Impact of climate changes on indicator specie and predicted socio-economical effects

Impact of the above-mentioned factors can be seen on particular representatives of flora and fauna, communities, landscape elements and elementary associations, and is demonstrated on the example of model species and communities

Hydrological regime of Molochnyi liman under anthropogenic and natural drivers as a basis for management decision-making

Molochnyi Liman is the largest liman (22,000 ha) at the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. Contrary to estuaries, it is an ecotone without typical tides. It is a half-closed water body, with a connection to the Sea of Azov that has periodically renewed or ceased over the course of time. Molochnyi Liman is a wetland of international importance, a hydrological reserve of state significance and is part of the Pryazovskyi National Natural Park. The results of our research have established that termination of the liman/sea connection has led to significant hydrological changes. The most crucial is a reduction in the liman’s depth, accompanied with shrinkage in the water surface area, a dramatic increase in salinity to 95 g/l and the loss of several Ramsar criteria. Restoration of the Molochnyi Liman ecosystem requires a positive water balance. There is a need for ensuring the inflow of at least 100 mln m3 of marine water into the liman through a connecting channel. This will renew normal functioning of the liman and reduce the salinity to an optimal level. The methodical approach used in this work can also be applied to other closed and half-closed water bodies of the Azov-Black Sea Region. The development of a hydrological model can be effectively used as a supportive tool for the management of the Tylihulskyi, Khadzhibeiskyi and Kuyalnytskyi limans in the north-western part of the Black Sea

The Red Data Book Waterbirds in the Coastal Wetlands of the Azov-Black Sea Region of Ukraine — the Results of the August Counts 2018 and 2021

The article analyses data from the August Counts of 2018 and 2021, which covered the 40 most important wetlands on the Azov-Black Sea coast of Ukraine. Of the 106 wetland bird species recorded during the censuses, 35 species are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The number of them was about 50 thousand individuals or 7.6 % of the total number of counted birds: in 2018 — 24.1 thousand individuals and in 2021 — 25.8 thousand individuals. Detailed information on the number of bird species and the list of the most important sites for each species can be found in the publication. The comparison of the current data with the previous survey period 2004‒2015 (Chernichko et al., 2018) showed that the abundance of 17 waterbird species decreased, and 7 species increased their abundance. It is assumed that these changes are caused by the aridification of the climate, leading to the drying out of the shallow parts of the region's wetlands in the second half of the summer

Mykola Rozhenko — a famous zoologist and environmentalist (on the college’s 60th anniversary)

A review of scientific and nature protection activities of M. Rozhenko is provided on the occasion of his 60th anniversary. His contribution into the development of faunistic investigations in the Northwestern Black Sea area is analyzed, in particular his research in ecology and dynamics of carnivores. M. Rozhenko recorded two new species for the Lower Dniester area (European badger and European pine marten) and one new species for the fauna of Ukraine (golden jackal), also justified the necessity of creation of a national nature park here to protect the region’s biota and to develop conservational initiatives. Working in Nyzhniodnistrovsky National Nature Park, M. Rozhenko pays a great attention to the popularization of nature conservation. Due to nature conversation actions, he managed to recover the commitment of local residents to the Park. During his work in the Park, in the Lower Dniester area a work against poaching has been carried out, and scientific research have been conducted (experiments on introduction of the Eurasian eagle owl, monitoring of rare species, etc)

Effects of dobutamine on ventricular functions and cerebral blood flow in preterm infants with mild hyaline membrane disease

[no abstract available

Migrating Broad-billed Sandpipers achieve high fuelling rates by taking a multi-course meal

In spring, large numbers of migrating Broad-billed Sandpipers make a stop-over in the Sivash, a shallow lagoon system in the Crimea, Ukraine, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Observed fuelling rates are high and, in just a few weeks, the birds can build up sufficient departure mass to reach their breeding grounds in a single non-stop flight (Verkuil et al. 2006). For feeding, Broad-billed Sandpipers prefer the brackish lagoons with a diverse benthic prey community. They ignore the hypersaline lagoons which are teeming with brine shrimp (Artemia sp.), a common prey for migrating Dunlins and Curlew Sandpipers in this area (Verkuil et al. 2003). In this paper we report on diet choice in relation to gut processing efficiency of different possible prey species for Broad-billed Sandpipers. We ask two questions: “Why do Broad-billed Sandpipers avoid feeding on brine shrimp in the hypersaline lagoons?” and “Do they specialize on one particular prey species in the brackish lagoons?”. Digestion efficiency of birds fed with brine shrimp was lower than for birds fed with the polychaete Nereis diversicolor or the crustacean Gammarus insensibilis. In the brackish lagoons, prey items seen ingested were both polychaetes (Nereis diversicolor) and larger crustaceans. Field observations on defecation intervals compared with identical observations on captive individuals suggest that both polychaetes and crustaceans were included in the diet. Although studies from other staging and wintering sites report that Broad-billed Sandpiper usually eat polychaetes, we suggest that they optimize their energy intake by eating a multi-course meal