Russian scientists from the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered an amazing phenomenon: the ash aphid has occupied all of Europe in less than two decades after being discovered on the continent. For the first time, woolly ash aphids were registered in 2003 in Budapest, and only sixteen years later they were spotted in Belarus and eight regions of the European part of Russia. It usually takes much longer for insects to spread, which is why scientists have paid such close attention to aphids. The results of the study, supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), are published in the journal Forests. The aphids are small insects, but due to their ability to reproduce quickly they can cause tremendous harm to plants not only in parks, forests or gardens, but in households as well. This seemingly harmless creature sucks the juice from the aboveground organs of plants, as a result of which the leaves curl and die off, the buds are deformed and wither, growth slows down, and the fruits stop ripening. The history of one of the representatives of this family, namely the American ash aphid, began in North America. The pest is covered with white down, and its silvery wings give it a grayish tint - that's why the name of this animal is translated from English as “woolly ash aphid”. The insect feeds almost exclusively on Pennsylvanian ash, on the seedling of which it successfully migrated to Hungary in 2003. This was followed by years of successful conquest of Europe: Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Romania and Armenia. Earlier, in 2017, scientists have already encountered this pest, but then the area of its settlement was much smaller. “The American ash aphid spreads extremely quickly, unlike many other insects. For example, it took the Colorado potato beetle almost forty years to get from Eastern Europe to the Urals. We assume that at such a rate this aphid species can already be found in the southern regions of our country. In cities, mainly Pennsylvanian ash-tree is planted because of its resistance to freezing. Likely, is because of this that the American ash aphid has become so widespread in our country, too”, says one of the project leaders Marina Orlova-Benkovskaya, Doctor of Biological Sciences, senior researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2019-2021, scientists examined a total of more than 3.5 thousand ash trees in different regions of European Russia and Belarus. The American ash aphid has been found in artificial plantations as well as in self-sown trees and coastal forests. Up to 30% of the examined ash trees were damaged by insects, and, as a rule, the pest affects from one to five nearby plants. The authors found characteristic nests on the leaves, and in each of them - mature winged (responsible for the spread and replacement of plants) and wingless (responsible for reproduction) females with offspring. There is no reliable information on the ways of spreading woolly ash aphids in Russia and Belarus. There is a hypothesis that the species could have arrived here with strong winds through the air or on farm plants. Surprisingly, information about the distribution of the American ash aphid in Europe is extremely rare. There is no data at all on France, Switzerland, Italy and a number of other countries. “It should be taken into account that the ash trees of European Russia are currently affected by a no less serious imported pest - the ash emerald narrow-bodied goldfish. Damaged trees often sprout out of the ground in order to survive. They are just very vulnerable to woolly ash aphids, - sums up Marina Orlova-Benkovskaya. - We hope that our data will contribute to the fight against the American ash aphid - it will draw the attention of the Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision) and regional services that are responsible for the state of urban green spaces. This example is also important for the control of other pests, since it shows that alien insects can spread very quickly. The plant protection and quarantine services should take into account: if a new pest has appeared in a European country, it is necessary to take urgent measures to prevent its further spread. ” Illustration 1. Wingless and winged females of the american ash aphid. Source: Orlova-Bienkowskaja and Bienkowski / Forests, 2021  

