Russian Journal of Biological Invasions

2016, issue № 3

CONTENTS

Individual of flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) belonging to the far Eastern philogenetic lineage was found in the suburbs of Moscow - Babenko V.G., Meschersky I.G. - Northern and eastern territories of Moscow oblast are known as a southern border of the native modern range of flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). However, near Zvenigorod (the western part of Moscow oblast) the population is known which is formed by animals brought to Zvenigorod Biological Station of Moscow State University from other territories including the Far Eastern part of the species range. Since 2010 flying squirrels are registered in Troitsk district, to the west-south of urban territory of the city of Moscow. Genetic analysis of dead animal found there showed the high similarity of mtDNA fragment sequence to variants known for the Russian Far East but not for European part of the species range. It is suggested that descendants of the Far Eastern flying squirrels unintentionally introduced near Zvenigorod expand their range actively throughout the Moscow oblast.

Distribution and ways of dispersion of american rotifer Kellicottia bostoniensis (Rousselet, 1908) (Rotifera: Brachionidae) in waterbodies of European Russia - Zhdanova  S.M., Lazareva  V.I., Bayanov  N.G., Lobunicheva  E.V., Rodionova  N.V., Shurganova  G.V., Kulakov  D.V., Il'in  M.Yu. - In the first decade of the 21th century, the findings of a new invader – American rotifer, Kellicottia bostoniensis (Rousselet, 1908), has become more frequent in Russia. By 2013 K. bostoniensis was detected in more than 40 different waterbodies and watercourses of European part of Russia. American rotifer is widely spread and is a common species in forest lakes and rivers of the Baltic Sea basin, Volga-Baltic watershed; in the Volga River basin it has spread southward to 55° N (lakes of the Oka and Pra rivers) and eastward to 45° E (the Kerzhenets River, Cheboksary Reservoir basin). The rotifers inhabit small (<3 km2) and large (>200 km2), shallow (<1 m) and deep (>20 m) waterbodies with a trophy range from oligo- to eutrophy. In Russia K. bostoniensis occurs in a wide range of color of water (30–680 degrees Pt-Co-scale) compared to waterbodies of Western Europe. The rotifer is tolerant to temperature regime and oxygen concentrations in water. In the hypolimnion of stratified lakes, K. bostoniensis reaches high abundance (>100 000 ind./m3) at a very low concentration of dissolved oxygen (2.5 mg/L or about 20% of saturation) and water temperature of 5–12  С. The invader and aboriginal species K. longispina coexisted in deep lakes and deep parts of reservoirs (the depth more than 5 m); in shallow lakes only K. bostoniensis was found. On the contrary, in most parts of large reservoirs of the Upper Volga K. longispina was recorded exclusively. The possibility and the direction of transfer of the rotifer by swimming birds are discussed.

First record of the sea star Porania pulvillus (O.F. Muller, 1776) in Russian part of the Arctic - Zakharov  D.V., Anisimova  N.A., Stepanenko A.M. - The paper contains information about the first find of sea star Porania pulvillus (Poraniidae family) in the Barents Sea. Information on the place of the find, depth, date, a picture and a brief description of the sea star are given. Possible causes of the appearance of this species in the Barents Sea have been analyzed.

Modern composition and distribution of alien fish species in the water bodies of Krasnoyarsk territory - Zuev I.V., Vyshegorodtsev A.A., Chuprov  S.M., Zlotnik D.V. - Information about the story of appearance, modern composition and distribution of fish species introduced by man or settled independently in the water bodies of Krasnoyarsk Territory from the beginning of the XXth century is given. It was shown that the completion of fish fauna composition occurred generally in the upper and middle reaches of the Yenisei River and also in the Chulym River – the right tributary of the Ob' River. The fish fauna of Pyasinna and Khatanga rivers, located beyond the Polar circle, remained unchanged. Eleven species and 2 subspecies of fish are new for the region, among which the common bream and sunbleak expanded their ranges in the basins of the Yenisei and Chulym significantly; perch, Chinese sleeper and bleak - only in the Chulym basin. The distribution of other species is limited by areas of their artificial stocking. Peled, which is common in the northern districts of the region, is resettled into the Krasnoyarsk reservoir; the status of a Prussian carp introduced from the Amur River and the degree of its assimilation with the local populations of this species are not clear.

Results of introduction of new fish species into lake Munozero (southern Karelia) - Ilmast  N.V., Sterligova  O.P. - Fish culture works on introduction of valuable fish species into Munozero Lake (Southern Karelia) are analyzed. It is shown that as a result of introduction, two species, bream and char, formed self-reproducing populations in the lake. Whitefish has not naturalized in the lake because of the lack of places and conditions for reproduction, high predation rate by pike, burbot and perch, and large catches during the spawning season. The biological indices of the aboriginal and introduced species are presented.

Alien species of fish in freshwater ichthyofauna of the Crimea - Karpova  E.P. - Overview of changes that occurred in the inland waters of the Crimea is shown and associated with this process introduction and naturalization of alien fish species is studied. About 55 new fish species were registered in the latest 70 years in rivers, reservoirs, canals and ponds of the peninsula. They can be attributed to four groups according to their abundance: 1) their findings are single; 2) lived in the waters during several decades and disappeared over a given period; 3) their presence and number depends on aquaculture activities; 4) created sustainable self-reproducing populations. Currently, at least 27 species of fish can be considered as naturalized. The distribution and quantitative characteristics of alien species in the rivers and reservoirs of the North Crimean channel and their relationship with biotopical and hydrological characteristics of the habitats are analyzed.

