Candidate of Biological Sciences, Leading Researcher of A.N. Severtsov IEE RAS Ilya Mordvintsev talked about the current state of research and plans for the future. This year, work on the study of the polar bear and the Atlantic walrus, which began in 2020–2021 with the support of Rosneft, was completed. “Field work has been going on for two years on Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, and this year we had a year of office processing. We received data on the movement of polar bears that we tagged, observed their individual and annual habitats. We still have two females transmitting signals - it looks like they have settled in dens,” said the scientist. The specialists also managed to obtain data on toxicology, pollution of polar bears with various heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. All values are within the normal range and do not cause any harm to the health of animals, Ilya Mordvintsev noted. By all indications, the bears are in good condition. “As for diseases, except for trichinosis, we did not find anything serious. But this is a disease that affects most adult bears throughout the Arctic, not just in the Russian sector,” he said. As the specialist admitted, not all planned trips were carried out, but one expedition turned out to be very interesting. “In October of this year, we worked for the first time on the Bear Islands, an archipelago in the East Siberian Sea. Quite an interesting place, which is very little explored. In the spring, employees of the Medvezhiy Islands Reserve recorded a large number of birth lairs. This is a new place that can be called another maternity home for polar bears in our Arctic,” said Mordvintsev. In the course of aerial monitoring work, scientists were interested in the condition and number of bears that remained on these islands during the ice-free period. “We worked in October, which is the month without ice covering. We counted more than 60 individuals - both single bears, and females with one-year-old cubs and with two-year-old and underyearlings. And they are all in such good condition, well-fed,” said the expert. Therefore, next year, joint work will continue on this territory with the Medvezhiy Islands State Nature Reserve, the Lena Pillars National Park and the Institute for Biological Problems of the Permafrost of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Next year we plan to visit the same islands, but already during the period when the females leave the birth dens, we will see exactly the number, the location of the dens, the number of cubs in broods, and what condition the females are in. This is a very interesting work that needs to be done annually,” concluded Ilya Mordvintsev. Related materials: Arctic Universe: "В ИПЭЭ РАН подведены итоги работы по изучению белых медведей"

Established in 2022, the Evolutionary Trophology Laboratory specializes in the study of feeding habits, digestion and parasites of fish, amphibians and reptiles living in various natural conditions from the Arctic to the tropics. The work of the laboratory became possible thanks to the Megagrant within the framework of the competition "State support for scientific research conducted under the guidance of leading scientists in Russian educational institutions of higher education, scientific institutions and state research centers of the Russian Federation" (9th stage). The laboratory is headed by the leading international scientist Enric Gisbert Casas, Spain. In addition to him, the laboratory includes, along with students, graduate students and support staff, the leading Russian experts in the field of metagenomic studies of the digestive system and ecology of vertebrates. To date, the laboratory is equipped with a set of equipment for the genetic sector of work. The equipment allows solving a wide range of tasks from routine processes of DNA and RNA isolation, purification and amplification to the creation of genetic libraries for subsequent whole genome sequencing. The laboratory is also equipped with equipment for the quantitative determination of PCR products. The laboratory staff organized ten expeditions: to the Baunt system of lakes (Republic of Buryatia), Lake Teletskoye (Republic of Altai), Lake Kronotskoye (Kamchatka Peninsula), to Armenia, and to the Zvenigorod Biological Station (Moscow Region). During the expeditions, the staff collected material to determine the features of the functioning of the digestive tract and the degree of infection of fish with various groups of helminths (cestodes, trematodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans). In addition, new specialized forms of chars were found in the basin of Lake Kronotskoye and the Kamchatka River. As a result of the expeditions, it was possible to collect and successfully deliver to the laboratory for experimental work the fertilized eggs of sympatric forms of whitefish from the lake Teletskoye and chars from the lake Kronotsky. In addition to working in aquatic ecosystems, laboratory staff began research on the trophic interaction of reptiles and amphibians occupying similar ecological niches. In Armenia, materials were collected to study the trophic interactions of parthenogenetic and hermaphroditic species of rock lizards; in Zvenigorod, primary materials were selected for the reconstruction of the mechanisms of functioning of the digestive system in amphibians during the transition from the aquatic environment to the terrestrial one. In the course of the work under the grant, seminars and practical exercises were held for young employees of the laboratory, which allowed them to independently use the created instrument base. During the first year of research, the working group published one article each in the journals of the first and second quartiles of the Web of Science database, and 5 more articles are currently under review. Next year, the laboratory staff plans to complete the organization of the chemical laboratory, process the data obtained in the first year of the laboratory's operation, and conduct several expeditions to collect field material to the subarctic regions of our country and to the tropics in Vietnam.

