In the fall of 2020, a group of scientists from IEE RAS led by Ph.D. Olga Shpak departed for Wrangel Bay with an interesting task: to install satellite transmitters on whales in order monitor their migration routes and winter habitats, test a new way of taking a biopsy - using a drone, replenish the photo catalog of whales and try to assess the influence of tourists on the population under threat of extinction. It was planned to put satellite tags on animals in an unusual way - from a motorized paraglider. It turned out to be not at all easy, as the pilot Alexander Bogdanov vividly tells. This is a film about an amazing place - the Shantar Islands. This place is one of the few on the planet where people can come into contact with whales in the literal sense of the word. Expedition organizers: Institute of Ecology and Evolution A.N. Severtsov Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS), Project “Trace to Preserve”: Understanding the Seasonal Distribution of Threatened Bowhead Whales to Identify Potential 'Areas of Conflict' with Economic Activities The project was supported by the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK) The film was shot with the support of the “Splav” company https://www.splav.ru/ and the “Far Eastern Expeditions” http://fetravels.ru/.  

A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, will sign an agreement on cooperation within the framework of the world-class Marine Scientific Center. On June 3, in the hall of the board of the Federal Agency for Fishery, an organizational meeting of the World-class Marine Scientific Center (NCMU) took place. The event was attended by the heads of scientific and educational organizations of the Federal Agency for Fishery and the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the technical partner of the NCMU - GC "Antey". The establishment and activities of the Center are regulated by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. The project was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Breakthrough solutions for creating an advanced fishing industry can only be found through joint efforts of academic and applied science with the involvement of high-tech companies. The Marine Science Center will become an organizational form of this integration," said Ilya Shestakov, head of the Federal Agency for Fishery. The NCMU is faced with the tasks of developing new promising technologies for the extraction and processing of Antarctic krill, fish and invertebrates, algae, technologies for industrial aqua and mariculture, technologies for the production of medicinal food products. A promising direction will be the decoding of the genomes of deep-sea organisms with a unique metabolism in order to be used for marine pharmacology, aquaculture and agriculture. During the meeting, an agreement on cooperation will be signed between all participants of the NCMU: - All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) - Group of companies "Antey" - Kaliningrad State Technical University - P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology - National Scientific Center for Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences - A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution - Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry

Sofia Borisovna Rosenfeld, senior researcher at IEE RAS, took part in the film "Red-breasted Goose. Flying over Manych", which is now available for viewing. The life of the red-breasted goose is subject to strict laws of movement, reproduction and nutrition. They raise their offspring on a limited patch of tundra of Russia, and fly to wintering sites and back along the beaten paths of heaven with obligatory long stops for feeding. And one of these stops is the Kumo-Manych depression. What dangers await them on the way and how they are studied will be described by experts.

The project aimed at environmental education of the population initiated by the IEE RAS in North Ossetia within the framework of the Leopard Restoration Program in the Caucasus (Leopard Restoration in Ossetia) was evaluated and became a finalist for the Crystal Compass award in the Enlightenment nomination. The project is being implemented jointly by the IEE RAS and the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania with the participation of regional media and the support of RusHydro. The VIII and IX Crystal Compass awards ceremonies took place at the Moscow International House of Music on May 27, 2021. The prize has been awarded since 2012 for outstanding achievements and unique projects of our time, which are aimed at preserving natural, historical and cultural heritage. The motto of the award is “Protect the Future”. The authors of the nominee project are A. Yachmennikova, A. Alibekov, M. Slanova, A. Dzhenikaeva, V. Tokhsyrov, M. Nagoga. The award for the project at the ceremony of presenting the national prize was accepted by a senior researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS Anna Yachmennikova. "Thank you very much to our wonderful team! Let's achieve new victories together! Our project once again proves how important unity is. The unity of every person who carries his history, his culture, his native language in his heart along with the nature that surrounds him; the importance of the unity between the historical image of the Great Leopard from the Alanian epos and the real animal - a significant part of the biological diversity of the ecosystems of the Caucasus ", - said Anna Yachmennikova.  

The film "Where Goes The Wild Northern Deer", in which Sophia Borisovna Rosenfeld, Senior Researcher, IEE RAS, took part, is available for viewing. The wild reindeer is nearing extinction. The questions of why this is happening and what to do next should be answered by a detailed scientific study of the remaining populations.

