SCIENTIFIC AND NATURE PROTECTION SIGNIFICANCE OF MODEL SITUATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECOSYSTEMS

Model situations that arise due to disturbances of the structure of the living cover and dynamics of ecosystem succession, are often unique ecological experiments. The author examines the value of model situations for research and conservation. Taking into account their specific nature, an addition to the existing environmental protection categories system is offered

BIORESOURCE POTENTIAL OF UKRAINIAN PONDS WITH WIDE FIELD OF USE

The paper presents data on the ponds of Ukraine, an estimation of trophic properties and productivity of ponds with different operating conditions. It is noted that their real productivity does not reach the theoretically possible values. The issues of the effectiveness and complex use of the ponds, as well as their importance for biodiversity conservation are discussed

CHANGES IN THE DYNAMICS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITY OF ANIMALS ON THE DAY OF THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF AUGUST 1, 2008

According to the observations of the total solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 changes in the daily dynamics of air temperature, wind speed and behavioral activity of animals, especially day-time insects were recorded. It was found out that the decline and subsequent recovery of meteorological and biological indicators follow the progress of illumination values with a slight time delay

Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

RELATIONSHIP AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF SUCCESSION AND EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES IN THE EARTH LIVING COVER DYNAMICS

The transformation of the living cover (biocoenotic self-regulation) can be performed by changing the species communities' composition, as well as through the acquisition of specific adaptations of populations. Both the succession of species and evolutionary transformations are possible due to the transformation of ecological niches. Since the emergence of new forms is always accompanied by the elimination of an enormous number of individuals, evolutionary processes are uneconomical compared to succession. Population structure of the species provides a species-specific flux of living material between different ecosystems. This contributes to limitation of the evolutionary processes with the succession, accompanied by a significant economy of living matter in the biosphere

JUSTIFICATION OF A RAPID METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE SPECIES RICHNESS OF SMALL HYDRO-OBJECTS

A simplified method is proposed for rapid assessment of the taxonomic richness of small hydro-objects by using indicator groups of aquatic organisms. It does not require any sophisticated equipment and high qualification. Therefore it is available to employees of various scientific and practicing institutions

Differences in spatial versus temporal reaction norms for spring and autumn phenological events

For species to stay temporally tuned to their environment, they use cues such as the accumulation of degree-days. The relationships between the timing of a phenological event in a population and its environmental cue can be described by a population-level reaction norm. Variation in reaction norms along environmental gradients may either intensify the environmental effects on timing (cogradient variation) or attenuate the effects (countergradient variation). To resolve spatial and seasonal variation in species' response, we use a unique dataset of 91 taxa and 178 phenological events observed across a network of 472 monitoring sites, spread across the nations of the former Soviet Union. We show that compared to local rates of advancement of phenological events with the advancement of temperature-related cues (i.e., variation within site over years), spatial variation in reaction norms tend to accentuate responses in spring (cogradient variation) and attenuate them in autumn (countergradient variation). As a result, among-population variation in the timing of events is greater in spring and less in autumn than if all populations followed the same reaction norm regardless of location. Despite such signs of local adaptation, overall phenotypic plasticity was not sufficient for phenological events to keep exact pace with their cues-the earlier the year, the more did the timing of the phenological event lag behind the timing of the cue. Overall, these patterns suggest that differences in the spatial versus temporal reaction norms will affect species' response to climate change in opposite ways in spring and autumn