The expedition was organized by the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS). It was attended by leading specialists of IEE RAS and students of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in the framework of educational practice, as well as employees of the Baikal branch of FGBI VNIRO and FGBI "Zapovednoe Podlemorye". As part of the expedition, research work was carried out in three directions. Another summer expedition to study the state of the Baikal seal population took place from July 27 to August 17. Traditionally, field work took place on the Ushkany Islands, which are a place of accumulation of seals in the summer. Experts visually and using a quadrocopter estimated the size of the seal population, and satellite sensors were installed on 17 individuals to track the movement of animals. First, visual observations of the seals' haul-out on Tonky Island were carried out, which included an estimate of the seal population, the number of sick and non-molted animals. This work is a continuation of the work begun as part of the 2020 summer expedition. Secondly, seals were counted using a quadcopter on three of the four islands of the Ushkany archipelago. Registration on Tonky Island was carried out after a visual assessment, which will help to account for animals that were under water and were not available for visual observation. The censuses carried out on the Dolgiy and Krugly islands will make it possible to more accurately estimate the total number of the Baikal seal on the Ushkany Islands. Thirdly, during the expedition, animals were captured to install satellite transmitters and take biological samples for further research. The capture was carried out by specialized specialists from the Baikal branch of the FGBI VNIRO. A total of 26 seals were caught, 17 of which were equipped with satellite transmitters to track the movement of the animal. According to experts, not a single animal was hurt. Samples of wool, vibrissae and blood were taken from all animals for further laboratory analysis. This year, several Russian companies drew attention to the scientific research of the Baikal seal, which provided financial support to the project to study the population of the Baikal seal and directly transferred funds to the IEE RAS. With the assistance of the Lake Baikal Foundation, 3 million rubles were assigned to the IEE RAS for the project. The study of the population of the Baikal seal is carried out within the framework of the comprehensive Research Program for the Baikal seal, approved by the IEE RAS for the period up to 2025 with the support of the Lake Baikal Foundation. Earlier, the agency reported that scientists found signs of a skin disease in Baikal seals. This was announced on Monday by the director of the Baikal Museum of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS Alexander Kupchinsky. Related materials: Baikal-daily: "Baikal seals were "chipped"

Pictured: Phylogeny and morphogeny of deep-sea gastropods of the Raphitomidae family in the South of Australia Although the Raphitomidae family is the dominant component of gastropod communities in the deep-water regions of the World Ocean, their taxonomy is still poorly understood. Focusing on the southeast of Australia, scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences, the Australian Museum of Natural History (Sydney), the Museum of Natural History of France (Paris) have collected the most complete sample of Raphitomidae to date. On behalf of Russia, Alexander Ernstovich Fedosov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Researcher of the Laboratory of Morphology and Ecology of Marine Invertebrates, IEE RAS, participated in the study. Based on the morphological and molecular data obtained as a result of the study, specialists reconstructed the phylogeny of Raphitomidae and applied it to determine the genera of the family. The results for the fauna of South Australia show a large number of undescribed taxa - eleven genera and their type species are described as new to science. This study shows that the study of morphological features alone is rarely sufficient to accurately determine the species. As a result of the previously dominant conchological approach to the taxonomy of molluscs, some of the traditionally diverse genera of Raphitomidae (such as Gymnobela) are in fact artificial associations of unrelated, mostly undescribed lineages of the generic level. The observations of scientists confirm that similar morphologies of shells and radular elements observed at the genus level do not depend on phylogenetic relationships. The study concluded that the deep-water plains of southern Australia are a hot spot for Raphitomidae diversity and an area of high endemism. (ORIGINAL ARTICLE) Criscione, F., Hallan, A., Puillandre, N. & Fedosov, A. E. 2021. Where the snails have no name: A molecular phylogeny of Raphitomidae (Neogastropoda: Conoidea) uncovers vast unexplored diversity in the deep seas of temperate southern and eastern Australia. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society. 191(4): 961-1000.

The article was co-authored by Yu.D. Nukhimovskaya, an employee of the IEE RAS. A century-old history of the development of the largest mesophilic ravine-gully community in the clayey Trans-Volga region on the northwestern coast of Lake Elton has been analyzed. It is shown that modern polydominant tree and shrub communities of the gully are the result of anthropogenic degradation of a ravine forest area. The stages of development of polydominant plantations associated with changes in the intensity of pasture load have been identified. The mechanisms of resistance of polydominant communities to grazing and fires and the conditions for the preservation and reproduction of such communities have been considered. It is shown that a closed massif of a polydominant community is resistant to fire and is restored in several years. However, as a result of grazing, it breaks up into fragments. Herbal vegetation penetrates into the plantation, rags and dead wood accumulate. In a fire, the litter burns out to the mineral layer, and most of the regeneration buds buried in the soil die. Rapid and massive coppice recovery does not occur, and the succession process stretches over decades. Under such conditions, with continued grazing and repeated fire, severe soil erosion may develop, leading to irreversible disturbances of the original habitats and, consequently, to the impossibility of restoration of the polydominant community. It is noted that seed renewal of trees and shrubs in existing and new emerging habitats, according to soil and plant conditions suitable for the growth of polydominant plantations, is difficult due to the lack of moisture and competition with herbaceous vegetation. In a changing climate, the restoration of lost tree and shrub communities will significantly increase the ecological capacity of the territory, ensure the preservation and restoration of the abundance of many forest and dendrophilic species of vertebrates, and can serve as an alternative to artificial afforestation on a treeless plain. Detailed information about the article: - https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=46198450 