The monograph is the world's first complete summary of the cladocera fauna of Northern Eurasia, whose representatives often play a leading role in the communities of continental and sea waters. The first volume describes the history of their study in a given territory, external and internal structure, biology of nutrition and reproduction, ecological and behavioral features, including the relationship with invertebrates and vertebrate predators. It also touches upon the study of their genetics, physiology, remains in bottom sediments, origin, taxonomy, faunogenesis and geographical distribution. Authors - Korovchinsky N.M., Kotov A.A., Boykova O.S., Smirnov N.N., 2021. You can download the monograph using the link: http://sev-in.ru/ru/monografii

Biologists from the A.N.Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow) and the I.D.Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Borok), in collaboration with scientists from the State University of New York, studied the sequences of several genes of the water fleas of the genus Bosminopsis and reconstructed their evolutionary history. It turned out that first representatives of this genus originated in the time of the dinosaurs. This study is one of the stages in the formation of new ideas about the biogeography of freshwater animals in Eurasia. The article was published in the journal PeerJ with the support of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), the press service of the foundation briefly told about the results of the study. Water fleas, or branched crustaceans, are microscopic, no more than six millimeters, animals, and the size of representatives of the bosminid family is even less than a millimeter. They are so widespread that individual representatives can be found even in Antarctica. In total, about 850 different species of water fleas are known today. They are used as food for aquarium and industrial fish and as indicators of the toxicity of aqueous solutions of chemical compounds. In addition, the genome of water fleas provides extensive material for research, since it contains more than 30 thousand different genes, which, for example, is 5-10 thousand more genes than in humans. The researchers analyzed 32 populations of water fleas of the genus Bosminopsis, which were collected in Russia, South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Thailand. The biologists have reconstructed the evolutionary history of this group. To do this, they analyzed the external structure of water fleas under a microscope and at the same time determined the nucleotide sequences of individual genes and analyzed their similarities and differences. In total, four genes were studied: mitochondrial COI and 16S and nuclear 28S and HSP. This is a fairly common set that is used in such cases. In particular, the COI gene is a standard for "genetic barcoding", that is, the genetic key for determining the belonging of a sample to a particular taxon. It is important that both mitochondrial and nuclear genes were used in the research, since it is not at all guaranteed that the data for one and the other will coincide. “It turned out that this genus is distinguished by the extreme ancientry of species isolation. In general, water fleas are of Paleozoic origin, much older than, for example, mammals and even dinosaurs. At the same time, the main genetic groups of bosminopsis were divided in the Cretaceous period, that is, they already existed at the time of giant reptiles, but, unlike them, have not died out by now,” says Alexei Kotov, project manager for a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Doctor of Biological Sciences, Chief Researcher at the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In this study, the scientists using genetic and morphological methods have demonstrated that only one species of the genus is found throughout Northern Eurasia, namely Zernov's bosminopsis. It is characterized by a very wide distribution, weak genetic structure, and small genetic distances between distant populations. The study is significant for further fundamental work on the study of the biogeography of freshwater animals.   Related materials: TASS Science: "The most common species of aquatic fleas turned out to be the same age as dinosaurs" Around the World: "Some species of water fleas are the same age as dinosaurs"  Russian Science Foundation: "Some species of water fleas turned out to be the same age as dinosaurs" 

In the Stepnoy Wildlife Refuge (Astrakhan Oblast), the work of a group of employees of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS (IEE RAS) under the leadership of RAS Academician V.V. Rozhnov continues the tagging of newborn saigas with ultra-light ear tags that do not cause disturbance to the animals. This is a continuation of the development of the technology for studying the movements of saigas using scientific equipment installed on the Russian segment of the ISS. While tagging the saiga calves, not a single animal was harmed. Earlier, we reported on the cooperation of the IEE RAS with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany, the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RSC Energia, within the framework of which the employees of the IEE RAS take part in the implementation of the Russian-German project ICARUS. The goal of this project is to organize global monitoring of the movement of animals from space in order to understand the reasons for their movements and to understand the complex processes taking place in ecosystems. At the end of 2020, the first five transmitters were tested on adult saigas. In agreement with the partners and after obtaining the necessary permits, it was decided to tag saigas with miniature ICARUS Basic Tag Solar / GPS devices powered by solar batteries that were placed on the animals’ mammalian ear tag platform. At the time of calving on the territory of the Stepnoy reserve, where pregnant females had accumulated, in total, according to expert estimates, there were up to 6 thousand saigas. Although the first newborn saiga calf was observed in the afternoon of April 30, and the last - on May 22, mass calving in the reserve took place from May 12 to May 14 this year.   Installing the clip on a young saiga Taking into account the plans of the Astrakhanskoye POOH management to release three adult saigas from the Saigak nursery in June of this year, it was decided to equip these soon to be released animals with the same ultra-light ear tags. Currently, the transmitters attached to saigas are being tested in the nursery's enclosures, but soon these animals will also go into the wild steppe. The saiga population research project is being carried out by IPEE RAS specialists in cooperation with the management of the Stepnoy Nature Reserve in the Astrakhan Region, which has been selected as a model area, and the Saigak Nursery of the Astrakhanskoye State Housing Organization. Its goal is to obtain reliable data on the current state of the saiga population in the North-Western Caspian region. The data on saiga movements obtained during the implementation of the project will be used to prepare and scientifically substantiate the most effective recommendations aimed at preserving and restoring the saiga population in the North-Western Caspian region - the only population that lives only within the Russian Federation. Installing the clip with the ultralight transmitter “Icarus” with a solar battery Материалы по теме:  РИА Волга: "В астраханском заказнике новорожденных сайгаков отслеживают со спутника" Пункт А: "Астраханских сайгачат отслеживают со спутника"

