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A scheme of the sequence of mineral formation in chromite ores has been developed. This scheme includes primary and secondary early and late mineral assemblages. Primary assemblages of high-chromium (Cr2O3 > 50 wt %) and alumina-rich (Cr2O3 < 50 wt %) ores are represented by the same main minerals—chrome spinel, clinopyroxene, and olivine with characteristic differences in the compositions of these minerals for each type of ores. Accessory minerals of primary assemblage are synchronous with chrome spinel and are represented by pentlandite, Cu pentlandite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and bornite, as well as platinum-group minerals (laurite RuS2, erlichmanite OsS2, native osmium, and copper gold). There are minerals of an early secondary assemblage within polyphase inclusions in chrome spinel. These polyphase inclusions consist of Cr-chlorite, amphibo, garnet, sulfides (millerite, heazlewoodite), and noble metals (Ni,Cr-bearing copper, nickel-bearing copper, (Cu,Fe,Cr)-bearing nickel, awaruite). Minerals of noble metals of an early secondary assemblage represented by laurite, Pt and Pd arsenides and stibnides, Ru-pentlandite and high-grade native gold were only found in alumina-rich ores. The late secondary assemblage is represented by the intergrowths of native copper and awaruite with serpentine within high-chromium chrome spinel. The temperature formation conditions of secondary assemblages were estimated using a chlorite geothermometer. The formation temperatures of the chlorites studied from chromitites ranged from 250 to 284°С. Minerals of noble metals in secondary assemblages formed at temperatures below 350°C together with garnet, amphibole, chlorite, and nickel sulfides. Grains of primary Os–Ir–Ru alloys underwent sulfurization during epigenetic processes, forming a fine-grained porous mixture of native and sulfide phases, sometimes with As, as well as the replacement by Ru-pentlandite. The presence of awaruite and native Cu and Ni in both primary and secondary assemblages of chromitites indicates the reducing conditions under which noble-metal minerals formed. The limited development of high-chromium ores, along with the processes of sulfurization of the primary grains of Os–Ir–Ru alloys, has led to the scarcity of detrital platinum mineralization in the Alapaevsk massif area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymetal JSC has identified several new gold deposits in the Turinsko-Auerbachovsky ore region of the Middle Urals in recent years. The study of geological and geochemical materials on these objects allowed us to substantiate their polygenic and polychronous nature. The gold mineralization took a long time to form during the concedimentary and conflict epochs of the region's development. During sedimentation, volcanogenic-sedimentary formations were enriched with ore elements due to underwater fluid flow during volcanic and subvolcanic processes, up to the formation of pyrites, including goldbearing ores. In the collisional epoch, three stages of gold accumulation were established, associated with linear folding and final granitoid magmatism, each of which was accompanied by the manifestation of goldbearing hydrothermal-metasomatic processes of the berezitoid type. The first two stages were ore preparation and led to the formation of gold-bearing mineralized zones of berezites, within which, during the third ore stage, ore zones were formed during their activation with the manifestation of shale, crushing, veining, and sulfidization. The analysis of materials from the well-known Vorontsovskoye deposit also confirmed the polygenic and polychronous nature of ore formation, previously noted by a number of researchers.

The article analyzes the composition of the monasteries archives of the Synod period preserved in the Middle Urals, and the circumstances that determined this composition, and, also, identifies the dynamics and reasons for the loss of non-preserved funds. Based on the study of legislation and management practices of monasteries, it is shown that the normative provisions regarding the order of record keeping and storage of files in archives for state offices developed in the Synodal period, were adapted by Orthodox monasteries to the specifics of their management practices. This adaptation was manifested in simplification and rejection of outdated forms of registration of office work. The transfer of documentation from the monastery office to the archive could also occur with deviations from existing rules. The monasteries began to carry out descriptions of archives as soon as the clerical need to systematize documents became evident, the staffing was ensured and the tendency to publish “historical descriptions” of monasteries during the 19th century gained popularity. Among the monasteries of the Middle Urals, only the Dalmatovo Assumption Monastery had been in operation since the beginning of the 19th century. It had inventories of archival materials and structured cases according to the thematic principle. The loss of the archives of many monasteries of the Synodal period was reasoned by a number of reforms of the 18th century (closure of minor monasteries, reduction in the number of monastics due to restrictions and prohibitions on tonsure, staff reform of 1764). On the part of the secular and ecclesiastical authorities, no attempts were made to preserve these archives, since a purely utilitarian attitude to archival documents as to the reference component of current management practices prevailed. The archives of monasteries that appeared in the Middle Urals in the late 18th — early 20th centuries remained underestimated by members of scientific commissions and church archaeological societies, as well as historical societies in the 19th — early 20th centuries, directing their efforts to identify and describe more ancient documents. The political system that changed in 1917, displayed ideologically active anti-religious position, which led to the closure of all monasteries in the Middle Urals, as it was in the vast majority of other regions. The archives of closed monasteries, especially those that existed relatively recently, were not considered of historical value and were destroyed. The archives of the monasteries with much older history in the Middle Urals were transferred to state custody. As a result, of the 47 archives of monasteries that existed in the region during the Synodal period, only 4 have been preserved.

