Molecular genetic diversity of musk deer Moschus moschiferus L., 1758 (Ruminantia, Artiodactyla) from the northern subspecies group

Genetic diversity within the northern subspecies group of musk deer Moschus moschiferus L., 1758 was examined based on the mtDNA control region hypervariable fragment (300-bp) sequence polymorphism. Nucleotide diversity, constituting 2.6% for the whole sample (n = 34), varied in the range from 0.6 to 1.9% for individual subspecies. Maximum values of this index were observed for Siberian subspecies (M. m. moschiferus), which had the widest range. Genetic similarity between the haplotypes of the musk deer from the Far East (Russia) and Sakhalin Island, which grouped in one cluster in a phylogenetic tree, was demonstrated. The data obtained indicate that the distribution of musk deer along the territory of Russia occurred from Eastern Siberia to the Far East, and from there to the Sakhalin Island. A currently observed decrease of the musk deer population number along with the increased habitat fragmentation can result in a decrease of the total genetic diversity and in inbreeding depression in the local isolated groups.     

安徽麝线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因全长序列分析

自80年代安徽麝[Moschus (moschiferus/berezovskii)anhuiensis]被发现以来,其分类地位一直众说纷纭。在本研究中,我们对安徽麝模式皮张标本进行了线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因全长序列分析。研究结果表明,安徽麝同麝属中其他种的遗传分化已经相当明显.分子系统学的分析表明,安徽麝是一个单系群,它同麝属其他种的DNA序列差异已达到种间分化的程度。因此,线粒体DNA序列的证据支持将安徽麝列为麝属中一有效种（Moschus anhuiensis),而不是前人认为的原麝或林麝的亚种。     

A complex B chromosome system in the Korean field mouse, Apodemus peninsulae

Information on B chromosomes of six subspecies of A. peninsulae Thomas, 1906, from 79 local populations of Russia (Siberia, Altai, Buryatia and the Far East), Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan (Hokkaido) is reviewed. The frequency of animals with B chromosomes is higher in this taxon than in other mammals and ranges from 0.4 up to 1.0, excluding two insular populations (Sakhalin Island and Stenin Island, Primorye) where Bs were not found. The B chromosome polymorphism shows four levels of variation in number (intraindividual mosaicism, intrapopulational and interpopulational), as well as variability in size, morphology and differential staining. Geographic variation was found among populations for these cytogenetic characteristics and, in some cases, it coincided with subspecies distribution. Comparative chromosome banding of micro and macro Bs illuminates possible pathways for their origin.     

Ammonite and inoceramid radiations after the Santonian-Campanian bioevent in Sakhalin, Far East Russia

Study of several marine Santonian-Campanian successions from Sakhalin Island, Far East Russia, has revealed that evolution of the ammonites and inoceramid bivalves proceeded at different rates after the major faunal turnover at the (locally defined) Santonian-Campanian boundary. Sometimes changes in the inoceramid assemblages were more frequent and rapid than changes in the ammonite assemblages, and sometimes vice versa. Significant levels of inoceramid turnover and radiation events have been identified at the (locally defined) Santonian-Campanian and lower-upper Campanian boundaries. Changes in ammonite and inoceramid diversity, and in the proportions of endemic and cosmopolitan species, were investigated in the context of the local relative sea-level curve and inferred environmental changes. In Far East Russia, the main ammonite and inoceramid radiation after the local Santonian-Campanian faunal turnover occurred in the early Late Campanian Pachydiscus (P.) aff. egertoni ammonite Zone and the coeval Schmidticeramus schmidti inoceramid Zone. This condensed interval of ammonite and inoceramid maximum diversity provides a perfect stratigraphic marker that is recognizable in Sakhalin, North-East Russia and Japan. The succession of Santonian-Campanian assemblages identified in Sakhalin enabled the establishment of seven ammonite and six inoceramid zones, which correlate relatively well with those of North-East Russia and Japan. The problems of placing the Santonian-Campanian boundary in Sakhalin and in the adjacent Japanese island of Hokkaido are reviewed.     

