On July 4, the solemn ceremony of presenting state awards of the Russian Federation was held at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The ceremony was attended by three chief scientists of IEE RAS: Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Rozhnov and Alexander Yakovlevich Supin received the Medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. Valery Anatolyevich Karpov received the Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation. We congratulate our colleagues on well-deserved awards and wish them success in their future work!

Employees of the Laboratory of Soil Zoology and General Entomology IEE RAS Ph.D. Goncharov A.A., Ph.D. Leonov V.D., Rozanova O.L., Ph.D. Semenina E.E., Ph.D. Tsurikov S.M., Ph.D. Uvarov A.V., Zuev A.G. and Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corresponding Member Tiunov A.V. conducted a meta-analysis of data from 86 field experiments that assessed the impact of climate change on the abundance and structure of soil invertebrate communities. The meta-analysis included experiments conducted in a variety of biomes from Eurasia, North and South America, Australia, Antarctica, and oceanic islands. The average duration of the experiments was 51 months. It was shown that warming and precipitation had a greater effect on the abundance of soil invertebrates than an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On average, an increase in air temperature by 1°C correlated with an increase in the number of ticks by 12.5% and a decrease in the number of springtails by 9.6%. An increase in precipitation by 10% was associated with an increase in the number of nematodes by 1.4% and oligochaetes by 34.7%. Geographic location of study sites included in the meta-analysis Taking into account the estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with an increase in the average air temperature by 3.6° by 2100, the possibility of strong local changes in the structure of detrital food webs is shown. In arid regions, the formation of soil communities that contribute to carbon mineralization can be expected, and in regions with increased rainfall, they can contribute to the accumulation of carbon in the soil. Predictions (mean value and 95% confidence interval) of changes in the abundance of three functional groups of soil animals (Nematodes, Microarthropods and Oliform worms) based on the long-term (from 2081 to 2100) SSP3-7.0 scenario developed by the IPCC for regions with reduced (A) and increased (B) precipitation levels. Microarthropods are represented by springtails and mites. The asterisks represent a significant change in abundance. The study was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 22-76-10027. The work was published in the journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry (SJR Q1, IF = 8.546) Anton A. Goncharov, Vladislav D. Leonov, Oksana L. Rozanova, Eugenia E. Semenina, Sergey M. Tsurikov, Alexei V. Uvarov, Andrey G. Zuev, Alexei V. Tiunov (2023). A meta-analysis suggests climate change shifts structure of regional communities of soil invertebrates. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 181:109014 Related materials: Kommersant: "Live indicators of carbon balance"

In May, four employees of IEE RAS (A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution) took part in an expedition to Nepal. About the lectures held at Tribhuvan University, about a trip to the Langtang National Park and other interesting places in Nepal - the account of the Scientific Secretary of the IEE RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences Natalia Feoktistova and Deputy Director for Science, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corr. of RAS Alexei Surov. There are several versions of the origin of the toponym "Nepal". According to one of them, the name comes from the Sanskrit bases - nipa (“at the foot of the mountains”) and alai (“dwelling”, “inhabited place”), that is, “dwelling at the foot of the mountain”, which corresponds to the geographical conditions of the country. According to another version, the word "Nepal" comes from the Tibetan "niampal" ("holy land") and may be due to the fact that Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as the Buddha, was born in Nepal more than 2500 years ago. Of course, the purpose of our trip was not to establish which version is more plausible. We simply wanted to experience the unknown, the mysterious country that we knew little about, which was supposed to be very different from everything we had seen before. We are a team of 7 people, consisting of employees of the IEE RAS (N.Yu. Feoktistova, A.V. Surov, B.I. Sheftel and A.Yu. Aleksandrov) and M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (A.A. Bannikova, V.S. Lebedev and E.A. Koblik). All of them are zoologists, mainly teriologists, and one (E.A. Koblik) is an ornithologist, the only one who was previously in Nepal, and even twice. The flight took 11 hours, including a four-hour layover in