A tripartite agreement on the joint conservation of the Far Eastern leopard was concluded by the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, FGBU "Land of the Leopard" and ANO "Far Eastern Leopards". Signed within the framework of the International Tiger Forum, the document will be an important milestone in the history of the conservation and future reintroduction of the rare cat. A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences is one of the leading biological research institutions in Russia. Among other things, he deals with animal ecology and develops recommendations for nature conservation. The Land of the Leopard Federal State Budgetary Institution preserves the only wild population of the Far Eastern leopard in the world with the support of ANO Far Eastern Leopards. Previously, organizations have repeatedly collaborated in the field of preserving the unique nature of southern Primorye, including the prevention of epizootics (epidemics in wild animals). According to experts, the document signed within the framework of the II International Tiger Forum has become a milestone for the conservation of the Far Eastern leopard, providing for joint research and development of programs, including those aimed at further restoration of the population. “Conservation of the Far Eastern leopard requires multifaceted efforts. Participation in this work of the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, whose specialists have the best competences in the country in this field, will definitely bring the work on the study of a unique population to a new level,” says Elena Gangalo, Director General of ANO Far Eastern Leopards. An important area of ​​consolidated cooperation will be support for the planned work on the reintroduction of the Far Eastern leopard, including on the territory of the V.L. Komarov Ussuriysk State Nature Reserve (under the management of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Land of the Leopard"). In particular, it is expected that specialists from the Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences will prepare a program for the "settlement" ofnew territories by leopards and will provide assistance at all stages of future work in this area. A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS has been cooperating with the Land of the Leopard National Park for many years, we also had successful joint projects with ANO Far Eastern Leopards. The signed agreement will significantly improve the coordination of the parties in the implementation of ongoing projects, such as studying the spread of pathogens dangerous for the Amur leopard and the Amur tiger in the national park; assessment of the level of well-being of these predators. In addition, such an agreement will become the basis for the implementation of larger projects aimed at the conservation of the Far Eastern leopard,” said Sergey Naidenko, director of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “For 10 years of work, Land of the Leopard managed to save the Far Eastern leopard from extinction and achieve an increase in its numbers. The next stage is the gradual reintroduction of one of the rarest cats in the world to the places of its historical range. This is a very complex and fragile process that requires highly specialized knowledge and skills. We are very pleased that the experienced professionals of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences will help us in this difficult but necessary task,” said Viktor Bardyuk, Director of the Land of the Leopard Federal State Budgetary Institution. The II International Tiger Forum was held on September 5 as the first day of the Eastern Economic Forum on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University. A number of events within the framework of the Forum were dedicated to the conservation of the Far Eastern leopard, the world's rarest big cat. Related materials: TASS Nauka: "The population of the Far Eastern leopard is planned to be restored in the Ussuriysky Reserve" +1: "The population of leopards and gyrfalcons will be restored in the Far East of Russia" Land of the Leopards: "Leading zoologists of the Russian Academy of Sciences will help to preserve the rarest leopard" Interfax Russia: "Scientists will develop a program for the reintroduction of the Far Eastern leopard to its historical range"

A female deer with a cub The study of the sleep-wake cycle of the mouse-deer showed that the parameters of sleep in these animals are unique and formed under the influence of a number of ecological factors of the rainforest. The work was carried out by the specialists of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS (IEE RAS). These deer (Tragulus kanchil) live in the forests of South Asia and Africa. The weight of adult animals rarely exceeds two kg. These are the smallest of modern ungulates. They appeared on Earth approximately 40-50 million years ago, and are the only surviving of the known basal groups (organisms whose evolutionary line separated from the root before other groups) of artiodactyls. These deer, the so-called "living fossils", have a number of features that are considered "archaic" for artiodactyls. Given their evolutionary status (the historical