The results of studying the sulfur isotope system in platinum-group minerals (PGM) are rare and generally limited to S-isotope data for Ru-Os sulfides from dunite-harzburgite massifs. To partially fill this gap, we for the first time characterized features of the S-isotopic composition of kuvaevite (Ir5Ni10S16) and tolovkite (IrSbS) from the Verkh-Neivinsk dunite-harzburgite massif, a typical representative of the ophiolitic association at the Middle Urals. The study employed a number of analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and a femtosecond laser ablation with a gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The primary PGM assemblage is formed by osmium and iridium minerals, laurite, kuvaevite and Pt–Fe alloys, which are replaced by As-bearing laurite, irarsite, tolovkite and other PGM of secondary origin. Kuvaevite is characterized by a predominance of Ni over Fe, Cu, and Co (Ni/(Ni + Fe + Cu + Co from 0.56 to 0.58), as well as Ir over other platinum-group elements (PGE) (i.e., Ir/(Ir + Rh + Os + Ru + Pt + Pd) = 1.00); tolovkite is characterized by trace amounts of Pt (0.51–2.86 wt %), Rh (0.58–1.36 wt %), Ru (0.31–1.47 wt %), Ni (0.34–0.74 wt %), Cu (0.06–1.10 wt %), and As (0.06–1.44 wt %). Particularities of the isotopic composition of sulfur in kuvaevite (δ34S from 0.9 to 2.1‰, mean δ34S 1.5 ± 0.5‰, n = 4) are indicative of the mantle source with a chondritic isotope composition. The heavy sulfur isotope composition of tolovkite (δ34S from 5.0 to 7.8‰; mean δ34S 5.9 ± 0.9‰, n = 8) indicates the participation of sulfur of crustal origin (for example, isotopically heavy sulfur derived from host sedimentary rocks), being consistent with the secondary origin of the tolovkite. New data support the conclusion about contrasting sources of sulfur and a multistage evolution of PGE mineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Late Serpukhovian ammonoid assemblage was recovered from the Mid-Carboniferous boundary beds cropping out in an active stone crushing quarry on the right bank of the Iset River (Middle Urals). The ammonoid assemblage includes Epicanites sp., Stenopronorites uralensis (Karpinsky), Delepinoceras bressoni Ruzhencev, Proshumardites principalis Ruzhencev et Bogoslovskaya, Deleshumardites delepinei (Schindewolf), Stenoglaphyrites isetensis sp. nov., Glaphyrites sp., Fayettevillea sp., Syngastrioceras sp., Eumorphoceras aff. transuralense Ruzhencev et Bogoslovskaya, characterizing the Deleshumardites-Delepinoceras (=Fayettevillea-Delepinoceras) Genozone, which correlates with the E2 zone of Europe and its equivalents throughout the world. The assemblage is described and compared with ammonoid associations of this age from other regions of the world. A new species, Stenoglaphyrites isetensis Nikolaeva sp. nov., is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted on the development of Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. from soredia to branched lobes near the copper smelter in the Middle Urals 10 years after emission cessation. Soredia were cultivated in fir-spruce forests in heavily polluted and unpolluted areas. In both areas, soredia development was examined on fir bark collected from both the heavily polluted and unpolluted areas. The probability of lobe formation was lower in the polluted area even when soredia were cultivated on bark from the unpolluted area. Bark from the polluted area negatively impacted the success of soredia development, irrespective of the cultivation area. The lowest success of early development occurred when soredia were cultivated on polluted bark in the heavily polluted area, where the already low probability of lobe formation was accompanied by high mortality of the developed lobes. This study underscores the enduring impact of industrial pollution on H. physodes development, highlighting the need for ongoing environmental restoration and monitoring efforts in post-industrial areas to support biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of the accumulation of radionuclides 90Sr, 134Cs, and 137Cs by the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus Pall., 1771 living in the areas of the reservoirs of the Middle Urals has been carried out. The variability of size and mass indicators and concentrations of radionuclides in animals in the surveyed area is noted. Increased concentrations of 137Cs and 134Cs are detected in some amphibian representatives when compared with average values. A significant decrease in the concentration of 90Sr in frogs with an increase in raw body weight is found in much statistical material. An analysis of the data obtained on the concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs in frogs of different sexes did not reveal a significant difference in the accumulation of either radionuclides between male and female animals or 90Sr by striata and strieless amphibians. It is shown that radionuclides 90Sr and 137Cs enter the body of an animal from water much more than from the ground, while, with an increase in the concentration of radionuclide in the habitat, the coefficients of their transition into the animal body decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the conditions of the Sverdlovsk region (Middle Urals), a comprehensive assessment of elite forms of black currant was carried out to identify those suitable for mechanized harvesting with intensive cultivation technologies. The objects of research were 12 elite forms of black currant bred by the Sverdlovsk Breeding Station of Horticulture (planting 2018, layout 3×1 m). The research was carried out in 2021–2023 according to generally accepted methods. The studies were carried out according to generally accepted methods. According to the height of the bush, elite forms 3-2-05-08, 3-8-05-08, 5-2-05-08, 2-11-05-08 were distinguished – the measurement result was 100...110 cm; by the width of the bush – 3-1-05-08, 3-5-05-08, 3-8-05-08, 5-2-05-08 – 110...120 cm. The diameter of the base of the bush for most variety samples was 20.. 30 cm. The number of bent branches in all forms was less than 5 %, the diameter of the branches 8...15 mm. The average weight of berries was 1.5 1.8 g for elite forms 2-11-05-08, 3-5-05-08, 4-6-05-08, 4-7-05-08, 5-2 -05-08. The crushing force of berries in the studied variety samples was 201...367 g. Based on the force of berry separation, elite forms 3-5-05-08, 4-5-05-08, 5-4-05-08 stood out – 50 57 g. According to the results of the assessment of suitability for mechanized harvesting, the elite form of black currant 3-5-05-08 has optimal values in all parameters. Elite forms 2-11-05-08, 3-1-05-08, 3-8-05-08, 5-2-05-08, 4-6-05-08, 4-7-05-08, 5-4-05-08 are subjected to testing under production conditions. The following variety samples are not suitable for mechanized harvesting: 3-4-05-08, 4-5-05-08, 5-1-05-08, 5-3-05-08. In the conditions of 2023, elite forms 4-5-05-08, 5-1-05-08 were characterized by resistance to fungal diseases.

The four-eyed fir bark beetle (Polygraphus proximus Blandford) and the fungus (Grosmannia aoshimae (Ohtaka, Masuya & Yamaoka) Masuya & Yamaoka) form an extremely aggressive invasive tandem affecting Siberian fir (Abies sibirica Ledeb.) throughout almost its entire range. In spring 2023, the beetle and its fungal associate were first detected in fir plantings at the Botanical Garden, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences in the city of Yekaterinburg (Middle Urals). At the time of detection, the pest had destroyed and infested more than a third of the fir trees in the area accessible to visitors and had begun attacking the collection of fir species in the arboretum. The phytopathogen G. aoshimae was found in all beetle galleries. Fungi of the genus Geosmithia Pitt were frequently encountered also. The beetles first attacked Siberian fir trees with the smallest stem diameter. Beetles began exiting weakened trees infested in spring and infest live trees as early as late July – early August. From the fir collection, fir trees from the Balsamea section: Siberian fir, balsam fir (A. balsamea (L.) Mill.), subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa (Hook) Nutt.), Frasier fir (A. fraseri (Pursh) Poir.), Khingan fir (A. nephrolepis (Trautv. ex Maxim.) Maxim.), Sakhalin fir (A. sachalinensis F. Schmidt Mast.), were infested first. Firs of the section Grandis had traces of single attacks, and Manchurian fir (Abies holophilla Maxim.) (the section Momi) was not attacked by beetles at all. Traces of four-eyed fir bark beetle attacks were also found in the park-exhibition, 3.5 km far from the Botanical Garden, which indicates a wide distribution of the invasive bark beetle in the metropolis.

The results of a comparison of the PM2.5 aerosol concentration daily variability for the summer and winter seasons at the urban and background monitoring sites in the Middle Urals for 2016–2019 are presented. The cluster analysis method revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups corresponding to higher and lower concentrations of fine aerosol during the day. Studies of the daily variation of the PM2.5 particle concentration in the Middle Urals indicate the leading role of meteorological characteristics (in particular, air temperature, pressure and wind speed) in changing the level of aerosol suspension in the air surface layer. Distinctive typical average daily concentrations of PM2.5 for the Middle Urals region, corresponding to the cluster of lower values, are observed in the summer and are on average ~ 5.2 µg/m3 for the urban area and ~ 3.4 μg/m3 for the background site. In winter, these parameters are 12.8 μg/m3 for urban conditions and 10.5 μg/m3 for background site. The higher content of PM2.5 particles, corresponding to the cluster of higher values, are identified in winter and are on average ~32.2 µg/m3 in urban conditions and ~ 30.3 µg/m3 in the background area. In summer, these parameters are 13.6 μg/m3 for urban site and 9.6 μg/m3 for background area. Simultaneous analysis of the fine aerosol concentrations and the meteorological parameters in the surface atmospheric layer allowed to define of weather conditions, at which the occurrence of higher PM2.5 values is possible.