Delhi, where we were quite thoroughly searched during a security check and two GPS receivers were confiscated, which are now in the lost and found in Delhi. Why they took them away and where it is written that such devices cannot be imported into India, despite the fact that now any smartphone has the same functions, only Indian customs officers know. Because of this, we almost missed the plane, but nevertheless departed and made a soft landing in Kathmandu, the capital of this most interesting and mysterious country. By prior arrangement, we were met by Nadezhda Neupokoeva, a true admirer of Nepal, and most importantly, a person with amazing knowledge of history, religion, traditions, cuisine and much more, concerning not only Nepal, but also Southeast Asia in general. And here we are under the care of this unique woman. It took 30 minutes to drive to Thorong-la Hotel in Thamel (city center). The cityscape outside the window was rather dirty streets with rather unkempt buildings interspersed with Buddhist and Hindu temples. The city center is noisy not only because of the huge mass of people, but also the insane number of rattling motorcycles and mopeds, on which the population masterfully moves through narrow streets devoid of sidewalks. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we had a meeting about our plans. We decided that on April 25 we will stay in the city and visit the University, where we agreed to meet with professors of the Faculty of Zoology, and on April 26 we will move to the mountains in the Langtang National Park area. The height of the largest peak (Langtang Lirung) in this system is 7227 m. All the logistics of the trip Nadezhda and her familiar colleague - tour operator Rajendra - were planned minute by minute. Already on the first evening, Nadezhda began to acquaint us with old Kathmandu and gave us a tour of the royal palace and the most ancient Buddhist and Hindu temples, many of which were badly damaged during the 2015 earthquake, but were quickly restored and will wait for the next earthquakes that happen with regularity in 50-80 years. Nadezhda regaled us with the history of Kathmandu, and we walked with her until late in the evening and returned to the hotel satisfied, but completely exhausted, and collapsed in bed. On April 25, we visited Tribhuvan University (named after the penultimate king of Nepal, beloved by the people), where we gave two lectures - on the key role of Himalayan research in understanding the birds of Northern Eurasia, including Russia, and on the problem of hibernation in rodents. The topics of lectures were chosen by local zoologists, although we were ready to talk at least a whole day about various zoological areas of our activity. In gratitude for the lectures, which brought together about 80 people (students, graduate students, teachers), we were awarded commemorative medals of the University. After the lecture, we discussed the prospects for joint work with our Nepalese colleagues. It must be said that the organization of scientific work in Nepal is not an easy task. Memorandums of intent, treaties and other documents signed at the highest levels are required. Colleagues warned that such a procedure could drag on for years, but we think this will not stop us. We were even more convinced of the desire to work here after the completion of our trip. But more on that later. April 26 at 5 am we headed to the Langtang National Park in the north of Nepal. We drove in two jeeps. After disembarking in Syabru-bezi - the last settlement that can be reached by car - we still had to walk along a beautiful but difficult mountain path. True, we carried only small backpacks with us, and the rest of our luggage was carried by porters - "Sherpas". Three young men were moving with us, each of whom carried two backpacks with a total weight of about 40 kg. Thank them! After a few hours of climbing, exhausted quickly without prior habit or practice, we stopped at one of the small hotels which are called lodges here. Such mini-hotels are equally simple - these are wooden houses with beds knocked together from boards. There is no more furniture, the luxury is a nail driven into the wall and "Ilyich's light bulb" without a lampshade, powered by solar panels or batteries. These are Spartan conditions. But the blankets in the lodges are as warm as featherbeds. Otherwise it is impossible - the houses are not heated in any way and the temperature in them is not much higher than outside. The next part of our trip took 5 hours. The trail went up and down, but in general we climbed almost a kilometer. The landscape around was extraordinarily beautiful. Below, the Langtang River ran at great speed, nests of wild bees hang on the coastal rocks in the form of black disks, groups of gorals graze, Assamese macaques and Himalayan langurs sit on trees. And most importantly, there are many bird species that are new to most of us: ashy drongos, water and gray redstarts, bluebirds, blue flycatchers, Himalayan