The spread and mass reproduction of phytophagous pests are often associated with global warming. In addition to economic interest, these species may be of interest in terms of biological indication of changes in climatic conditions. In this context, we considered the locust digitate leafminer Parectopa robiniella Clemens, 1863 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) as a model species. This new for Europe phytophage was first discovered in 1970 near Milan in Italy. Since then, it began to spread across the continent. For the first time in 2003 the presence of this pest was recorded in Ukraine. In 2020-21 we found areas of massive leaf damage of the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) caused by the pest on Trukhanov island in Kyiv and some places in the Kyiv adminstrative region. Using 592 georeferenced records of P. robiniella across Europe, we modeled the distribution of the species under current climate (WorldClim) by employing a Bayesian additive regression trees algorithm (BART). The result shows that in the near future the pest can spread almost over the entire of Ukraine, although the best conditions (obviously, in terms of the bioclimate) are most likely located in the west and south of the country, and in Transcarpathia. Amongst the bioclimatic factors that determine the niche of the locust digitate leafminer, the most important are temperature factors, in particular the average annual temperature. The response curve for this factor generated by the BART algorithm shows that environmental suitability for the insect increases sharply in the range from 5 to 10 ^oC.

Fauna associated with coral reefs is mainly comprised of macroinvertebrates, yet community structure of these organisms remains largely unknown. During this research three attributes of the macrofauna community associated with coral formations of La Azufrada reef (Gorgona Island, Colombian Pacific), were assessed: biomass (wet weight), density, and taxonomic composition (high taxonomic levels). Samples were taken from two substrates, live colonies of Pocillopora spp., and inert coralline substrate, and macrofauna were sorted into five size groups: 0.5-1mm, 1-2mm, 2-4mm, 4-8mm, >8mm. Macrofauna biomass in live colonies were almost 14 orders of magnitude greater than in inert substrates. These differences were much less noticeable when densities were compared, being higher in inert substrates. Biomass and density also behaved differently when size groups within the same substrate type were compared. In both substrates, >8mm groups were largely responsible for total biomass. This dominance pattern was also observed for density in inert substrates, where the smallest group (0.5-1mm) accounted for total values. In live colonies, however, contributions to total density were more balanced within groups. Taxa richness was higher in inert than in live colonies (n=25 vs. n=19, respectively). Nevertheless, both macrofauna communities were dominated by two crustacean groups, Tanaidacea (inert substrates) and Caridea (live colonies). This single taxa dominance pattern was also followed within size groups, being particularly outstanding in 4-8mm/>8mm inert substrate groups and in 1-2mm/2-4mm live substrate groups. Transitions from live to inert coralline substrates lead to macrofaunal assemblages with lower organic matter contributions, and higher proportions of smaller macroinvertebrates (<1mm).

Uttarakhand is predominantly the mountainous state of India situated on the southern slope of the world's youngest (geo-dynamically sensitive) mountain system “the Himalayas”. Due to rapid deforestation in the planar districts because of the increase in infrastructural growth, and other commercial activities, the wildlife–livestock–human interfaces has blurred. This has increase the chances of contact exposure of wild boars to humans and domestic animals. The study firstly identify the location of pig rearers and their pig rearing practices with its ecological effects and secondly study the mtDNA diversity among the domestic pig. 28 households were interviewed and samples from 68 unrelatable pigs were taken for mtDNA studies. Analysis showed that 60.7%, 10.7% and 21.4% of the household raised pig near seasonal streams (slum settlements), the residential areas and near the forest, respectively. 28.6% maintained breeding boar of feral origin and 96.94% followed semi-intensive pig rearing practise; hence human settlement is staying near pigs (domestic and wild) and other domestic animals. The possibility of the emergence of zoonotic and non-zoonotic disease and its easy transmission to humans become more prominent in the urban setting. We observed 21 mtDNA haplotypes with 38 segregating sites in 68 analysed sequence. The haplotype (gene) diversity for the analysed sequence were hd=0.766+/- 0.0023 and nucleotide diversity was Pi=0.0135+/-0.001. The high level of both could be attributed to high level of crossbreeding among the species. Before planning for a holistic piggery development program in Uttarakhand, these findings should be considered by the government.

