G.S., Naidenko S.V., Volodina E.V., Meows of captive feral domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in the mating season: acoustic correlates of caller identity and sex. Behaviour. DOI: 10.1163/1568539X-bja10239 Related materials: Nauka.rf: "Meowing contains individual information about cats" Outpost Sevastopol: “The meowing of cats was studied at Moscow State University” RAS: "The meowing of domestic cats contains individual information about the animals" 7ooo.ru: “The meowing of cats was studied at Moscow State University” Rambler: "The meowing of cats was studied at Moscow State University"

Wild cheetahs in Mara Meru National Park in Kenya. Photo by E.V. Chelysheva. The loud calls of cheetahs were studied in a wild population in Kenya in animals of 14 age classes, from newborns to adults. At the youngest ages, the calls are very high-frequency and resemble the chirping of birds. As they grow older, their calls gradually become lower in frequency. The maximum fundamental frequency of calls was found to be the best indicator of the age of cheetahs. In newborns, this figure exceeded 10 kilohertz, decreased steadily as the cubs grew, and reached a plateau of about 1 kilohertz in adult animals aged four years and older. Based on the dependence of voice pitch on age in cheetahs, polynomial models were constructed to estimate the age of cheetahs from their calls. The most appropriate models used to estimate the age of dolphins and humans based on dental parameters were selected as the basis for the modeling. The models developed in this study for estimating the age of cheetahs from their voices can be used to monitor animals in the wild from call recordings, even in cases where the animals cannot be seen in dense vegetation or poor lighting. The spectrogram illustrates changes in the calls of cheetahs from the youngest age class (1, newborns) to mature adult animals (14, adults over 4 years old). The frequency parameters of calls change gradually with age, which opens up the possibility of solving the inverse problem, determining the age of animals by their calls in nature. An audio file of these calls is available in the Supporting Information for this article. Modeling the correlation between the fundamental frequency of cheetah calling calls and age makes it possible to estimate the age of animals based on the parameters of their calls. The results of the study were published in the journal Ethology:: Klenova A.V., Chelysheva E.V., Vasilieva N.A., Volodin I.A., Volodina E.V. Acoustic features of long-distance calls of wild cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are linked to the caller age from newborns to adults. Ethology, 2023. doi: 10.1111/eth.13406 Материалы по теме: Project for the study of Cheetahs "MARA-MERU"

