JournalTOCs

Biology Bulletin Reviews
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Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 2079-0864 - ISSN (Online) 2079-0872
Published by Springer-Verlag

[2468 journals]

The Abundance and Distribution of the Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
(L.) in Northern Eurasia
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  Abstract: The article presents the results of research on the number and distribution of the Bohemian waxwing in the territory of Northern Eurasia within the borders of the Soviet Union in 1990. The work uses materials collected in the period from 1880 to 2022 (intermittently and mainly since 1960) in the first half of summer (during nesting), in winter, and partially throughout the year. The Bohemian waxwing abundance was estimated on the basis of the results of bird counts on routes with a length of about 300 000 km.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S207908642460022X
Changes in Erythrocytes and Their Degradation Products under the Influence
of the SARS-COV-2 Virus
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  Abstract: This review presents modern domestic and foreign published data on the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on red blood cells in COVID-19 and on the effect of the resulting erythrocyte degradation products on the body. The mechanisms of detoxification of these products and the possibility of considering them as biomarkers of this severe disease, as well as therapeutic targets for combating it, are considered in detail.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S207908642460019X
Analysis of the Distribution of Robertsonian Fusions in Polymorphic
Populations of the Common Shrew, Sorex araneus L.
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  Abstract: We calculated the found and expected frequencies of metacentrics in polymorphic populations of the Dnieper basin common rodent, resulting from hybridization of local populations with acrocentric karyotype and four chromosomal races (Neroosa, Kiev, Białowieża, and Western Dvina) with 3–5 diagnostic metacentrics in each. We have previously shown an increased frequency of acrocentric karyotype compared to that expected according to Hardy–Weinberg. The low frequency (less than 0.5) of most metacentrics of the four chromosomal races and the disappearance of some of them from the populations can be explained by the increased fitness of the acrocentric karyotype and the absence of meiotic drive. On the contrary, the preservation of high frequency (more than 0.5) of such metacentrics as gm, hk (races of Western Dvina), hi (races of Kiev), hn, ik (races of Białowieża), and, especially, the fixation of metacentric hi (races of Neroosa) in polymorphic populations can be explained by meiotic drive. The fixation of Rb compounds in the range of the common rodent may be a consequence not only of gene drift but also of meiotic drive. Most likely, meiotic drive is able to maintain the frequency of Rb compounds with the largest acrocentrics g, h, and i, which contributed to the widespread distribution of such compounds throughout the range of the common rodent.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600218
Anti-Aging Medicine: Mitochondria-Targeted Antioxidants and Physical
Activity
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  Abstract: Mitochondria are an important source of reactive oxygen species in skeletal muscles. Mitochondrial dysfunction accompanies the development of age-related human diseases. An increased production of reactive oxygen species contributes to the muscle atrophy caused, for example, by the absence of physical activity. Many regulatory pathways involved in the mitochondrial biogenesis are targets of anti-aging therapy. An active lifestyle and physical exercise prevent age-related damage to mitochondria in skeletal muscles. The use of antioxidants aimed directly at mitochondria is another way to correct the effect of reactive oxygen species. The treatment with mitochondria-targeted antioxidants weakens the mitochondrial degeneration, improves the age-related function of skeletal muscles, and protects the muscles from atrophy. Data are presented on the use of mitochondria-targeted antioxidants and physical exercises to maintain the structural and functional state of mitochondria and on the protection of muscles from sarcopenia.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600188
The Unique Morphofunctional Structure of the Reptilian Heart
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  Abstract: The paper analyzes the evolution of the thermoenergetic statuses of vertebrates and the associated evolutionary development of their heart. The analysis shows that, in most modern lepidosaurs and turtles, the heart is not completely, conditionally five-chambered: it has two atria and one ventricle, in which two incomplete septa divide it into three functional chambers. In some of them, these two septa were modified in evolution so that they turned into one with vertical and horizontal elements, as a result of which the heart became functionally four-chambered, with improved separation of arterial and venous blood flows. Crocodiles have a fully morphologically four-chambered heart. But the hearts of all reptiles, both recent and extinct, perform two opposite functions in parallel—the separation of arterial and venous blood flows and at the same time their regulated mixing. To do this, there are special morphological and physiological mechanisms in their hearts. Such a strange functional duality in the work of the reptilian heart aims to regulate the metabolism level by controlling the amount of carbon dioxide entering the blood flow: increasing the amount of CO2 in the blood flow reduces the metabolic rate; reducing its amount increases the metabolism. Mixed blood in the blood flow of reptiles is not an immature, primitive state, but a physiological necessity. Moreover, this method of regulating the metabolic rate is most adequate to the initial, ancestral thermoenergetic state in reptiles, because basal terrestrial tetrapods and most ancient reptiles were meso- and even tachymetabolic, i.e., almost or completely warm-blooded, endothermic animals. It was just these endothermic animals that needed such type of metabolism regulation. As a result, all recent reptiles have a complex morphophysiological organization of the heart, which was functionally more suitable for their almost warm-blooded ancestors. Recent reptiles use part of their ancestral properties as an adaptation to new environmental conditions, new environmental requirements, and their new morphophysiological state. This unique organization of the heart is characteristic of all modern and extinct reptiles, and, importantly, it is characteristic exclusively of reptiles owing to their original endothermic state.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600012