With anthropogenically-driven pressures drastically changing marine coastal ecosystems much international efforts have been focused on its protection. For that reason, Mediterranean states have accepted numerous regional and international contracts, including Water (WFD) and Marine Strategy Framework (MSFD) Directives, to protect and preserve its rich and unique natural heritage. Following guidelines defined in these directives impact of human activities on the ecological status of marine ecosystems is defined through measurement of an array of different parameters, however, these tools are still facing many challenges. Within the frame of the MicroLink project, funded by the Croatian Science Fundation, we will focus on the effect of anthropogenic pressures onto benthic microbial assemblages, including ecological network of bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. We believed that microbial assemblages could offer potential answer to some of the challenges facing marine protection programmes: (i) challenge of determining effects of multiple pollution pressures on the integrity of the coastal marine ecosystem, (ii) possible improvement of the existing biological indicators pool (iii) potential of applying fast and reliable state-of-the-art approaches to determine structural and functional integrity of marine ecosystems; and (iv) problems associated with assessment of the ecological status of marine sediments. Even though microbes dominate marine ecosystems and have pivotal role in biogeochemical cycling and pollutant elimination they are neglected in the EU quality legislation protocols. Changes exerted on the level of microbial communities could alter the trophic structure of the whole food web, eventually impairing marine ecosystem services. We will tackle this issues by combining a multi-trophic/ multilayer approach and study study microbial communities (in anthropogenically-impacted vs reference environments) by using 4 different state-of-the-art methodologies (next generation sequencing, real-time PCR, multi-trophic network analysis, shotgun metagenomics) and on 4 different trophic levels (bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses). Finally, there is an urgent need to define possible contribution and importance of monitoring microbial assemblages in achieving of Good Environmental Status which could offer us first step toward potential integration of microbial assemblages as indicators of marine environment quality.

Diversity of small mammal communities (SMC) show sustainability of habitats, especially agricultural ones. Gathered over three years, data from 18 sites in Lithuania were used to analyse factors related to several dependent parameters, namely diversity (Shannon ’s H, dominance index and number of species trapped), the relative abundance of species in SMC and the abundances and proportions of the four most numerous species, specifically common vole, striped field mouse, yellow-necked mouse and bank vole. Using the General Linear Model, we assessed the influence of habitat type (commercial orchards, berry plantations, control meadows and control forests with at least two of these present at every investigation site), age of the orchard or plantation, intensity of agriculture, season and location (central, northern, eastern, southern and western parts of the country). To control temporal data variability, year was used as a continuous predictor. The model was valid and explained 14–31% of the listed parameters with p < 0.005 or higher, with the exception of the dominance index and the proportion of the common vole. Time factor (year and season, p < 0.001), intensity of agriculture and site location (p < 0.05) had the highest influences on the model, while that of habitat type and its age were not significant. Univariate results suggest that old commercial orchards with low intensities of agricultural practice play a role in maintaining diversity and abundance of SMC.

This study aimed to determine the impact of invasive Rosa rugosa Thunb. on the plant communities of Baltic coastal dunes. The study was carried out in 22 sites scattered along the Hel Peninsula (Poland). Each site consisted of a pair of plots: a plot with the invader and an adjacent plot with resident vegetation (control plot). For each plot, botanical data (abundance of individual species, total species richness and richness of species belonging to different functional groups) were collected and basic soil parameters were measured. According to the analysis of the control plot species composition, the study sites can be divided into two groups, with plant communities characteristic of yellow dunes (Elymo-Ammophiletum arenariae association, EA; N=11 sites) and those characteristic of grey dunes (Helichryso-Jasionetum litoralis association, HJ; N=11 sites). R. rugosa influenced these two communities differently. In the EA sites, it displaced many species leading to a significant decrease in species richness. In the HJ sites, it caused a shift in species composition; although it outcompeted some species (e.g., zoochores), it also created conditions for the existence of others (e.g., graminoids; interestingly, this plant group was negatively affected by the invader in the EA sites). Changes in plant communities probably resulted not only from the direct impact of R. rugosa on plants (shading, occupying space) but also from invader-induced soil alternations (increase in the organic layer thickness, increase in pH and the content of some nutrients).

