scholarly journals Complete mitochondrial genome of an Arctic Collared Lemming subspecies endemic to the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 133-139
Author(s):  
Vitaly M. Spitsyn ◽  
Alexander V. Kondakov ◽  
Elsa Froufe ◽  
Mikhail Y. Gofarov ◽  
André Gomes-Dos-Santos ◽  
...  

In this study, we present an announcement of Novaya Zemlya Collared Lemming Dicrostonyx torquatus ungulatus (von Baer, 1841) complete mitogenome. This rodent was described historically as an Arctic Collared Lemming subspecies endemic to Novaya Zemlya (Arctic Russia) but its taxonomic status was unclear due to the lack of available molecular data. Based on a comprehensive mitogenomic phylogeny of the Arctic Collared Lemming, we show that this insular population shares a highly divergent mtDNA sequence (total length 16,341 bp). Hence, it should be considered a valid subspecies of the Arctic Collared Lemming. Our findings support the hypothesis that the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago had served as a cryptic polar refugium for cold-tolerant terrestrial and freshwater taxa since the mid-Pleistocene or even earlier.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Andrey Medvedev ◽  
Natalia Alekseenko ◽  
Maria Arsentyeva

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The Arctic region is currently at the next stage of increased interest not only from the Arctic States, but also from the entire world community. The main pollutants in the region are oil and gas products, heavy metals, chemical and radioactive contamination. The Arctic region of the Russian Federation has experienced a strong anthropogenic impact of radionuclides due to the use of nuclear energy. The main source of pollution is nuclear testing. About 132 tests were conducted on Novaya Zemlya, including 87 atmospheric, 3 underwater and 42 underground tests. Another source of radioactive contamination is the operation of the naval and civil nuclear fleet, as well as nuclear power plants (on the Kola Peninsula and in Bilibino). Until 1963, most of the tests were carried out in the atmosphere and under water, but after the signing of the Moscow Treaty on August 5, 1963, which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons in three environments (under water, in the atmosphere and outer space), all tests were carried out underground, in tunnels and wells.</p><p>The object of research and mapping is the territory of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the nuclear test site located on it. On the territory of the nuclear test site constantly there was an assessment of the radioecological situation. The scientific community is interested in the processes taking place on the New Earth. The territory of the archipelago is constantly involved in various Arctic programs aimed at monitoring the level of environmental pollution and reducing the number of sources of pollution.</p><p>The aim of this work is to create multi-time animations of nuclear tests and the results of radionuclide pollution. These animated cartographic images differ not only in their time scales, but also a large set of qualitative and quantitative characteristics that characterize the results of anthropogenic influence.</p><p>As sources for creation of cartographic animations were: field data, remote sensing data (RS), Open sources, marine navigation maps, DEM’s (AsterDem, ArcticDem, GEBCO), meteorological data, thematic maps (including atlases), topographic maps, literary sources. The main part of the information about Novaya Zemlya archipelago was taken from the works of the Arctic marine complex expedition, which are devoted to the nature, history, archeology and culture of the archipelago. To obtain complete information about the explosions and their energy release ranges, additional open sources were used, from which it is possible to learn about the type of explosion, its power and location (geographical coordinates).</p><p>Dynamic geo-imagery was developed and established by the following method: study of object mapping and the collection of primary spatial data – creation script dynamic geo-imagery – the creation of a geodatabase of research – the creation of the thematic maps and layout of geo-imagery in the graphic editor – create animations with different time scales.</p><p>During the creation of cartographic animations based on the collected data, a multi-time multi-scale cartographic animation was developed, which allowed using the original graphical solution to visualize three interconnected time scales, which allowed to visualize the processes of infiltration and propagation of radioactive inert gases.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Sun ◽  
Chi-Chun Huang ◽  
Yu-Wei Tseng ◽  
Tulshi Laxmi Suwal ◽  
Meng-Jou Chi ◽  
...  

The Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla is critically endangered because of over-exploitation and illegal trafficking and includes three subspecies. However, the taxonomic status of the three subspecies of the Chinese pangolin has not been well resolved, which impedes regional conservation and illegal trade traces. In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of M. p. pentadactyla, an endemic subspecies of the Chinese pangolin in Taiwan, was determined. The complete mitogenome of M. p. pentadactyla is 16,570 base pairs (bp) in length with 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), 23 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), two ribosomal RNAs and a 1164 bp control region. The overall base composition of the genome showed a slight A + T bias (59.9%), positive AT skew (0.1515) and negative GC skew (-0.3406), which is similar to that of other pangolins. All PCGs started with a typical ATN codon and all tRNAs were typical cloverleaf-shaped secondary structures, except for tRNA-Ser(GCU). Phylogenetic analysis indicated a monophyletic relationship for M. p. pentadactyla and M. p. aurita and was monophyletic for M. p. pentadactyla, but paraphyletic for M. p. aurita. The paraphyly of M. p. aurita resulted from an incomplete lineage sorting. This study enriched the mitogenome database of the Chinese pangolin and the molecular information obtained should be very useful for future research on mitogenome evolution and genetic diversification in M. pentadactyla.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-247
Author(s):  
J.V. Vorobyova