The peculiarities of foraging migrations of the Korean-Okhotsk gray whale (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eschrichtius robustus</Emphasis>) population in russian waters of the Far Eastern seas

Photographic identification of the Korean-Okhotsk gray whale Eschrichtius robustus population has been conducted since 2002 by researchers of the Institute of Marine Biology at the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMB FEB RAS), with financial support provided by Exon Neftegas, Ltd. and Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., in order to study the migration features and biology of this species. In 2008, photo-ID studies were carried out in two areas, off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island and off the southeastern coast of Kamchatka. As a result of the studies, 122 whales known from the Sakhalin gray whale catalogue were photographed. Of them, 97 individuals were registered off Sakhalin, 24, off Kamchatka, and one whale was observed at both sites. In addition, 25 more gray whales that had not been sighted off Sakhalin Island before were found off the coast of Kamchatka. Based on these photographic materials, the whales physical and skin conditions were also analyzed. Cases of sightings of gray whales in areas that are remote from their traditional summer and fall feeding grounds in the Far Eastern seas of Russia are discussed.     

A new species of the genus Hypsibius (Tardigrada: Parachela: Hypsibiidae) from Sakhalin island, far East Russia

A new species of semiterrestrial eutardigrade, Hypsibius stiliferus, is described from Sakhalin Island, Far East Russia. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by having an irregular, polygonal or subtriangular dorsal sculpture, which increases in size posteriorly, two granular macroplacoids, and a cuticular bar near the base of posterior claw 4, and by lacking a microplacoid and septulum. It is currently known from its type locality and several other localities in northern and southern Sakhalin Island. This is the first report concerning tardigrades from Sakhalin Island.     

Population structure of chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta in the Russian Far East, as revealed by microsatellite markers

Chum salmon populations in the Russian Far East have a complex multi-level genetic structure. A total of 53 samples (2446 fish) were grouped into five major regional clusters: the southern Kurils, eastern Sakhalin, southwestern Sakhalin, the Amur River, and a northern cluster. The northern cluster consists of chum salmon populations from a vast geographical region, including Chukotka, Kamchatka, and the continental coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. However, the degree of its genetic differentiation is low, 1.9%. In contrast, the southern population cluster exhibits much higher variation; for example, differentiation between chum salmon groups within Sakhalin Island reaches 4.6%, and the differentiation between Iturup Island and Sakhalin Island chum salmon is 7.7%. This suggests that southern populations of Asian chum salmon have a more ancient evolutionary history than northern populations. In contrast to the available data, our study indicates a great deviation of southwestern Sakhalin populations from other Sakhalin chum salmon. The Russian Far East chum salmon are genetically diverse and show statistically significant differentiation even within small geographic localities. This can be used to assign samples of unknown origins to definite local populations.     

Polymorphism of a short fragment of the mitochondrial genome control region (D-loop) in the Siberian roe deer <Emphasis Type="Italic">Capreolus pygargus</Emphasis> Pallas, 1771 (Artiodactyla,Cervidae) from the Russian Far East

Genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer Capreolus pygargus, 1771 from the Russian Far East was studied based on polymorphism analysis of a mtDNA control region fragment (390 bp). Three phylogenetic lines were found in the animals examined. The trend for change of haplotypes of different phylogroups was shown to occur from north to south in Sikhote-Alin. The haplotype distribution of Siberian roe deer in the Russian Far East correlated with data on morphologiocal variability.     

Variation in spring migration routes and breeding distribution of northern pintails Anas acuta that winter in Japan

