The Journal of V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series «Biology»

Fritillaria meleagris L. (Liliaceae) in the Kharkiv Region: ecological preferences, conservation problems

O. Bezrodnova — 2023-12-29

Fritillaria meleagris L. is a рalearctic species with a disjunct distribution. It is protected at the national level in Ukraine, listed as "vulnerable" in the Red Data Book. Most of the data on the species distribution, as well as on the status and stability of its populations, have been obtained for the Carpathian region. Much less information is available for F. meleagris in the Forest Steppe, especially for its left-bank part. The article presents the results of the study of the peculiarities of F. meleagris distribution in the Kharkiv Region and provides information on the structure of coenopopulations and their ecological and coenotic preferences. Problems and prospects for this species conservation are also considered. The studies cover the biotopes of the Merla River valley and its tributary, the Merchyk River (the Dnipro River basin) in an area of more than 35 square km. In the Kharkiv Region, the F. meleagris coenopopulations were found mainly in grass-type biotopes. These are usually secondary post-forest meadows of the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea Tx. 1937 class. Only one coenopopulation is located in a tree-type biotope (mixed floodplain forest with Quercus robur L., Ulmus laevis Pall., Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Salix alba L., Padus avium Mill., Populus аlba L., P. deltoides Marshall, P. tremula L., Acer negundo L., А. tataricum L., A. campestris L., without a pronounced dominant). The specificity of the ecological regimes of the studied localities of F. meleagris has been clarified by the phytoindication method. As a rule, they are damp (less often, fresh) forest-meadow habitats with full, but uneven (temporarily excessive) wetting of the root layer of the soil. The soils are moderately aerated, weakly acidic (pH 5.5–6.5), enriched with salts, but with insignificant carbonate content, and often relatively poor in terms of mineral nitrogen. The climate is characterized by submicrothermal conditions with signs of subaridity and subcontinentality. We have not detected any significant variability of conditions (both edaphic and climatic) in the studied localities. They are more or less optimal for the existence of F. meleagris. In all the F. meleagris localities studied, the change in the hydrological regime due to the reclamation of floodplain remains a risk factor but does not pose an immediate threat. The existence of forest coenopopulations in glades is threatened by overgrowth of trees and shrubs (the invasion of Populus tremula and Acer negundo is particularly dangerous). The decrease in the number of meadow coenopopulations is a result of plowing and burning. Currently, in the Kharkiv Region, F. meleagris is protected in Slobozhanskyі National Nature Park (1 locality) and in Kapranskyі Botanical Reserve of local importance (11 localities). Monitoring of the existing localities outside the protected areas and their inclusion into the expansion zone of the Slobozhanskyі National Nature Park is an important condition for their preservation.

Rare, protected, and understudied vascular plant species of the pinewood complex of the Mozh River valley (Kharkiv Region, Ukraine)

H. Bondarenko — 2023-12-29

The composition of the biota is dynamic and changes for many reasons, making biodiversity research relevant. Studies of rare species that are most vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures are of particular importance. Although the Mozh River flows through the central part of the Kharkiv Region, its valley remains understudied, especially the pine forests and their rare plants. The results of the current study include data from our field research, revision of the Herbarium of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (CWU), and literature sources from the second half of the 20th century to the present. This paper contains an annotated list of 35 species of vascular plants. Each species is provided with the data on its geographical range, distribution in Ukraine, population status and its study history in the Kharkiv Region, conservation status, and the state of its population in the studied forests. We found the localities of two species included in Appendix I of the Bern Convention (Salvinia natans (L.) All. and Jurinea cyanoides (L.) Rchb. and six species included in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (Botrychium lunaria (L.) Sw., Pulsatilla pratensis (L.) Mill., Iris pineticola Klok., Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich., Neottia ovata (L.) Hartm., Tulipa quercetorum Klok. & Zoz). We also found 19 species rare in the Kharkiv Region (Lycopodium clavatum L., Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth, Ophioglossum vulgatum L., Campanula persicifolia L., Chimaphila umbellata (L.) W.P.C. Barton, Comarum palustre L., Hottonia palustris L., Rubus saxatilis L., Carex pseudocyperus L., etc.). Nine regionally rare plant species have the boreal range type; they occur at the southern limit of their distribution range which indicates the specificity of ecological and climatic conditions formed in the pine forests in the Mozh River valley. In addition, we found five species without conservation status, but they are rare in the region (Caltha palustris L., Catolobus pendulus (L.) Al-Shehbaz, Gratiola officinalis L., Lythrum hyssopifolia L., Rubus polonicus Barr. ex Weston), and, therefore, they are recommended to be included in the next edition of the Official List of the Regionally Rare Plants of the Kharkiv Region. Three species (Buglossoides czernjajevii (Klokov & Des.-Shost.) Czerep., Jacobaea andrzejowskyi (Tzvelev) B.Nord. & Greuter, Sedum album L.) were identified as understudied in the Kharkiv region due to the lack of or insufficient information on their distribution in the study area.