A group of researchers from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) including Ph.D. O.A. Krylovich, Ph.D. E.A. Kuzmicheva, Doctor of Biological Sciences A.B. Savinetsky and a graduate student of the Samsonov Stanislav Institute on Bering Island, will carry out research in two major areas: the study of ecosystem dynamics over the past 10 thousand years and the study of the remains of Steller's sea cow. In 2020, in the northern part of Bering Island, scientists have already studied the peat bog and taken samples from its layers. This year the study will continue, as we are now able to learn much more about the history of the dynamics of the ecosystems of the Commander Islands over the past 10 thousand years. Using the method of stable isotope analysis of peat, spore-pollen analysis and radiocarbon analysis, scientists will be able to determine even the details of climatic conditions thousands of years ago. Here, a reference collection of pollen from various plant species will be selected for interpretation of the data obtained. Volcanic ash samples will also be taken for further detailed study. IEE RAS scientists will conduct a botanical analysis of peat samples, which will add new details to the history of the vegetation of the Commander Islands. The second and no less important task is to study the history of the Steller's sea cow off the coast of the Commander Islands. Radiocarbon analysis will determine the age of numerous animal remains found on the Commander Islands and stored in the osteological collection of the reserve.

Russian researchers analyzed the factors influencing the inhabitants of the tundra lakes most sensitive to external changes. Thereby, it will be possible to predict the impact of climate change on the ecosystems of the Arctic. The research results were published by the scientific journal Water, the press service of the Russian Science Foundation writes briefly about this. "Scientists studied the crustaceans Cladocera and Copepoda from thermokarst lakes in the Lena River delta and discovered what factors determine the species composition of the inhabitants of the bottom and the water column. <...> In particular, temperature and hydrochemicals are relevant for the inhabitants of the water column, similarly are he properties of water, and for benthic crustaceans - the composition of aquatic vegetation and type of soil. The data obtained will help to assess how climate fluctuations and growing pollution will affect the nature of the Arctic, since freshwater crustaceans are particularly sensitive to environmental changes," the report says. The scientists collected water and soil samples during two expeditions: in July-August 2017 and 2020. Samples were taken from 31 thermokarst lakes, mostly no more than one and a half meters deep. In all reservoirs, the values of the main environmental factors were determined - temperature, salinity, acidity and others. It turned out that the species richness of crustaceans is largely determined by the age and size of the reservoir, which is determined by many abiotic and biotic factors. In large thermokarst lakes the number of species, as noted by the authors of the work, exceeded the indicator of small ones by an average of 15-30%. Depending on the age and stage of formation of tundra reservoirs, certain groups of crustaceans dominated: in small polygonal "ponds" - large cladocerans, in complex polygonal "ponds" - cyclops (one of the orders of Copepoda), and in large thermokarst lakes - calanoid (also from the order Copepoda). It has been determined that the temperature factor is the most significant for the habitat of cladocerans, and for the harpacticoids (one of the orders of Copepoda), which live almost exclusively on the bottom, the composition of aquatic vegetation has become the determining factor. The scientists also identified a pattern: for planktonic organisms, more variable environmental factors are important, for example, temperature, as for the bottom-dwelling ones, the type of soil in the thickness of which they live and the composition of plants in the reservoir, on which they feed on microorganisms, are more important. "Freshwater ecosystems in general and aquatic crustaceans in particular are ones of the most sensitive in nature among their respective counterparts. The crustaceans that are part of plankton and benthos have a short generation change time and, accordingly, a short life span. This determines the rapid restructuring of the composition of their communities in response to changes in conditions. That is why, using the example of small crustaceans, it is possible to identify exactly which factors determine the first changes in the composition of the fauna in the water bodies of the Arctic," said Elena Chertoprud, one of the authors of the work, an employee of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Materials: ТАСС: "Ученые выяснили, какие факторы среды наиболее важны для рачков из озер тундры"

