Natural and medical sciences

The practical solution for the most acute problems of biodiversity preservation in the region requires the restoration of the conservation area network. This article gives an assessment of the previous and perspective conservation area networks on the basis of landscape design experience and biological indicators.

This article compares the structure of avifauna within the present-day borders of the Kaliningrad region over the period from the end of 19th century to 2010. The author argues that the species turnover in nesting birds has accelerated and that immigration exceeds local mortality. The unification of regional avifauna is a part of the general process of biosphere homogenisation.

The dumped waste from the industrial complex still threatens the biosphere. The solution to the problem lies in integrated research and the resumption of plant operation accompanied by complete waste utilization and extraction of all commercial components.

The specific features of mammals' behaviour in response to external information is determined by innate mechanisms and experience acquired through ontogenesis. The author genetically defines the unstable boundaries of behavioural responses and offers a methodology of research on quantitative animal-habitat interaction. The article emphasises the variability of behavioural
parameters in the course of the adaptation of the carnivorous to anthropogenic conditions.

This article offers the results of research on the influence of environmental factors on the distribution of two abundant bivalve species – Macoma balthica and Mytilus eduli – in the south-east of the Baltic Sea. First of all, the distribution of species was determined by the types of soils. The distribution of molluscs in deep-water sectors was limited by oxygen deficiency in near-bottom waters.

The moss biomonitor technique was employed to study heavy metal precipitation in the Kaliningrad region. Graphical data interpretation, correlation and factor analysis helped distinguish the anthropogenic and natural components in moss pollution.

This article addresses the physical, biogeochemical and physiological factors in the framework of marine invertebrate biodiversity problem. The comparison of the biodiversity indicators of fossils and modern organisms is considered as the crucial method of the reconstruction of alterations in populations and ecosystems.

This article considers the response of hydrobionts to exogenous biologically active substances of natural (BASn) and anthropogenic (BASa) origin, the peculiarities of BASn functional spectrum in eukaryotes of different taxons, and the damaging impact of BASa both at an organism and an ecosystem level.

This article considers the applicability of biotesting methods to the analysis of wastewater toxicity through the example of Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant. The offered biotesting method helps estimate total wastewater toxicity. The estimation of phytotoxicity was based on the following parameters of the watercress (Lepidum sativum (L.)): sprout growth, biomass accumulation, and seed sprouting.

The maximum individual age of the Japanese littleneck clam is 7 years. The maximum shell length is 5.2 mm. The sex ratio is almost 1 to 1. There are registered cases of hermaphroditism and parasitic castration. The rate of linear growth has increased to three years. The molluscs reach the harvestable size in three years.

This article offers data on chironomid fauna in two lakes in the city of Kaliningrad: Lake Penkovoye and Lake Isakovskoye.
The authors analyse the species composition as well as ecological characteristics of populations and estimate the condition of
water ecosystems of the waterbodies under consideration on the basis of the data on quantitative characteristics and species
diversity of chironomidae.

This article analyses the endogenous level of antioxidants in the plants growing on the Curonian spit. The authors distinguished two groups of plants with the highest content of anthocyans and the water-soluble antioxidants in plant tissues and determined a positive correlation dependency between the anthocyan content and the level of carotenoids and a negative correlation dependency between the anthocyans and АОА content in the leaves of plants under consideration regardless of environmental conditions.

The microbiological activity is a principal factor of metallic and nonmetallic material damage. Mould fungi, as metal destroying microorganisms, are of particular interest in this connection. The Phialophora fastigiata mould fungi are studied as mild steel corrosion promoters. The authors show the biocidal and inhibitory role of a number of organic substances in steel corrosion under the influence of deuteromycetes Phialophora fastigiata. The protective effect observed in the best organic compounds reaches 70-90 %.

The article considered the reproductive biology and life cycle of mysids inhabiting the Kaliningrad maritime canal. The author offers a comparative analysis of seasonal changes in gamic structure, the accretion and fertility of mysids.

Comparative research on spectral dependence between the appearance of shadow defensive reflex in intact and eyeless adults of Lymnaea stagnalis proved the excitatory role of dermal photoreception and the inhibitory role of the ocular one. The shape of the curve and the modified spectral maximum of the absorption of dermal light-sensitive pigment (490 nanometers) allow the authors to suppose the presence of rhodopsin-like pigment in dermal photoreceptors.

