Russian Journal of Biological Invasions

2017, issue № 2

CONTENTS

Clonal dispersal and regenerative activity of Veronica filiformis J. E. Smith - Vinogradova  Yu. K.,  Kuklina  A. G.,  Galkina  M. A. -The absence of sexual reproduction does not hinder the rapid expansion of Veronica filiformis J.E. Smith (Plantaginaceae). Both mowing and raking of lawns cause fragmentation of shoots of V. filiformis and increase the rate of its clonal dispersal. During the vegetation season, the diameter of a clone of this species can increase 25-fold, and the number of internodes can become 1–2 thousand times greater. From the point of its initial introduction (Moscow) V. filiformis settles at the rate of 4 km/year to the northern direction, and at the rate of 10 km/year to the southern. The ability of the species to regenerate is influenced more by the lighting intensity than the age of the rooting shoots. In the latest decade this species invaded the natural communities of meadows and forest edges. The high rate of expansion of the secondary distribution range, reduction of natural diversity of regions, as well as direct damage caused by this species when laying lawns, allow us to include V. filiformis in the list of potentially invasive alien species and to carry out control measures for its dispersal.

East chestnut gall wasps Dryocosmus kuriphilus yasumatsu, 1951 (hymenoptera, cynipidae) – new invader in the forests of the north caucasus - Gninenko  Yu.I.,  Lyanguzov  M. E. - The results of the first studies of a new invasive pest sweet chestnut, eastern chestnut gall wasps Dryocosmus kuriphilus, are presented. For the first time this invader was discovered in the territory of Russia in 2016. The data on its distribution and some characteristics of the damage that chestnut gall wasp causes are given. Several types of galls formed as a result of the larvae feeding are revealed, and the level of settling of chestnut by the pest is shown.

Expansion of the ranges of land molluscs of the genus Xeropicta (gastropoda, hygromiidae) in the territory of Ukraine- Gural-Sverlova  N. V.,  Gural  R. I. - The findings of land molluscs of the genus Xeropicta from the territory of the Northern Black Sea Coast and others regions of Ukraine, made between 1990 and 2015, have been analysed. They evidence the range expansion for X. derbentina and X. krynickii, as a result of human activities. At present the spreading of X. krynickii in the Northern Black Sea Coast is limited mainly by coastal territories. X. derbentina spreads much deeper into the mainland. Few colonies of this species were recorded even in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine and in Transcarpatian Region.

New record of the ponto-caspian gammarid Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) in the south-eastern part of the baltic sea (Kaliningrad region, Russia) - Gusev  A. A.,  Guseva  D. O.,  Sudnik  S. A. - Two individuals of the Ponto-Caspian gammarid Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) were found in hand net samples in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea near the Baltiysk harbor in June 2015 for the first time. Until now D. villosus has not been observed in the Kaliningrad region. The possible pathways and factors that contribute the process of Ponto-Caspian amphipods spread in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea are discussed.

New species of the gastropods in the Barents sea and adjacent waters - Zakharov  D.V.  Jorgensen  L.L. -The paper contains information about new species of the gastropods in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters. Information on the place of the find, depth, date, pictures and a brief description of the gastropods are given. Possible causes of the appearance of this species in the Barents Sea have been analyzed.

Invasion of the muskrat in the Omsk region -Kassal  B.Yu. - The formation of the muskrat population in the Omsk Region occurred in four stages. It began in 1936 and lasted for 15 years, being interrupted by an epizootic of tularemia. Restoration of the number occurred during the next 20 years, and was again interrupted by another epizootic of tularemia. Since 1971, the restoration of the number and settlement of the muskrat had begun throughout the Omsk Region. Since 1996, the territory has been fully populated and the changes in the number of the species have assumed the nature of fluctuations with a periodicity of 5–6 years. In the conditions of changing moisture content in 1936–2015, the change in the muskrat population was in a direct weak connection with the phases of the Bruckner cycle and the water level in the reservoirs and in the inverse very weak connection with the solar activity indices (W, Wolf numbers). At the current stage of the formation of the population of muskrats on the territory of the Omsk Region, the distribution of the indices of its average annual abundance and the average annual density of the population are in direct medium connection with the area of water bodies available on the territory.