Currently, an expedition of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, with the information support of the Institute of Geography RAS is underway in the Tsey gorge. It includes entomologists, an acarologist (tick specialist) and a hydrobiologist. The main goal of the expedition is to study the process of the formation of forest communities as the Tsey glacier retreats. On the surface freed from ice, fireweed seeds sprout almost immediately, beetles and spiders flock on their cobwebs, and long-legged opiliones are drawn to it as well. The expedition is equipped with maps on which the employees of the Institute of Geography have marked lines dividing zones of different ages - from one year to 170 years and more. These dates were obtained by analyzing aerial and satellite images, as well as by drilling cores from the trunks of the Koch pine, which settled a decade after the glacier left. During the work of the ecological expedition, material is collected on soil amoebas, nematode worms, springtails, soil mites, microscopic fungi and algae. Various methods (traps, floating, sifting the bedding) are used to catch beetles, spiders and millipedes. Hundreds of soil samples have been delivered and will still be brought to laboratories in Moscow for analysis of the population of microarthropods after their extraction in special eclectrics. It can already be confirmed that earthworms, woodlice and shrews settle only 7 years after the ice melt, and millipedes and forest cockroaches only 100 years after the accumulation of forest litter. At the same time, dead woods appear in the forest, where a whole complex of new newcomers is formed in the rotten wood. The processing of the collected materials will continue for at least a year. In addition, analyzing the taxonomic diversity of a number of groups of invertebrates will certainly bring the study of many new species, as it has happened more than once with materials from the Tsey Gorge. We have already discovered the habitation of three new for science species of aquatic crustaceans and insects in the studied area. The work of the expedition continues ceaselessly with the full support of the reserve staff. Every day we gather new information about the inhabitants of this unique place. Inventory of biodiversity and analysis of the structure of natural communities of different ages in the Tsei gorge in a rapidly changing climate is of undoubted interest in the long term.  

The superfamily of carnivorous gastropods Buccinoidea, the trumpeter, has a worldwide distribution in the World Ocean in the entire depth range, from the littoral to the ultra-abyssal, and is one of the most diverse taxa of marine mollusks. According to the latter classification, the superfamily included 8 families with several subordinate tribes and subfamilies. For the first time, the monophilia of the superfamily and the relationship between its constituent taxa were tested on the basis of molecular data (sequences of five genetic markers), supplemented by data on morphology and anatomy. The analysis confirmed the monophilia of the superfamily. Relationships between subordinate taxa have been critically reassessed and a new classification of Buccinoidea has been proposed, which includes 20 families and 23 subfamilies. Five new families and one subfamily have been described. The radiation of the superfamily in high latitudes - the Arctic and Antarctic - is considered in more detail. The study was carried out by scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, National Museum of Natural History of France (MNHN), University of Tokyo (AORE) and Museum of Natural History of Santa Barbara (SBMNH) and published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Molecular phylogenetic methods, which have become widely used in zoological research in the last decade, have revolutionized the research of gastropods. The subject of this study is one of the most diverse and abundant taxa of marine gastropods, the superfamily Buccinoidea, also known as trumpeters. Trumpeters are widespread throughout the World Ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from the littoral to the ultra-abyssal, and are characterized by an exceptionally high morphological diversity, including species with shells less than 5 mm and very large forms exceeding 25 cm. Large species of the superfamily are actively hunted for food, especially in Europe, Japan, USA and Russia. There are currently 3,351 extant species, classified in 337 genera. Within the superfamily, we distinguish 8 families. Based on the study of the molecular sequences of five mitochondrial and nuclear genes of unprecedented geographical and taxonomic coverage of the material accumulated over the past decades in various domestic and foreign museums and universities, the phylogeny of the superfamily as a whole was reconstructed. Data were obtained for 225 species of 117 genera, which belonged to 28 out of 31 previously identified taxa of the family group (families, subfamilies and tribes). The obtained reliable phylogenetic hypothesis made it possible to radically reestimate the relationship between taxa of the subfamily. Based on molecular, morphological, and anatomical data (primarily radula), a new classification of Buccinoidea was proposed, which radically differs from the previously accepted one and confirms a much more complex structure of the superfamily. It is proposed to classify trumpeters in 20 families (instead of 8), including 23 subfamilies. Five families (Chauvetiidae, Dolicholatiridae, Eosiphonidae, Prodotiidae and Retimohniidae) and one subfamily Nassariidae (Tomliniinae) were new to science. For some of the confirmed valid families, it was possible to find old names brought together in synonymy, for example, Tudiclidae and Austrosiphonidae, but the size and composition of most families changed significantly. All existing genera (except 40 for which there is insufficient data) were reclassified under the new system. Studies of morphology and anatomy have shown that in most cases morphological data are insufficient for a reliable classification of trumpeters; however, for at least one family, the structure of the radula turned out to be a reliable diagnostic feature. The reconstructed phylogeny of trumpeters allowed for a new look at the evolutionary history of the group, in particular, at the evolution in high latitudes. Thus, the North Atlantic and the Polar Basin have their own speciation center and the endemic Colidae family. Previously, the genera included in the family belonged to a completely different widespread family Buccinidae. The understanding of the evolution of the Antarctic fauna of trumpeters has changed even more radically. Previously, they were assigned to three subfamilies of a completely different family, widespread in the southern hemisphere, including Australia and New Zealand. It turned out that most genera of trumpeters from the Southern Ocean, despite the extremely diverse morphology of the radula and shell, form their own endemic family. One family new to science, the Eosiphonidae, includes exclusively trumpeters that live on "biogenic substrates" - hydrothermal vents, methane seeps and submerged wood. The figure shows representatives of the new families described in the article. Kantor Yu.I., Fedosov A.E., Kosyan A. R., Puillandre N., Sorokin P. A., Kano Y., Clark R., Bouchet P. 2021. Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the Buccinoidea (Neogastropoda). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2021, XX, 1–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab031