development of the organism), deer are of interest for comparative eco-physiological studies of sleep, as well as for testing several hypotheses about the function of sleep. Characteristic posture of slow-wave (B) sleep in deer Employees of IEE RAS, together with foreign colleagues, studied the animals in Vietnam in the BuZyaMap National Park. Sleep was studied using the electrophysiological method. Indicators of brain activity (electroencephalogram, EEG), motor activity of muscles (electromyogram) and eyes (electrooculogram) were recorded, and the behavior of animals recorded on video was analyzed. During the experiments, the deer were in spacious enclosures, and physiological parameters were recorded using telemetry (wireless method of information transmission). According to the authors, immobility is one of the most important signs of deer sleep. At the same time, the state of sleep, as a rule, is difficult to distinguish from calm wakefulness without registration of electrophysiological parameters. The data obtained indicate that the features of the sleep-wake cycle in deer are determined primarily by environmental factors, such as high environmental temperatures, feeding habits, exposure to predators, as well as body size and physiology of deer. Typical posture of REM sleep in deer “Unlike most other animals studied, which sleep with their eyes closed, the eyes of the deer were open for the most part of the sleep cycle. Other important features of deer are the twilight (crepuscular) nature of activity, polyphasic sleep, reduced cyclicity of sleep stages,” said Oleg Lyamin, a researcher at the IEE RAS. Several previous studies have linked the low degree of differentiation (formation of a special phenotype) of sleep at its substage in animals with their "evolutionary age". As scientists have established, sleep in deer is differentiated into substages similarly to the higher placentals (that is, in most mammals). The total amount of sleep (and the duration of the slow-wave sleep stage) in the smallest of the ungulates was a record for the entire group (about half the time of the day), and paradoxical (REM) sleep was, like other wild ungulates, very short (less than 25 minutes on average). If the long duration of slow-wave sleep in deer is in good agreement with the idea of ​​sleep as a state of adaptive immobility, which reduces or excludes animal activity when it is inappropriate or even harmful, then a small amount of the deepest stage of sleep, namely REM sleep, with a negative correlation between the duration of REM sleep and the security of animals during sleep. The research results are published in one of the international scientific journals. Related materials: VC: "How do deer sleep?" Science and life: "Sleep is for the weak"

On August 21, the summer field school of the Institute of Biological Problems of the Permafrost of the Federal Research Center "Yakutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences" completed its work. School participants studied greenhouse gases and their impact on the Earth's climate. The training was conducted at the Spasskaya Pad International Forest Research Station located in Central Yakutia. The summer field school "Greenhouse gases and climate - monitoring, manipulation, modeling and management" worked under the scientific supervision of Trofim Maksimov, Deputy General Director of the Federal Research Center "YaNC SB RAS", Chief Researcher of the IPC SB RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences. During the week, the participants of the summer field school gained new knowledge at the lectures of leading scientists from Russia, the USA, Japan and Taiwan, conducted short-term field studies at Spasskaya Pad, learned how to measure greenhouse gases and the main components of the carbon cycle, maintain scientific instruments and mathematical analysis of the received data. As part of the training, studies of greenhouse gases in the surface and boundary-planetary layers of the atmosphere were carried out - for this, the school participants flew around the territory on an An-2 aircraft. At the end of theis studies, the participants prepared reports on research carried out at the forest scientific station. The Spasskaya Pad scientific station is equipped with the most modern equipment for studying greenhouse gases. On its territory there are three aluminum micrometeorological towers with a height of 16, 24 and 34 meters, as well as three ecophysiological 20-meter towers for access to the trees. As part of the training, researchers working on the modern issue of greenhouse gas monitoring and transboundary carbon management gained a broad understanding and expanded their knowledge of the field of decarbonization. In the future, they will be able to use the acquired knowledge and skills in the practice of organizing a national system of carbon ranges and farms. Researcher of the V.N. Sukachev Laboratory of Biogeocenology at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS (Moscow), Candidate of Biological Sciences Olga Kuricheva emphasized the hospitality of the Yakut specialists and the high level of research carried out at the Spasskaya Pad forest scientific station. “The breadth of research topics at