The steppe insect fauna in the Russian Far East: Myth or reality?

The fauna of Lepidoptera in the forest-steppe zone of southern plains of the Russian Far East is analyzed. The contribution of species with the optimal distribution in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eurasia into the above fauna is insignificant; eastern Asian temperate species dominate in the region. The classification analysis of lists of species from local steppe and forest-steppe faunas of both Far-Eastern humid “prairies” and southern Transbaikalian region is performed. In these regions, xerophilous species constitute the essential part of the local fauna. The necessity of revision of the present zoogeographical zoning of the Far East is substantiated.     

The palynological assemblages from the J–K boundary beds of the Bureya Basin,Russian Far East

Palynological assemblages were studied from the coal-bearing Upper Jurassic (Talanja Formation) to the Lower Cretaceous (Dublikan Formation) deposits of the Bureya Basin, Russia. The palynological assemblages from the upper part of the Talanja Formation are dominated by gymnosperms, mainly Ginkgocycadophytus (up to 40%) and conifers related to Pinaceae (up to 70%). The contribution of non-seed plants is not great, but their diversity is considerable. The miospore assemblages of the Talanja sequence are characterized by the last appearance of the spore taxa Staplinisporites pocockii, Camptotriletes cerebriformis, Camptotriletes nitida, and Cingulatisporites sanguinolentus. The palynological assemblage from the Dublikan Formation is dominated by ferns (up to 84%), represented mainly by Cyathidites and Duplexisporites. Among gymnosperms the role of Classopollis increases (making up about 20%). Another feature is the first appearance of the spore taxa Stereisporites bujargiensis, Neoraistrickia rotundiformis, Contignisporites dorsostriatus, Appendicisporites tricostatus, and Concavissimisporites asper.     

Karyological and allozyme variability of Far Eastern voles Microtus fortis Büchner, 1889 (Cricetidae, Rodentia) from the Russian Far East

Karyological (G-, C-, and NOR-banding) and allozyme analyses were carried out for island and continental populations of the vole Microtus fortis from the Far East of Russia. Variability of the autosome pair 7 was found. The presence of variation in the number of telomere heterochromatin blocks in the populations of Far Eastern voles was confirmed. NOR-staining of the Far Eastern vole chromosomes was carried out, showin stability of the number and the positions of the nucleolus organizer regions. Ten enzyme systems and three nonenzyme proteins (controlled in total by 25 interpretable loci) were examined in the Far Eastern vole from the island and continental populations. All of the loci were shown to be monomorphic, except for one esterase locus, which exhibited polymorphism at the intrapopulation and interpopulation levels. The issue of distribution of the Far Eastern vole subspecies is discussed. It is suggested that M. fortis pelliceus occurs not only in the Russian Far East, but also in Northern Transbaikalia.     

Relationship between algal communities’ species diversity and catchment of rivers in the southern Russian Far East

The relationship between algal communities’ species diversity and the catchment of rivers in the southern Russian Far East has been studied. The number of species, varieties, and forms of algae increased significantly according to the increase in the head river area up to 80–100 km²; then this number slowed down dramatically. In general, the relationship between the number of algal taxa (D) and the catchment of the river (S, km²) was described as D = 91.6S ^0.194 (R ² = 0.97).     

Trofosides A and B and other cytostatic steroid-derived compounds from the Far East starfish Trofodiscus über