Sterkh. Return to Kunovat Restoring an extinct population is no easy task! And the Siberian Crane (“Sterkh”) is not a simple species. They are raised in the Ryazan region and, at the age of one, teenagers are sent with several transfers to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to the Kunovat swamps. Saiga races Every year in December, the mating season begins for the saiga population of the planet. Males eat nothing but ice and snow, drink a lot, run and fight a lot. Musk ox reacclimatization in Yamal For the third decade in Yamal, an experiment has been going on to breed musk ox in semi-wild conditions. What kind of beast is it, how does he live in these conditions and what to do with the growing herd, these topics are discussed in the documentary.

How long have scientists been studying musk oxen in YaNAO? What interesting things did they notice about the behavior of large animals? These and other questions were answered by a researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, candidate of biological sciences Sofia Rosenfeld. She also spoke about genetic studies of animals that had developed at the same time as mammoths and about how many of them live in Yamal: freely and in enclosures. Link to the interview.

Mature male of Nothobranchius furzeri. Photo: Andrey Nikiforov Members of the genus Nothobranchius live in the temporary reservoirs of the East African savannas and have one of the shortest life cycles among vertebrates, which makes them a unique model for studying a variety of biological processes. Previously, researchers at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences revealed a phenomenally high karyotypic diversity for vertebrates within the genus Nothobranchius: the diploid number of chromosomes in different species varies from 2n = 16 to 2n = 50, the ratio of one-armed and two-armed chromosomes is also highly variable even among species with the same 2n. In addition, 5 out of 65 karyotyped species (today the genus includes 96 valid species) have the X1X2Y multiple sex chromosome system (Krysanov and Demidova, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3897/CompCytogen.v12i3.25092). This publication aroused great interest among researchers involved in fish cytogenetics, and an international collaboration was formed to study the evolution of chromosomes in the genus Nothobranchius. At the end of 2022, an international team of researchers from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Moldova, and Russia published a work devoted to the cytogenomic study of XY chromosomes in two sister species of the genus Nothobranchius, N. furzeri and N. kadleci. Both species have been shown to share a common XY chromosome system that predated the divergence of the species. Differentiation of the sex chromosomes occurred through the accumulation of tandem repeats on the Y chromosome, which included polymorphism in patterns of distribution of repeats both between species and between populations of each of the species. However, in all populations, the gdf6 gene (the putative master gene for sex determination in fish) was mapped to a region rich in satellite DNA on the long arm of the Y chromosome. Candidate of Biological Sciences, Acting Senior Researcher of IEE RAS S.A. Simanovsky, took part in international cooperation, his task being to analyze synaptonemal complexes in prophase I of meiosis in the studied species. It was shown that, despite heteromorphism, XY chromosomes regularly pair during meiosis and form SC bivalents indistinguishable from autosomal ones. These data confirmed the conclusion about the early degree of differentiation of the XY chromosome system in N. furzeri and N. kadleci. The work was published in Chromosome Research (IF = 4.62; JCR Q2; SJR Q1) Štundlová J, Hospodářská M, Lukšíková K, Voleníková A, Pavlica T, Altmanová M, Richter A, Reichard M, Dalíková M, Pelikánová Š, Marta A, Simanovsky SA, Hiřman M, Jankásek M, Dvořák T, Bohlen J, Ráb P , Englert C, Nguyen P, Sember A. (2022) Sex chromosome differentiation via changes in the Y chromosome repeat landscape in African annual killifishes Nothobranchius furzeri and N. kadleci. Chromosome Research 30: 309–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-022-09707-3