The article tells about the exhibition of Mikhail Vladimirovich Flint «Immersing into the magic of nature» which took place from March 1 to March 31, 2019 in the Gallery of Сlassical Photography. The exhibition includes about 80 author’s photographs, which depict the amazing landscapes of the Arctic, Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Aral Seas and Plato Usturt, Issyk-Kul Lake and Kirgizstan mountains, Caspian Sea shore and Mangistau Peninsula.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Miroshnikov ◽  
Mikhail Flint ◽  
Enver Asadulin ◽  
Ramiz Aliev ◽  
Andrei Shiryaev ◽  
...  

AbstractIn recent years, cryoconite has received growing attention from a radioecological point of view, since several studies have shown that this material is extremely efficient in accumulating natural and anthropogenic radionuclides. The Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (Russian Arctic) hosts the second largest glacial system in the Arctic. From 1957 to 1962, numerous atmospheric nuclear explosions were conducted at Novaya Zemlya, but to date, very little is known about the radioecology of its ice cap. Analysis of radionuclides and other chemical elements in cryoconite holes on Nalli Glacier reveals the presence of two main zones at different altitudes that present different radiological features. The first zone is 130–210 m above sea level (a.s.l.), has low radioactivity, high concentrations of lithophile elements and a chalcophile content close to that of upper continental crust clarkes. The second zone (220–370 m a.s.l.) is characterized by high activity levels of radionuclides and “inversion” of geochemical behaviour with lower concentrations of lithophiles and higher chalcophiles. In the upper part of this zone (350–370 m a.s.l.), 137Cs activity reaches the record levels for Arctic cryoconite (5700–8100 Bq/kg). High levels of Sn, Sb, Bi and Ag, significantly exceeding those of upper continental crust clarkes, also appear here. We suggest that a buried layer of contaminated ice that formed during atmospheric nuclear tests serves as a local secondary source of radionuclide contamination. Its melting is responsible for the formation of this zone.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Khromova ◽  
Gennady Nosenko ◽  
Andrey Glazovsky ◽  
Anton Muraviev ◽  
Stanislav Nikitin ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The new glacier inventory created recently at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences made it possible to study the current state and recent changes of glacial systems in Russia, where now there are 22 glacial systems. The total area of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;glaciation on this territory is 54,531 km2 based on Sentinel 2 images obtained mainly in 2016-2019. This area is occupied by 7478 glaciers. The largest glacial system in area is located on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago (22,241.37 km2). It is followed by Severnaya Zemlya (16491.81 km2) and Franz Josef Land (12530.03 km2). The next largest glacial systems are locate on the Caucasus Mountains (1067.13 km2), Kamchatka (682.8 km2) and Altai (523.14 km2). The area of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;glaciers on the Arctic island of Ushakov (283, 09 km2), in the Suntar Khayata mountains (132, 97 km2) and the Koryak Upland (254.1 km2) occupies a range from 100 to 300 km2.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The largest group is small glacial systems, the area of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;which does not exceed 100 km2. They are located in different glaciological zones: the De Long Islands (65, 2 km2), &amp;#160;the Urals (10.45 km2), the Putorana Plateau (11.36 km2), the Byranga Mountains (29.94 km2), the Chersky Ridge (86.37 km2), the Chukotka Upland (15.98 km2). Northeast of the Koryak highlands (42.19 km2), Kodar Ridge (16.22 km2), Eastern Sayan (12.88 km2).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The remaining four regions are characterized by the smallest glacial systems. These are the Orulgan ridge (9.82km2) and the Kolyma Upland (6.62 km2), the Kuznetsk Alatau (3.42km2), the Barguzinsky (0.09) and Baikalsky ( 0.65km2) ridges. Despite their small size, these glacial systems are important from indicative point of view, fixing the zone of spatial distribution of glaciation. They indicate the growth points in the event of a change in climatic conditions according to a scenario favorable for glaciers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The glacier area has decreased since the compilation of the USSR glacier Inventory (1965-1982) by 5603.9 km2 or 9.3%. The area of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;polar glaciers has decreased less than glaciers in mountainous regions. Values &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;range from 5.44% (Novaya Zemlya) to 19.11% (De Longa Islands). Small glaciers were not found in the Khibiny. Glaciers in the Urals have reduced their area by 63%. The subpolar glacier systems of the Orulgan (46.6%), Chersky (44.4%), and Suntar-Khayata (34%) ridges reduced the area a little less. Reduction in the area of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;glacial systems in the temperate belt ranges from 57% (Eastern Sayan) to 13% (Kodar). The largest glacial systems in the Caucasus, Kamchatka and Altai have reduced their areas by 25, 22 and 39 percent, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results of our studies confirm the tendencies for the reduction of the glacier area throughout Russia. The exception is the glaciers of the volcanic regions of Kamchatka, which increased their size or remained stationary. The magnitude and rate of changes depend on the local climatic and orographic features.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The presentation includes the results obtained in the framework of the following research projects: &amp;#8470; 0148-2019-0004 of the Research Plan of the Institute of Geography of RAS, &amp;#8470; 18-05-60067 supported by RFBR. &lt;/p&gt;