Three new polar steroids identified as trofoside A, (20R,24S)-24-O-(3-O-methyl-beta-D-xylopyranosyl)-3beta,6alpha,8,15beta,24-pentahydroxy-5alpha-cholestane, its 22(23)-dehydro derivative (trofoside B), and 15-sulfoxy-(20R,24S)-5alpha-cholestane-3beta,6beta,8,15alpha,24-pentaol sodium salt, were isolated from Trofodiscus uber starfish extracts collected in the Sea of Okhotsk. Two known compounds, trofoside A aglycone, (20R,24S)-3beta,6alpha,8,15beta,24-pentahydroxy-5alpha-cholestane, and triseramide, (20R,24R,25S,22E)-24-methyl-3beta,6alpha,8,15beta-tetrahydroxy-5alpha-cholest-22-en-27-oic acid (2-sulfoethyl)amide sodium salt, were also found. The structures of the isolated polyoxysteroids were established from their spectra. Minimal concentrations causing degradation of unfertilized egg-cells of the sea-urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius (C(min)) and terminating the cell division at the stage of the first division (C(min) embr.), as well as the concentrations causing 50% immobilization of sperm cells (ImC50) and inhibiting their ability to fertilize egg-cells by 50% (IC50) were determined for the isolated compounds. Of three compounds highly toxic in embryos and sea-urchin sperm cells, the polyol with a sulfo group in the steroid core was the most active; two glycosides with monosaccharide chains located at C3 and C24 atoms were less toxic. Note that all the compounds with the spermiotoxic activities differently affected the embryo development. The positions of monosaccharide residues in the core considerably influence the compound activity. For example, both mono- and double chained glycosides with the monosaccharide fragment at C3 and C24 atoms are active against sea-urchin sperm cells and embryos, whereas the C24 glycosylated trofoside A does not affect embryos and displays a poor spermiotoxicity.     

How many times has polyploidization occurred during acipenserid evolution? New data on the karyotypes of sturgeons (Acipenseridae,Actinopterygii) from the Russian Far East

The karyology of species of sturgeon from the Russian Far East demonstrates that the karyotype of the Sakhalin sturgeon (Acipenser mikadoi) includes 262 ± 4 chromosomes with 80 biarmed chromosomes and the number of chromosome arms (NF) 342 ± 4, the karyotype of the Amur sturgeon (A. schrenckii) includes 266 ± 4 chromosomes with 92 biarmed chromosomes and NF 358 ± 4, and the karyotype of the kaluga (A. dauricus) consists of 268 ± 4 chromosomes with 100 biarmed chromosomes and NF 368 ± 4. These results prove that all western Pacific sturgeon species are from a tetraploid origin, based on a recent ploidy scale. This suggests that at least three polyploidization events have occurred during the evolution of Acipenseridae. However, if polyploid species originated by hybridization between diploid species, there may have been more polyploidization events in this group of fishes.     

Karyological and allozyme variability of far eastern voles Microtus fortis Büchner, 1889 (Cricetidae, Rodentia) from the Russian Far East

Karyological (G-, C-, and NOR-banding) and allozyme analyses were carried out for island and continental populations of the vole Microtus fortis from the Far East of Russia. Variability of the autosome pair 7 was found. The presence of variation in the number of telomere heterochromatin blocks in the populations of Far Eastern voles was confirmed. NOR-staining of the Far Eastern vole chromosomes was carried out, showing stability of the number and the positions of the nucleolus organizer regions. Ten enzyme systems and three non-enzyme proteins (controlled in total by 25 interpretable loci) were examined in the Far Eastern vole from the island and continental populations. All of the loci were shown to be monomorphic, except for one esterase locus, which exhibited polymorphism at the intrapopulation and interpopulation levels. The issue of distribution of the Far Eastern vole subspecies is discussed. It is suggested that M. fortis pelliceus occurs not only in the Russian Far East, but also in Northern Transbaikalia.     

Adult Steller sea lion mortality on rookeries in the Russian Far East, 2002–2010

We used visual observations during nine field seasons to determine the causes and death rate of Steller sea lions older than 1 year on eight rookeries in the Russian Far East. The average annual death rate was 0.48% of the total recorded Steller sea lions on shore and varied among rookeriesy. The mortality did not exceed 0.29% in six rookeries, but reached 0.80–1.19% in two rookeries. Individuals of all age and sex groups were recorded among dead animals. Bulls died as a result of territorial conflicts, and cows and young lions were crushed or suffocated by bulls during copulation. The death of nearly half of the females was attributed to 11 bulls.     

New water mites of the family Hygrobatidae (Acari,?Hydrachnidia) from Turkey

In this study, the findings of three water mite species of the family Hygrobatidae collected from different streams in Turkey were evaluated. Hygrobates (s. str.) anatolicus Esen & Pešić, sp. n. is described as new for science. Hygrobates (Rivobates) diversiporus Sokolow, 1927 and Atractides (s. str.) nikooae Pešić, 2004, which were illustrated and thoroughly discussed, are new records for the Turkish fauna.     