In North America, spring migration routes and breeding distribution of northern pintails Anas acuta vary because some individuals opportunistically nest at mid‐latitudes in years when ephemeral prairie wetlands are available, whereas others regularly nest in arctic and sub‐arctic regions where wetland abundance is more constant. Less was known about migration routes and breeding distribution of pintails in East Asia. From 2007–2009 we marked 198 pintails on their wintering areas in Japan with satellite transmitters to: 1) document spring migration routes and summer distribution, 2) evaluate migratory connections and breeding season sympatry with North American pintails, and 3) determine if pintails used the same migration routes in fall as in spring. Most pintails (67%) migrated to the Kamchatka or Chukotka peninsulas in eastern Russia either directly from Japan or via Sakhalin Island, Russia. Remaining pintails primarily migrated to the Magadan region or Kolyma River Basin in eastern Russia via Sakhalin Island. The Chukotka Peninsula was the most common summer destination, with highest densities in the Anadyr Lowlands; a region also used by pintails that migrate from North America. One pintail migrated to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, in spring and another briefly migrated to the western coast of Alaska in fall. Autumn migration routes generally mirrored spring migration although most pintails bypassed Sakhalin Island in fall. Compared to North American pintails, pintails that winter in Japan exhibited less variation in migration routes and breeding distribution, and nested at higher latitudes. In the Russian Far East there is no region with habitats comparable in extent to the ephemeral mid‐latitude wetlands of North America. Consequently, East Asian pintails mainly nest in arctic and sub‐arctic regions where annual consistency in wetlands promotes constancy in migration routes and breeding distribution. Breeding season sympatry between pintails from different continents results more from North American pintails migrating to eastern Russia than from Japanese pintails migrating to North America.     

Migration of Sakhalin taimen (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parahucho perryi</Emphasis>): evidence of freshwater resident life history types

Sakhalin taimen (Parahucho perryi) range from the Russian Far East mainland along the Sea of Japan coast, and Sakhalin, Kuril, and Hokkaido Islands and are considered to primarily be an anadromous species. We used otolith strontium-to-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) to determine the chronology of migration between freshwater and saltwater and identify migratory contingents of taimen collected from the Koppi River, Russia. In addition, we examined taimen from the Sarufutsu River, Japan and Tumnin River, Russia that were captured in marine waters. Transects of otolith Sr/Ca for the Sarufutsu River fish were consistent with patterns observed in anadromous salmonids. Two fish from the Tumnin River appeared to be recent migrants to saltwater and one fish was characterized by an otolith Sr/Ca transect consistent with marine migration. Using these transects as benchmarks, all Koppi River taimen were classified as freshwater residents. These findings suggest more work is needed to assess life history variability among locations and the role of freshwater productivity in controlling migratory behavior in taimen.     

Mitochondrial DNA variation pattern in larches of Eastern Siberia and the Far East

Genetic variation has been studied in 32 Eastern Siberian and Far Eastern populations of Larix Mill. with the use of three mitochondrial markers based on polymerase chain reaction. Eight multilocus haplotypes with a heterogeneous spatial distribution (G(ST) = 0.788, N(ST) = 0.829) have been found, which indicates limited gene flows between populations. Several geographic regions with specific larch haplotype sets have been determined: (1) Japan, (2) southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, (3) Primor'e and Korea, (4) Kamchatka, and (5) Eastern Siberia and the northern Far East. The haplotype fixed in the Kamchatka is absent in the Magadan oblast or Chukotka but is present in southern Primor'e and Sakhalin Island. This may be explained by either the postglacial recolonization of Kamchatka by larch that spread from Primor'e through Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands or its survival through the last glacial maximum in the Kamchatka Peninsula. The biogeography of larch and other woody plants indicate that boreal species have a common history of the colonization of Kamchatka.     

Conservation genetics of the Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)

The Far Eastern or Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) survives today as a tiny relict population of 25-40 individuals in the Russian Far East. The population descends from a 19th-century northeastern Asian subspecies whose range extended over southeastern Russia, the Korean peninsula, and northeastern China. A molecular genetic survey of nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation validates subspecies distinctiveness but also reveals a markedly reduced level of genetic variation. The amount of genetic diversity measured is the lowest among leopard subspecies and is comparable to the genetically depleted Florida panther and Asiatic lion populations. When considered in the context of nonphysiological perils that threaten small populations (e.g., chance mortality, poaching, climatic extremes, and infectious disease), the genetic and demographic data indicate a critically diminished wild population under severe threat of extinction. An established captive population of P. p. orientalis displays much higher diversity than the wild population sample, but nearly all captive individuals are derived from a history of genetic admixture with the adjacent Chinese subspecies, P. p. japonensis. The conservation management implications of potential restoration/augmentation of the wild population with immigrants from the captive population are discussed.     