Peculiarities of Arctic Ichthyofauna
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  Abstract: An audit of the marine and freshwater ichthyofauna of the Arctic has been carried out. According to new data, the ichthyofauna of the Arctic is represented by 4 classes, 33 orders, 103 families, 251 genera and 479 species of cyclostomes and fish (or about 1% of the world fauna), of which 214 species or 45% of the number of species in the Arctic are true Arctic species. Arctic fish are characterized by polymorphism and euryphagy, which are associated with the variable and low food supply of northern water bodies. The ichthyofauna of the Arctic is well represented by taxa with a wide adaptive radiation (genera Coregonus, Salvelinus, Lycodes, etc.) and species with a complex intraspecific structure such as superspecies or species-complex. Another characteristic feature of the Arctic is low endemism of ichthyofauna at the level of families (5%), genera (2%) and species (10%). Possible routes of distribution of whitefish and pike in the water bodies of the North have been discussed.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086423600479
Strategic Tasks and Prospects for the Development of the Resource Base of
Healthcare and Health Saving through the Prism of Personalized and
Precision Medicine
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  Abstract: Modern research points to the importance of both a personalized approach to health care, including high-quality preclinical laboratory diagnostics, preventive nutrition and the construction of individual nutrition protocols, and favorable microenvironmental conditions in general. However, to achieve optimal results, it is necessary not only to take into account the individual characteristics of an individual person, but also to use advanced technologies. An analysis of existing methods and technologies in the field of personalized nutrition, precision foodomics and bioinformatics, as well as their contribution to health protection, has been carried out. Key aspects of these areas have been reviewed and directions for further research and practical implementation have been suggested.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600073
Prospects for the Use of Thymoquinone (a Component of Nigella sativa) in
the Prevention and Therapy of Neuropathologies
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  Abstract: Black cumin and its component thymoquinone (TQ) are known as drugs with a wide range of pharmacological activities: immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antineoplastic. These drugs also have neuroprotective properties in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), ischemia, epilepsy, encephalomyelitis, and traumatic brain injury. The main mechanisms of action are antioxidant activity and increased expression of neuroprotective genes and proteins with decreased activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the NF-kB pathway, which plays a key role in neuroinflammation. A separate section is devoted to the effects of black cumin and TQ on the course of depression, a common and socially significant disease. Reduced signs of depression and increased levels of a neuroprotective factor belonging to the neutrophin family (BDNF), a characteristic marker of depression, were described in 54 depressed patients. The review discusses the prospects for prevention and therapy with these drugs in central nervous system pathology.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600048
Pathogenesis of Post-COVID Syndrome. Key Role of the Immune System
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  Abstract: When considering the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and post-COVID syndrome, the disorders associated with the immune system come to the forefront. Complexes of immune dysregulation and dissonant responses of the innate and adaptive immune systems of a patient should be considered as the main reasons for the complex pattern of lesions. These processes include cellular inflammation, hemovascular homeostasis disorder, and organ damage. Consistent analysis of these processes is a basis for selecting the schemes of therapeutic strategy, taking into account clinical indices and personal characteristics of patients.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086423600480
Selective Fetal Growth Restriction Syndrome: Links of Pathogenesis
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  Abstract: Monochorionic diamniotic twins have a higher risk of perinatal complications than dichorionic twins and singleton pregnancy fetuses. Selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR) syndrome is one of the complications of multiple pregnancy; its frequency varies from 10 to 25%. Modern ideas about the pathogenesis of sFGR syndrome indicate its multifactorial nature, including disorders of trophoblast invasion, vasculo- and angiogenesis, gestational formation of placenta with a discordant division of intertwin territories and unbalanced blood flow along interfetal anastomoses, oxidative stress, imbalance of growth factors, and changes in the metabolomic profile of the cord blood and placenta tissue. The clarification of risk factors and links of the pathogenesis of sFGR syndrome underlies the determination of diagnostic markers, development of optimal tactics of pregnancy management, and prediction of perinatal outcome.