October 5 at the site of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS held a thematic meeting of the IPO “Expert Council on Nature Reserves” on the issue “Current state, problems and prospects for implementing measures to regulate the number of wild animals in protected areas of federal significance”. These regulatory measures are scientifically based actions taken in nature reserves, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries to change or maintain the number of individual species, preserve and restore the structure of natural ecosystems, ensure ecological balance and the natural course of natural processes in protected areas. The meeting was opened by Vyacheslav Rozhnov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the Ecology of Biological Systems. In his report Vsevolod Stepanitsky, co-chairman of the Expert Council on Nature Reserves, Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation, noted that conceptual approaches to carrying out regulatory activities in protected areas were formulated in the 80-90s of the last century by outstanding domestic scientists - ecologists and theorists of nature reserves, in including V.V. Dezhkin, A.M. Krasnitsky, V.E. Sokolov, K.P. Filonov. The speaker emphasized that the implementation of regulatory measures in protected areas by shooting or trapping animals should be considered as a measure caused by exceptional necessity and having a thorough scientific justification. The report cited numerous examples of unfounded, misconception-based and ill-conceived regulatory measures in Russian protected areas over the past half century. The speaker noted that measures for regulatory shooting or trapping of wild animals in nature reserves, national parks and sanctuaries can be allowed, first of all, as an objective need to reduce the number of certain species in order to minimize the degradation of natural ecosystems. It is unacceptable to use such events as a pretext for “meat procurement” or “hunting fun” for a number of interested parties, including employees of institutions managing protected areas. Such cases only work to discredit the ideas of conservation, incl. in the eyes of the local population. It was also noted that when justifying and making decisions on carrying out regulatory measures in protected areas, one should fully take into account the arguments of modern science, and not rely on the postulates of the middle of the last century. In this regard, a quote is given from the famous book by F.R. Shtilmark “Historiography of Russian nature reserves”: “Until the end of his life head of the Main Hunt of the RSFSR N.V. Eliseev did not even want to hear about stopping the extermination of wolves in nature reserves, despite all the arguments of ecologists.” In addition, the speaker drew attention to the need on the part of both managers of protected areas and officials making decisions on regulatory activities to calculate and minimize the corruption risks and opportunities for poaching associated with such activities. It is also important to keep in mind such potential undesirable consequences as increasing the disturbance factor and (in certain cases) replacing the ecological niche of wolves with “stray” dogs and wolf-dog hybrids. During the discussion of the report, Vyacheslav Rozhnov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, drew attention to the fact that when discussing the feasibility of regulating the number of wild animals in protected areas, it is necessary to take into account differences in size, legal status, purposes of creating protected areas and - in all cases, a scientific approach to regulating the number of animals is very important, no matter what territories we are talking about. Also, according to Rozhnov, this issue requires extensive interaction between specialists from government agencies managing protected areas with colleagues from specialized academic and other institutions. The exceptional importance of scientific justification for regulating the number of animals in protected areas was also emphasized by Sergei Naidenko, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, director of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS. Yuri Dgebaudze, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of General Ecology and Hydrobiology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Head of the Laboratory of Ecology of Aquatic Communities and Invasions at A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Ecology RAS in his speech emphasized that protected areas are created, first of all, to preserve natural populations and ecosystems that are self-regulating: “they don’t need to be bothered, they just need to be protected.” At the same time, he drew attention to the problem of alien species, the number and distribution of which must be minimized, especially in protected areas, which is confirmed by generally accepted international practice. However, this problem does not find proper understanding from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. Jose Antonio Hernandez-Blanco, Ph.D., senior researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, using the example of the wolf population structure, showed that regulatory measures can be ineffective and lead to the opposite result, for example, not to a decrease in the wolf’s pressure on ungulates, but to a noticeable increase. Therefore, the problem of regulating the number of predators in protected areas requires careful scientific research. In his speech, Mikhail Kreindlin, a member of the Bureau of the Expert Council on Nature Reserves, emphasized that based on the analysis of published data on the regulation of animal numbers, with rare exceptions, there are no serious scientific studies of applications for regulation. He also shared examples of strange motivations for decisions to carry out regulatory measures (for example, shooting a large number of wild boars in the Meshchersky National Park, despite the decline in its numbers both in the park itself and in the region). He also drew attention to the fact that often the initiative for such events comes not from the institutions that manage protected areas, but from above, incl. under pressure from regional authorities. According to Kreindlin, the current situation with the regulation of wildlife in protected areas discredits the reserve system and the cumulative negative effect may increase. The recommendations prepared following the meeting should be aimed at changing the situation in this area. Alexander Lipkovich, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Rostov State Nature Reserve, noted that it is necessary to separate the full regulation of the number of animals and cases when there is an objective need to remove from the territory singular individuals of large mammals that show aggression, in particular those that are dangerous for people, as well as predators that harm domestic animals. Using the example of the Rostovsky Nature Reserve, he explained that while it is obviously inadmissible to shoot a wolf in the reserve itself, there is no doubt about the regulation of its numbers in the adjacent territories represented by pasture farmland. He also recalled that there are methods for regulating the wolf population that are not related to its shooting and the presence of persons with hunting weapons in protected areas. According to Sergei Podolsky, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Zeya State Reserve", when developing legal norms in this area, it is important, on the one hand, to put clear barriers to unreasonable decisions, and on the other hand, not allow such rigid administration as to make it difficult to regulate where it is needed. As an example, he cited the Tokinsko-Stanovoi National Park in the Amur region, one of the tasks of which is the preservation of traditional reindeer husbandry, which is extremely problematic without regulating the number of wolves and brown bears. Sergey Kuzmin, Ph.D., chief specialist of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS in his speech touched upon the problem of obtaining animals (with removal from their habitat) in protected areas for the purposes of scientific research and environmental monitoring. He noted that the study and monitoring of biota with large-scale removal of wildlife objects contradicts the main task of protected areas, especially state natural reserves, to protect biota. In his opinion, the need to remove a significant number of individuals from nature in order to obtain very conditional estimates of the dynamics of species numbers raises great doubts. For most reserves, the species composition of animals is known; for many species, their disappearance or appearance can be assessed by experts without removing them from nature. Kuzmin proposed introducing a system of issuing permits for research in federal protected areas without removing animals from their habitat; which should be allowed only in individual cases, but by no means on a traditional scale. During the discussion, co-chairman of the Expert Council on Nature Reserves, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, Ph.D., member of the Bureau of the Expert Council Dmitry Gorshkov, Ph.D., leading researcher at the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology Yuri Buivolov, Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Baikal State Reserve" Vasily Sutula, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation Yuri Gorshkov, Ph.D. A.N. Severtsov RAS – Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Leonid Baskin, Ph.D. Andrey Poyarkov, Ph.D. Victor Zubakin. The meeting participants supported the recommendations voiced by the speaker and addressed to the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources with the following proposals: — develop and adopt a legal act regulating the organization and implementation of measures to control the number of wild animals in federal protected areas, which, in particular, provide for the following mandatory requirements: preparation of scientific justification for carrying out regulatory activities;consideration of issues of population regulation at the scientific and technical councils of the Federal State Budgetary Institutions that manage protected areas;formation of an expert commission under the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources from among independent highly qualified specialists to consider applications for regulatory measures in federal protected areas;posting on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources of information about decisions made regarding the implementation of regulatory measures in federal protected areas,as well as regulation of issues of disposal of hunting products in order to control the numbers. — develop and promote a draft federal law on amendments to the Federal Law “On Hunting and the Conservation of Hunting Resources…” in terms of determining the procedure for approving the limit on the production of hunting resources for protected areas of federal significance, the regime of which allows for amateur and sport hunting. Unfortunately, it was not possible to hear the position of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources on the problems of regulating the number of wild animals in protected areas of federal significance - its representatives did not take part in the meeting, despite the official invitation. Based on the results of the thematic meeting, the final version of the recommendations will be prepared, which will be sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. Below, snapshots of history In the Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, 1981 In 1964, a researcher at the Voronezh State Nature Reserve V.A. Komarov developed a chemical method for immobilizing deer, which made it possible to carry out measures in the reserve to regulate the number and mass capture of red deer for their further resettlement in the regions of the country.