The present work aims to develop a regional Middle Urals Aerosol model (MUrA model) based on the joint analysis of long-term ground-based photometric measurements of the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) and the results of lidar measurements of the CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite relying on information on the air trajectories at different altitudes calculated using the HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model) software package. The MUrA model contains parameters of normalized volume size distributions (NVSDs) characterizing the tropospheric aerosol subtypes detected by the CALIPSO satellite. When comparing the MUrA model with the global CALIPSO Aerosol Model (CAMel), we found significant differences in NVSDs for elevated smoke and clean continental aerosol types. NVSDs for dust and polluted continental/smoke aerosol types in the global and regional models differ much less. The total volumes of aerosol particles along the atmospheric column reconstructed from satellite measurements of the attenuation coefficient at a wavelength of 532 nm based on the regional MUrA model and global CAMel are compared with the AERONET inversion data. The mean bias error for the regional model is 0.016 μm3/μm2, and 0.043 μm3/μm2 for the global model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New assemblages of diverse fishes from the Givetian–Famennian were described in six sections in the Middle Urals: Pokrovskoe, Baronskaya, Sulem, Pershino, Yokva, and Vilva. Diademodus, Wellerodus, and Mimipiscis genera were discovered in the Urals for the first time. Data on the occurrence of Phoebodus species in the Pokrovskoe section were used to specify the boundary between the Phoebodus sophiae and Ph. latus phoebodontid zones. Four phoebodontid zones can be recognized in the sections of the Middle Urals.

The study discusses the transformation of the peasant family in Russia in the twentieth century and focuses on the materials of the budget surveys of peasant households in the Middle Urals in 1928/1929 and in 1963. The population censuses of 1926, 1939, and 1959 allow us to compare the family structure in rural areas of the Urals diachronically and to chart the evolution of the Russian peasant family. While the Ural budget surveys reflect the national dynamics, they also bear the signs of specific regional characteristics: milder demographic effects because WOII, higher rates of urbanization in rural areas as a result of the accompanying migration processes. Our study has shown that the demographic transition in Russia was characterised by the following : a very fast, albeit belated, change in the family structure from 1920 to the 1960s; the family was affected by demographic disasters such as wars and political campaigns. As a result, the peasant family could not maintain the fertility rates at the replacement level. The structural-typological analysis and micro-level modelling of the family life cycle have demonstrated that peasant families had peculiar mechanisms of adaptation to internal and external pressures. While the life cycle of the traditional family household was largely determined by the peasant economy, in an urbanized society there were two main family types and, correspondingly, two types of the family life cycle. The reduced life cycle of the single parent family became secondary to the 'model' life cycle of the two parent family. Soviet modernization contributed to the transformation of 'fragmented' family forms into a typical version of the family landscape, not only in cities but also in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data characterizing the temperature dependence of the growth and CO2 emission of two species of xylotrophic fungi (D. confragosa and D. tricolor) during their development on wort–agar and wood debris in a laboratory experiment are presented. Currently available estimates of the temperature dynamics of CO2 emission by wood debris do not fully take into account the relationship between temperature, CO2 emission, growth, and respiratory activity of fungi. In the range of 10–30°C, both linear growth and CO2 emission activity of fungal mycelium are positively and linearly related to temperature (Spearman's correlation coefficient, 0.94–0.97) to the same extent (Q10 of growth, 2.2; Q10 of respiration, 2.1), and CO2 emission is directly proportional to mycelium area and its specific emission activity. As a result, the temperature effect on CO2 emission is a derivative of two equally temperature dependent factors: growth and specific emission activity of mycelium. It is equal to the product of the effects of each of the factors separately and is described by an exponential equation, which reflects the non-additive, possibly synergistic nature of the temperature enhancement of CO2 emission in the range from 20 to 30°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diatoms from the Beloyarsk, Chernoistochinsk, and Nizhny Tagil reservoirs of Sverdlovsk oblast have been studied using electron microscopy for the first time. The data on the species composition of Bacillariophyta are significantly supplemented for the Chernoistochinsk Reservoir. In total, 216 taxa (species and intraspecific rank) belonging to 63 genera are identified in these three reservoirs. Among them, 17 taxa are new to the flora of Russia; 14 forms belonging to 11 genera are identified down to the genus level only. The maximum taxonomic diversity is recorded in the Nizhny Tagil Reservoir (179 species). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorite breccias compose a 6-m-thick member in the Vendian terrigenous Kernos Formation in the basin of the Mezhevaya Utka and Sylvitsa rivers (Middle Urals). Phosphorite pebbles and gravelites are accumulations of the fragments of redeposited crusts, originally formed during early diagenesis near the surface of sandy–clayey rocks below the water–sediment boundary. Phosphorite is represented by fluorocarbonate apatite with the following parameters: unit cell a ranging from 0.9359 to 0.9363 nm, spectral mode parameters in Raman spectra (ν1 FWHM = 1–2 cm–1 and peak position from 963 to 966 cm–1), and a band at 1095 cm–1 in FTIR spectra. The bands at ~1430 cm–1 and 1453 cm–1 in the FTIR spectra correspond to substitution of the orthophosphorus group by the carbonate ion (B type). According to the thermal analysis data, the CO2 content in apatite is 0.04–0.8%, and the admixture of dispersed organic matter as aliphatic compounds is 0.3–0.8%. Apatite is represented by two generations: primary (basal structureless fine-crystalline cement) and secondary (euhedral crystals up to 10 µm in size). Both generations corrode the detrital quartz grains. Relative to the primary apatite, the secondary variety is enriched in P2O5, CaO, and F, but depleted in SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, MgO, and K2O. The PAAS-normalized REE distribution in the enriched phosphorites has a smoothed profile with a La/Yb ratio of about 2 and positive Ce and Eu anomalies. The average F/P2O5 value (0.09) corresponds to that in typical fluorocarbonate apatites subjected to catagenesis. High 87Sr/86Sr values (0.7130–0.7253) in detrital phosphorites of the Kernos Formation suggest their deposition in a desalinated wave-dominated shallow-marine paleobasin near a significant inflow of continental water (delta) or catagenetic recrystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to provide further insights into the origin of Pt–Fe minerals, this study presents the first copper isotope data for Pt–Fe minerals from the Nizhny Tagil massif, an international standard of the zoned Ural-type complexes. The chemical and isotopic composition of Pt–Fe minerals were determined by electron microprobe analysis, chemical sample preparation with selective chromatographic separation of copper from a solution of the studied sample, followed by high-precision determination of the δ65Cu value using multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. The majority of platinum group minerals (PGM) from chromitites of the Alexandrovsk Log and Krutoy Log deposits within the Nizhny Tagil massif are formed by Pt–Fe minerals, among which high-temperature ferroan platinum (Pt2Fe) containing subordinate inclusions of Os–Ir alloys and laurite (RuS2) predominate over other PGM. The concentrations of copper and δ65Cu values in the studied samples of ferroan platinum vary from 0.4 to 1.4 wt % Cu and from –0.37 to 0.26‰, respectively. Secondary low-temperature PGM assemblage is represented by the tetraferroplatinum (PtFe)—tulameenite (PtFe0.5Cu0.5) solid solutions series. The concentrations of copper in these PGM vary in the range of 6.8–11.3 wt %; the values of δ65Cu are characterized by lighter Cu-isotopic compositions ranging from –1.15 to –0.72‰. The lighter Cu-isotopic composition in secondary Cu-bearing PGM compared to that in ferroan platinum (δ65Cu = –1.01 ± 0.17‰, n = 8 and δ65Cu = 0.03 ± 0.23‰, n = 7, respectively) is consistent with a secondary nature of isotopic variations, due to evolved composition of the ore-forming fluid during the low-temperature formation of the tetraferroplatinum—tulameenite solid solution series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of the species composition of mosses and lichens on the dead wood of fir and spruce in the southern taiga forests of the Middle Urals after the almost complete cessation of emissions from the Middle Urals copper smelter (Revda, Sverdlovsk region) was studied. Compared to the period of high emissions (1993–1994), the number of moss species in the immediate vicinity of the plant (1–2 km) increased from 1 to 27 by 2019, and the number of lichen species increased from 1 to 30. Nevertheless, the species richness of mosses and lichens remains reduced compared to that of the background territory, and the species composition differed significantly: many species typical for the background territory were absent, and species specific to the impaired territory were present. In polluted habitats, the proportion of species with predominantly sexual reproduction was higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article first offers a general overview of the place and role of the Russian Urals as a region located at the Eurasian junction. This is one of the leading industrial bases in Russia, relying on natural resource rent, but with a difficult fate, including steep ups and downs. The significance, former and current characteristics of its old-developed areas are indicated. The study is focuses on the Middle Urals as the key part of the Ural macroregion, and on Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts, with their centers analyzed in some more detail. It is shown that the Urals, like the Center of Russia, has been experiencing polarization of its socioeconomic space in many ways, including the direction of migration flows. In this case, against the backdrop of the polycentrism that has long been characteristic of the Ural macroregion, thanks in part to the resource-based development and the historical role of several large centers, the leadership of Yekaterinburg is becoming better expressed. It is not only the all-Ural center, but also a contender for an informal position of the third Russia's capital. In most cities the crucial factors are a successful "owning" company or a defense interest of the state. Environmental polarization, along with the economic, is typical of the Middle Urals. Its dissected relief may protect a place against pollutions generated by their neighbors and keep it clean enough for tourism and recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) and Sverdlovsk Horticultural Breeding Station developed nomenclatural standards for 18 apple cultivars released at the said station: ‘Aksyona’ (WIR-53949), ‘Blagaya Vest’ (WIR-53950), ‘Danila’ (WIR-53952), ‘Isetskoye Pozdneye’ (WIR-53953), ‘Iset Belaya’ (WIR-53954), ‘Krasa Sverdlovska’ (WIR-53955), ‘Papiroyantarnoye’ (WIR-53956), ‘Pervouralskaya’ (WIR-53957), ‘Rodnikovaya’ (WIR-53958), ‘Rumyanka Sverdlovskaya’ (WIR-53959), ‘Sverdlovchanin’ (WIR-53960), ‘Serebryanoye Kopyttse’ (WIR-53961), ‘Sokovoye 3’ (WIR-53962), ‘Tavatuy’ (WIR-53963), ‘Uralets’ (WIR-53964), ‘Fakel’ (WIR-53965), ‘Fermer’ (WIR-53966), and ‘Ekrannoye’ (WIR-53967). Nomenclatural standards serve to confirm the authenticity of a cultivar and its name. They should be kept perpetually in the scientific herbarium collection. Herbarium specimens of nomenclatural standards are formatted in accordance with the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), registered in the VIR Herbarium Database and included in the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, Their Wild Relatives, and Weeds (WIR).