On January 10, the constituent assembly of the public association "Expert Council on Reserve Affairs" was held in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. The event is timed to coincide with the 106th anniversary of the publication of the first national act on the creation of a state reserve - January 11, 1917, this date in Russia is informally called the Day of Reserves and National Parks. The initiative to create the Council was established by a group of ecologists - authoritative experts in the field of natural heritage protection, with the aim of consolidating the efforts of an independent professional expert community in the field of territorial nature protection. The expert council included a number of employees of the IEE RAS, who are close to the subject of nature conservation, and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.V. Rozhnov, scientific director of environmental and environmental projects and international programs of IEE RAS. At the time of the establishment of the Expert Council, 91 people confirmed their membership - all highly qualified specialists who have many years of practical experience in the environmental field. Among them - 1 academician and 5 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 6 professors, 58 doctors and candidates of science, 9 honored ecologists of the Russian Federation, 1 honored worker of science of the Russian Federation. Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, Doctor of Economics, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Supervisor of the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Bureau of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Global Environmental Problems, and Vsevolod Stepanitsky, Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation, Advisor to the General Director of autonomous non-profit organisation “Far Eastern Leopards". In his introductory report, Vsevolod Stepanitsky noted among the negative trends at the present stage of the development of the reserve business "the adoption of managerial decisions that are not burdened by a sense of responsibility for the fate of the entrusted system of specially protected natural areas, formed over the past century", which often even run counter to the position of the President of Russia on relevant issues, expressed publicly. “Our conservation work needs the decision makers to listen to the opinion of the expert community. I am deeply convinced that the consolidated position of a team of reputable specialists will be perceived as much more weighty than the same position expressed separately,” Stepanitsky emphasized. Among the priority actions that the Expert Council could take, he called the fight against threats of illegal seizure of land plots of protected areas, violation of the territorial integrity of protected areas or their involvement in illegal economic activities, preparation of proposals regarding the legal regulation of recreational activities in protected areas, initiating the granting of the status of federal protected areas to specific valuable natural areas, work with the problems of protected areas of regional importance and a number of others. Viktor Danilov-Danilyan emphasized the representativeness and scientific weight of the Expert Council on Reserve Affairs. In his speech, he drew attention to the fact that the preservation of everything that appears in the now fashionable talk about conservatism is unthinkable without the conservation of wildlife in general and the protected areas themselves, where this nature has been preserved. Elena Sharoikina, head of the Commission on Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, called the establishment of the Expert Council, which brought together the best specialists in territorial nature protection, a milestone event. “You embody biological reservation,” she said and offered the support of the Council from the Commission she chairs to discuss the most difficult issues in this area. The members of the Council expressed their hope that the creation of such a public association from among highly qualified experts would be able to positively affect the solution of problematic issues of the reserve business and that the opinion of an independent professional community represented by well-known and authoritative specialists would be listened to. Information about the Expert Council: Among the key areas of work of the Expert Council: defending the interests of the protected area in the legal, organizational, personnel and other areas;initiating the creation of new and expansion of existing specially protected natural areas;analysis and discussion of draft normative legal acts in the field of conservation, conservation of biological and landscape diversity;assistance in the improvement of the current legislation in the field and support of state bodies in the fight against its violations;analysis and discussion of draft strategies, concepts, plans, programs and decisions, as well as individual economic and other projects affecting the issues of territorial nature protection;preparation of proposals and recommendations in the field of conservation, conservation of biological and landscape diversity, scientific research and environmental monitoring in protected areas;providing methodological and advisory assistance to state and public organizations working in the field of territorial nature protection.