bulbuls, striped shrubs, green-backed tits, very similar to our big titmouse, and many others. The "Bamboo" lodge at an altitude of about 2000 m above sea level, where we lived for two days, also did not differ in special amenities. Shower and toilet are the most primitive. True, there was hot water in the shower one day, but it got colder in the evenings, which deterred us. The food was also simple: pasta in 10 types, rice, potatoes and eggs. But everything is fresh and freshly cooked, sometimes too spicy, but quite edible. There was beer, which was shameful to drink and very expensive, since the Sherpas lifted glass bottles up the mountain, and this, as we saw, is very difficult. In general, all the joys of life, from drinking water to toilet bowls, “Sherpas” dragged upstairs in special baskets or simply on their backs, while the bulk of the weight falls on a wide forehead strap. There are donkeys and mules in the mountains, but their services are more expensive - you need to order a caravan with a driver. Up the Langtang gorge we managed to climb up to 2500 m. Here, humid subtropical forests gave way to bamboo thickets, interspersed with broad-leaved groves and individual pines, still flowering tree-like rhododendrons. The composition of the fauna also gradually changed - monkeys and squirrels, bulbuls and drongos disappeared, but the variety of warblers increased - up to 7 species! However, the time limit prevented us from getting to the belt of dark coniferous taiga, which was of great interest to us. On April 30, we went down to the Pairo lodge, located in a beautiful river valley with hot hydrogen sulfide springs, where the water temperature was over 38ºС, where we, of course, did not fail to swim and thereby improve our health. At one time, Sir David Attenborough himself, the famous English naturalist and TV presenter, who traveled a lot in the Himalayas, soaked in these springs. After Langtang, our path lay to the west - to the basin of the Kali-Gandaki River. The next point of the reconnaissance route was Pokhara. This is a resort town located in a valley on Lake Feva at an altitude of only 400 m. The evening lake, squeezed by the backstage of the mountains, resembled Roerich's paintings. And the numerous herons, gathered for the night in the crowns of trees along the embankment and on the main street, did not seem to be embarrassed by the evening lighting and the crowd of people. Then there was a difficult and long journey on a local bus along the Kali-Gandaki River to the main ridge of the Himalayas. A quarter of a century ago, there was no motor road here - only a hiking trail. Only in the evening, after overcoming traffic jams, we reached the village of Kalopani, where the riverbed, squeezed by the axial ridge of the Himalayas, makes a knee-shaped bend almost at a right angle. Here we divided into 2 groups: lovers of the forest with shrews and lovers of mountain deserts with hamsters. Thus, three participants remained in Kalopani, and the remaining four moved higher to the ancient town of Kagbeni. The nature around Kagbeni is unique and beautiful. Emerald fields, brown-red rocks, azure sky and apple trees with pinkish flowers create an unforgettable and unique landscape. On both sides of the valley rise the snowy peaks of eight-thousanders - Annapurna (8091 m) and Dhaulagiri (8167 m). The town itself was originally a fort and a gateway to Upper Mustang, a Tibetan principality that is still hard to reach for tourists. The population of the town is about 1000 people. It is very original and imbued with the Tibetan spirit. According to legend, Kagbeni is guarded by two spirit-eaters (Kheni), belonging to the national religion of the Tibetans, Bon. These are clay sculptures created in accordance with the traditions of Bon. A male Kheni in Kagbeni scares away evil spirits from the village, and he has all the necessary attributes for this. The figure of a Kheni woman is a little further away. It is not painted and is much smaller in size. Residents are in awe of these sculptures, which are molded in great detail and convey all the anatomical features of the floors. In the very center of Kagbeni is a dilapidated palace. It once belonged to the Kag-Khar dynasty. Even in Kagbeni, the Kag Chode Thupten Samphel Ling gompa, a Buddhist monastery founded in 1429, has been preserved. This is the oldest and main monastery in this region. Its name translates as "the monastery of a place to stop and develop concentration on the teachings of the Buddha." In the middle of the 18th century, about a hundred monks from twelve nearby villages lived here. It should be noted that even now there are no less monks in the monastery. There is a school for boys in it, so the young generation is also growing up there. In almost every shop in Kagbeni you could buy black oval stones. If such a stone is carefully split, then ammonite or belemnite will be found inside. The same stones, only larger, lay in our hotel near the statuette of Buddha and in