Natural recovery of forest ecosystems after the termination of impacts caused by emissions from large industrial enterprises gives a clue to their sustainability mechanisms. However, the lack of data on different ecosystem components, natural zones, and emission sources makes it impossible to identify general patterns of restorative successions. This paper examines the distribution and abundance dynamics of macrolichens growing on birch trunks in the southern taiga forests of the Middle Urals affected for many years by emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter. Two periods were compared: (1) period of intense emissions (1995–1997); and (2) period of almost ceased emissions (2014–2016). In the interval between the two studied periods, technogenic boundaries of all studied lichen species distribution have shifted closer to the smelter, and the abundance of most species increased in all pollution zones, including the slightly polluted and background zones. However, the frequency and abundance of the species still go down as the distance to the smelter decreases. The explerent species Tuckermanopsis sepincola demonstrates the opposite response: it disappears from background and slightly polluted areas reaching maximum abundance in the extremely severe pollution zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of the comprehensive study of zoogenic deposits in the Makhnevskaya-2 Cave (the north of the Middle Urals) made it possible to reconstruct gradual changes in the flora and fauna of the local territory during the Middle Valdai (Briansk) interstadial (MIS 3). The formation of deposits passed through three stages, which differ in proportions of tundra, steppe, and forest vegetation components as well as in proportions of multiple taxa Dicrostonyx torquatus , Microtus gregalis , Lemmini gen. The dental morphological characteristics of two species of rodents (Dicrostonyx torquatus , Microtus gregalis) helped identify biostratigraphic markers of the studied period of the Late Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformation of the oceanic crust into the continental one in orogenic belts is an important problem in petrological studies. In the paleocontinental sector of the Urals, a key object for tracing the stages of metamorphism and investigating the origin of anatectic granites is the Murzinka-Adui metamorphic complex. We have analyzed trace elements in zircons and established their genesis, sources, crystallization conditions, and stages of metamorphic events and granite generation in this complex. Zircons compositions were determined by the LA-ICP-MS method. Temperatures were calculated from Ti contents in the zircons. We distinguish three geochemical types of zircons, which differ in the ratios of light and heavy REE, U, Th, Ti, Y and show different values of Ce- and Eu-anomalies and Zr/Hf ratios, which are indicative of different crystallization conditions, as follows. Type I: minimal total LREE content; clear negative Eu- and Ce- anomalies; features of magmatic genesis; crystallization temperatures from 629 to 782 °C. Type II: higher contents of Ti, La, and LREE; low Ce-anomaly; assumed crystallization from highly fluidized melts or solutions. Type III: low positive Eu-anomaly; high REE content; low Th/U-ratio; zircons are assumed to originate from a specific fluidized melt with a high Eu-concentration. Ancient relict zircons (2300–330 Ma) in gneisses and granites show features of magma genesis and belong to types I and II. Such grains were possibly inherited from granitoid sources with different SiO2 contents and different degrees of metamorphism. Based on the geological and petrogeochemical features and zircon geochemistry of the Murzinka-Adui complex, there are grounds to conclude that the material composing this complex was generated from the sialic crust. The main stages of metamorphism and/or granite generation, which are traceable from the changes in types and compositions of the zircons, are dated at 1639, 380–370, 330, and 276–246 Ma. Thus, transformation of the oceanic crust into the continental one was a long-term and complicated process, and, as a result, the thickness of the sialic crust is increased in the study area.