Red pika. Photo: Remi Bigonneau / Wikipedia “Pikas” can refer to birds as well as mammals. The mammal ones are small creatures resembling hamsters. However, their closest relatives are hares and rabbits: they are included in the same order, Lagomorphs. Most pikas store hay for the winter (haypiles), which gives them a common denomination of “haystackers”. One of the subgeni of pikas is the mountain Conothoa. This is one of the few mammals on the planet to inhabit the tallest mountains - the screes and deserts of the high mountain belt of Asia; only two species descend to the forest belt of the mountains. The ranges of most mountain pikas are located near various political boundaries, which makes them difficult to study. As a result, the intraspecific taxonomy (classification) of none of the Conothoa species has ever been studied on the scale of its entire range. Specialists of the A.N. Severtsov RAS analyzed pika skeletons from the collections of the largest museums in the world. The results of the measurements of the skulls, processed by complex statistical methods, made it possible to find out which of the specimens are indistinguishable from each other, and which, most likely, belong to different species or subspecies. Also, samples of biological tissues and museum specimens were collected for the study in the territory from the Tien Shan to the Sino-Tibetan mountains. The taxonomic revision showed that the number of species in mountain pikas is less than previously thought. According to the researchers, the number of species was overestimated due to the fact that collections from different regions were stored in different parts of the world. Previously, no one had been able to compare the taxa of pikas with each other. “We are the first to conduct a study of the intraspecific variability and phylogeny (historical development) of Conothoa pikas. During the existence of the species, some populations move away from others. For example, western from eastern. The speciation begins. After some time, such populations become possible to distinguish. The simultaneous existence of such populations is called intraspecific variability. We also proposed a subspecies division scheme for each species, that is, a list of subspecies that we were able to confirm,” says Andrei Lisovsky, senior researcher at the Mammalian Microevolution Laboratory of the IEE RAS, Candidate of Biological Sciences. In addition, the analysis of routes and publications of the 19th century made it possible to discover type localities - previously unknown - of some species of mountain pikas. For example, the very first of the described species of these pikas was collected on the Kun-Lun ridge (the border of India and China), but so far no one knew the exact location. Another discovery was that for the four species inhabiting the southeastern edge of Tibet, the narrow-range basal forms were found here. “Speciation occurs by dividing a species into two groups. For example, geographically. Suppose a river flows between two populations and conditionally divides the species. Or if the population is widely settled, as a result of cataclysms their territories are separated by natural obstructions. Then any group can again be divided into two, and so on. This is how it always happens. Sometimes basal forms are preserved - this is one of the populations formed as a result of the first division into two groups,” explains Andrey Lisovsky. The research results are published in Zoologica Scripta Related materials: Scientific Russia: "Scientists of the IEE RAS for the first time investigated the family ties ofhigh-mountain pikas."

Leopards released at the end of July have mastered a significant part of the territory of North Ossetia, especially forest areas, but, judging by the data received, they are not going to stop there. The habitats formed by them during the snowless period began to undergo changes due to the onset of cold weather and the appearance of snow on the mountaintops. GPS locations obtained from the collars indicate that the female Khosta has travelled the longest path since release: she walked 707 km, swam across the river, crossed a large highway, and most of all she fell in love with forested gorges. In the snowless period (July-October), she covered a greater distance (429 km) than in late autumn and early winter (November-December) - 278 km. The total area that she has mastered is the largest compared to other leopards - 1353 sq. km, also differing before and after the beginning of November. Until the beginning of November, Khosta occupied 651 sq. km, then she moved and completely changed her place of residence - her new site is ​​439 sq. km and continues to grow. In choosing the path, Khosta prefers a simpler terrain than her sister Laura - more gentle slopes, lowlands. For 5.5 months, Khosta only once rose to a height of 2500 m above sea level, and twice - to a height of 2000 m a.s.l., the rest of the time keeping to the foothill forests and rarely rising above 1000 m a.s.l. - just to make an estimation of her surroundings and return to lower ground. Life in these conditions