the scientific station is remarkable, these are really complex studies from the troposphere to permafrost vertically and from the tundra to highly productive forests in the south of Yakutia horizontally. The experience of international cooperation is impressive. I really liked that in previous schools with the participation of foreign specialists, everyone at the station had to speak English - in particular, thanks to this, the team of Trofim Khristoforovich Maksimov knows English. And modern science cannot develop in one single country. Spasskaya Pad has a powerful instrument base, an extremely interesting object of study. It is important that the parameters of the investigated larch forests are close to the average values ​​in larch forests in Russia. The studies of greenhouse gas fluxes carried out at Spasskaya Pad are among the most serious in Russia,” said Olga Kuricheva. The researcher shared that she was very impressed with permafrost: “I have been reading about permafrost since the 6th grade of school geography, and here we dug a soil pit to zero isotherm, to the border of frozen rocks. It was very cold down in this pit. For the first time in my life, I touched permafrost. We took out several ice crystals from a depth of about 1.8 meters, they were like Yakut diamonds mined by us with our own hands! For a geographer from European Russia, this is an amazing experience.” Olga Alekseevna also expressed her gratitude for the sightseeing tour over the Lena River on the An-2 aircraft, on which studies of greenhouse gas concentrations at altitude are carried out. “I was also lucky enough to film a chipmunk and see the main pest of larch forests - a live silkworm. At Spasskaya Pad, I participated in the calibration of instruments, calculations and interpretation of greenhouse gas fluxes over the forest using the turbulent pulsation method, talked about data quality control, and also learned how to measure the level of photosynthesis in natural and laboratory conditions. My scientific interests are studying the flows of greenhouse gases, energy, moisture in natural ecosystems. On Spasskaya Pad, on a tower in a larch forest, the exact same research is being carried out, so it is very interesting to exchange experience on the methods and results of research. The school strengthens the cooperation of scientific teams. I hope to continue to work together with the team of Trofim Khristoforovich, to compare ecosystems along a latitudinal transect with a scale of almost a third of the globe,” said Olga Kuricheva. Work at the summer school was carried out in three areas - photosynthesis, soil respiration and Eddy Covariance (a modern system for continuous automatic registration of turbulent energy flows and greenhouse gases in the surface layer of the atmosphere). “I got only positive impressions from the summer school. Thank you very much to the moderators of the school for teaching and presenting material in an accessible language,” Rosa Bakhtiyarova, Associate Professor of the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University (Ufa), Candidate of Technical Sciences, shared her impressions. “We really enjoyed the summer field school. The organizers were able to combine useful informative lectures and interesting practical exercises. It was very interesting to get acquainted in detail with the system of eddy-covariance, methods for determining soil respiration, to study the photosynthesis of various plants, and to take part in sociological surveys on global warming. We express our deep gratitude to the organizers and hope to visit the summer field school next year!” said laboratory research assistants of the Tyumen State University (Tyumen) Victoria Kolotygina and Ivan Milyaev. Researcher of the V.N. Sukachev Laboratory of Biogeocenology at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS (Moscow) Vitaly Avilov noted that a very wide range of research is carried out at the Spasskaya Pad station, there is a well-equipped hospital for living and research work. “Most of all, I was impressed by the view of the endless forests from the top of the tower,” the scientist said. “Our laboratory conducts almost identical research in the European part of Russia. The most promising at the moment seems to be the integration of similar stations on the territory of Russia into a single network for monitoring climate and ecosystems, that is, the creation of a scientific megastructure throughout the country,” shared Vitaly Avilov. In total, 20 researchers from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Tyumen State University, Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, Yugorsk State University, Federal Research Center "Yakutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences", Institute of Biological Problems of the Permafrost of the Federal Research Center "YaNTs of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences", Arctic State Agrotechnological University, Institute of Permafrost Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Related materials: YakutiaMedia: "Olga Kuricheva: Research conducted in Yakutia is one of the most serious inRussia" SakhaMedia: "In Yakutia, scientists were trained for the national system of carbon polygons" SakhaLife: "Scientists of Yakutia are ready for the national system of carbon polygons andfarms"