This work involved materials from the recent and ancient (Holocene and Late Pleistocene) localities of the ornithogenic assemblages of Ural rodent bone remains. The work included the development and trial of criteria for assignment of the temporal dynamics of rodent communities to particular scales based on their comparison against levels of the spatial differences of the recent rodent faunas from localities situated in the territories of the various phytogeographical ranks, namely, districts, subzones, and zones. Paired coefficients of the ecological and taxonomic similarities were calculated based on a distribution of proportions of the rodent remains (%) in heterochronous localities of the Middle Urals. The paper demonstrates analogy between spatial differences and temporal dynamics: the zone differences—evolutionary scale, subzone differences—historical scale, and intradistrict differences—actual scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research is to study the parasite fauna of the common frog (Rana temporaria Linnaeus, 1758) inhabiting the vicinity of the Visim Nature Biosphere Reserve.Materials and methods. The species composition, dominance structure and endoparasite infection of 32 individuals of R. temporaria caught along the banks of the upper reaches of the Sulem Riverwere assessed according to the following indicators: the prevalence and intensity of infection and abundance index.Results and discussion. The species composition of parasites in a common frog from the vicinity of the Visim Nature Biosphere Reserve is presented for the first time. Five species of macroparasites have been identified, classified as Nematoda: Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782), Neoraillietnema praeputiale (Skrjabin, 1916), Cosmocerca ornata (Dujardin, 1845), Rhabdias bufonis (Schrank, 1788) and as Platyhelminthes: Haplometra cylindracea (Zeder, 1800). One species of endosymbiotic protozoa of Chromista, Opalina ranarum was recorded (Purkinje et Valentin, 1835). The prevalence of the infection of common frogs by helminths reaches 100%, the abundance index is 11.06, and protozoa is 93.8% and 62.16, respectively. Nematodes O. filiformis (the prevalence of infection 96.9%, and abundance index 7.97) and R. bufonis (the prevalence of infection 46.9%, abundance index 2.28) predominate. It was shown that nematode N. praeputiale was not found in the parasitocenosis of immature amphibians, and trematode H. cylindracea was not found in adult animals. The proportion of O. filiformis and C. ornata increases with age in common frogs. It was found that the animals of the July population are infected with nematode R. bufonis largely. Regardless of the age of R. temporaria, the probability of colonization by O. ranarum in spring will be higher.

A study of the phytoplankton of the Nizhny Tagil Reservoir using scanning electron microscopy has made it possible to discover Brevilinea kevei, a small diatom genus and species new to the flora of Russia. The minimum valve width and a wider variability of the striae number per 10 µm were revealed from the original description, which made it possible to clarify the diagnosis of the species. New data on the location has made it possible to clarify the ecology and range of Brevilinea kevei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the proper names of mines, veins, digging pits, and other natural and artificial mining sites located on the territory of the Beryozovsky Gold Deposit (Middle Urals, Russia). The vast majority of these onomastic units appeared in the 18th–19th centuries, in the course of the mining development (since its start in 1745 and until 1917), and are still in more or less active use today. The study aims to identify the motivation for the toponymic objects in the area and to trace the systemic features of them as a naming system. The analysis comprises 268 units retrieved from specialized works on the history of gold mining, the Middle Urals, and specifically the Beryozovsky Deposit. To meet the goals of the study, these are considered in the motivational aspect and in terms of their systemic relations. It appears that a significant part (up to 50%) of names is the result of formal or semantic derivation and are “inherited” from other sites by metonymic transfer or due to the reorganization of previously existing mining facilities. In the motivational aspect, deanthroponymic derivatives tend to predominate. A large number of these names have a memorial character, and their eponyms are often indirectly related to the territory under consideration. In other cases, the toponyms may refer to work managers or owners of specific sites. The religious vocabulary is another important motivation source. There are relatively few names that are motivated by the essential properties of the named objects. Incidentally, these can point to the estimated gold content of the vein or to its geographical location. All these features clearly demonstrate the artificial nature of the analyzed onomastic system. On the extralinguistic side, its formation is driven by the consistent development of the field territory which required administrative regulation of naming.

Diversity of secondary lichen metabolites was studied in epiphytic lichens on six phorophytes—spruce, pine, birch, alder, aspen and poplar in the Middle Urals of Russia. Atranorin, usnic, fumarprotocetraric acid, zeorin, and gyrophoric acid were found in 31, 24, 23, 18, and 14 species, respectively, of 237 taxa collected. Seventy-seven species (i.e., 32% of total species documented) contained no secondary metabolites. Spectra of secondary metabolites of fruticose and foliose lichens varied on different phorophytes, while in crustose species the strong dependence on the tree species was not detected. This is different to the pH dependence of saxicolous lichens where crustose lichens were more susceptible to the rock chemistry. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis reveal the affinity of species containing depsides, depsidones or usnic acid to acidic substrata and those lacking secondary metabolites or containing terpenes and antraquinones to the pH-neutral bark. We suppose that phenolic compounds and flavonoids, as chemical constituents of bark, may interact with lichen symbioses and elements in phellem, and similarly to the lichen acids shape the affinity of species to the substrata.

This paper reports the results of petrogeochemical studies of the Kurmansky gabbro-trondhjemite massif (eastern slope of the Middle Urals), lying in the western part of the large Reftinsky allochthonous block within the accretion East Uralian megazone. The relevance of this study is determined by the uncertainty in geodynamic setting and formation conditions of the rock massif and its role in the evolution of the Ural Mobile belt. We specified the countours of the massif. It is shown that the rocks were resulted from spatiotemporal convergence of partial melting in the mantle and lower crust at the island-arc stage of the Ural Mobile belt evolution. Partial melting of mantle peridotite, under the influence of an aqueous fluid rising from the subduction zone, initiated the occurrence of basite melts. The separation of the melt and its subsequent evolution to the compositions of gabbrodiorite and diorite took place at Ptot=10 kbar. Trondhjemites were formed as a result of partial melting of amphibolites at Ptot≥8 kbar, PH2O=0.1–0.2 kbars. The crystallization of trondhjemites in the crust was accompanied by the wollastonite skarns on contact with carbonate rock and xenoliths culminated at mesoabyssal level, Ptot=PH2O=1 kbar. The comparison between the composition of Kurmansky gabbro-trondhjemite massif and the island-arc- and collision-related magmatic suites in the region allowed us to assume that the Kurmansky massif belongs to the independent Early Devonian (?) gabbro-trondhjemite complex of island arc origin. The rock metamorphism conditions were evaluated, with the transformations supposedly related to the accretion of early island arc complexes at the Murzinsky-Aduysky microcontinent, which took place in the Devonian.

