Èkologiâ
The journal publishes reviews and original articles on the completed materials of fundamental research in all areas of theoretical and experimental ecology in the classical sense of the term, i.e. the science of the relationship of living organisms and their communities with the environment.
The journal was founded in 1970.
Media registration certificate: No. 0110271 dated 09.02.1993
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No 2 (2025)
Articles
Variability of aggregated transfer factors of 90Sr in herbaceous plants of different taxonomic groups in the zone of influence of a nuclear enterprise
Abstract
The variability of the 90Sr aggregated transfer factors (Tag) in herbaceous plants of different taxonomic affiliation, the populations of which have been represented in the zone of influence of a large nuclear plant in the Urals for more than 65 years was studied. The main contamination of the territory occurred during the first period of the plant’s operation (1949−1957) due to imperfect methods of handling radioactive waste: 1) numerous discharges into the Techa River; 2) explosion of a container with radioactive waste (Kyshtym accident). At present, the range of Tag values of 90Sr in 54 grass species belonging to 20 families and 2 classes is (0.8−140.0) × 10–3 m2/kg. The accumulation of 90Sr by plants is primarily determined by their species characteristics and to a lesser extent depends on the affiliation of species to large taxa. In addition, the variability of the 90Sr Tag in individual plant species was influenced by a complex of physicochemical soil properties, heterogeneity of radioactive contamination, and weather and climate factors specific to different vegetation seasons. It was found that the relationship between the 90Sr Tag in herbaceous plants and the density of soil contamination is described by a power function under the condition of homogeneity of landscape elements and similarity of soil types.
91-104
Isotope specificity of Gentianaceae species in Holarctic high mountains
Abstract
Partial mycoheterotrophy (mixotrophy, supply of organic substances through mycorrhizal fungi) is widely spread in mycorrhizal angiosperms. We suggested that alpine species of Gentianaceae, which includes fully mycoheterotrophic species with arbuscular mycorrhiza, can be mixotrophic to a large extent. We studied isotopic (δ13С, δ15N, δ2H, and δ18O) and elemental (С and N) composition of leaves and roots for 13 pairs of alpine species (species of Gentianaceae and neighboring reference species – dycots with arbuscular mycorrhizas) in the three Holarctic mountain systems (the Alps, the Caucasus and Tibet). In contrary to our hypothesis, the organic matter of Gentianaceae leaves and roots was not enriched in 2H comparing with reference plants, which indicates the lack or low significance of mycoheterotrophy in the studies species. Leaves and roots of Gentianaceae had higher values of δ15N and δ18O, but lower values of δ13С and δ2H comparing with leaves and roots of reference plants. Leaves and roots of Gentianaceae contained more С, but N content in the leaves of Gentianaceae was higher and in the roots lower, than in the corresponding organs of reference plants. We suggested, that such the results may be explained by more intensive nitrogen fixation of procariots in the leaf microbioms, which supply better leaf nitrogen nutrition and their more intensive photosynthesis and transpiration.
105-114
Radial growth response of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) to a gradient of radioactive contamination
Abstract
The annual rings of pine trees show a notable response to high doses of ionizing radiation, making the development of “dose-response models of radial growth” a compelling area of study. This research analyzed the radial growth of 50 common pine trees in the East-Ural Radioactive Trace (EURS), an area contaminated by the 1957 Kyshtym accident. Cores from 34 trees growing in two sites with minimal radioactive contamination served as a control group. A decline in the radial growth index of pines within the EURS zone was observed from 1959 to 1962, corresponding to 2–5 years after the accident. The severity of this decrease was directly proportional to soil contamination density with 90Sr at the trees’ location. The zone where the radial growth response was detected was narrow, approximately 300 m wide. The range of initial dose rates to pine meristems that elicited a response varied from 0.62 to 4.23 Gy per day—a range of less than one order of magnitude. Trees exposed to higher doses perished, while those exposed to lower doses exhibited radial growth comparable to that of control plots. The strongest model linking pine radial growth index to radioactive contamination density at the tree trunk used the average growth index for 1959—1960, with a linear regression model achieving a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.69.