general in different places of worship. These stones are called salagrams. According to Hindu legends, the god Vishnu, once bewitched and turned into a salagram, was released somewhere in these places. Thus, salagrama-sila or salagram is a non-canonical incarnation of Vishnu. The lines and drawings on it resemble the divine symbols of Vishnu: mace, padma, flower garland, chakra. Having settled in the Yak Donald Hotel in Kagbeni, we immediately went to look for places for traps. Up the river valley we saw a flowering wild rose with unusually powerful spines, for which the species was called the wild rose, caragana, ephedra, Velikha pines with green trunks, and many other plants that we could not yet identify. Locals grow apples from which cider is made. We set traps, but the result, however, turned out to be zero. Still, the time for rodents was still inappropriate, spring was just coming into its own. To get to know the surroundings better, we went to Mukhtinanth, a small village already located at an altitude of 3800 m. It was even colder here, the leaves on the trees had not even blossomed, but the views of the snowy peaks and authentic buildings more than compensated for the climatic inconvenience. But in the evening, a fireplace was kindled for us in the hotel, and the meal was also warmed by external heat. During the two days spent in Kagbeni, we barely managed to catch anyone. The consolation prize was only one rat, from which we took a tissue sample and released it into the wild. By chance, it turned out that the day of our departure from Kakbeni coincided with the full moon, the birthday, death and attainment of nirvana by the Buddha. We watched the colorful exit of the monks from the monastery of Kag-Chode-Tupten-Samphel-Ling. They were all wearing red robes with drums and flags and headdresses that looked like Iroquois crests. On this day, night services are held in all Buddhist temples. On May 5, we descended to the coniferous forest zone located below. The lodge where we stayed had the symbolic name "Black Moon" (recall that it was on this day in 2023 that a total shadow lunar eclipse could be observed). In the morning we went to look at the mountain forest lakes, which are considered sacred. One is quite round, small and, in our opinion, spoiled by human activity. Once a year, pilgrims come here to enjoy drinking yak blood. Although we didn’t see yaks here at all, apparently the locals ate them all … The second lake is much more picturesque - everything is in macrophytes. It is also sacred, and hunting and fishing are not allowed here. The traps here turned out to be not very productive, but we still held several new species of rodents and insectivores in our hands. The group that remained in the coniferous forests around Kalopani did not waste any time either. They managed to meet interesting birds, catch some birds and four-legged inhabitants of the local forests. Wide pebble beds, which abound in the upper reaches of Kali Gandaki, here are replaced by turbulent streams with rapids and waterfalls. Dense thickets of sea buckthorn, barberry, hawthorn, and small bamboo grow along the riverbed. Higher, they pass into forests with a predominance of Valikh pine, interspersed with hemlock, yew, oak and maple, clearings and meadows used as pastures. And along the sides of the valley there are rocks and birch-alder crooked forests, turning into snow-capped peaks. There were frosty, clear mornings, but more often it rained or a thick fog descended on the valley. On May 7, we reunited and returned to Pokhara, from where our path lay already in a completely different element - the jungle of the Nepal foothill plains (called terai), namely the Chitwan National Park. The hotel was simply wonderful, with comfortable large rooms, even a closet, which was not observed at all in previous hotels in Nepal. And most importantly, the hotel had a swimming pool. So daytime 40ºC in the shade was easier to bear than we thought. Evening tour of the area with a ranger was absolutely wonderful. Near the Rapti River, we almost immediately saw two species of crocodiles (muggers and gharials), as well as many species of birds, including green doves, peacocks and wild chickens and parrots. On the opposite bank of a small river, a picturesque herd of Indian spotted deer, the axis, grazed. The next morning at 7 am, we, almost the first of the sightseers, went on a safari in an open jeep and were rewarded with seeing at least 55 species of birds. Among them were paradise flycatchers, amazingly beautiful in white attire with long tail feathers, four types of ringed parrots, kingfishers, yakans, herons, turtle doves, cuckoos, Indian pitta, crested serpent eagle and many others. We also met herds of axises, a group of sambars, two types of monkeys (rhesus monkeys and Terai langurs), a wild pig, a jackal. No luck with the sloth bear, gaur bulls, not to mention tigers and leopards. But most importantly, we saw the pride of Chitwan - the armored Indian