Variation trends in the parasite assemblages of the Chinese sleeper Perccottus glenii (Actinopterygii: Odontobutidae) in its native habitat

The diversity of parasite assemblages in the Chinese sleeper Perccottus glenii, at the level of specimen and population of the host, is manifested through three components: the number of species, the evenness of their abundance, and the taxonomic diversity. Variations in the diversity depend on the local characteristics of water bodies, as well as the sexual and dimensional factors of the host. This study was performed in four water bodies of the Russian Far East (Primorskii krai and Sakhalin Island).     

小兴安岭地区原麝冬季食性研究

2004 年2 ～3 月和2004 年11 月至2005 年1 月在黑龙江省通河县龙口林场,对原麝冬季的食性进行了研究。采用粪便显微组织学分析技术分析原麝冬季采食植物的种类组成和比例,并测定了主要取食的9 种木本植物及苔藓和蕨类植物的营养成分。研究结果表明,原麝冬季取食的植物共计46 科66 种,其中兴安杜鹃、光萼溲疏、五角槭、羊胡子苔草分别占32.7%、7.8%、5.81%、5.56%, 是原麝冬季主要取食的植物种类,占取食植物的51.9% 。木本植物枝叶是原麝冬季的主要食物,在冬季食物组成中所占百分比最高, 达75.0% 。对草本植物、蕨类、苔藓、地衣的取食量均较小。冬季原麝比较喜欢采食蛋白含量高的植物,采食部位主要为植物木质化较低的当年枝顶端部分。藓类主要出现在1 ～3 月份的食物中。     

First record of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chadronoxylon</Emphasis> fossil wood (Angiospermae,Dicotyledones) from Russia

A new species, Chadronoxylon sakhalinensis sp. nov. (Angiospermae, Dicotyledones), from the Upper Cretaceous of Sakhalin (Russian Far East) is described based on the anatomical characters of fossil wood. The fossil wood of Chadronoxylon is found in Russia for the first time.     

Genetic diversity and phylogeography of Siberian roe deer,Caproulus pygargus,in central and peripheral populations

Current understanding of phylogeographical structure and genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer remains limited mainly due to small sample size and/or low geographical coverage in previous studies. Published data suggest at least two phylogroups: western (Ural Mountains and Western Siberia) and eastern (east from lake Baikal, including the Korean peninsula), but their phylogenetic relationship remains unclear. Combined sequences of cytochrome b (1140 bp) and the mtDNA control region (963 bp) were analyzed from 219 Siberian roe deer from 12 locations in Russia, Mongolia, and South Korea, which cover a large part of its range, to assess genetic diversity and phylogeographical status. Special emphasis was placed on the demographic history and genetic features of central, peripheral, and isolated populations. Results of median‐joining network and phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that Siberian roe deer from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean are genetically diverse and that geographical distribution and composition of haplogroups coincide with previously described ranges of the subspecies Capreolus pygargus pygargus and Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus. We found that peripheral populations in the northwestern parts of the species range (Urals), as well as the isolated population from Jeju Island, are genetically distinct from those in the core part of the range, both in terms of genetic diversity and quantitative composition of haplogroups. We also found that northwestern (Urals) and northern (Yakutia) peripheral populations share the same haplogroup and fall into the same phylogenetic clade with the isolated population from Jeju Island. This finding sheds light on the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population and leads to hypotheses about the discordance of morphological and genetic evolution in isolated populations and specific genetic features of peripheral populations.     

Phylogenetic Study of Complete Cytochrome b Genes in Musk Deer (Genus Moschus) Using Museum Samples

As an endangered animal group, musk deer (genus Moschus) are not only a great concern of wildlife conservation, but also of special interest to evolutionary studies due to long-standing arguments on the taxonomic and phylogenetic associations in this group. Using museum samples, we sequenced complete mitochondrial cytochrome b genes (1140 bp) of all suggested species of musk deer in order to reconstruct their phylogenetic history through molecular information. Our results showed that the cytochrome b gene tree is rather robust and concurred for all the algorithms employed (parsimony, maximum likelihood, and distance methods). Further, the relative rate test indicated a constant sequence substitution rate among all the species, permitting the dating of divergence events by molecular clock. According to the molecular topology, M. moschiferus branched off the earliest from a common ancestor of musk deer (about 700,000 years ago); then followed the bifurcation forming the M. berezovskii lineage and the lineage clustering M. fuscus, M. chrysogaster, and M. leucogaster (around 370,000 years before present). Interestingly, the most recent speciation event in musk deer happened rather recently (140,000 years ago), which might have resulted from the diversified habitats and geographic barriers in southwest China caused by gigantic movements of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in history. Combining the data of current distributions, fossil records, and molecular data of this study, we suggest that the historical dispersion of musk deer might be from north to south in China. Additionally, in our further analyses involving other pecora species, musk deer was strongly supported as a monophyletic group and a valid family in Artiodactyla, closely related to Cervidae.     