On the scientific expeditionary vessel "Mikhail Somov" two lectures were held by the staff of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who are in charge of the expedition for the "Narwhal" project. Ilya Murashev spoke about the ecology and bird diversity of the high-latitude Arctic. Svetlana Artemieva - about marine mammals. Svetlana, a research associate of the Narwhal project and a leading engineer at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has been studying marine mammals for many years and is capable of, almost by a wave surge, distinguishing who is under the water: a humpback or a killer whale, a porpoise or a bowhead whale. Seals, walruses, beluga whales, ringed seals, polar bears (also marine mammals), narwhals - each species has its own characteristics and mysteries. Why do narwhals have teeth yet walruses tusks? Who is ready to eat their seal relative? What whales run away from the ship by swimming on their backs? Where are the "carding places" of marine life? Is it necessary to save the seal pups caught on the ice during the ice drift? And how to become a marine biologist? These two lectures have more purposes than education. Members of the Arctic Floating University can help the Narwhal project with the observation of birds and marine mammals. Students and their supervisors are constantly observing for their projects, divided into watches: the weather, the ice, the sea debris, the birds ... And it may well turn out that they will spot a whale or even a narwhal. The information and photos derived from their observation will be of great value to the colleagues as well. From the 2021 observation diary, day 6 - 15th of June.

This question from the project "My Planet" is answered by Maria Erofeeva, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Behavior and Behavioral Ecology of Mammals, IEE RAS. Where the saying that a cat has nine lives, and not seven or, for example, ten, came from, is not known for certain. This is probably due to the fact that the number 9 has often appeared in myths, legends and has long been considered magical, since it closes the cycle 1-9. Perhaps the agility of this predator and the ability to land on four legs led to the fact that people began to attribute magical abilities to it. However, in reality the cat only has one life. It's just that nature has endowed the animal with a good sense of balance. Thanks to the developed vestibular apparatus, cats are not afraid of heights and can deftly walk on cornices, roofs and other heights. If they are to fall, they turn over in the air with their back up, spread their paws wide to the sides and land on all fours. As a result of such a maneuver, the surface of the body increases and the fall slows down as the "parachute effect" is triggered. The tail acts as a balancer in flight. But this does not mean that cats without a tail are doomed. Such animals have learned to use their hind legs to maintain momentum. In addition to a sense of balance, a flexible spine helps cats roll over in the air and spread their legs wide. Some have put forward opinions that cats do not have collarbones and that is why they are less injured when landing on their paws. It is not true. Cats have collarbones, but they are attached only on one side, which makes animals more flexible. For example, dogs cannot spread their paws this wide. The most important thing during the fall is to have enough time to complete your acrobatic stunt. Therefore, height is critical. Paradoxically, a cat that falls from the ninth floor may receive fewer injuries than the one that fell from the first. "My Planet" strongly encourages owners of pets living in apartment buildings to be attentive to pets and not to leave windows open, as well as to equip them with special nets. There is a theory that the minimum height necessary for the trick is 30 cm. Cats, however, are capable of injuring themselves by jumping from chair to chair, as well as of deftly walking on a mesh roof at a height of 3 m upside down and landing successfully when falling. So nothing is universal. On a documented occasion in 2019, a cat survived on Sinyavinskaya Street in Moscow, having fallen from the 18th floor. Moreover, x-rays showed no fractures and slight pulmonary edema. Later it turned out that the previous evening the hostess opened the window to ventilate the apartment, and since there was no special protective mesh on it, the cat fell out. He was lucky, but there are also opposite cases. Firstly, dexterity is not inherent in all domestic cats. Secondly, when falling, the cat can be very frightened, and in a state of shock, its inherent sense of balance can fail it. Thirdly, having fallen, the cat can hide in the basement or under a bush and sit there in a state of shock, not responding to the calls of those who are looking for it. Contrary to popular belief about the ability of cats to regenerate and treat themselves, they die from injury and disease, same as every other animal. So please, take care of your pets.