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Microclimates of large cities and global warming favor the range expansion of the Far-Eastern invasive fish Perccottus glenii in northern regions of Europe where this invader becomes a component of local ecosystems and participates in transmission of parasites and pollutants along food chains. We have assessed contents of seven trace elements in muscle tissues of this invasive fish in 16 water bodies within the city of Moscow. In all water bodies studied, quantities of all studied elements did not exceed the maximum concentrations permitted in national and international guidelines. Therefore, the screened water bodies of Moscow may be assessed as unpolluted. The fish P. glenii is a convenient object for assessing pollution levels of city ponds, since this fish species is now widespread, reaches a high population densities in shallow aquatic sites, may be caught easily, no permit is required for its capture because the species is recognized as invasive, and its partial elimination does not damage native freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic compounds in plants of the genus Nigella are represented by various groups of flavonoids, gallocatechins, and derivatives of cinnamic and caffeic acids. The content of flavonoid glycosides in the leaves of Nigella damascena L., N. sativa L., and N. orientalis L. was established by the HPLC-MS method. Species-specific dependence of accumulation of flavonoid glycosides has been established. It was shown that the main flavonoids in the leaves of the studied objects were glycosides of quercetin and kaempferol, while quercetin glycosides were 1.40–1.97 times more than kaempferol in the studied extracts. N. sativa leaves had an increased composition of flavonoid glycosides compared to other studied species. The qualitative composition of N. damascena flavonoid glycosides was like N. sativa, whereas it is close to N. orientalis in terms of the total content of this group of compounds. Total amount of flavonoid glycosides in N. sativa leaf extracts was four times higher than in extracts of other types of Nigella. It is worth noting that the types N. sativa and N. damascena have the greatest phenotypic similarity and are more resistant to growing conditions in Belarus, while the species N. orientalis is different in appearance and more demanding on cultivation conditions. It was found that the variety of flavonoids glycosides in N. orientalis leaves is less in the absence of high molecular weight and acylated forms. The possible absence of acylated derivatives and less variety of flavonoids glycosides affects the low stability N. orientalis to abiotic factors and reduces its adaptive potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, the methods of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and pH differential method spectrophotometry were used for the detailed study of qualitative and quantitative composition of the anthocyanin spectrum of the flowers of 14 common lilac varieties (Syringa vulgaris L), belonging to various colour groups of introduced specimens of the in vitro collection of the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, of Belarus. Based on the findings of chromatography, spectral measurements and their comparison with authentic samples, and according to literature data, lilac flower anthocyanins were identified as coumaroyl-hexosides or rutinosides of delphinidin and cyanidin. All varieties can be divided for convenience into three groups according to the presence and content of delphinidin and cyanidin derivatives: not containing any (light colours: white, bluish); containing only cyanidin derivatives (dark colours); containing delphinidin and cyanidin derivatives (complex colours: pinkish lilac, violet blue, lilac violet). It is established that anthocyanin content varies depending on the colour; according to HPLC, flowers either do not contain anthocyanins, or contain them in the range of 0.32–3.80 mg/100 g dry weight; according to pH differential spectrophotometry, the flowers contain 0.03–3.71 mg/100 g dry weight anthocyanin pigments. The obtained data will give additional information about documenting lilac varieties; their description is published on the Internet, in the HBC-Info information storage and retrieval system (http://hbc.bas-net.by). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different species of amphibians often breed in the same water bodies and their diets overlap. Theoretically, this might lead to a competitive elimination of either one but there are multispecies temporal larval communities persisting over the years. We hypothesized that larvae of two common European anuran species segregate their trophic niches despite their omnivorous habits and possible similarity of trophic levels. We assessed interspecific differences in food assimilation at larval and postmetamorphic stages of two anurans in an ecosystem of forest lake and an adjacent terrestrial ecosystem using a stable isotope approach. Trophic level of tadpoles of both species corresponded to those of some benthic invertebrate predators. Trophic positions of postmetamorphic juveniles corresponded to those of terrestrial invertebrate predators. The unpredictable decrease of δ15N values in anuran tissues during the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats corresponded to the differences between aquatic and terrestrial isotopic baselines whereas dynamics of normalized δ15N confirmed an increase in their trophic level. Finally, we detected a strong segregation of trophic niches of the two species at both larval and postmetamorphic stages. The described niche separation provides an important prerequisite for decreasing possible intraspecific competition and promoting long-term co-existence of these syntopic anurans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stone moroko (or topmouth gudgeon), Pseudorasbora parva, is one of the most successful invasive species in the fresh waters of Europe and some regions of Asia. We analyzed the diversity of the mitochondrial COI gene in the genus Pseudorasbora and, in particular, in populations of P. parva from its native range (the Far East) and areas of recent dispersal. Four phylogenetic lineages of stone moroko were identified within its native range, and three of them contributed to the dispersal within more western regions of Eurasia. One of these lineages was initially distributed in the north of China and the Far East of Russia, the second one was in southern China, the third one was in the Korean Peninsula and, probably, in the adjacent regions of China. Geographical distribution of COI lineages suggests three donor regions of stone moroko invasions into more western regions of Eurasia: the basin of the Yangtze River, the northern (Russian) part of the Amur River basin, and the Sungari River basin (right tributary of the Amur in the territory of China). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The list of mammals of the Lake Glubokoe Nature Reserve (Ruza district, Moscow region, Russia) was supplemented with the flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). The contemporary border of the native range of the flying squirrel goes through the northeastern part of Moscow region (oblast). No individuals of this species had been recorded in the western parts of the region until the end of the 20th century. However, a flying squirrel population has recently appeared in the vicinity of the Zvenigorod Biological Station, Moscow State University. This population originates from several animals transported to the biological station for scientific purposes. As genetic studies have shown, individuals from this population belong to the endemic Far Eastern phylogenetic lineage. This lineage includes individuals recently recorded in other places in the western part of Moscow region. The sequence of the cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA from a tissue sample of a flying squirrel individual found on the territory of the Lake Glubokoe Nature Reserve in July 2013 is identical to that known for animals from the Zvenigorod Biological Station, as well as to those from other places of the western part of Moscow region. The new record is the westernmost one among all other previous records, which confirms the enlarging of the Zvenigorod subrange of this species. Despite the Pteromys volans population in the vicinities of Glubokoe Lake appearing as a consequence of introduction, it is protected by the Red Data Book of Moscow region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current geographical distribution of alien terrapins is poorly understood because these reptiles are difficult to detect in large natural water bodies, as they don't vocalize, have cryptic coloration, and are typically not numerous in temperate climate. The present study tests the previously unconfirmed oral reports suggesting the presence of terrapins in several urban water bodies in the European part of Russia, which is outside the geographical ranges of native European terrapins. We assessed the presence of the terrapins indirectly, by using a parasitological analysis of a widespread alien fish Perccottus glenii which is numerous in shallow lentic water bodies. This fish can harbour diverse parasitic species. We detected the alien nematode Spiroxys sp. in the wall of the digestive tract of the studied fish. The life cycle of this nematode includes freshwater terrapins as the obligatory definitive host. Thus, detecting Spiroxys sp. in P. glenii indicates the presence of terrapins in three of the studied water bodies. This approach will be particularly valuable when the direct detection of alien terrapins is limited by the seasonality, weather, macrophyte densities, landscape features, or other factors. The discussed indirect method is an additional tool for confirming the presence of alien terrapins in water bodies in the European regions, where native terrapins are absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The results of recent studies on invasions of alien species in the Holarctic are given in a review format. Most of these studies were presented at the Fifth International Symposium "Invasions of Alien Species in the Holarctic," which was held in Russia in 2017. For this review, we used recent publications in the Russian Journal of Biological Invasions and other journals. The main trends in studies of invasions of alien species in the Holarctic are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fish rotan is native to the Amur River basin and some other basins in the Far East of Eurasia. This species has been widely distributed in the water bodies of Europe and Siberia. There are only fragmentary data about the parasite fauna of rotan in Europe. A parasitological study of rotans from 13 water bodies of European Russia was performed. Thirty-one parasite species and unidentified forms were recorded. Twenty species and forms were first recorded in rotan on the territory of Europe. Some specific parasites of rotan (Gyrodactylus perccotti and Nippotaenia mogurndae) had been transmitted to the Volga River basin together with their definitive host (rotan). Descriptions of G. perccotti, the merocercoid of Ophiotaenia europaea, the metacercaria of Opisthioglyphe ranae, and several unidentified forms of parasites are presented. The taxonomic diversity of the registered parasites confirms that the introduced rotan is included well into the native parasite systems in European freshwater water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy established that fenugreek seed oil consists mainly of triacylglycerides. Oleic and linoleic acids are found preferentially in the 2 position and α-linolenic acid is found preferentially in the 1,3 positions of the glycerol backbone. By combining NMR and gas-liquid chromatography, we have shown that fenugreek seeds contain 5.5 %-6.8 % oil, consisting mainly of unsaturated fatty acids (68.2 %–82.1 %): linoleic (31.3 %–46.8 %), α-linolenic (15.1 %–36.6 %), and oleic (11.6 %–21.3 %). The highest unsaturated fatty acid content is found in the cultivars D-19, Ovary Gold, Blidet, Ovary 4 and the lowest fatty acid content is found in the Metha cultivar. The percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids is higher in oils of fenugreek cultivars from northern regions (Belarus, Hungary, France). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fish rotan (Perccottus glenii Dybowski) was accidentally introduced into European Russia from the Amur River basin. Rotan is capable of colonising small waterbodies – favourable breeding sites of native amphibians. To reveal its influence on the native aquatic fauna, monitoring of small waterbodies has been carried out since 1994 in the region of Lake Glubokoe Reserve (Moscow Province, Russia). The fish's diet includes a wide range of animal species of all trophic levels. Rotan considerably decreases the species richness of aquatic macroinvertebrates and larval amphibians. As a rule, most amphibian species (Triturus cristatus, T. vulgaris, Rana temporaria, R. arvalis, R. lessonae) and the fish Carassius carassius failed to breed successfully in ponds inhabited by rotan. In contrast, the toad Bufo bufo bred successfully in such sites because its larvae are distasteful to rotan. Rotan–amphibian interactions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fish, Perccottus glenii, appeared in western regions of Eurasia in 1916 and has several centres of invasion. Ways of distribution are discussed. Uncontrolled distribution of this fish leads to significant negative changing of freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the routes of invasion of the threespine stickleback is important both because it serves as a model species in evolutionary research and because it may play a substantial role in ecosystems. The goal of this study was to determine the recent pathways of threespine stickleback invasion into the Black and Caspian Sea basins. The partial COI and cyt b mitochondrial gene sequences and the mtDNA region between them (a total of 9926 bp) have been analyzed in a priori separate phylogenetic lineages, Black Sea and American ones. The results indicate that similar sequences of the COI gene may result from parallel evolution in different lineages. The basins of the Volga and Dnieper, the largest rivers of the Ponto-Caspian basin, are currently inhabited only by carriers of the European lineage haplotypes; this agrees with the data on the disappearance of aboriginal stickleback populations from these river basins in the first half of the twentieth century. Only Black Sea lineage haplotypes have been found in stickleback from the recently formed populations of the Caspian Sea coast. The results show that alien conspecifics may substantially affect the genetic structure of threespine stickleback populations in the native species range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]