The accumulation of prey remains in the pellets of the great gray owl in the winter and nesting periods was studied over a number of years at the contact of the taiga and northern forested steppe belts in the Trans-Urals. It is shown which of the characteristics of the hunting territory and the population of small mammals have the greatest effect on the composition and ratio of prey species. A comparison with the results of the feeding activity of the eagle owl was also made. Published information concerning four places of long-term nesting on rocks in the river valleys of the western slope of the Middle Urals in similar natural conditions was used as well. Selective accumulation of prey remains of these two owl species was revealed to lie in a small number of the main prey species, those mostly populating open habitats. In both owls, mammal species of closed forest (transitional) habitats served as concomitant (secondary) prey. The eagle owl was characterized by a large size range of prey. Special attention was paid to the indicator roles the concomitant prey play in paleoreconstructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—This article describes the geological structure of the Sarsangi gabbro–diorite–plagiogranite complex located in the boundary zone between the Middle and South Urals. The formation of its massifs took place in the Late Silurian in the abyssal zone at approximately 6.5–7.0 km. The temperature ranges of crystallization of granodiorites and gabbro were 900–990°С and 1180–1280°С, respectively. The pressure in the system at that time was 190–200 MPa. Gabbroids in the massifs were formed under conditions of extension of the oceanic crust. In terms of petrogeochemistry, they correspond to rocks that compose the basement of island arcs and belong to the ophiolite formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research subject. In this paper, we consider specific features of the use of litho- and isotopic-geochemical data for the purposes of provenance reconstruction.Methods and materials. The reconstruction tools under consideration included the analysis of the ratio of major oxides and variable trace elements, as well as the study of the distribution of trace elements. The research potential of these methods was illustrated using the data on the bulk chemical composition of sandstones and mudstones from the Bir’yan Member of the Upper Riphean Zilmerdak Formation, Upper Vendian Basa Formation (Southern Urals), Upper Devonian Kodinka and Ust’kodinka formations (Middle Urals), Lower Cretaceous Sortym Formation (Western Siberian sedimentary megabasin, Bolshekhetskaya depression).Results. It was shown that the use of the vast majority of the described paired and triangular diagrams allows conclusions (consistent both with each other and conventional geological concepts) to be drawn about the composition of source rocks. These findings reinforce the insights gained from mineralogical and petrographic studies of sandstones.

Research subject. This is the first in the series of four articles, which aims to review existing provenance reconstruction tools.Methods and materials. The data obtained during evaluation of different sandstone allothigenous components was used as a basis for analysis. The data was collected from the Upper Riphean Zilmerdak Formation Bir’yan Member and the Upper Vendian Bassa Formation (Southern Urals); the Upper Devonian Kodinka and Ust’kodinka formations (Middle Urals); the Lower Cretaceous Sortym Formation (Western Siberian sedimentary megabasin, Bolshekhetskaya depression).Results. The sandstone composition patterns of the lithostratigraphic units under study allowed the most common provenance features to be established by means of comparing data obtained by various diagrams.Conclusions. It is established that only the Kodinka, Ust’kodinka and Sortym sandstone compositions can be used as a source for rock reconstruction analysis, while the Bir’yan and Basa sandstone compositions have undergone massive transformations.

Objective of research: Characteristics of the species composition of parasites in common toad (Bufo bufo Linnaeus, 1758) inhabiting around Visimsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve. Materials and methods: 29 individuals of B. bufo were studied by the method of total helminthological autopsy. Catching of toads was carried out in the upstream flow of the Sulem River in the buffer zone of the Visimskiy Reserve during the reproduction period. Results and discussion: The species composition of parasites of B. bufo inhabiting Visimsky Biosphere Reserve (the upper Sulem river) has been studied for the first time. 5 parasite species were detected: Nematoda - Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782), Neoraillietnema praeputiale (Skrjabin, 1916), Cosmocerca ornata (Dujardin, 1845), Rhabdias bufonis (Schrank, 1788) and 1 protozoa Opalinatea - Opalina ranarum (Purkinje et Valentin, 1835). The extensity of infection (EI) of common toads with helminths was 100 %, the index of abundance 47 %; protozoa infections 4 % and 0,45, respectively. Two nematode species O. filiformis (EI 100 %, index of abundance 27,8%) and R. bufonis (EI 89,7 %, index of abundance 13,3) dominated. In B. bufo selected for investigation no trematodes were found likely due to the «marriage post».

For nominally indigenous forests of the Trans-Urals hilly piedmont province of the Middle Urals, the species composition and productivity of the lower layers – as an adaptation to different humidity regimes – were studied. The research is based on three forest types (by the principles of genetic typology): cowberry pine forest, grass pine forest, and dwarf shrub-sphagnum pine forest. The investigated plots constitute a generalized topoecological profile. In the lower layers of the studied pine forests, the species composition differs considerably. The species richness differs significantly between the extreme (periodically dry and permanently humid) and optimal (fresh, periodically humid) habitats. The humidity factor is important. The productivity of the lower layers is stable regardless of the humidification conditions. This indicates that ecosystems have a higher adaptive capacity than individual plant species. To study the mechanisms by which the productivity is maintained, we constructed the rank distributions of the above-ground phytomass of grass species in the all three types of pine forests. We found that a statistically significant increase takes place in the β parameter of the exponential approximating function when the soil humidity decreases as the productivity level of the grass-dwarf shrub layer is maintained.