Members of the expedition "Arctic Floating University - 2022" carried out a set of research works on the Franz Josef Land archipelago, including continued observations of Atlantic walruses. For the third year, employees of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been monitoring the grouping of the Atlantic walrus. One of their tasks is to assess the state and dynamics of the population, since it is an indicator of the sustainable state of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Russian Arctic. “It was important in such a short period of time to study several key points of the archipelago- the islands of Graham Bell, Trekhluchev, Heiss, Matilda and examine the rookeries with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles, conduct a census of sighted animals, collect samples using minimally invasive and non-invasive methods. We also managed to service 15 camera traps installed last year. This year, we were surprised by the location of the rookery at Cape Ostantsovy on Heiss Island: the walruses lay quite far from the water, among the sands, and not in their usual place,” said a researcher at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Svetlana Artemyeva, head of the team for the study of the Atlantic walrus within the framework of the Arctic Floating University program. According to scientists' preliminary assessment, the group of walruses looks well, no sick animals were registered. Last year, more than seven thousand animals were counted directly, which is an absolute record for these places. The results of this year will be known after the analysis of all collected data. “For the third year we have been conducting large complex expeditions that bring data on the study of marine mammals living in protected areas. The territory of the national park is optimal for research of this kind, since a large group of Atlantic walrus is regularly detected here. We finally learned about all the rookeries that are available in the "Russian Arctic" and their condition. Now we are assessing the condition of the animals,” said Alexander Kirilov, director of the Russian Arctic National Park. Related materials: Regnum: "Scientists were surprised by the Atlantic walrus rookery on Franz Josef Land" Iluki: "Scientists got more information about Arctic walruses" Naryana Vynder: "Our mustachioed neighbors" Go Arctic: "Arctic oil and gas: what's going on?"

Russian scientists from the I.D. Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS and Cherepovets State University discovered that one of the species of tropical fish, which previously ate only plant foods, at some point split into herbivores and predators. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF). The results are published in the journal Diversity. Living organisms in the process of evolution are forced to adapt to various living conditions. As a result, some of them acquire very specific features that help them occupy a narrow niche and avoid competition both with relatives and representatives of other species. Tropical fish of the genus Garra followed this path. Their jaws have expanded over time and developed into scrapers with a sharp cutting edge, which helps them scrape algae (periphyton) from stones. In the same way, they are able to scrape off dead particles from human skin, which alleviates the symptoms of psoriasis, which is why some fish from the genus Garra are also known as doctor fish. “When populations increase rapidly in size, intraspecific competition often occurs. The answer to it can be the so-called adaptive radiation, in which forms arise that occupy different ecological niches: someone acquires sustenance from the water column, and someone from the surface, and so on. The division of food resources during cohabitation is the initial stage of the so-called sympatric speciation. It is not often found in nature, but it provides valuable information about how new species appear,” says the first author of the article, Alexandra Komarova, junior researcher at the I.D. Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters RAS. Garra rufa fishes Gettyimages.ru © BSIP/Universal Images Group Earlier, in the Sor River in the Ethiopian Highlands (in the White Nile basin), six forms of a relative of the doctor fish were found, differing both in appearance and genetically. This is rather unusual: the conditions in mountain rivers are very changeable, and at first glance there are no prerequisites for the emergence of some new specialization. In their work, researchers from the I.D. Papanin RAS (Borok), A.N. Severtsov RAS (Moscow) and Cherepovets State University (Cherepovets) revealed the ecological component of this phenomenon. Since the externally studied fish differ in features that are somehow related to nutrition, the authors measured the length of their intestines, studied their contents, and analyzed the stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in white muscles, the ratio of which allows us to understand what the animals ate for a long period (approximately six months). This was necessary because the nutrition of fish can be changeable and assessment