  PubDate: 2024-08-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600206
Suillus granulatus (Basidiomycota, Boletales, Suillaceae), First Record
for East of Algeria
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  Abstract: The genus Suillus unites ectomycorrhizal fungi characterized by slimy caps, glandular points on the stipe, large pore openings and a partial veil which leaves a ring at the edge of the cap. It is distributed in the temperate regions of the north, although some species have also been reported in the Southern Hemisphere. The aim of this article is to present S. granulatus as the first record for Eastern Algeria. Specimens have been collected in Quercus forests in the Tebessa region, Algeria. A macro- and micromorphological description of the species has been prepared that plates with macroscopic photographs in situ and microscopic structures, which have been illustrated, for subsequent analysis and taxonomic identification with the corresponding specialist literature. The specimens studied have been deposited in the Functional and Evolutionary Ecology research laboratory, Faculty of Natural and Life Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid University, El Tarf. The specimens studied meet the characteristics of the original description of the species, as well as those of the habitat to which it is associated and in which it is distributed. Suillus granulatus is reported for the first time for Eastern Algeria. This species is characterized by its orange basidiomata, and basidispores: subfusiform, smooth, 8–11 × 4–6 µm, obscurely unequal obscurely uneven profile, oblong to elliptical in front view and its association with plant species of the mixed forest Quercus-Pinus. Suillus granulatus is widely distributed in North Africa, reaching its southernmost range known to date in Tebessa, Algeria. Due to its potential ectomycorrhizal association with forest species of the genera Quercus and Pinus, Suillus granulatus could be distributed with these plant species in other sites in the northeast and east of Algeria. Subsequent morphological and molecular studies on mycorrhizae confirm the symbiotic relationship of S. granulatus with its host trees.
  PubDate: 2024-06-10
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600024
Phylogeny and Potentiality of Indigenous Micro-Symbionts Nodulating
Mungbean in San Mateo, Philippines
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  Abstract: San Mateo serves as the mungbean capital of the Philippines. However, it lacks information concerning indigenous microsymbiont that could be exploited to sustain mungbean production. This study aimed to evaluate the phylogeny and symbiotic potential of indigenous nodule bacteria in San Mateo, Philippines. A total of 183 bacterial strains were isolated from mungbean nodules established in the area. The isolates were grouped into 9 distinct morpho-biochemical clusters, coded as MB1–MB9. Thereafter, a representative isolate for each cluster was subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Phylogeny of the sequences revealed that the isolates are distributed to diverse bacterial genera namely Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Agrobacterium, Stenotrophomonas and Leifsonia. Interestingly, both isolates MB1 (Bradyrhizobium) and MB7 (Rhizobium) induced nodulation in mungbean after authentication tests. Unlike previous reports, this study confirms that Rhizobium strains also harbors nodulating trait and establishes symbiotic relationship with mungbean in tropical soils. Furthermore, inoculation trial revealed that native strain MB1 and MB7 lead to a significant increase in leaf N-accumulation, nodulation and shoot yield with corresponding symbiotic scores of 94.32 and 39.70% respectively. These results suggest the remarkable symbiotic performance of local strains isolated, which could be utilized to further boost mungbean production in the municipality.