rhinoceros. In total, we met five rhinos, one even went out in front of us on the road to pose, and proudly retired into the forest. In the evening, another short trip awaited us on a canoe hollowed out of a single tree trunk. Again we saw a lot of various birds, a couple of female crocodiles that climbed onto the sandy shore to communicate with their offspring buried in the sand. After the canoe, an elephant farm was waiting for us, where 14 female elephants with baby elephants are kept. Males are not kept here because of their aggressiveness, and the fathers of all cubs born here are wild elephants, who themselves come to the farm during estrus of females. On May 10, unfortunately, we had to return to Kathmandu. And again 8 hours of not the most flat road in the bus - through the mountains and valleys. On May 11 we first spent time in the sacred temple of wayambhunath, better known as the Monkey Temple. From the top of the hill, we were able to admire the view of the city, looked at the old stupas and beautiful buildings, and also watched the fuss and games of the rhesus monkeys that live freely here, breed, feed in the garbage heaps and generally lead a completely urban lifestyle. In the evening, despite being tired, we went to see fruit bats at the royal palace. Of course, we were no longer allowed into the palace, but it was possible to observe fruit bats hanging on trees from the outside. They were already beginning to prepare for flight, spreading their leathery wings. After this spectacle, we set off towards the house, not assuming that we were in for a fun evening and a night full of loud noise from a party in a nearby hotel. In addition, a rat ran into our room, which nibbled on the tomatoes and bread we left on the table. In general, we decided that we were leaving on time, as we no longer wanted sleepless nights. And on May 12 at 4 pm we went to the airport in a car kindly provided to us by Rajendra. He personally came to see us off and presented us with 7 orange silk scarves as a wish for a good journey. These scarves brought us unconditional good luck, as we made our way home without any problems! And, of course, after such reconnaissance, we want to visit Nepal again and again - already knowing the area and local conditions, imagining the seasonality of the climate, and with more specific scientific goals.

Chinese ricefish (source: Chen et al., 1989) Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences detected a new fish species in the Rostov region in southern Russia. Molecular genetic analysis showed that these fish belong to the species of Chinese ricefish (Oryzias sinensis). This small fish, not more than 6 cm in length, is extremely fecund and capable of filling the colonized water bodies in a short time, but has no particular economic value. Genetic analysis of the material collected during the Russian-Chinese expedition to the Tibetan Plateau showed that this fish had also appeared in the upper reaches of the great Brahmaputra River; read more about this expedition in the article "Tibet: Earth's Last Pastoral": 05-14.qxd (priroda.ras.ru). Andrey Reshetnikov (Severtsov Ecology and Evolution Institute), monitoring of water bodies The Chinese ricefish is native to south-eastern China and some adjacent areas. New data were used to reconstruct the recent dispersal routes of this fish throughout Eurasia. Apparently, it was introduced into Tibetan and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions directly from eastern China. In southwestern China, in the Tibetan Plateau, Buddhist religious rites are popular, during which monks release live fish into water bodies, facilitating the spread of invasive species. The occurrence of Chinese ricefish in northwest China (in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) is most likely due to accidental introductions in association with live economically valuable fish that are transported in large volumes of water. "Unrecorded passengers" travel in the same water and enter new areas, and this is extremely difficult to control. Brahmaputra River Valley is one of probable ways of further range expansion of the Chinese ricefish. Photo: V.S. Artamonova From the Xinjiang Uygur region of China, the ricefish migrated along the Ili River to Kazakhstan, where numerous specimens of the species were recorded in 1970. Later, in 1974, a total of 6,200 specimens of ricefish were transported from this river to Krasnodar territory in Russia and released into six water bodies to control mosquito larvae. Apparently, the area of the new "Krasnodar" population of ricefish has expanded to water bodies of neighbouring Rostov region (as a result of self-distribution through the hydrological network and secondary unintentional local transportations together with fish material for aquaculture purposes). Ricefish from Kazakhstan was also introduced into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for mosquito control. Thus, step by step, this fish from southeastern Eurasia, became widely distributed. Studies of the Chinese ricefish's expansion suggest that this southern fish species is quite resistant to cold, as it is able to establish self-sustainable populations even in the water bodies of the Tibetan Plateau and in the Rostov region of Russia. Therefore, in the conditions of global warming, further expansion of the range of this species in western China and in southern Russia, as well as its penetration into India, downstream of the Brahmaputra River, cannot be ruled out. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 21-14-00123). The results have been published in the international journal Diversity (IF3; Q1): Makhrov A.A., Artamonova V.S., Sun Y.-H., Fang Y., Pashkov A.N., Reshetnikov A.N., New records of the alien Chinese ricefish (Oryzias sinensis) and its dispersal history across Eurasia. Diversity 15(3), 317. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030317

The Russian Far East is a region of mixing of boreal and tropical faunas and a zone of endemism of microscopic crustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda). The question is of interest: how does the formation of zooplankton communities occur in this border region? Due to the species of what faunistic complexes of southern or temperate latitudes do they form in the first place? Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov RAS studied communities of copepods (Copepoda) and cladocerans (Cladocera) in the three largest protected lakes of the Far East: Khanka (Primorye), Bolon and Chukchagir (Khabarovsk Territory). In all lakes, crustaceans formed similar sets of communities confined to characteristic biotopes: thickets of plants, coastal and central parts of the reservoir, but their species composition differed between reservoirs. It turned out that no more than a third of the found species are included in stable communities. The proportion of endemics in communities was significantly higher than among species whose distribution was in no way connected with other organisms. This indicates that endemic species that have emerged and permanently inhabit this geographical region determine the characteristic features of plankton communities. It has been suggested that the composition of microscopic crustacean species in individual Far Eastern lakes reflects the history of the settlement of water bodies. The key role is played by which species first settled in the lake - the “founder effect”, and, later, were able to populate accessible biotopes, as well as take dominant positions in the community. As they say, whoever did not have time, he was late! The results of studies of zooplankton in the Far Eastern lakes can be used in the development of an ecological monitoring system for the state of aquatic communities in the Russian Far East. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 20-04-00145. Chertoprud E.S., Seleznev D.G., Garibian P.G., Kotov A.A. 2023. Microcrustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda) of three large lakes in the transitional zone between Boreal and Tropical faunas at Russian Far East: case study of species richness and association structure // Diversity. 15(3), 338. Related materials: Science and Life: "Who did not have time, he was late!"

The next (spring) stage of field studies of seasonal and daily dynamics of migrations of lampreys of the genus Eudontomyzon took place. Employees of the Laboratory of Behavior of Lower Vertebrates, IEE RAS, Senior Researcher A.V. Kucheryavy, senior researcher A.O. Zvezdin and graduate student A.V. Kolotei conducted daily stations on the rivers of the Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park during the spring flood. In contrast to the winter low water, during the spring rise in water, the larvae of the lamprey of the genus Eudontomyzon make a downstream migration. It begins when the illumination decreases to 2 thousand lux (lx), and the concentration of individuals migrating downstream reaches its maximum values at illuminations of several hundredths of a lux. The presence of larvae of different sizes in the stream indicates that individuals of all age groups are involved in the migration. These data are consistent with the results of similar studies conducted for complex species - the river Lampetra fluviatilis and the Pacific Lethenteron camtschaticum lamprey, and confirm the validity of the previously proposed life cycle scheme (Zvezdin et al., 2022) also for a species representative of an exclusively freshwater (resident) lamprey genus (Eudontomyzon). The factual material also confirms the exit of migrants from a tributary to a larger river, which ensures the connection of local populations within the river system. This trip is part of a series of works devoted to the study of the migratory activity of lampreys, as well as to the study of the mechanisms of their distribution. Work will continue in the summer and autumn. The expedition took place within the framework of the RSF project 19-1400015-п.