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
B. P. Andreev ◽  
Yu. N. Zakrevsky ◽  
E. S. Martynova ◽  
Zh. V. Plakhotskaya

Purpose of the Study is to assess the potential hazard in terms of the content of high-density metals (HDMs) and arsenic (As) for the consumption of objects of the Arctic algal flora presented in storm emissions in places of probable disembarkation of a crew, the ship has come in a distress or a disaster in the water area of the northern seas of the Russian Federation.Materials and methods. The elemental composition of samples of the plants thrown by the wind-wave impact on the coastal area of the Severny island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Before making the analysis, thallus fragments were dried at 80° C to constant weight to determine their dry weight with an accuracy of 1 mg. The material mineralization was carried out using a microwave mineralizer according to the standard technique. The elementary analysis was performed using MGA-915M atomic spectrometer. The data obtained were compared with the maximum permissible levels established by the current regulatory documents. According to the results of measurements, series of decreasing concentrations of HDMs in algae samples were built according to the places of collection and species.Results and Discussion. It has been found that the lowest content of HDMs and arsenic in the wind-wave emissions of algae on the Severny Island in the Russkaya Gavan Bay of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago belongs to both Laminaria digitata and vegetative parts of the thallus of most of the other ejected algae. These plants can be used for food in extreme situations by the crews of a ship (an aircraft, etc.) who has come in a distress or a disaster.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Udalov ◽  
Margarita Chikina ◽  
Alexandra Chava ◽  
Andrey Vedenin ◽  
Sergey Shchuka ◽  
...  

Despite a large number of studies, a detailed overall picture of benthic communities zonation in the Arctic fjords is currently lacking. Our study aimed to find out whether there is a universal model for the distribution of benthic communities based on the structural features of the fjords. We examined benthic macrofaunal communities in fjords with various environmental settings on the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Kara Sea. The material was collected during five cruises undertaken from 2013 to 2016. A total of 50 stations located in the five fjords were taken. In all five fjords, macrofauna had a similar composition assembled from a regional species pool, with a predominance of species tolerant to glacial sedimentation and fluctuations in temperature and salinity. Benthic communities changed consistently along the axis of the bay from the outer slope to the inner parts. Biodiversity and quantitative characteristics of the macrofauna decreased along the environmental gradient related to terrigenous and glacial runoff, consistent with patterns reported in other studies of Arctic glacial fjords. The most impoverished communities were dominated by bivalve Portlandia arctica and isopod Saduria sabini. At the same time, fjord walls and sills, characterized by low sedimentation rates, strong currents and the presence of ice-rafted debris, were inhabited by patchy distributed benthic communities dominated by species confined to hard substrates. In general, the distribution of communities corresponded to five zones: depleted inner periglacial areas, the upper subtidal belt with stony substrates, deep inner semi-isolated basin, outer non-isolated basins and upper slope transitioning to lower slope. Our study can provide a reference point for monitoring changes in fjord ecosystems in response to climate change and the potential impact of human activities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Sergeeva ◽  
Olga Vorobieva