  PubDate: 2024-06-10
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424600140
Impacts of Climate Change on the Distribution of Vietnamese Golden Cypress
in Northern Vietnam
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  Abstract: s Climate change influences the geographic distribution of species, especially rare and endangered species such as the Vietnamese Golden Cypress (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis). In this study, we determined the key factors influencing modelled distribution of the species, and assessed the influence of climate change on the distribution of the species using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) model, occurrence data of the species and environmental variables (climate, topography, and soil conditions). Our results showed that the MaxEnt models were significantly superior to a random prediction (AUC > 0.9). Precipitation of warmest quarter (bio18), elevation, distance to karst areas, and isothermality (bio3) contributed significantly modelled distribution of the species. The predicted size of the current potential distribution is significantly larger than the known range in Vietnam (i.e. Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, and Cao Bang provinces). The species’ suitable areas were predicted to reduced and shift toward higher elevations in two climate models (ACCESS1-0 and MPI-ESM-LR) under two selected climate change scenarios (medium-low greenhouse gas concentration (RCP 4.5) and high greenhouse gas concentration (RCP 8.5)) in 2050 and 2070. These findings will provide valuable references for managers and decision-makers for the conservation management of rare and threatened species in Vietnam.
  PubDate: 2024-06-10
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086423600431
Study of Changes in Glutathione Level in People with Iron Deficiency
Anemia in Mosul City
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  Abstract: The study was based to find out the effect of iron deficiency anemia on glutathione concentration, and the level of peroxynitrite was taken as an indication of the change in oxidative stress levels for patients with iron deficiency anemia. Sixty-one random samples were collected from a specialized laboratory in the city of Mosul, and the samples were from women whose ages ranged from 17 to 50 years. The samples were divided into three groups, the first group included severe anemia, and the second group had a blood test result within the average limits, and the third group was the control group for women without anima. When a comparison was made between the three groups, a significant decrease in the concentration of glutathione was found, followed by a rise in the level of peroxynitrite in the first and the second group when compared with the third group in which the concentration of peroxynitrite decreased and glutathione increased. The study also included conducting biochemical tests that included zinc, copper and iron. The results showed a decrease in zinc in the first and second group compared to the third group, while copper decreased in the first group compared with the second and third. Iron decreased in the first and second groups only.
  PubDate: 2024-06-10
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086423600443
Ecological-Parasitological Method in Studies of Population Biology of
Beaked Redfish Sebastes mentella (Scorpaeniformes: Sebastidae) in the
Irminger Sea
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  Abstract: The results of the analysis of the data set obtained in the course of long-term studies of the population biology of beaked redfish Sebastes mentella are used as an interdisciplinary approach in the study of its geographical, biotopic, ontogenetic, and phylogenetic features and population structure in the pelagic zone of the Irminger Sea and the adjacent bathyal zone of Greenland and Iceland. The approach is based on the ecological-parasitological method, which involves the use of data on the composition of parasite communities and the occurrence of their individual species as biomarkers for understanding the features of the ecology of hydrobionts. The results obtained, which include information on the spatial distribution, functional subdivision of the area, ontogenetic migrations, maturation and growth rate, underwater marking, and phenetic, genetic, and other features of beaked redfish, made it possible to identify the conditions for divergent formation and significant isolation of its pelagic and benthic groupings constituting the North Atlantic population. The colonization by this species of great depths of the oceanic pelagic zone and the near-bottom layer of the bathyal zone, accompanied with an increase in the rate of sexual maturation and migratory activity in the pelagic zone, characterizes the direction of the current stage of its phylogenesis. The unity of the pelagic grouping of beaked redfish in the vast water area and throughout the depth of its distribution in the Irminger and Labrador seas is substantiated. It is shown that significant differences in infestation rate between males and females of beaked redfish, stable in time and space, with the only species-specific parasite (the copepod Sphyrion lumpi) serve as a phene of the pelagic grouping of the North Atlantic population of the host.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030022
Larva Morphology of Shore Flies Ephydra riparia and Paracoenia fumosa
(Diptera: Ephydridae) and Adaptation of Diptera to Increased Salinity