Ecological preferences of the Swiss pine (Pinus cembra L.) forests in the Gorgany Nature Reserve

R. Kuznetsov — 2023-12-29

Swiss pine (Pinus cembra L.) is a montane Carpathian (Alpine-Carpathian) species. The modern distribution of the Swiss pine is disjunct, the two isolated areas are located in western and central Europe (Alps) and the middle and high mountains of the Carpathians. The largest areas of Swiss pine in Ukraine are preserved in the Gorgany region at the altitude of 1250‒1450 m above sea level, where it forms the upper forest line. In the Gorgany Nature Reserve, P. cembra grows in the altitude range from 1070 to 1475 m ASL. The lower boundary, in the form of individual trees, descends to 1000 m ASL, and the upper boundary rises to 1585 m ASL. To define the ecological preferences of the Swiss pine, a series of route surveys were conducted and research sites (permanent forest monitoring plots, stationary research profiles, and stationary areas for the counting of natural forest regeneration) were established. The study of the plant communities with P. cembra on the southwestern slopes of the Dzhurdzhi tract showed the dependence of the forest species composition on the altitude above sea level. The forest stands quantitative composition and productivity are also significantly influenced by slope exposure. The proportion of P. cembra in the forests on steep slopes (30‒55°) of west and north-west exposure is relatively high (from 17.1% to 49.0%). Under other conditions, the proportion of P. cembra in the stand composition gradually decreases. Swiss pine is almost completely absent on the slopes of eastern and northern exposures except for rare single trees in Pinus mugo Turra scrub on northern slopes. The forests with P. cembra are typical of sunny slopes where the available sum of active temperatures ranges between 1000° and 1400° and the average ambient temperatures from -12.2°С to +16°С. The optimal environmental conditions for the relict species P. cembra in the Dovbushanski Gorgany region are on the western slopes with a steepness of 17‒55° and southwestern and northwestern slopes with a steepness of 35°‒42°. In terms of soil fertility, oligotrophic edaphotopes with moderate moisture are optimal for the growth of Swiss pine.

Selection parameters in lines of Drosophila melanogaster Meig., obtained from populations living in territories with different levels of radiation pollution: approbation of the Crow’s method

M. Lukianov — 2023-12-29

Man-made disasters, such as the accidents at the Chornobyl NPP and the Fukushima NPP-1, have raised questions about the radiation risks associated with the use of atomic energy in a new and acute way. The purpose of the study was to investigate the features of the action of natural selection in the lines of Drosophila melanogaster Meig., obtained from natural populations living in territories with different levels of radiation pollution. One of the aims was to test Crow's method on a model object, such as Drosophila. This method makes it possible to estimate the total intensity of selection, as well as to determine the contribution of its individual components, such as differential fecundity and differential mortality. The study was carried out on three lines of Drosophila melanogaster Meig.: the Haidary line (radiation background in the territory from which the line originates: 0.12 μSv/h, β-radiation flux: 0 particles/cm²/min), the KhPTI line (radiation background: 0.12–0.20 μSv/h, β-radiation flux: 0 particles/cm²/min), the Chornobyl line (radiation background: 0.20–0.22 μSv/h, β-radiation flux: 7–8 particles/cm²/min). According to the obtained results, the lines did not differ among themselves in egg production of females. In terms of the number of adult offspring, the Chornobyl line was inferior to the Haidary and KhPTI lines by 48.9% and 57.8%, respectively. Mortality in the pre-reproductive period of development (indicator p_d), which includes embryonic and pupal mortality, was the highest in the Chornobyl line and exceeded the p_d value in the Haidary and KhPTI lines by 1.4 times. As a result, the Chornobyl line, obtained from the territory contaminated with radionuclides, significantly exceeded the Haidary and KhPTI lines, obtained from the territories where the radiation situation does not go beyond the norm, by both components of selection – both by the component of differential fecundity (I_f), and by differential mortality (l_m). The total selection indices (I_tot) were quite close in the Haidary and KhPTI lines, and in the Chornobyl line this index was 2,1–2,6 times higher than in the other two lines. The results of the study support the view that ionizing radiation can promote evolution by accelerating evolutionary change. They indicate an increased mortality rate, a reduced level of fitness and an increased selection pressure in the line of fruit flies, which originates from the population living in the radiation-contaminated territory in the Chornobyl exclusion zone.

Breeding value and homeostaticity of the spike performance and its constituents in medium tall winter bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) accessions in relation to resistance to the pathogens of powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis (DC.)...

