The Saratov Branch of IEE RAS (SB IEE RAS) was established in 1995 to study the ecology of steppe-zone vertebrates and to develop measures for the conservation of rare species. Since its founding, the SB IEE RAS has studied the population dynamics of terrestrial vertebrates and their habitats under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, and the formation of the modern structure of the animal community of the steppe zone of the Lower Volga region.
The Saratov Trans-Volga region is currently the only remaining breeding stronghold of the East European great bustard population, sustaining its reproduction. The future of the entire East European bustard population group depends on the state of this population. Branch staff have initiated research into the ecological features of the bustard and the development of a scientific basis for the conservation of this rare, endangered species, classified as «globally vulnerable» under current criteria.
The Branch maintains a field station in the village of Dyakovka, on the left bank of the Volga River in the south of Saratov Oblast. Field and laboratory research is conducted at the field station by Branch staff and by staff of various laboratories of the Institute.
In 1998-2000, a joint Russian-German project, «Developing a Scientific Basis for Bustard Conservation in Saratov Oblast,» was carried out with financial support from the Frankfurt Zoological Society (Germany). During this period, many aspects of bustard ecology were studied, and satellite telemetry was used to trace migration routes to wintering grounds and back to breeding sites. In 2003-2012, a project was carried out with the Great Bustard Group (UK) on bustard reintroduction in the United Kingdom. Branch staff have developed unique methods for incubating eggs taken from clutches doomed to destruction in the fields, and for rearing bustard chicks.
Facilities for year-round housing of the birds have now been built at the field station, and an enclosure complex has been established. Work on captive bustard breeding began in 2012. Studies of the birds' behavior and social relationships are being conducted using continuous video monitoring in the enclosures.
Since the late 1990s, research has been carried out on the recovery of steppe ecosystems on abandoned cropland, and on changes in animal communities during vegetation demutation on fallow land and pastures following the cessation of grazing. Long-term consequences of anthropogenic landscape transformation, driven by agricultural development and climate change, on the vertebrate fauna of the steppes of southeastern European Russia are being studied. An inventory of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of the steppes of the Lower Volga region is being carried out.
Based on 12 years of abundance surveys of representatives of the family Alaudidae in the semi-desert of the Kazakhstan and Saratov Trans-Volga region, we have studied the long-term dynamics of the structure of a community of 5 lark species. Using large-scale satellite imagery of the survey transects, combined with parallel field studies of soils and vegetation, we studied the facies structure of the landscapes of the key sites and, using statistical methods, identified the preferences of individual lark species in selecting nesting habitats. Data on the long-term dynamics of bird abundance, analyzed jointly with changes in natural conditions, made it possible to identify correlations between the abundance of individual species and both the moisture regime of the semi-desert landscapes and the anthropogenic pressure upon them.
We are studying the zone of sympatry-parapatry between the European (Meles meles L.) and Asian (Meles leucurus Hodgson) badgers in the Right Bank of Saratov Oblast, based on molecular-genetic research carried out jointly with the Research and Teaching Laboratory of Molecular Ecology and Systematics of Animals, Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University.
Over a long period, we have collected field and literature data on the range expansion of the golden jackal (Canis aureus L.) in the Volga region, European Russia and Europe.
Long-term studies of the dynamics and structure of the anuran amphibian population in the floodplain of the Medveditsa River are being conducted. It has been established that the shift in the end date of hibernation in the marsh frog under climate warming follows a pattern similar to that of other anuran species (the fire-bellied toad, Pallas's spadefoot toad). To forecast population dynamics for the conservation of these species, monitoring of phenological changes in the spring phase of the animals' annual cycles will continue.
Long-term studies are being conducted on the impact of clear-cutting on the area occupied by deciduous trees in the pine forests of the Volga Upland. It has been established that these clear-cuts have resulted in the formation of thinned pine stands. Abundant fruiting of young small-leaved species has led to the emergence of a deciduous layer in old-growth pine stands. The study conducted has shown a transformation of forest communities. Natural regeneration of pine stands is now practically excluded. This disruption has led to the replacement of primary stands by derivative ones. Broadleaved species now occupy a fairly significant area among the youngest communities, alongside small-leaved species.
The Saratov Branch has hosted joint research with specialists from other divisions of the Institute, as well as colleagues from other research institutions in Russia and abroad.
Students of leading universities in the country have carried out coursework and diploma projects at the SB IEE RAS: Lomonosov Moscow State University; Ivanovo State University; Saratov State University; Saratov Polytechnic University, Ural State University, and Saint Petersburg Pedagogical University. Graduate students of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, the Zoological Institute RAS, and Saratov Polytechnic University have also conducted research at the Saratov Branch.
In 2001, the Branch organized, jointly with other institutes of RAS and Saint Petersburg State University, a workshop-seminar for young steppe researchers. In 2004, the Branch took part in organizing the conference «Mammals in Arid Ecosystems,» and in 2005 it organized the conference «Bioresources and Biodiversity of the Ecosystems of the Volga Region: Past, Present and Future,» dedicated to the Branch's 10th anniversary. Since 2015, the Saratov Branch of IEE RAS has been a co-organizer of the scientific-practical conference «Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Transformation of Natural Ecosystems,» held at the Balashov Branch of the N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State Research University.
The editorial office of the «Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology» operates at the SB IEE RAS. Founded in 2002, it is a scientific journal of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS. The journal is published four times a year and publishes original articles resulting from research in various fields of organismal ecology, including ecosystem, community and population ecology, conservation ecology and evolutionary ecology, in Russian and English. Priority is given to original research articles based on explicitly formulated hypotheses tested using modern statistical methods. Since 2011, translated versions of the articles have been published in «Biology Bulletin» (indexed in Web of Science, Scopus). The «Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology» is included in the List of peer-reviewed scientific publications in which the main scientific results of dissertations for the degree of Candidate and Doctor of Science must be published (Category K1). The journal is included in major national and international abstract databases and citation systems: the RSCI core, RSCI, eLIBRARY.RU, Scopus, Web of Science (RSCI, Zoological Record, GeoRef), DOAJ, and others. The full-text version of the journal is available on the «Povolzhskiy Journal of Ecology» website and in the Russian Federation's Scientific Electronic Library (eLIBRARY). Archive of the journal for 2002-2017.
Branch staff have actively participated as authors of species accounts in preparing the Red Data Book of Saratov Oblast (2021) and the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation (2021).