Pyrenomycetes of the Russian Far East—Additions and corrections. 1.Rossmania ukurunduensis gen. et sp. nov.

Rossmania ukurunduensis gen. and sp. nov. collected in the reverve Bolshekhekhtsirsky (Khabarovsk Territory, Russian Far East) is described and illustrated.Rossmania aculeata comb. Nov. is indicated as the second species of the genus.     

Can water mites control populations of planktonic Cladocera?

Predatory pelagic water mites, Piona sp., in a small subtropical lake of Argentina showed rapid numerical response and protection from fish consumption. In experiments, predation rates of Piona on cladocerans equalled those of the principle lake planktivore, Moenkhausia intermedia Eigenmann (about 100 prey · predator^–1 day^–1). As a result, the mites caused a summer depression in the dominant lake zooplankter, Daphnia laevis Birge, evidenced by the analysis of its population dynamics and simple modelling.     

Odonates,gregarines and water mites: why are the same host species infected by both parasites?

1. Damselflies and dragonflies are widely parasitised insects and numerous studies have tried to understand this host–parasite relationship. However, most of these studies have concentrated on a single host species, neglecting the larger pattern within the Odonata order. 2. The aim of this paper was to examine different damselfly and dragonfly species for common endo‐ and ectoparasites and whether a general infection pattern can be found. Additionally, the goal was to investigate whether the phylogeny of the host species could explain these possible infection patterns. To this end, a dataset from the existing literature was compiled and the prevalence of endoparasitic gregarines and ectoparasitic water mites was analysed for 46 different odonate species. 3. Three distinct patterns were found: (i) most of the odonate host species had both gregarines and water mites, rather than only either one or neither; (ii) there appears to be a positive association between gregarine and water mite prevalences across host species; (iii) a weak phylogenetic signal was detected in gregarine prevalence and a strong one in water mite prevalence. 4. It is hypothesised that, due to the infection and transmission mechanisms by which water mites and gregarines infect different odonate host species, parasitism is aggregated to common, high‐density species. However, much research is needed in order to fully understand this relationship between odonates and their parasites, especially within the same host populations and host species assemblages.     

Eocene–Oligocene sea-level fall drove amphipod habitat shift from marine to freshwater in the Far East

The Eocene–Oligocene sea-level fall has been viewed as a primary driver of biological succession. We used Anisogammaridae living in both marine and freshwater habitats to test the hypothesis that Eocene–Oligocene sea-level fall can explain the marine–freshwater habitat shift in the Far East. We obtained three mitochondrial and two nuclear fragments for 138 samples representing 31 species, covering marine and freshwater habitats from latitudes 24 to 50°N. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that freshwater Anisogammaridae is monophyletic. Divergence-time estimation and ancestral range reconstruction indicate that the family originated from a marine habitat in the North Pacific region during the Eocene and separated between marine and freshwater lineages at 38 Ma. The freshwater lineage diversified at 27 Ma, and further diverged into lotic and lentic clades. Our results suggest that the Eocene–Oligocene sea-level fall provided an opportunity for marine-derived Anisogammaridae to shift to new freshwater habitats. The freshwater anisogammarids dispersed from north to south, resulting in the restriction of current marine species restricted to the latitudes 35–50°N and the range of freshwater species in latitudes 24–40°N. Deep divergences within the freshwater lineage were related to the separation of lotic and lentic environments and the opening of the Japan Sea.     

Are hot-spots occluded from water?

Protein–protein interactions are the basis of many biological processes and are governed by focused regions with high binding affinities, the warm- and hot-spots. It was proposed that these regions are surrounded by areas with higher packing density leading to solvent exclusion around them – “the O-ring theory.” This important inference still lacks sufficient demonstration. We have used Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the validity of the O-ring theory in the context of the conformational flexibility of the proteins, which is critical for function, in general, and for interaction with water, in particular. The MD results were analyzed for a variety of solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) features, radial distribution functions (RDFs), protein–water distances, and water residence times. The measurement of the average solvent-accessible surface area features for the warm- and hot-spots and the null-spots, as well as data for corresponding RDFs, identify distinct properties for these two sets of residues. Warm- and hot-spots are found to be occluded from the solvent. However, it has to be borne in mind that water-mediated interactions have significant power to construct an extensive and strongly bonded interface. We observed that warm- and hot-spots tend to form hydrogen bond (H-bond) networks with water molecules that have an occupancy around 90%. This study provides strong evidence in support of the O-ring theory and the results show that hot-spots are indeed protected from the bulk solvent. Nevertheless, the warm- and hot-spots still make water-mediated contacts, which are also important for protein–protein binding.     