A. Yarosh — 2023-12-29

Identification of sources of group resistance in winter bread to the pathogens B. graminis (DC.) E.O. Speer f. sp. tritici Em. Marchal and S. tritici Rob. et Desm. and of high performance of the spike and its constituents is a necessary and relevant step towards the creation of comprehensively valuable and adaptable genotypes. The paper presents the results of evaluation of the breeding value and homeostaticity of the spike performance and its constituents in medium tall winter bread wheat in relation to resistance to powdery mildew and Septoria leaf blotch. New sources of consistently high group resistance to the powdery mildew and Septoria leaf blotch pathogens have been identified: Kyivska 17, Zorianka, Sicheslava, and Svitiaz (UKR). We have selected accessions with high performance of the spike and its constituents in combination with high breeding value and homeostaticity of these characteristics: the kernel weight per spike (Kyivska 17 (Sc = 1.8; Hom = 21.9) (UKR)); the kernel number per spike (Svitohliad (Sc = 37.8; Hom = 554.1), Stritenska (Sc = 36.4; Hom = 452.5), Svitiaz (Sc = 35.8; Hom = 451.8), MIP Lada (Sc = 33.6; Hom = 572.7) (UKR), and Manella (Sc = 33.1; Hom = 460.8) (NLD)); and the thousand kernel weight (Kyivska 17 (Sc = 42.9; Hom = 1053.7), Sicheslava (Sc = 42.6; Hom = 873.2) (UKR), and Turanus (Sc = 41.3; Hom = 707.5) (AUT)). It was found that the percentage of accessions with high homeostaticity of the thousand kernel weight, the kernel number per spike and the kernel weight per spike was 63.6%, 31.8%, and 22.7%, respectively. In the medium tall winter bread wheat accessions, there were strong positive correlations between the breeding value of the kernel weight per spike and resistance to Septoria leaf blotch (r = 0.77, P < 0.01) and between the kernel number per spike and resistance to powdery mildew (r = 0.71, P < 0.01). Significant positive correlations were observed between the breeding value of the thousand kernel weight and resistance to Septoria leaf blotch (r = 0.61, P < 0.01), between the homeostaticity of the thousand kernel weight and resistance to Septoria leaf blotch (r = 0.51, P < 0.01) and between the breeding value of the kernel number per spike and resistance to Septoria leaf blotch (r = 0.56, P < 0.01). The selected sources of high group resistance to powdery mildew and Septoria leaf blotch, high performance of the spike and its constituents in combination with the breeding value and homeostaticity of these traits are valuable starting materials to create highly promising winter bread wheat cultivars, which would be adaptable to limiting biotic factors.

Survey of the fish fauna of the water bodies of the city of Kharkiv

H. Honcharov — 2023-12-29

The study of the biodiversity of urbanized landscapes, in the context of their permanent expansion, is becoming increasingly important as part of environmental management. The proposed review considers the history of the study and the results of modern research on the ichthyofauna of water bodies in and around the city of Kharkiv. The study includes data obtained during archeological excavations. The existing water fund is estimated as a habitat for fish in the city. We compiled a modern systematic list of the fish fauna, determined its place in the general zoogeographical zonation of the Palearctic, and analyzed the ecological and faunistic characteristics of the fish assemblages, which created a basis for a general assessment of the current state and prospects for changes in the fish community within the city. The state of recreational fishing in the waters of Kharkiv as the main type of utilization of fish resources on its territory is analyzed. The current fish fauna of the water bodies of Kharkiv and its environs consists of 32 species belonging to 31 genera, 11 families, 7 orders, and 4 superorders of bony fish, as well as one hybrid form of silver and bighead carps, whose abundance is maintained only by artificial introduction into water bodies outside Kharkiv with subsequent occasional migration to the city, and two diploid-polyploid hybridogenic complexes of fish of the genera Carassius and Cobitis, whose reproductive characteristics require further study. Five species have disappeared from the local fish fauna, i.e. four species of bony fish (common crucian carp Carassius carassius, Black Sea roach Rutilus frisii, asp Leuciscus aspius, Danilevsky's dace Leuciscus danilewskii) and the Ukrainian lamprey Eudontomyzon mariae, which used to live in the city or water bodies and watercourses of the adjacent territories. Thirteen fish species (41% of the total species composition) have a conservation status and require special measures for their protection according to national and international regulations. The share of non-native species in the ichthyofauna of Kharkiv is quite significant – eight species (22% of the total number of registered species and forms). The fish fauna of the city is dominated by freshwater fishes, limnophilic or indifferent to the current speed, with phytophilic or psammolithophilic portion spring and summer spawning, not belonging to any particular habitat.