115-126
Essence of oil pollution of the Caspian seal (Pusa caspica)
Abstract
Petroleum products in blubber of a dead Caspian seal washed ashore were studied. It has been shown that the content of petroleum products in the adipose tissue of the Caspian seal (Pusa (Phoca) caspica) is relatively high, but less than the maximum values found previously. Petroleum products in seal blubber include n- and iso-alkanes, alkyl-substituted mono-, bi- and tricycloalkanes, alkylbenzenes, naphthene- and dinaphthenebenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, and small quantities of acenaphthenes, fluorenes, phenanthrenes, naphthenophenanthrenes, fluoranthenes/pyrenes, and benzothiophenes. Aromatic compounds amount to 50% of all petroleum products, PAHs (including naphthalenes) – to 10%. The majority of aromatic compounds are represented by molecules with 3–12 C atoms in alkyl substituents, while the content of unsubstituted compounds (with the exception of phenanthrene) is relatively small. The distribution of n-alkanes with a high contribution of C17, as well as the prevalence of even n-alkanes C16–C18 and C22–C24, indicates their origin from various biogenic sources. An estimate of the total content of petroleum products in Caspian seal blubber gives about 40% of all extracted compounds.
127-133
Long-term dynamics of trace elements concentrations in the food and live of herb field mouse (Sylvaemus uralensis) during high and reduced emissions periods from the сopper smelter
Abstract
The long-term (1990–2023) dynamics of accumulation of essential (Cu, Zn) and toxic (Cd, Pb) trace elements (TEs) was analyzed in the stomach’ contents (n = 428) and liver (n = 561) of the herb field mouse (Sylvaemus uralensis) in the vicinity of the Middle Ural Copper Smelter (Russia, Revda) during periods of its high, reduced, and almost ceased emissions. The tested hypotheses about the directed spatiotemporal changes in the concentrations of TEs in the diet and body of S. uralensis were partially confirmed. The minimum concentrations of all studied elements in the diet, as well as toxic ones (Cd, Pb) in the liver, were noted in unpolluted areas (background zone), the maximum – in the immediate vicinity of the plant (impact zone). The content of essential elements (Cu, Zn) in the liver did not depend on the level of contamination of the areas. Multiple (50-fold) reductions of plant emissions during the observation period did not lead to an equivalent decrease in element concentrations either in the feed or in the body of S. uralensis. Over 34 years in the vicinity of the plant, the content of Cu and Cd in the diet and liver did not change, Pb decreased by 2–3 times; in the background areas, a clear time trend was observed only for Cd in the liver, the concentration of which decreased by half.
134-152
Variability of hematological parameters in murid rodents of different ecological specialization
Abstract
The variability of adaptations to inhabit hypoxia conditions is determined both by its duration and by the presence or absence of concomitant hypercapnia. One of the key parameters shaping these adaptations is the blood oxygen capacity, which, in addition to the affinity of hemoglobin to oxygen, is determined by the number and size of red blood cells, their hemoglobin content and other related characteristics. However, the evolutionary patterns of hematological variability are still unclear. A multidimensional analysis of hemograms in 12 species of murid rodents of various ecological specialization showed the presence of three main factors determining its variability. The first factor is determined by the number of red blood cells, the amount of hemoglobin and hematocrit, the second by the volume of red blood cells and the content of hemoglobin in them, and the third by the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. The red blood cell volume and hemoglobin content in the northern and zaisan mole voles, specialized for underground life, and the burrowing Dzungarian hamster were significantly higher than in rock voles, capable of living at high altitudes. It can be assumed that the formation of structural adaptations to hypoxia depends on whether it is accompanied by hypercapnia, as in fossorial and subterranean species, or not – as in species living in mountains. At the same time, a significant range of variability of the considered indexes in ecologically and taxonomically related species does not allow us to draw common microevolutionary regularities basing on the available material.
153-163
Functioning of zoobenthos communities in the eastern Gulf of Finland under conditions of the rise and decline of alien Marenzelleria spp. (Annelida: Spionidae) populations
Abstract
The results of a 10-year study of zoobenthos in the eastern Gulf of Finland are presented. During this period, a gradual decrease in the biomass of alien polychaete species Marenzelleria spp. was observed. An assessment of the energy flow through zoobenthos communities and the efficiency of their use of primary plankton production showed that at the beginning of the period, with high biomasses of polychaetes, these indicators were many times higher than with the subsequent decline in their populations. This allows us to consider the impact of alien polychaetes on the bottom communities of the bay as neutrally complementary.
164-170