Conducted at the Glubokoye Ozero N.Yu. Zograf hydrobiological station of IEE RAS, the school-conference was a continuation of a series of seminars-schools on the taxonomy and faunistics of cladocerans (the first school-seminar was held in 2008, the second - in 2013, the third - in 2018). On the other hand, it was a continuation of a series of conferences on cladocerans and other crustaceans of continental waters, held on the basis of the I. D. Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters of RAS. In 2021, it was decided to transform the school-seminar into a school-conference, because of the restrictions due to the COVID19 epidemic, no other large events specifically dedicated to cladocerans are planned in the near future, and the presentation of the latest results on them for fellow carcinologists looks quite appropriate. Unlike previous schools, the 2021 school conference was attended almost exclusively by specialists for whom cladocerans are the primary object of their professional activity. The school-seminar was attended by 12 people - employees of IEE RAS (M.A. Aksenova, O.S. Boykova, P.G. Garibyan, A.G. Ibragimova, N.M. A. Neplyukhin), the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University (A.Yu.Sinev, E.S. The participants were somewhat contingently divided into “teachers” and “students”, since in many cases the “students” were able to explain important aspects of the cladocera identification process to their colleagues themselves. The main purpose of the event was to acquaint the participants with the latest achievements, problems and methods of work in the field of taxonomy and faunistics of this group of micro-crustaceans. As part of the school-conference program, lectures were given on the history of the Glubokoye Ozero Hydrobiological Station, the external and internal structure of cladocerans, the taxonomic diversity of cladocerans of Northern Eurasia, their biology, embryology, phylogeny, biogeography and phylogeography. A series of lectures was devoted to the practical issues of identifying taxa of the orders Ctenopoda, Haplopoda, and Onychopoda of different levels, and three lectures dealt with different families of the order Anomopoda. One of the days of the school-conference was completely devoted to the report of the "students" of the participants and the discussion of the results obtained, as well as promising research, including the joint work of the participants of the school-conference. Based on the results of her work, a collection of brief abstracts has been prepared. Undoubtedly, in the coming years, new schools-seminars are planned at the Biological Station "Glubokoye Ozero" IEE RAS, and we will be happy to invite colleagues from various universities and institutes of Russia there. Program and theses of the conference    

Fyodor Vitalievich Lishchenko, a researcher at the Laboratory of Morphology and Ecology of Marine Invertebrates at IEE RAS, has become a co-chairman of the strategic initiative to integrate young scientists into the work of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Fyodor's candidacy was approved by the ICES Secretariat for the period from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2024. The main activities of the strategic initiative are to popularize the participation of young scientists in the work of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, unite and coordinate young scientists from various scientific communities engaged in ocean research, support young experts-members of the working groups of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and form interdisciplinary research groups. As part of the work in these areas, annual meetings (during the meetings of the scientific and advisory councils of ICES), as well as conferences, courses and trainings on topical issues will be held for young scientists. Congratulations from the institute to Fyodor Vitalievich on his position!