How Far is Complex Balancing from Detailed Balancing?

We clarify the relation between the algebraic conditions that must be satisfied by the reaction constants in general (mass–action) kinetics systems for the existence of detailed or complex balancing equilibria. These systems have a wide range of applications in chemistry and biology. Their main properties have been set by Horn, Jackson and Feinberg. We expect to extend our point of view to the study of qualitative features of the dynamical behavior of chemical interactions in molecular systems biology.     

Comparison of genetic diversity in the two arctic–alpine plants Diapensia lapponica var. obovata (Diapensiaceae) and Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum (Empetraceae) between Sakhalin in Russian Far East and Jeju Island in Korea, the southernmost edge of their distribution range

We compared allozyme variation in the two arctic–alpine plants Diapensia lapponica var. obovata and Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum between Sakhalin Island in Russian Far East, within their range core, and the Korean island of Jeju, their world’s southernmost distribution. For D. lapponica var. obovata, Sakhalin populations harbored moderate levels of within-population genetic variation and low among-population divergence, whereas extremely low levels of within-population genetic diversity and high among-population differentiation were found in Jeju Island populations. In contrast, we found moderate levels of within-population variation and low among-population differentiation in E. nigrum var. japonicum in both northern populations (those of Sakhalin and an additional population from northern Japan) and Jeju Island populations. Under a similar scenario of immigration history of arctic–alpine plants on Jeju Island during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene and local persistence through glacial/interglacial cycles, the contrasting genetic structure between D. lapponica var. obovata and E. nigrum var. japonicum is mainly attributable to their different life-history, ecological, and demographic traits: (1) hermaphroditic versus monoecious, dioecious or polygamous, (2) seeds with no adaptations for long-distance dispersal versus berry-like drupes dispersed by animals and birds, and (3) a very small patch near the peak of Mt. Halla with a few hundred individuals versus a relatively continuous distribution around the peak of Mt. Halla with numerous individuals. From a conservation perspective, in situ and ex situ conservation measures should be strengthened for D. lapponica var. obovata on Jeju Island given their extreme rarity there.     

Red, distasteful water mites: did fish make them that way?

Water mites (Acari: Hydrachnida) are unusual among the typically cryptic freshwater fauna in that many species are brightly colored red or orange, and also appear to be distasteful to fish. This apparent aposematism (use of color to warn predators) has been previously explained as the evolutionary end-product of pressure from fish predation. The fish-predation argument has been supported by observations that fish spit out red mites, powder made from red water mites is more distasteful to fish than powder made from non-red mites, and red mites appear to be more abundant than non-red mites in water bodies where fish are present. In this paper, we challenge the hypothesis that fish were the sole driving force behind the evolution of aposematism in water mites. We show that non-red mites actually dominate in water bodies with fish, and that red mites are more abundant in temporary, fishless water bodies. We also demonstrate that powder made from red, terrestrial velvet mites (Trombidiidae) was as distasteful to fish as powder made from red water mites. We suggest that the main role of red and orange carotenoid pigments may be to act as photoprotectants, and hypothesize that redness originated in the terrestrial ancestors of water mites and has been retained in certain lineages of water mites after the invasion of the aquatic habitat. We also suggest that distastefulness evolved subsequent to bright coloration in response to increased conspicuousness to predators. Relaxed selection for redness has occurred when adults and/or larvae are less exposed to sunlight, either through occupying more protected habitats, parasitizing more nocturnal hosts, or parasitizing hosts for a short period of time. Our ability to test this alternative hypothesis is hampered by lack of knowledge of the source and mode of action of distastefulness, and of phylogenetic relationships among the Parasitengona.