&lt;p&gt;Pronounced changes in the climate system that lead to a significant reduction in sea ice cover and active glacier melting provoke the great interest in ecosystem studies of archipelago bays in the high Arctic. In addition to increasing the duration of the open water period, the glacier melting increases the fresh water discharge from the archipelagos and thereby affects the coastal ecosystems of the Arctic region. There is practically no information about the ecosystems of the archipelago bays of the seas of the Russian Arctic due to the inaccessibility. Within the framework of the program &amp;#8220;Investigation of the Russian Arctic ecosystems&amp;#8221; in 2007-2020 held by Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, modern comprehensive studies of ecosystems of Novaya Zemlya bays, including phytoplankton (as primary producer of organic matter) were carried out. The most frequent observations were conducted in Blagopoluchiya Bay (North Island of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago), which has several coastal runoffs of glacial origin flow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We found that despite the constant enrichment with allochthonous suspended matter and nutrients with runoff from Novaya Zemlya to the Blagopoluchiya Bay there was no increase in phytoplankton production during the summer open water period (Borisenko et al. Thesis EGU21-9528). On the contrary, the quantitative characteristics of phytoplankton in euphotic layer were extremely low: 0.2-0.7 mkgC/l and 0.03 - 0.15 mkgChl/l. Obviously the inclusion of allochthonous nutrients in local production cycles over the sea part of the bay was difficult.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To clarify the reasons of such low phytoplankton productivity against the background of the enrichment with nutrients of &amp;#8203;&amp;#8203;Blagopoluchiya Bay, multifactorial experiments were carried out on the monoculture of the cosmopolitan diatom &lt;em&gt;Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii&lt;/em&gt; Cleve, 1873, which is one of the dominant species in the Novaya Zemlya bays. Algae culture was isolated from the phytoplankton community of the Kara Sea and adapted to a salinity of 31 psu, typical for Novaya Zemlya bays. In addition to routine cell counting under microscope we used PAM-fluorometry to control the growth characteristics of algae that makes it possible to observe the photosynthetic activity of algae.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was shown that the functioning of algae is greatly influenced by a significant gradients in salinity. When fresh runoff from Novaya Zemlya is mixed with the seawater of the bay, marine planktonic algae experience significant osmostress and immediately settle down and die off. With a slight dilution (up to 29-30 psu) of sea water by freshwater from the archipelago, the algae functioned well and doubled their biomass for 2-3 days. At the same time, we found that the algae were well adapted to a significant range of illumination: 40-200 &amp;#181;E, which apparently allows them to maintain high level of photosynthetic activity under the changing arctic illumination during the Arctic summer at high latitudes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study was performed within the framework of the state assignment of IO RAS, (topic no. 0149-2019-0008) and supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (projects no. 18&amp;#8211;05&amp;#8211;60069Arctic and 19-04-00322 &amp;#1040;).&lt;/p&gt;


ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 793 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Wentao Niu ◽  
Shuangen Yu ◽  
Peng Tian ◽  
Jiaguang Xiao

Lack of mitochondrial genome data of Scleractinia is hampering progress across genetic, systematic, phylogenetic, and evolutionary studies concerning this taxon. Therefore, in this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the stony coralEchinophylliaaspera(Ellis &amp; Solander, 1786), has been decoded for the first time by next generation sequencing and genome assembly. The assembled mitogenome is 17,697 bp in length, containing 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), two transfer RNAs and two ribosomal RNAs. It has the same gene content and gene arrangement as in other Scleractinia. All genes are encoded on the same strand. Most of the PCGs use ATG as the start codon except for ND2, which uses ATT as the start codon. The A+T content of the mitochondrial genome is 65.92% (25.35% A, 40.57% T, 20.65% G, and 13.43% for C). Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis have been performed using PCGs, and the result shows thatE.asperaclustered closely withSclerophylliamaxima(Sheppard &amp; Salm, 1988), both of which belong to Lobophylliidae, when compared with species belonging to Merulinidae and other scleractinian taxa used as outgroups. The complete mitogenome ofE.asperaprovides essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses of corals.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1161
Author(s):  
Valentina S. Artamonova ◽  
Ivan N. Bolotov ◽  
Maxim V. Vinarski ◽  
Alexander A. Makhrov

Analysis of zoogeographic, paleogeographic, and molecular data has shown that the ancestors of many fresh- and brackish-water cold-tolerant hydrobionts of the Mediterranean region and the Danube River basin likely originated in East Asia or Central Asia. The fish genera Gasterosteus, Hucho, Oxynoemacheilus, Salmo, and Schizothorax are examples of these groups among vertebrates, and the genera Magnibursatus (Trematoda), Margaritifera, Potomida, Microcondylaea, Leguminaia, Unio (Mollusca), and Phagocata (Planaria), among invertebrates. There is reason to believe that their ancestors spread to Europe through the Paratethys (or the proto-Paratethys basin that preceded it), where intense speciation took place and new genera of aquatic organisms arose. Some of the forms that originated in the Paratethys colonized the Mediterranean, and overwhelming data indicate that representatives of the genera Salmo, Caspiomyzon, and Ecrobia migrated during the Miocene from the region of the modern Caspian through the Araks Strait, which existed at that time. From the Ponto-Caspian and the Mediterranean regions, noble salmon, three-spined stickleback, European pearl mussel, seals, and mollusks of the genus Ecrobia spread to the Atlantic Ocean and colonized the Subarctic and Arctic regions of Europe and North America. Our study indicates that the area of the former Paratethys retains its significance as a center of origin of new species and genera and that it has been the starting point of migration “corridors” up to the present time.


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