In the study of diatoms of the genus Meridion in samples from modern reservoirs on Unalashka Island (Aleutian Islands, USA), an employee of the IEE RAS Neplyukhina A.A. and an employee of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, Doctor of Biological Sciences Chudaev D.A. discovered and described two species of this genus new to science - Meridion tenuipes and Meridion humerosum. The specific epithets chosen by the authors fairly accurately reflect the morphological features of the valves of these taxa. Meridion tenuipes - "narrow-legged" - is characterized by a long and downwardly drawn lower part of the valve. Meridion humerosum - "shouldered" - differs from other representatives of the genus by a noticeable expansion of the valve below the head. In addition, the article presents a comparison of new taxa with already known representatives of this genus, based on photographs obtained using light and scanning electron microscopy. 39-42 - External view of the valves of the new species Meridion tenuipes obtained using an electron microscope The valves of M. tenuipes and M. humerosum are currently recorded only in samples from one fresh water body on Unalaska Island. The data obtained confirm the high degree of endemism of representatives of the genus Meridion in North America. 46-49 - External view of the valves of the new species Meridion humerosum, obtained using an electron microscope The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 20-34-90011. The work was published in Phytotaxa: Neplyukhina A., Chudaev D. (2023) Two new species of the diatom genus Meridion (Bacillariophyta, Tabellariaceae) from Aleutian Islands. Phytotaxa 587 (1): 21-30. Related materials: TASS Nauka: "Specialists have discovered two new species of diatoms" RAS: "Two new species of diatoms"

Fig.1: An automatic sound recording device installed on the feeder in the aviary of male red deer. This article shows for the first time that the vocal repertoire of European red deer males is not limited to rutting roars emitted during the reproductive period. It turned out that males on the farm, in the absence of females, can scream roars almost indistinguishable from rutting ones and outside the rutting period. In addition to non-rutting calls, we also described two new, previously unknown types of calls in male European red deer: the contact call and the lowing. Unlike roars, the males never made these calls in the presence of people, so the farm staff did not even suspect the existence of such calls in their deer. Contact cries and mooing of deer could only be recorded thanks to the use of an automatic sound recording device attached to the feeder and operating offline in the absence of people. Animals started calling when people left in the evening and stopped calling in the morning when people appeared on the farm. Thus, automatic devices make it possible to detect a part of the behavioral activity of farm animals that is hidden from people. Obviously, the presence of people (staff or researchers) can influence the vocal activity of farm animals and lead to the use of a depleted vocal repertoire. Fig.2: Farm male red deer of the Spanish subspecies are the objects of study. The results of the study were published in the journal Animal Production Science: Volodin I.A., Gogoleva S.S., Garcia A.J., Landete-Castillejos T., Volodina E.V., 2023. Nocturnal chats of farmed animals: non-rutting vocalizations of male Iberian red deer Cervus elaphus hispanicus. Animal Production Science, v. 63.  Fig. 3: The number of calls of each type (roars, contact calls, lows) emitted by four males at night and during the day.