In 2020–2021 the palaeopascichnid fossils were found in the Krasnaya Gorka Site (Shirokovsky Reservoir, Kosva River area, Perm Region), a type Vendian fossil locality (problematic discoidal casts and arumberiamorph structures) for the Central Urals discovered by Yu.R. Bekker in 1972. In the stratigraphical context, the fossil locality is associated with Chernyi Kamen Formation of the Upper Vendian Sylvitsa Group. The results of morphometric analysis of palaeopascichnid fossils made possible to distinguish three morphological types: Palaeopascichnus delicatus, Yelovichnus gracilis, and Palaeopascichnus linearis. Finding of a large number of palaeopascichnid fossils both develops the understanding of their palaeobiology and taphonomy, and also demonstrates that palaeontological potential of the type fossil locality and one of the most representative section of the Chernyi Kamen Formation has not entirely been realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of the species richness, breeding density, and structure of the community of birds occupying nest-boxes upon a 50-fold reduction of atmospheric emissions from the Middle Ural Copper Smelter was analyzed based on long-term continuous observations (1989–2020). The total density in the deciduous forest was lower in the heavily polluted zone (impact zone) than in the background zone, while there were no differences in the coniferous forest between the zones. The total breeding density of the community of hole-nesters increased in the impact zone over the 30 years (especially, in the deciduous forest in 2010–2020) after the significant reduction of industrial emissions. The breeding density of the two most abundant species varied in different directions: it increased for pied flycatcher and decreased for common redstart. This led to a change of dominants in the impact zone: redstart dominating until 2012 was replaced by pied flycatcher. The differences in the dynamics of species density are probably determined by the beginning of vegetation recovery near the smelter, which is favorable for pied flycatcher but not for redstart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the degree of fragmentation and polarization of the socioeconomic space of Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts in the territory of the Middle Urals from Nizhny Tagil to Chelyabinsk. The study is based on an analysis of a number of statistical indicators for 29 municipalities and the results of expeditionary studies of cities and districts. The authors consider the specifics of individual areas, their evolution from the date of the first enterprise; population dynamics, including migration; the settlement pattern; the structure and current state of industry; and the main economic and environmental problems at the municipal level. It is clearly shown that the spatial trends of the 2000s in the Middle Urals as a whole correspond to the current all-Russian trends in concentration of the economy and growth of the largest centers and agglomerations. A peculiarity of the Urals is the increased role of big business, which controls the raw material industries, and the dependence of cities on industrial specialization and the state of key enterprises. The expeditionary survey of municipalities confirms the conclusion that the factory–town link conventional for the Middle Urals has been preserved. The main factors of survival were a successful "owner" (a large company whose products are in demand on the Russian and world markets) and the interest of the state, primarily in the defense industry. Nevertheless, analysis of various examples shows that, ceteris paribus, personal initiatives are also important for development. Environmental polarization in the Middle Urals is also very strong. With a multitude of ecological disaster sites, space, in which they alternate with vast areas of almost untouched nature, comes to the rescue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the lower part of Upper Vendian deposits on the East European Platform, packs of chocolate-brown clayey rocks/tuff-argillites containing intercalations of volcanic tuffs (products of acid volcanism) are widespread. Upper Riphean–Vendian sections on the western slope of the Middle and Southern Urals include packs of the red-colored clayey rocks. Among them, volcanic tuffs (clay-type rocks) with the atypical anomalous coloration (light gray with a pinkish, cream, greenish or steel tint, light brown with a beige tint, and others) were found in the early 2000s. The purpose of the present work is to compare the lithogeochemical characteristics of volcanic ash tuffs, red- and usual-colored clayey rocks at different Upper Riphean–Vendian stratigraphic levels in the Middle and Southern Urals and to determine signs of the probable pyroclastic/tuffogenic material admixture in the red-colored clayey rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unusual Bi-Ni mineralization, represented by parkerite, millerite, bismutohauchecornite, bismuthinite, nickeline and, possibly nickel analogue of smythite (?), found in the metasomatically altered chromite rocks of the Mariinsky emerald-beryllium deposit is described. Chromitites with Bi-Ni mineralization are found in the mica complexes in direct connection with serpentinite bodies., Polished sections from the selected chromite samples were examined with the CAMECA SX 100 electron probe microanalyzer (IGG UrB RAS). In the study of sulfide and arsenide mineralization, the accelerating voltage was 15 kV, the electron beam current - 30 nA, the duration of intensity measured at a peak was 10 sec, at the background was 5 seconds, the diameter of the analysis point was 2 μ. For microprobe analyzes, the following standard samples were used: pure metals (Bi, Ni, Co), alloys (GaSb) and sulphides with arsenides (pyrrhotite, sphalerite, InAs). The formation of the studied unusual Bi-Ni mineralization in metasomatically altered micaceous chromite ores of the Ural Emerald Mines is directly related to the formation of rare-metal pegmatites of the nearby Aduiskiy granite massif. The acidic fluid flow associated with the introduction of pegmatite veins transformed not only the chromite bodies, but also the serpentinites, which containing them, with the formation of talc-carbonate and talc-anthophyllite rocks, mica rocks and other high-temperature apohyperbasite metasomatites. This fluid, enriched in Be and F, which superimposed on the chromite matrix, that formed such unusual metasomatic mineral paragenesis as chromite, muscovite-aluminoseladonite, fluorophlogopite, tourmaline (fluorodravit-dravite), mariniskite-chrysoberyl, fluorapatite, eskolaite, zircon, sulphide, chromferide and native metals. The source of bismuth certainly was acidic fluids, nickel is contained in the hyperbasites themselves, sulfur and arsenic could be from hyperbasitic intrusions (they often contain impregnations of millerite, hizlewoodite and mauherite) and from granitoid ones. Such mineralization is typical for sulfide copper-nickel ores and hydrothermal veins of a five-element formation, in ophiolite bodies and associated chromite rocks such mineral association was not observed. The discovery of bismutohauchecornite is the first, and parkerite - the third in the Urals. Formation of Bi-Ni-mineralization took place in the temperature range from 300oC to 200oC.