Sixty years ago, on October 7, 1963, the Soviet scientist, world-famous theorist of evolutionary doctrine of the 20th century, Ivan Ivanovich Shmalhausen, the second director of our Institute (at that time - the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Evolutionary Morphology (IEM)), replacing Academician A.N. Severtsov, passed away. The obituary was published in 1964 in the Journal of Zoology.In April next year we will celebrate the 140th anniversary of the birth of Academician I.I. Schmalhausen. By this date, the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences is planning an exhibition dedicated to his life and contribution to science, and will also post publications dedicated to this outstanding researcher on the Institute’s website.  

A working meeting was held between the Director for Development of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, Alexey Aleksandrovich Reteum, and the leaders of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS. The meeting was attended by the director of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor, corresponding member of RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences Sergei Valerievich Naidenko; Deputy Director for Science, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences Konstantin Bronislavovich Gongalsky; Scientific Secretary, Doctor of Biological Sciences Natalya Yuryevna Feoktistova and Deputy Director for General Issues Evgeniy Igorevich Karlik. The meeting was dedicated to cooperation between ASNC and IEE RAS in the scientific and expert field; plans for the implementation of joint projects and programs in the field of ecology and nature conservation were discussed. It is worth noting that the head of the Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology of Mammals of the Institute of Ecology and Ecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Rozhnov joined the recently formed Scientific Expert Council of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation.

Employees of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS - Candidate of Biological Sciences, coordinator of the implementation of the scientific program for the restoration of the leopard in the Russian Caucasus Anna Andreevna Yachmennikova and Doctor of Biological Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Rozhnov have spoken about the program on television.

Streams draining the slopes of active volcanoes are often characterized by a number of unfavorable environmental factors for the habitat of aquatic organisms. In Kamchatka, many watercourses that serve as spawning grounds for the salmon Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) are contaminated with solutions of heavy metals. Excessive levels of copper, zinc, and lead in water are toxic to fish and cause multiple dysfunctions. Specialists from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences studied populations of Dolly Varden permanently inhabiting streams of volcanic territories and discovered characteristic adaptive changes in physiology that make it possible to ensure the sustainable existence of populations in an extremely unfavorable environment. The new article presents the results of field studies and experimental cultivation of Dolly Varden, shedding light on the physiological basis of adaptation to water pollution by heavy metals. It has been shown that fish from “volcanic” streams differ from the inhabitants of clean rivers in their hyperthyroid status, which accompanies an increased rate of catabolism, increased activity of antioxidant enzymes and reduced ionic conductivity of tissues. Counteracting physiological stress requires energy; therefore, Dolly Varden from volcanic streams is characterized by reduced reserves of lipids and glycogen in somatic tissues. Experimental data show that hyperfunction of the thyroid gland increases the resistance of the fish body to water pollution with heavy metals. Also, adaptive hyperthyroidism determines the evolution of the phenotype in Dolly Varden populations. Under conditions of chemical pollution, populations begin to experience paedomorphosis, a reduction in the duration of the life cycle, and miniaturization of the body. The similarity of physiological and morphological changes in populations inhabiting volcanic streams for different numbers of generations suggests the universality of the mechanism of “evolutionary rescue” of fish in the event of exposure to unfavorable living conditions. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Esin E.V., Shulgina E.V., Shkil F.N. 2023. Rapid hyperthyroidism-induced adaptation of salmonid fish in response to environmental pollution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Vol.DOI: 10.1111/JEB.14220 Related materials: RAS: "The mechanism of adaptation of freshwater fish for survival in water with extremely high concentrations of heavy metals has been described"