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  Abstract: Larvae of many shore fly species (family Ephydridae) are adapted to living in water with high or extremely high salinity. Little is known about the morphological and physiological foundations of such adaptation. We described the details of the morphology of third-instar larvae of two shore flies: Ephydra riparia and Paracoenia fumosa, and presented the images made using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For the first time, by silver-staining and SEM, we proved that the larvae of both studied species had anal organs (AO)— specialized structures that serve an osmoregulatory function and are responsible for the transport of ions from the environment to the larval hemolymph (but not in the opposite direction). We compared the larvae morphology of the studied species with some other shore fly species from the genera Ephydra, Paracoenia, Hydrellia, and Coenia, as well as with larvae of the model species Drosophila melanogaster (family Drosophilidae). Special attention was paid to the morphology of AO, which contribute to the adaptation of larvae to increased salinity. Extremely halophilic species either do not have AO, or they are poorly developed, while the moderately halophilic ephydrids have more developed features connected with the permeability of the AO cuticle and active ion transport. These features are most developed in freshwater shore flies. AO activity can vary due to the shape and area of the AO, the smoothness or wrinkling of the cuticle, and the presence of nano-pits on it. The described variability of the AO structure is probably adaptive since, at high salinity, both the permeability of the AO cuticle and the active transport of ions from the environment to the hemolymph become less useful or even harmful.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030101
Impact of Litter Burning on Alpine Festuca varia Grasslands of the
Northwestern Caucasus
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  Abstract: Fires play an important role in structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems, but their long-term impact on the composition and structure of plant communities in humid high mountain regions remains poorly studied. At the driest alpine grasslands, dominated by a dense-tussock grass Festuca varia, with substantial accumulation of non-decomposed litter, a 23-year experiment with regular (every two years) litter burning was conducted. The composition of the plant community changed significantly. The mortmass (mass of litter), aboveground vascular plant biomass, and relative abundance of dominants decreased substantially. In aboveground biomass, the proportion of grasses decreased and that of forbs increased. The shoot numbers of Anthemis cretica, Campanula collina, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca ovina, Nardus stricta, and Veronica gentianoides increased after burning. A twofold increase in alpha diversity of vascular plants was observed on plots with burning treatment; it was twice as high as the initial value and was significantly higher than the values in the control plots. Long-term burning did not substantially change mean the P, Ca, and Mg content in the biomass of the most of studied species; only the K content decreased in some species, while the Mg content increased in Festuca varia and Nardus stricta. The increase in P and Mg content in the mortmass was observed. During long-term burning, weak soil acidification and a decrease in the Ca content, as well as a strong decrease in the nitrogen content and the intensity of nitrogen transformation processes, were observed. Generally, the observed patterns were similar to those in other studied herb communities; however, the decrease in K content during the regular burning was not reported earlier.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030071
Herbaria of Russia: Role in the Study of Biodiversity of the Country,
Problems of Conservation and Rational Use
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  Abstract: To preserve the biodiversity on Earth, it is necessary to take an inventory of all forms of life as soon as possible, and this task is especially relevant for poorly studied territories. The terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Russia represent the largest array of natural extratropical ecosystems in Eurasia. To solve the problem of flora and fauna inventory, biological collections acquire a special significance; a number of reviews attracted the attention of the scientific and civil society to the problem of conservation and increasing use of collections. In this article, the role of herbaria in the study of biodiversity in Russia is studied on the basis of a quantitative analysis of the country’s collections and the degree of their digitalization and integration into a global network of biological collections. It was concluded that the herbarium fund of Russia is insufficient in terms of the number of samples and is unevenly distributed across the regions; the lowest number of plant species is available for a number of regions in the northeast of Russia. About a half of all Russian herbaria are not registered in the Index Herbariourum and, accordingly, are not integrated into the global information system on biodiversity. The problem of preservation of herbarium collections is also highlighted here; the ways to solve it and prospects for the use of herbaria in the future are outlined. The authors suggest that the following priority measures should be taken: (1) the formation of a legal framework for working with biocollections, which, in particular, will make it possible to recognize the herbarium collections as objects of cultural and scientific heritage and provide special funding for the collections; (2) introduction of centralized registration of Russian herbaria in to practice and their inclusion in the international database; (3) prohibition on writing off herbarium collections by organizations; (4) an increase in the pace of digitalization of botanical collections; (5) staffing herbaria with professional researchers; introduction of a course on herbarium management in specialized universities; (6) allocation of separate rooms for herbaria equipped with specialized cabinets and ventilation.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030034