This article considers the species composition of the opportunistic pathogenic microbial flora and offers a correlation analysis of the seasonal dynamics of the gram-negative microflora in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) and the water and soil of the Russian part of the Vistula Lagoon. The authors determine the epizootic bacteria species pathogenic for the eel. The seasonal dynamics of species diversity of bacteria in the eel's microflora helps to determine how bacteria penetrate the organism of the eel (in spring) and are forced into external environment (in autumn) and to prove the existence of microflora “depot-organs” in the organism of the fish.

Monodominant 30-50 year old fir plantations develop a specific forest floor and are characterised by general humus accumulation, the qualitative composition of which is, however, subject to degradation, which is revealed in increasing migration ability and the impoverishment in nitrogen. Semi-hydromorphic gleysols show the initial signs of podzolization.

This article offer information about the locations of rare vascular plant species in the eastern part of the Leningrad region (the Tikhvin district) on the territory of the "Aschozersky", Urya-Kanzhaya", and "Carboniferous Outliers" conservation areas of the "Vepsian Forest" nature park and their immediate vicinity. Isoëtes echinospora and Lobelia dortmanna appear in the Red List of the Russian Federation. These species, as well as Viola selkirkii are included in the Red List of the Leningrad Region. Poa remota, Hammarbya paludosa, Caltha radicans, Polemonium caeruleum are new to the Tikhvin District.

This article presents the first attempt to study lichens in 6 state protected parks in memorial country estates of the Pskov region. The authors distinguished 111 lichen species, among which 7 were proved to be rare and 4 – new to the Pskov region, and performed taxonomic analysis and the analysis of lichen life forms. Special attention was paid to the epyphite group predominant in the parks.

New data on the palaeoenvironment (vegetation and climate) in the southern part of the Kaliningrad Region were obtained through the processing of peat samples from Podlipovo peatland by means of pollen analysis. The results of the study indicate the prevalence of pine and birch forests in the early Holocene; the gradual introduction of broadleaved species occurred in the middle Holocene (the Atlantic). Fagus and Carpinus expansion in the sub-Boreal and sub-Atlantic affected the species composition of broadleaved forests; this period also saw the proliferation of broadleaved-coniferous forests. Pollen diagram was divided into 8 local pollen assemblage zones (LPAZ). The development of the bog was traced by means of peat macroremnants analysis.

This article presents the first attempt to study the fruticose and foliose lichens of the pre-war plantings alongside minor roads in the Slavsk district of the Kaliningrad region. It is the first study of the deciduous roadside plantings in this area. The authors determined predominant species, analysed the wood species composition and came to the conclusion that the predominant ones were the species of the ash and tilia genera, while the number of lichen species was estimated at 29.

This article considers the problem of biodiversity preservation and environmental education on the premises of the Botanic garden of the Immanuel Kant State University of Russia. The authors argue that the Botanic garden has favourable opportunities for promoting environmental culture and spreading environmental awareness in different groups of population. An education programme was developed and empirically grounded; effective means, forms and methods of raising environmental awareness and promoting environmental culture in preschool and primary school students were determined alongside the determination of the peculiarities of
organisation of training and conservation measures in the Botanic garden.

The practical solution for the most acute problems of biodiversity preservation in the region requires the restoration of the conservation area network. This article gives an assessment of the previous and perspective conservation area networks on the basis of landscape design experience and biological indicators.

The «Lithuania-Poland-the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation» (2004—2006) neighbourhood programme implemented in 2004—2009 and the « Lithuania — Poland — Russia: 2007—2013» programme being drawn up in 2010 identify tourism development as one of priorities, which does not only contribute to the increase in competitive advantages of the participating territories but also facilitates the formation and sustainable development of the cross-border region of the South-eastern Baltic.

This article offers a comparative characteristic, based on the data of spore and pollen and radiocarbon analyses, of landscapes dynamics in the Subatlantic in three landscapes typical of the Kaliningrad region: the Vištytis upland, the Neman River delta lowland, and the Pregel lake-glacial plain. E. V. Maksimov's 1850-year rhythm model was used for data interpretation.

This article analyses earlier works, which provide the basis for addressing the problem of the optimisation of regional nature management in the conditions of the Kaliningrad region. The author reviews the current state of landscapes and their development and emphasises the significance of landscape and geographical factors for efficient and environmentally friendly development.