probably determined the predominance of small but plentiful prey (badgers, jackals, raccoon dogs, forest cats and foxes) in Khosta’s diet, although deer became her last prey: after all, it got colder, the New Year is approaching, you can allow have a tasty and plentiful meal. The champion in wild ungulates, of course, is Laura. Of the 20 potential places of her hunting, the specialists managed to check 14: they found the remains of 5 roe deer and one wild boar, the rest of the victims were wild small predators. At the same time, Laura seems to deliberately choose difficult areas for people to work - 2000-2500 m above sea level. (Fig. 1 a, b). Checking her hunting grounds often turns into a small expedition, fraught with unforeseen difficulties. In addition, she hunts more often than all other leopards (more on this below) and is likely the most well-fed. Fig.1а. View of the place typical of Laura's stay Fig. 1b. Height profile of Laura's trajectory. The territories that Laura has mastered can be described as predominantly steep slopes and rocky outcrops. And although during the time after the release, she travelled a shorter distance than Khosta (592 km), before the onset of cold weather she explored, for the most part, subalpine and alpine biotopes. Until the end of October, Laura walked 380 km and covered an area of 309 sq. km. When snow fell steadily on the mountain peaks and temperatures began to stay below zero, she descended into a snowless zone and went to neighbouring Kabardino-Balkaria, where she managed to catch a wild boar (Fig. 2a). Since the beginning of November, Laura has covered only 220 km, but she has mastered a much larger area - 1027 sq. km. This female leopard, on the one hand, mastered various types of medium and large prey and hunting techniques in the wild more successfully (as evidenced by the distance travelled between hunts and the time of the hungry period). But on the other hand, in winter, she may have to face competitors more often (wolves, bears that did not go into hibernation) and either give up half-eaten prey to them, or eat it faster. For Khosta, who focuses on small prey and patrols lower areas, the problem of competition with the wolf and the bear should be less acute. Fig.2а. Boar caught by Laura Fig.2b. Khosta's footprint near the deer she caught Fig.2c. Height profile of the motion trajectory Hosta The male Leo has a comparatively easier time than females, since he is still much larger and, apparently, a calmer and more confident leopard. He prefers not to waste energy in vain. Unlike females, his habitat is more stable, and the area grows gradually and evenly. He does not deviate from his mastered areas sharply or take long journeys in search of unknown adventures. For 5.5 months, he walked 515 km and mastered 713 sq. km. If females are more likely to make sudden decisions about changing geoposition (in December, for example, Khosta crossed the Ardon and moved east, and Laura quite unexpectedly went to explore Kabardino-Balkaria, although before that she had no urge to go beyond the Turmonsky forest area), then Leo does not even try to explore mountain heights and prefers lowland forests as habitats (Fig. 3). 47% percent of his prey is made up of small carnivores, although he has been confirmed to successfully prey on both red deer and wild boar. He hunts with approximately the same frequency as Khosta (likely due to the fact that both animals use similar biotopes of foothill and low-mountain forests, Fig. 3c). Fig.3. Height profile of Leo's trajectory The distance that all leopards travel from prey to prey differs little (Fig. 4a). At the same time, it takes Laura the longest to eat her victims (Fig. 4b) and her prey is, on average, larger. Fig. 4. Characteristics of the hunting behavior of released leopards: distance between clusters (a), duration of stay on them (b), and duration of periods between hunts (c). Since Laura, like some other leopards released earlier, set off from North Ossetia to Kabardino-Balkaria, we made another comparison - the paths they chose for such travel. It turned out that a clear corridor was visible, which most of them either used or chose to explore. So, Volna, Agura, Baksan and Laura were interested in this “green bridge” of the Central Caucasus (Fig. 5 a, b), and Volna and Laura went to the Kabardino-Balkarian expanses through it. This narrow strip of mountain forests is critical for the movement of leopards in the Central Caucasus, so agricultural land should in no case approach this strip closely enough to limit its passability from the impregnable sections of the mountain range. The results of snow leopard habitat suitability modelling that we published in 2020 confirm this (Fig. 5a). Fig. 5а. An ecological corridor of fundamental importance for the settlement of leopards in the Central Caucasus: the area along which the leopards cross from Ossetia to Kabardino-Balkaria (a strip no wider than 10 km) Fig. 5b. Ecological corridor of fundamental importance for the distribution of leopards in the Central Caucasus: previously published results of modeling the suitability of