by intestinal contents does not provide sufficient information. The results of the study confirmed that in the past there was a division of the species into ecological forms in accordance with the type of food. Some fish continued to feed on algae, others became predators, and still others acquired mixed characteristics. The fish that ate the algae had more carbon-13 isotopes, predominantly accumulating in single-celled algae. The intestines of these animals developed to be 1.5–2 times longer than those of carnivorous relatives, since plant food is digested over longer periods of time and this is the only way to ensure its effective assimilation. Alexandra Komarova studying the composition of the food bolus of doctor fish under a binocular © Boris Levin The appearance of herbivores and predators also differed: in the latter, the mouth apparatus became more like a wide slot with a lock than a scraper - it is more convenient to capture and hold prey. The authors also discovered a completely new form that has never been seen among doctor fish, despite their wide distribution from Southeast Asia to West Africa. It has thick lips and appears to be the result of crossbreeding of other cohabiting forms; while the purpose of this modification of the oral apparatus is not entirely clear. “Although it is generally accepted that specialized forms arise from more generalized ones, that is, without any striking adaptations, our observations have shown that this is not always the case. The narrow scraping specialist of the genus Garra diversified his diet, and in some cases completely changed it. In a particular Ethiopian river, this can be explained by the fact that the doctor fish does not have many natural enemies, and there are not many competitors of other species either, and therefore you can “relax” and get out of your narrow niche,” sums up the head of the project, supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, Boris Levin, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Leading Researcher in I.D. Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters RAS. As the researchers emphasize, the observed situation expands the list of examples of a rather rare Liem's ​​paradox, according to which the structure of the animal's mouth apparatus does not necessarily correspond to the type of its food. Outbreaks of diversification, that is, rapid separation into different ecological forms and species, apparently occur only in certain parts of the river network, where, on the one hand, there are not so many predators, and on the other hand, there is no competition with other highly specialized species, while there are available ecological niches. Related materials: RT: ""Intraspecific competition": how herbivorous fish turned into predators" Polit.ru: "Exploring new ecological niches, tropical fish have turned from algae eaters intopredators"

©Getty images Researchers from Tyumen State University together with scientists from the A.N. Severtsov, Penza State University, the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the Physiology and Genetics of Animals of the Czech Academy of Sciences, revealed the influence of the parasitic flatworm Strigea robusta on the normal development of toad tadpoles. The parasite enters the body of domestic ducks, and then is transmitted to humans, causing a serious illness - trematodosis. The scientists' article was published in the Q1 Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology. It turned out that the previously noted induction of morphological anomalies in green frog tadpoles under the influence of this parasite species is observed to a similar extent in Palearctic toads. The limbs of tadpoles are predominantly affected by abnormal changes: specific edema, inversion of the limbs, growth of additional parts of the legs in the femoral region, and an increase in the number of fingers (the so-called polydactyly). “These deformations in amphibians were noticed quite a long time ago, in the middle of the last century, by the famous French scientist Jean Rostand and named by him “Anomaly P”. We found that the anomalies are caused by a parasite, and in our study we show that they are not specific only to green frogs, but they are also found in toads,” says Anton Svinin, coordinator of the project to study the influence of the parasite on amphibians, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Ecological Genetics and Metagenomics. “They were able to show that the parasite does not lead to any abnormalities in the gonads, affecting only the limbs, which in itself is surprising.” The deformities often result in reduced locomotor activity, making frogs and toads easier prey for birds, which are the definitive hosts of the parasites. Among these are ducks, including domestic ducks, which in turn can become carriers of serious diseases - types of trematodosis. Living in the intestines of birds, parasites can lead to diverticulosis, the formation of boils and ulcers in the intestines. Further study of the spread of the parasite, as well as its impact on different groups of animals, and identification of the nature of the impact is of considerable interest to scientists, and will serve as new tasks for future research.