From the Black sea to the White sea: the first record of the invasive mollusc Physella acuta in the extreme north of Europe - Nekhaev  I.O., Palatov  D.M. -Freshwater mollusk Physella (Costatella) acuta (Draparnaud, 1805) was previously known in Eastern Europe from the coast of the Black Sea to the southern part of the Baltic Sea basin. In 2015 population of Physella acuta was discovered in Imandra Lake (Kola Peninsula, 67°28?N, 32°26?E) in the spillway channel of the Kola Nuclear Power Station, which underwent a strong thermal influence. The finding of Physella acuta in the White Sea basin is the northernmost record of the species in Eurasia and the first finding of warm-water snail in the inland waters of Fennoscandia.

Patterns of population dynamics of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) after reintroduction into nature reserves of European part of Russia - Petrosyan  V.G., Golubkov  V.V., Zavyalov  N.A., Goryainova  Z.I., Dergunova  N.N., Omelchenkо  A.V., Bessonоv  S.A., Albov  S.A., Marchenko  N.F., Khlyap  L.A. -The results of the analysis of Eurasian beaver population dynamics after their reintroduction into the Laplandskiy, Darvinskiy, Central-Forest, Prioksko-Terrasnyi, Okskiy and Khoperskiy reserves, located in the European part of Russia in the northern, southern and central parts of the beaver range, are given. The analysis of the effectiveness of a discrete time model, which takes into account a feedback from the animal feed resource for the quantitative description of the population dynamics in the optimal, suboptimal and pessimal habitats, is demonstrated. It is shown that the patterns of beaver population dynamics can be described by using 4 types of models: irruptive (Laplandskiy Reserve); single-stage with a quasi-periodic oscillation (Prioksko-Terrasnyi Reserve), multiple-stage with quasi-periodic oscillations (Darvinskiy, Central-Forest and Khoperskiy reserves) and by logistic trend of population number change with periodic oscillations around it (Okskiy Reserve). We discuss various biotic and abiotic factors that determine these types of animal population dynamics in the reserves.

Long-term dynamics of abundance of the copepod-invader, Oithona davisae, in the coastal waters of the Black sea - Seregin S.A., Popova  E.V. - The 6-year monitoring results on the abundance of the recent invasive copepods, Oithona davisae, in the nearest coastal waters of Sevastopol is presented. It is shown that the seasonal cycle of O. davisae begins in late May - early June. Abundance reaches maximum values in August – September, and then falls continuously until the almost complete disappearance from the plankton. The variability from year to year of the peaks of abundance had sinusoidal character with a 2-year period and was related to the temperature conditions of the warm period of the year. The long-term trend of the invader is characterized by a general increasing of its number. a record abundance of the O. davisae for the whole observation period was registered in 2014: up to 388 thousand ind. per m3 in the open coastal waters, and up to 1.25 million ind. per m3 at the mouth of the bay.

Changes in the structure of broad-leaved forest ant assemblages due to domination of Impatiens parviflora dc. (Balsaminaceae) in herbaceous layer - Stukalyuk  S.V. - In June – August of 2012–2013, the studies of the changes in the structure of multi-species ant assemblages caused by invasive plant species Impatiens parviflora in the areas of deciduous forests of the green zone of Kiev (Ukraine) were carried out. This species is able to penetrate into ecosystems and change their appearance by forming single-species thickets. The data on ant's attendance of each of the 7 species of herbaceous forest plants were compared. The comparison showed that I. parviflora was the mostly visited by ants herbaceous forest plant. Fourteen ant species were found in the areas where I. parviflora dominated in the grass layer. In these areas, there were three species of dominant ants (Formica rufa, Lasius fuliginosus, and L. emarginatus). Becoming a dominant species in the grass layer of forests, I. parviflora creates a separate monolithic layer visited mainly by influent ant species. The main resources provided by I. parviflora to ants are the sugary excretions of aphids Impatientinum asiaticum colonies, as well as herbivorous insects. Dominant ant species, except L. emarginatus, do not attend I. parviflora plants, which gives the ability to influent species to create a high dynamic density in the grass layer. Influents prefer to visit the herbaceous layer, whereas dominants prefer the ground layer. Influence of I. parviflora on quantitative parameters in multispecies ant assemblages is generally perceived as a positive one. In plant communities where I. parviflora dominates in the grass layer the associations of ants are characterized by maximum values (ant species number, medium quantity of ants on sampling) compared to other communities formed by native herbaceous plants.

Isolated populations of Eurytemora americana williams (Crustacea, Copepoda) in the White sea rock pools – postglacial relicts or anthropogenic invasion? - Sukhikh  N.M., Castric  V., Polyakova N.V., Souissi  S., Alekseev V.P. -Molecular-genetic study of isolated populations of Eurytemora in the White Sea showed its undoubted proximity to the native North American populations of Eurytemora americana, Williams 1906. Genetic tests show the recent colonization of the White Sea rock pools by initially small amount of individuals of E. americana. Existing published data on the presence of isolated Atlantic and Pacific species in the Arctic region are mostly explained by historical reasons: preservation of relict populations formerly inhabited the Holarctic and separated by processes of formation and melting of glaciers. Finding of E. americana in the White Sea allowed us to suppose a possible reason of formation of these isolates: transportation with ship ballast waters during the period of intensive cargo in the Second World War along the edge of the Arctic seas.