The geographical distribution of Polycelis (Polycelis) sapporo and Seidlia schmidti in the Far East

Polycelis (Polycelis) sapporo (Ijima et Kaburaki, 1916) is a non-stenothermal species, common in Hokkaidô (including all of the adjacent islands), Northern Japan, except in the alpine region. It is also distributed in Aomori Prefecture in the northernmost part of Honshû. To the south, its range is bounded by a line from the base of the Tsugaru Peninsula, over Mt. Iwaki, Mt. Shirakami, Mt. Tashiro, Lake Towada, Mt. Hakkôda, the Natsudomari Peninsula, to the west of Mutsu and Ôhata in the Shimokita Peninsula. In Russia, the species is recorded only from the southern part of Sakhalin. Seidlia schmidti (Zabusov, 1916) is a stenothermal species found in cold-water biotops. It occurs in the North and East of Hokkaidô including the Shiretoko Peninsula and Rishiri Island. In Russia, the species is recorded from the southern part of Sakhalin, Primorskiy, Habarovsk including the base of the Chukotskiy Peninsula, and the Kamchatka Peninsula (and Bering Island).     

小兴安岭通河林区原麝夏季对生境的选择

2004年8 ～ 9月,在通河县龙口林场采用样线样方法对原麝夏季生境的选择进行了研究。共设235个样方,其中原麝利用样方55 个,采用卡方（Chi-square） 统计进行显著性检验,结果表明原麝偏好利用针阔混交林,避免杂木林;倾向于选择离水源近、远离人为干扰的上坡位;一般喜欢有石砬子的山坡;对坡向的利用无选择性。对原麝利用样方和非利用样方进行比较,发现原麝生境具有海拔高、郁闭度小、食物丰富和坡度陡等特征。对各种生境因子的主成分分析表明,前6个特征值的累积贡献率达到73.30%,可以较好地反映原麝生境特征,根据载荷系数绝对值大小将原麝夏季生境选择影响因子分别命名为食物丰富度因子、植被因子、干扰因子、隐蔽度因子、地理因子和倒木因子。     

Ecological correlates of Himalayan musk deer Moschus leucogaster

Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster; hereafter musk deer) are endangered as a result of poaching and habitat loss. The species is nocturnal, crepuscular, and elusive, making direct observation of habitat use and behavior difficult. However, musk deer establish and repeatedly use the same latrines for defecation. To quantify musk deer habitat correlates, we used observational spatial data based on presence–absence of musk deer latrines, as well as a range of fine spatial‐scale ecological covariates. To determine presence–absence of musk deer, we exhaustively searched randomly selected forest trails using a 20‐m belt transect in different study sites within the Neshyang Valley in the Annapurna Conservation Area. In a subsequent way, study sites were classified as habitat or nonhabitat for musk deer. A total of 252 plots, 20 × 20 m, were systematically established every 100 m along 51 transects (each ~0.5 km long) laid out at different elevations to record a range of ecological habitat variables. We used mixed‐effect models and principal component analysis to characterize relationships between deer presence–absence data and habitat variables. We confirmed musk deer use latrines in forests located at higher elevations (3,200–4,200 m) throughout multiple seasons and years. Himalayan birch (Betula utilis) dominated forest, mixed Himalayan fir (Abies spectabilis), and birch forest were preferred over pure Himalayan fir and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana) forest. Greater crown cover and shrub diversity were associated with the presence of musk deer whereas tree height, diameter, and diversity were weakly correlated. Topographical attributes including aspect, elevation, distance to water source, and slope were also discriminated by musk deer. Over‐ and understory forest management can be used to protect forests likely to have musk deer as predicted by the models to ensure long‐term conservation of this rare deer.