Data are presented on the long-term population dynamics of small mammals (1982–2019) and variation in the body weight and length of the bank vole, a dominant species, in southern taiga forests of the Middle Urals. Spontaneous change in the pattern of dynamics observed in our previous study—transition from regular 3-year cycles to noncyclic regime—provided the possibility to estimate the influence of different factors on the Chitty effect (increase in body size at high population numbers) under different regimes. This effect was clearly manifested in the bank vole population with cyclic dynamics: the average body weight and length of the animals were greater at the phases of population growth and peak than at the trough (low) phase, while the same parameters of voles from the noncyclic regime had intermediate values. The body size of animals depends not so much on population density as on factors determining their physiological status (including reproductive status). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variability of the body shape of minnows in populations from different-size watercourses of the Sylva River basin (Middle Urals) is studied by geometric morphometrics. Twenty-six homologous landmarks were used to describe the body shape variability of the fish. Four geographically adjacent minnow populations isolated by artificial and natural dams were investigated. More than 56% of the variance of intergroup differences in the body shape is determined by the habitation of minnows in the large watercourse of the main flow (the Sylva River) and its small tributaries (the Lomovka, Musorka, and Sarga rivers). The main-flow minnow is characterized by relatively large eyes, low body, and small short jaws. On the contrary, the tributary minnow is characterized by a relatively high body, small eyes, and long jaws. Along with the significant differentiation of the isolated minnow populations from the main flow and its tributaries, a high level of individual morphological differences was discovered, which indicates some directional change in the fish development trajectory in the population from each watercourse. The discrimination level of individuals reached 97.9%. A low intragroup morphological diversity was revealed for the minnow population in the large watercourse of the Sylva River with a multispecies ichthyological community. Minnows from the small watercourses of the Lomovka, Musorka, and Sarga rivers with a low species diversity have a high intragroup morphological diversity in the body shape. This may indirectly show some ontogenetic change in the individuals from the small tributaries due to the formation of a wide range of ontogenetic trajectories and suggests a high phenotypic plasticity of the species. The role of the hydrological regime in the small watercourses and the role of the taxonomic diversity of fish communities in the formation of the morphological diversity of minnows is hypothesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new crichtonite-group mineral saranovskite, ideally SrCaFe2+2(Cr4Ti2)Ti12O38, was discovered in the Glavnoe Saranovskoe deposit, Middle Urals, Russia, and named after the type locality. The associated minerals are chromite, Cr-bearing clinochlore, and calcite. Saranovskite forms black crude equant crystals about 2 mm across. The lustre is submetallic, and the streak is brownish-gray. Cleavage is not observed. The Mohs hardness is 6. Density calculated using the empirical formula is equal to 4.501 g cm–3. The reflectance spectra in visible range are given. The IR spectrum shows the absence of H-, B- and C-bearing groups. The Raman spectrum of saranovskite confirms the absence of H-bearing groups and indicates a rather high degree of ordering of Ti4+ and lower-valence cations. The chemical composition of saranovskite is (wt.%; electron microprobe, total iron apportioned between FeO and Fe2O3 taking into account charge balance): MgO 2.01, CaO 1.43, MnO 0.21, FeO 8.14, SrO 3.27, BaO 2.18, Al2O3 0.53, Sc2O3 0.69, Cr2O3 10.27, Fe2O3 2.19, Y2O3 1.56, La2O3 0.94, Ce2O3 0.91, Pr2O3 0.14, Nd2O3 0.35, TiO2 64.25, ZrO2 0.58, total 99.65. The crystal chemical formula of saranovskite is (Sr0.55Ba0.25Ln0.10Ca0.10)(Ca0.36Y0.25Ln0.16Fe2+0.08Zr0.10Mn0.05) (Fe2+1.12Mg0.88)(Cr3+2.34Ti2.28Fe2+0.91Fe3+0.11Al0.18Sc3+0.18)(Ti5.82Fe3+0.18)Ti6.0O38. The idealized formula is SrCaFe2+2(Cr4Ti2)Ti12O38. The crystal structure was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and refined to R = 0.0243. The new mineral is isostructural to other crichtonite-group members. Saranovskite is trigonal, space group R 3 ¯ , with a = 10.3553(2) Å, c = 20.7301(4) Å, V = 1925.12(8) Å3 and Z = 3. The strongest lines of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [d, Å (I, %) (hkl)] are: 3.398 (75) (024), 2.881 (100) (– 126), 2.842 (65) (– 234), 2.247 (67) (– 144). 2.137 (76) (– 345), 1.799 (63) (– 348), 1.597 (72) (– 1.4.10, 152), 1.439 (76) (520). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results of petrographic, geochemical, and mineralogical studies of apogranite metasomatites associated with sulfide-quartz gold ore veins. The studies show a predominance of muscovite and quartz-muscovite metasomatites. Formation of muscovite metasomatites was accompanied by the accumulation of W, Sc, Zr, Hf, Ga, REE, U, Th, Ta, and Nb and the genesis of new accessory minerals: monazite-(Ce), apatite, zircon, scheelite, W-containing rutile, uraninite, thorianite, cassiterite, etc. Compared with the primary granites, quartz-muscovite metasomatites are richer in Pb, Bi, As, Sb, Co, Ni, Ba, In, Cd, Mo, Te, Ag, and Au (elements of the gold ore assemblage). The high contents of these trace elements are due to abundant galena, fahlores, chalcopyrite, and pyrite among the accessory minerals. Metasomatism of granites was followed by the removal of SiO2, which was then spent for the formation of quartz veins. We have revealed that the distribution of metasomatites of different types within a dike body affects directly the distribution of sulfide-quartz veins and thus determines the ore content of the dike body fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen and fossil mammals of the terrigenous deposits in the Makhnevskaya Ledyanaya Cave (59°26′ N 57°41' E), located in the northern part of the Middle Urals and on the border with the Northern Urals, were studied. The spore-and-pollen spectra are divided into four pollen zones. In all the spectra, pollen concentrations of tree species amount to 50–70%. The presence of pollen in thermophilic (Quercus robur -type, Tilia cordata -type, Ulmus sp., Carpinus betulus, Corylus avellana- type) and moderate boreal (Abies, Picea, Pinus, Betula, Alnus) species and a lack of any tundra flora elements indicate their interglacial nature. The following have been identified as small mammal fauna: 8 taxa of insectivorous mammals, 4 taxa of bats, 2 taxa of lagomorphs, 4 species of carnivores, 16 species of rodents, 1 species of odd-toed ungulates and 4 species of even-toed ungulates. The remains of cryoxerophilous (Dicrostonyx sp., Lasiopodomys gregalis) and steppe (Ochotona sp.) species are scarce in the studied fauna. Species typical of forests (genus Sorex , genus Craseomys , genus Myodes , Myopus schisticolor , Microtus agrestis) are dominant. Remains of Erinaceus sp., Talpa sp., Crocidura leucodon, Sciurus vulgaris , Hystrix brachyura , Dryomys nitedula , Apodemus flavicollis , Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis have been found. The morphology and dimensions of the teeth of Panthera spelaea fossilis , Hystrix brachyura , Dryomys nitedula , Arvicola amphibius, mice of genus Apodemus are described. The compositions of the palynocomplexes and mammal fauna as well as the SDQ values for m1 of Arvicola amphibius allow us to date the deposits from the Makhnevskaya Ledyanaya Cave to the Eemian interglacial period (MIS 5e). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents new isotope-geochemical data on zircon from gabbronorites of the Volkovsky massif in the Middle Urals. The massif is a complex combination of different rock associations - from ultramafic rocks to syenites and quartz diorites, whose geological and geochronological ratios are not well-defined yet. The most widespread in the massif are gabbroids, which form three blocks - the Central, Western and Southern ones. This massif is associated with: 1) industrial deposit of copper-iron-vanadium ores and 2) gold-palladium mineralization of low sulfide type. Gabbronorites, which form peripheral parts of the gabbro blocks and in some cases form dykes among olivine gabbro, have a dual relationship with mineralization. They are host for copper-iron-vanadium type and postmineral concerning the gold-palladium mineralization localized in ultramafic rocks and olivine gabbro of the Southern block. The comprehensive study of zircon (its morphology, internal structure, U-Pb age, and silicate inclusions) has shown that in gabbronorites of the Volkovsky massif, zircon aged 427.5 ± 5.3 Ma and 428 ± 7 Ma, extracted from two different samples, contains the same set of polymineral inclusions, alien to the hosting rocks. The composition of inclusions (plagioclase ( An21), biotite (f = 0.49-0.56), quartz and apatite) corresponds to gneiss or plagiogranite. However, the zircon, according to its morphology, internal structure and age characteristics is similar to that from metamorphic rocks of the dynamothermal halo of gabbro-ultramafic bodies. This suggests that the zircon in gabbronorites of the Volkovsky massif could be borrowed from the surrounding metamorphic rocks, and therefore, the gabbronorite intrusion occurred when high-temperature metamorphic rocks of the dynamothermal halo had already existed and might have undergone anatexis and retrogressive metamorphism of amphibolite facies. The zircon age (≈427 Ma) limits the lower time limit of the formation of gabbronorite intersecting olivine gabbro of the Volkovsky massif, and may be close to the time of the formation of copper-iron-vanadium and gold-palladium mineralization type controlled by the reaction processes between gabbronorites and olivine gabbro.