Ornithologists in Taimyr have tagged and ringed 21 birds for further study. This was pronounced in the joint directorate of the reserves of Taimyr. Sofya Rosenfeld, an employee of the Bird Ringing Center of Russia, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that during the summer expedition, scientists were able to catch, mark with transmitters and ring 7 tundra bean geese, one white-fronted goose and 13 young tundra swans. “The transmitters, we hope, will give us information about the migration routes and wintering grounds of the main hunting mass species of geese and the tundra swan, which is actively increasing in numbers” Sofia Rosenfeld The scientist spoke about the aerial survey of moulting geese in the Pyasina delta and in the area of the mouth of the Tarei. The data obtained will allow biologists to calculate the percentage of breeding birds in the population, the average brood size and other parameters that are important for monitoring anseriformes. Next year, the specialists plan to continue the work.

A recently released special issue of Cat News No. 15, 2022 was dedicated to the problem of preserving the Persian leopard in the world. Cat News ISSN 1027-2992 is the newsletter of the Cat Specialist Group, a sub-organization of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC). The special issue of Cat News includes 12 chapters that cover different issues of the conservation of the Persian leopard: a system of international cooperation across the entire range of the species initiated by the IUCN for the conservation of the Persian leopard; questions of biology, ecology and taxonomy of the subspecies; the results of modeling the modern area of ​​the Near East; characterization of the status of the leopard in the territory of the Caucasian ecoregion, northern Iran and Central Asia, in the western and eastern parts of the range of the subspecies; the issues of predator-human conflict were also considered and an analysis of possible solutions was given; description of ecological corridors and transboundary territories, priority for the conservation of the subspecies; aspects of the system for effective monitoring of the leopard and its prey base were discussed; thepossibilities of the system of keeping predators in captivity for the restoration of populations are analyzed, the experience of Russia in restoring the subspecies in the northern part of the range - in the mountains of the Russian Caucasus through the reintroduction of individuals born and specially bred in captivity was given in this issue as well. The special issue that has just been released most fully covers the current problems of the conservation of the Persian leopard in the world and sets the tasks that need to be solved in the near future. Employees of IEE RAS took part in all discussions of chapters and the concept in preparing the issue, prepared a chapter on the implementation of the Program for the restoration of the leopard in the Caucasus (on the territory of the Russian Federation), and are also co-authors of chapters on monitoring and modeling of subspecies habitats. The release can be found at this link.

The form of the gallop that the animal uses determines the range of motion at the lumbosacral joint. There are two ways to increase your running speed: increase the frequency or length of your strides. In both cases, artiodactyls are capable of reaching an impressive top speed of 70-90 km/h. According to zoologists, mobility in the lumbosacral joint differs significantly in ungulates of the same size class, depending on the form of the canter used. In species adapted to the hopping-speed form of running, mobility in the lumbosacral joint is on average one and a half times higher than in species adapted to the speed form. Thus, a more amplitude hopping-speed form of running demands from ungulates not only increased mobility in the limb joints compared to the high-speed form, but also higher mobility of the lower back and lumbosacral joint. Joint extension of the limbs and lower back allows species adapted to this form of running to cover a distance of up to 10 meters for each jump. Scientists also found that the largest ungulates are characterized by a decrease in joint mobility throughout the spine. This also applies to the lumbosacral joint. Interestingly, its amplitude in large ungulates practically does not differ from the amplitude in the joints of the lumbar proper. Thus, its mobility is reduced more than in other joints. Scientists have suggested that the special role of the lumbosacral joint, which it plays in the use of jumping gaits by ungulates, is completely lost with an increase in size and transition to other forms of canter. With an extreme increase in size, ungulates may completely refuse to gallop, as hippos do, which use trotting as their main ground gait, or even lose the ability to move without constant support on the ground, as happens with elephants. The work was carried out with the support of the Russian Science Foundation. The results are published in the Journal of Anatomy. In the photo: Artiodactyls with the most mobile and least mobile lumbosacral joint in the sagittal plane