habitats for leopards. The program for the restoration of the Persian leopard in the Caucasus is being implemented by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources with the participation of the Sochi National Park, the Caucasian Reserve, the North Ossetian Reserve, the Alania National Park, the World Fund for Nature , the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS), the A.K. Tembotov Institute of Ecology of Mountainous Territories RAS, Moscow Zoo, with the assistance of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). Funding for the monitoring of the Persian leopard in the Caucasus is supported financially by the World Wide Fund for Nature. In North Ossetia, RusHydro is providing financial support for the population recovery program. Related materials: Komsomolskaya Pravda: "Leopards spotted hunting in the mountains of the KBR"

Assessment of the hormonal status in animals has been carried out in recent decades not only in the blood and organs, but also in various excretions (feces, urine, saliva, milk, hair). Validation of measurements of steroid hormone concentrations in hair is rare, but in recent years this analysis has become more routine. Unlike many other substrates, it is still quite difficult to estimate the time interval that corresponds to the concentration of the hormone in hair, in particular, how quickly the hormones enter the hair after circulation in the blood and what time interval (weeks to months) is indicative of bioaccumulation of the hormones in the sample. In this regard, the results obtained from different animal species are somewhat contradictory. Accordingly, for each group of animals it is important to determine what information can be obtained by measuring the level of steroid hormones in the hair. Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS assessed the possibility of using feline hair to measure seasonal changes in cortisol and testosterone levels in four species with different breeding strategies (seasonal and non-seasonal). Hair testosterone concentrations in four feline species coincided with their reproductive cycle: increased during the mating season in seasonal species, remained high in non-seasonal caracals. Males were found to have higher testosterone concentrations than females. Hair cortisol levels also showed a significant pattern: changes in housing conditions (smaller cells) led to an increase in cortisol levels; the mating period and disturbance of the animals were also associated with an increase in cortisol levels. Measurement of these two hormones in feline hair samples can be a reliable tool for monitoring hormonal changes in captive and wild individuals. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant 18-14-00200. Naidenko, S. V., Alekseeva, G. S., Klyuchnikova, P. S., & Erofeeva, M. N. (2022). Application of Felid Hair for Non-Invasive Tracking of Animal Reproductive Status and Adrenal Activity. Animals, 12(20), 2792. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202792

It is “profitable” for parents to produce offspring from a partner more distant in terms of MHC genes, providing maximum heterozygosity for the offspring, which increases its survival rate. It is believed that the choice of a partner with the most different MHC genes allows females to produce the most viable offspring (including those with accelerated development of young animals and a strong immune system). The effect of MHC genes on mate selection has been confirmed in a number of invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. However, at the moment there is not enough information about the consequences of such a choice for a number of species (or taxonomic groups), including felids. Scientists of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, evaluated the effect of MHC genes distance in a parental pair on the survival of offspring in a domestic cat. An analysis of 38 litters (131 kittens) showed that the survival rate of kittens indeed depended on the similarity/difference of parents in the genes of the MHC complex. In broods born from parents with the maximum distance in MHC class I and II genes, more cubs survive. At the same time, this effect is most significant in relation to MHC class I. In parents with the maximum distance in MHC class I genes, 91.8% of kittens survive on the first day after birth, while in parents with the minimum distance - 71.4%. By the age of transition to solid food, this effect is less pronounced. The distance for MHC class II genes is significant only at birth, and by the age of transition to solid food, the effect completely disappears. That is, from parents with a minimum distance for the MHC genes, a significant number of cubs are either born dead or die on the first day after birth. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant 18-14-00200. Erofeeva, M.N., Alekseeva, G.S., Kim, M.D., Sorokin, P.A., Naidenko, S.V. (2022). Inbreeding Coefficient and Distance in MHC Genes of Parents as Predictors of Reproductive Success in Domestic Cat. Animals, 12(2), 165. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12020165