The Pattern of Natural Variability of Palynomorphological Features by the
Example of Some Nierembergia and Bouchetia Species (Solanaceae) and
Natural System of Biovariety
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  Abstract: By the example of morphological features of pollen of eight species of Nierembergia and two species of Bouchetia (Solanaceae family), the properties of individual variability are described. Most of the studied characters (structure of apertures, ultrastructure of the sporoderm, surface sculpture, and dimensions) do not have significant differences at the individual and intraspecific levels; taxonomically significant variability of morphological features of pollen is manifested at the level of the genus and suprageneric groups. The genera differ significantly in the sculpture of the pollen grain surface—striate in Nierembergia and tuberculate in Bouchetia. Pollen contained in one bud, anther, or tetrad (fully completed gametophytic generation, where there is no death and all without exception descendants of one ancestor are alive), is considered as an extreme model (maximum completeness with minimum complexity) to study the properties of natural morphological variability and the causes of its occurrence. It was found that pollen characters (sculpture, number and location of apertures) have the same pattern of variability (continuous and transitively ordered series), which is embodied at different taxonomic levels in different characters. The natural variability of morphological features of pollen is ordered not into a genealogical clade, but into a cline—continuous, geometrically ordered and transitive series (taxon-nonspecific and rank-independent). In this system of parallelisms, homologous series are inseparable from nonhomologous ones, and typical forms are inseparable from deviations. The origin of typical and deviant forms cannot be explained separately (typical—genealogically, and deviant—as parallelism, convergence, chance or regularity). The individual variability of pollen forms is geometrically ordered and is not the result of random disturbances, failures of the hereditary program, or pathology. The typical form turns out to be a harmonious part of a geometrically ordered series of pure forms, free from functional and historical connotations. The similarity of pollen forms in these series is determined by their geometry and does not depend on affinity, homology, or functionality. The natural system of pollen forms is due not to the structure of supposed affinity of supposed taxa, but the structure of the observed parallelisms of the variability of individual living bodies. Evolutionary novelty (the current state, the observed variability) arises initially ordered in a preestablished form.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030083
Behavioral Island Syndrome and Its Ecological Drivers in the Mednyi Island
Arctic Fox Population
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  Abstract: — There is a change in many features of biology in reptiles, birds, and mammals (inhabitants of oceanic islands), which is called “island syndrome.” The behavioral aspect of these changes is poorly understood. Based on a 40-year study of the biology of the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) on Mednyi Island, we show that the island arctic foxes changed many behavioral characteristics compared to mainland foxes. They use smaller home ranges, travel shorter daily distances, and have much smaller natal dispersal distances. An increase in the family size of the island arctic foxes and a decrease in litter size lead to an increase in parental and kin investment and increased cooperation between family members. At the same time, the island foxes, to a large extent, lost their fear of humans. These features correspond to the traits of island syndrome. On the other hand, as opposed to what is found in most island populations, the Mednyi Island Arctic foxes exhibit a stronger territoriality, apparently in response to an increased risk of infanticide. In addition, unlike the continental population, a sex-biased dispersal and inheritance of home ranges through the maternal line are clearly pronounced. A departure of males beyond the border of the settlement of sisters can be considered as a mechanism for avoiding inbreeding. A comparison with fox populations (Urocyon littoralis) on the Channel Islands (Southern California) suggests that these features evolved under the influence of specific environmental drivers of Mednyi Island: patchy and highly predictable resource distribution. These same peculiarities of the distribution of resources led to a strengthening of one more driver—“social landscape”—and the emergence of a new behavioral metatrait of the island population—conservatism in a spatial, reproductive, and foraging behavior.
  PubDate: 2024-06-01
  DOI: 10.1134/S2079086424030046

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