Mesochra rostrata gurney, 1927 (copepoda, harpacticoida) in sivash bay (the sea of azov): is it a new alien species or relic of tethys? - Kolesnikova  E.A.,  Anufriieva  E.V.,  Latushkin  A.A.,  Shadrin  N.V. -Mesochra rostrata Gurney, 1927 was first noted in the Sivash bay (the Sea of Azov) in 2013, and in 2015, it has become the most common and abundant Harpacticoida species in the bay. The morphological characteristics of males and females of M. rostrata, found in the Sivash, conform to the descriptions in the literature. In the bay population, there were adult males and females, nauplius and copepodid stages. Adult male size varied from 0.30 to 0.40 mm, that of female – from 0.38 to 0.45 mm. Since 2014, a substantial increase of salinity has been observing in Sivash. In August 2015, 7 species of Harpacticoida were registered in the bay; M. rostrata dominated and was abundant on bottom sediments (up to 56000 ind./m2), in the floating mats of filamentous green algae (up to 336,400 ind./m2) and in plankton (up to 580 ind./m3) at salinity of 60–75 g/l. Earlier the species was found on the Sinai Peninsula at the salinity of not higher than 45 g/l. Mesochra rostrata can be considered a new invader in the Azov-Black Sea region, the resting stage of which were brought by wind or birds. However, it can be assumed that the species has been an aboriginal one for Azov-Black Sea region since the time of the existence of the Tethys Ocean. In the Black and Mediterranean seas, there are some preserved relicts of Tethys. In normal conditions this species is rare and, possibly, can succeed only in destabilized biotope, which kind is now Sivash in its period of sharp salinity increase.

Alien species of amphipods (Amphipoda, Gammaridea) in the bottom communities of Kuibyshev and Saratov reservoirs: features of distribution and lifecycles strategies - Kurina  E.M. -Analysis of the composition, distribution of alien species of amphipods, quantitative evaluation of macrozoobenthos communities based on the results of studies of 2009–2012 in the Saratov and Kuibyshev reservoirs is given. It is shown that amphopods Pontogammarus robustoides and Dikerogammarus haemobaphes have the highest invasiveness in comparison with other species in the reservoirs as well as in its tributaries. The features of the life cycle of common amphipod species that contribute to their distribution in the reservoirs of the Middle and Lower Volga are revealed.

The role of invasive species Gmelinoides fasciatus (Stebbing) in European perch Perca fluviatilis L. feeding in littoral zone of Lake Onego - Lobanova  A.S.,  Sidorova  A.I.,  Georgiev  A.P., Shustov Yu.A.,  Alaytsev  D.P. -The successful invasion of amphipods Gmelinoides fasciatus in the littoral zone of Lake Onego changed significantly the structure of the food base of fish. The high abundance and biomass of Baikalian amphipods in makrozoobenthos contribute to active consumption of crustaceans by European perch Perca fluviatilis – the most numerous species in littoral fish. Proportion by weight of the food items and the frequency of occurrence has become at least 50% in some shallow areas of the lake. Taking into account the amphipod active dispersal and the dynamics of the invasive species population indices during the season in Lake Onego, it is necessary to conduct further studies in order to specify the role of G. fasciatus in the diet of littoral fish species in the seasonal aspect.

The first finding of East European vole (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis) in Buryatia - Moroldoev I.V. Sheremetyeva I.N. Kartavtseva I.V. -The first data about finding of sibling vole, Microtus rossiaemeridionalis in Transbaikalia are given.

Some issues in biology and ecology of Heracleum sosnowskyi manden - Panasenko  N.N. -The article presents an evaluation of the Heracleum sosnowskyi distribution in the Bryansk oblast. The features of flowering and seed breeding are considered, the list of the insects collected on inflorescences is given. The mechanism of invasion of Heracleum sosnowskyi in natural communities is described. Invasion into natural communities is connected with the anthropochory and disturbance of vegetation cover. High seed production, formation of a large seed bank, existence of dormant plants, and rapid development in the spring determine the fastest rates of Heracleum sosnowskyi secondary range expansion. The communities of association Urtico dioicae–Heracleum sosnowskyi Panasenko et al. 2014 are widely distributed in the region. Wood communities with participation of Heracleum sosnowskyi (com. Heracleum sosnowskyi–Salix fragilis, com. Heracleum sosnowskyi–Betula pendula) occur on the territory of the Bryansk oblast sporadically.

Distribution of invasive species Swida alba (l.) Opiz (cornaceae) and communities with its participation in the Bryansk oblast - Semenishchenkov  Yu.A. -The paper shows the distribution of the invasive shrub Swida alba (L.) Opiz (Cornaceae) and characterizes the ecological features of shrub habitats and communities with its participation. The communities of hygrophyte floodplain tree and shrub vegetation with the high phytocenotic role of S. alba are revealed. The assumption of a negative effect of S. alba invasion on communities is made, which is expressed in decrease in specific richness of grassy plants under a forest canopy in the communities under study.