April 3–6, 2023 the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS hosted a meeting of the Working Group on data processing to assess ecosystem flows of greenhouse gases in the framework of the most Important innovative project of national importance Scientific and Educational Center "Carbon in Ecosystems: Monitoring". The meeting was attended by more than twenty researchers working at environmental and climatic stations (method of turbulent pulsations, or MTP) of the Russian RuFlux network, as well as young employees who plan to process MTP data. The attendees were addressed by Ph.D. Yulia Kurbatova, Head of the V.N. Sukachev Laboratory of Biogeocenology at IEE RAS. On the first day, four reviews and methodological reports were presented. Ph.D. Sergey Kivalov (Institute of Physical, Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino) spoke to the audience about the organization of the European network for carbon exchange measurements ICOS, as well as about the corrections used in the ICC. Arseniy Artamonov (AM Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences) described the features of data processing of multilevel turbulent measurements. Ph.D. Andrey Sogachev (IEE) presented the concept and features of footprint models. Reports were also made on the features of data and their processing at different RuFlux stations: in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (PhD Vyacheslav Zyryanov, V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forestry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoyarsk), Novgorod region (Arseny Shilkin, Research and Production Association “Typhoon”, Kaluga region, Obninsk; Center for Problems of Ecology and Forest Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Tver region (Ph.D. Vadim Mamkin and Ph.D. Olga Kuricheva , IEE), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region and Tomsk Region (Ph.D. Egor Dyukarev, Institute for Monitoring Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, Tomsk). On the second day, a workshop was held on processing primary data, reports were made on filling gaps in streams using reanalysis data and on determining the turbulence threshold for screening out data of inadequate quality. Messages and discussions concerned the issues of standardization of data collection, organization of data flow. Vitaly Avilov (IEE RAS) moderated the discussion on creating a common data infrastructure in the RuFlux network. On the third day, a report was made on the features of methane fluxes in ecosystems (Ph.D. Gennady Suvorov, IEE RAS), as well as a discussion of the results of an experiment on the simultaneous calculation of the same primary data by different researchers. The meeting of the Working Group made it possible to carry out a successful exchange of experience in data processing, contributed to the strengthening of scientific ties between teams and immersion of young scientists in the fascinating world of research into the interaction of ecosystems and the atmosphere. We hope that such meetings will become regular and will involve an increasing number of teams from environmental and climate stations. The meeting was organized by the staff of the V.N. Sukachev Laboratory of Biogeocenology and the Youth Laboratory of Environmental and Climate Research IEE RAS.

Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Privolzhskaya Lesostep Nature Reserve investigated the role of the tailless amphibian Pallas' spadefoot in the transfer of organic matter from small water bodies to land. Among these substances, the focus has been on polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are essential for many terrestrial animals, but are efficiently formed mainly by algae and therefore are in short supply in terrestrial ecosystems. Among PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids are especially important, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system and other physiological and biochemical processes in terrestrial vertebrates, including humans. In the weakly watered natural areas of the European forest-steppe, water bodies are usually represented by small objects, which makes them key sources of water subsidies for terrestrial ecosystems. In such reservoirs spadefoot tadpoles, one of the largest amphibian larvae, are among the most widespread organisms in terms of abundance and biomass. Tadpoles feed mainly on algae, therefore they accumulate a certain amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their biomass (about 2 mg per g of dry weight). Then these substances enter terrestrial ecosystems together with young spadefoots that have completed their metamorphosis and leave water bodies. Thus, the flow of valuable eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids with these amphibians is 3.27 mg per square meter per year. According to the content of these substances, spadefoot fingerlings are a very high-quality food for terrestrial consumers. At the same time, most of the spadefoot tadpoles do not reach metamorphosis. The biomass of all fingerlings emerging on land reaches only 3.8% of the total biomass of tadpoles. However, spadefoot tadpoles that fail to achieve metamorphosis still serve as a transport agent for polyunsaturated fatty acids. Tadpoles enter terrestrial food webs in large numbers, as they are the prey of many terrestrial or semi-aquatic predators - insects, snakes, birds, and mammals. Spadefoot, like many other amphibians, spawns in temporary and drying up water bodies. However, these reservoirs are currently under threat due to climate change and human activity. The annual drying up of amphibian spawning grounds can result in the loss of one of the most important sources of water subsidies (including essential fatty acids) for terrestrial consumers and humans. The study was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation - project 22-24-00920 (supervisor Academician Dgebuadze Yu.Yu.). Link to article.