A team of biologists from the IEE RAS and the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University studied the common tropical nudibranch mollusc Coryphellina rubrolineata. Molecular genetic analyzes, as well as a study of the external and internal structure of animals, showed that this is not one species, but at least five. As a result, the authors described four new species of nudibranch mollusks that differ in mitochondrial and nuclear genes, as well as body stripes. The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), the results were published in the journal Diversity. Molecular genetic methods have allowed scientists to better identify cryptic (similar in appearance, but genetically different) and pseudocryptic (different in appearance, but this becomes clear only after applying genetic methods) species and species complexes. With their spread in taxonomy, the hypothesis of the leading role of geographical barriers and spatial isolation in speciation began to dominate. Often, remote populations of the same species with a wide range began to be divided into several species, based solely on genetic comparison data, which is not always justified. Recent studies in the field of evolution and phylogeny emphasize the great role of the ecological factor in speciation: organisms can diverge into different ecological niches within the same geographical area, acquiring new characters and isolating according to their "way of life." In modern taxonomy, an integrative approach to the study of species becomes important, when not only individual aspects (morphology, anatomy, ecology, DNA sequences) are evaluated, but also a number of characters in the aggregate. This approach makes it possible not only to describe a new species, but also to understand its evolution, and sometimes even the history of the development of the fauna of an entire region. The species Coryphellina rubrolineata, which interested Russian scientists, was first described from samples from the Red Sea in 1929, even before the spread of molecular methods. This nudibranch mollusk was later registered in the Mediterranean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The main identification feature of the species was three bright stripes running along the entire body. However, their color, discontinuity, width, proximity to each other, as well as other features, varied in different individuals. Employees of the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow) together with colleagues from the A.N. Severtsov IEE, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), as part of the work of the Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Center, studied individuals of C. rubrolineata from Vietnam. To understand whether this is really one species or still a complex of cryptic or pseudocryptic species, the authors turned to molecular genetic methods. In total, 28 individuals of Coryphellina were selected in the waters of Vietnam, each of them was photographed, and then cataloged for further research. Based on DNA sequencing data, the authors constructed phylogenetic trees reflecting evolutionary relationships and assessed the degree of differences between the samples. The animals were also studied by microscopic methods, with special attention paid to the reproductive and digestive systems. As a result, it turned out that the objects did not belong to one species, C. rubrolineata, but to five, of which four were first described in this work: Coryphellina pseudolotos, Coryphellina pannae, Coryphellina flamma, and Coryphellina aurora. “Most of the species we have identified show extremely high divergence, that is, divergence, in mitochondrial genes and, more unusually, in nuclear ones. This may indirectly indicate a level of ancientry. The most significant differences were the signs of coloration and, in particular, the type of red stripes: in some species they are intermittent, in others they are extended along the entire length of the body, in others they are completely absent,” explains Irina Ekimova, project manager under the RSF grant and the first author of the study, Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University. - Their general coloration is also different, although it can vary quite a lot within the same species. At the same time, the signs of the internal structure of the new species are very conservative, which is probably due to similar food preferences and breeding strategies.” From such revisions — discoveries of new species within a group or, conversely, combinations of several into one — evolutionary trees of small and then large groups of organisms are built. If we look at these data through the prism of space and time - that is, where, when and how new species “budded off”, scientists will be able to reconstruct the entire history of the fauna of the regions, going beyond the objects they study. Nudibranch mollusks, due to different reproductive strategies and dispersal abilities, are a convenient model object in this respect. Information and photos provided by the press service of Moscow State University. In the photo: Collage with photographs of Coryphellina lotos (left) and four new described species: (left to right) C. pseudolotos, C. pannae, C. flamma, C. aurora / Source: Irina Ekimova, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University Related materials: MK.ru: "Metropolitan zoologists have found four new species of mollusks in one" ИА Красная весна: "Biologists of Moscow State University and the Russian Academy ofSciences have identified new species of tropical mollusks" Planet today: "Zoologists took a closer look at tropical molluscs and described four newspecies"