Cattle breeds used in industrial production tend to have larger size compared to the local cattle, as the increased dairy and beef productivity is closely related to the stature. The aim of our work was to identify SNPs, which are significantly associated with stature in diverse cattle breeds. Thirteen local and transboundary cattle breeds (n = 670) subjected to our study were divided in two groups according to the stature. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) [http://www.fao.org/dad-is/en] maintained and developed by FAO was used to obtain the mean values for height at withers for studied breeds. The high-stature group included Angus, Ayrshire, Black-and-White, Holstein, Kholmogor, Yaroslavl, Tagil and Istoben breeds. The low-stature group comprised of Jersey, Kalmyk, Kyrgyz, Mongolian and Yakut cattle. The average height at withers was 136.3±1.6 and 121.6±2.8 cm in the high- and low-stature groups, respectively. The samples of 11 breeds were genotyped using high-density DNA arrays (Illumina Inc., USA). The genotypes of two remaining breeds were downloaded from the publicly available WIDDE database [http://widde.toulouse.inra.fr/wide]. Genome-wide association studies revealed four SNPs, which were strongly associated with the stature, including three SNPs at 77.3-77.8 cM on BTA4 (map53144-ss46525999, p<7.747*10^-101; BovineHD0400021479, p<1.173*10^-91; ARS-BFGL-NGS-116590, p<7.665*10^-105) and one SNPs at 25.2 cM on BTA14 (BovineHD1400007259, p<1.324*10^-109). Functional annotation showed the localization within identified regions of genes, which are responsible for growth, exterior characteristics, protein and lipid metabolism, and feed intake. Identified SNPs can be considered as useful DNA markers for marker-assistant cattle breeding aimed at increased stature. The study was funded by the RSF No. 21-66-00007 and the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. 0445-2019-0024.

Protected Areas networks should protect the native ecosystems from the negative influence of alien species introduction. We select a Protected Area (Mordovia State Nature Reserve, IUCN category: I) in European Russia (Republic of Mordovia) as a focal point of this study. Alien floras have never been compared between the Mordovian regional districts (managed areas) and Protected Areas. We aimed to compare the native vs. alien plant species proportion between the flora of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and 23 floras of the regional districts based on the actual floristic check-lists of both Mordovia State Nature Reserve (at present, more than 800 species) and the whole Mordovia (at present, more than 1470 species), as well as the set of the published additions to the flora of the region and Protected Area. The temporal comparison will be made also between data of 2010 and 2021. We hypothesized that, contrary to the widely known fact on the intactness of Protected Areas, the Mordovia State Nature Reserve is characterized by a high proportion of alien plant species due to various anthropogenic influences. The obtained results demonstrated that in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve, the alien species proportion before starting intense botanical studies was lower (10.9%) than in floras of certain managed areas (17.2% in the Kochkurovo district, 17.0% in the Bolshie Berezniki district, or 22.4% in the Ardatov district). At the same time, additional studies have resulted in a considerable increase in the alien species proportion in the flora of the Protected Area (19.8%) in comparison with data of the 2010 year. This indicates both the initial underestimation of the Protected Area's flora and the importance of additional purposeful investigations to obtain complete data on the flora composition. A comparison of our results with the updated data for the Mordovian districts' floras is presented and discussed in the context of the current knowledge of the flora of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and the Republic of Mordovia as a whole.

Holothurians (Echinodermata, Aspirochirotida, Holothuridae, Holothuria) are marine epibenthic organisms with a wide geographical distribution which are used for human consumption. They have an extraordinary variety of metabolites, specifically triterpenic glycosides of the holostane type (lanostane). The present work is intended to develop a preliminary chemical study of holothurians (sea cucumbers) that inhabit the shallow waters of the south-western marine insular platform of Cuba and report a preliminary structural detail of a triterpenic holostanic glycoside isolated from methanolic extracts of Holothuria floridana. A triterpene glycoside fraction was separated chromatographically on Amberlite and was isolated as a triterpene glycoside. Its structure has been deduced, from spectral analysis (NMR, FTIR) and chromogenic reactions. The compound is an open-chain, holost-Δ9,11-en-12α,17α,22ξ triol tetraoside, belonging to the group A of the holoturins, which possesses 3β-D-glucose, D-xylose, D-quinovose and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose as monosaccharide fragments.

The interaction between insects and their gut microorganisms is an interesting and promising field of ecological and entomological research. The importance of microbionts on the life history traits of fruit flies has been well-studied in several tephritid species belonging to the genera Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis, and Rhagoletis. However, the production of microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) and their role in tephritid fruit fly-microorganism interactions has been overlooked. As the symbiosis of tephritids with their associated gut bacteria shows promising pathway for biocontrol, the potential use of mVOCs for Tephritidae fruit fly pest control management is of particular interest. Here, we review the information known regarding the composition and diversity of the microbial community in tephritid fruit fly guts and their effect on behaviour, especially attraction. We also analyse the available information on mVOCs that are responsible for the tephritid fruit fly attraction towards their associated gut microbionts. The overview of fruit fly-microbe chemical relationships contributes to identify knowledge gaps and provides potential scope for further research to develop new semiochemicals for fruit fly pest management.