Biodiversity of oribatid mites in the ecosystems of Dagestan and their infection with Moniezia sp. procercoids

The purpose of the research is studying the oribatid mite biodiversity on the Dagestan pastures in terms of altitudinal zonation and their infection with Moniezia sp. procercoids.Materials and methods. Oribatid mites were collected in different seasons of 1990–2020 on different types of pastures of the plain, foothill, and mountain belts of Dagestan. A total of 16,000 specimens of oribatid mites were collected. 120 sets of lamb intestines were dissected. Oribatid mites were collected using the Tulgren funnel. The method of complete helminthological dissection according to K. I. Skrjabin was used in the work.Results and discussion. On low-lying wet pastures of the flat belt, up to 5800 oribatid specimens were recorded per 1 m² with 38.0% prevalence of infection (PI) with moniezia cysticercoids; 675 specimens were collected on the steppe lands with the PI of 12.5%, up to 140 specimens were collected on salt marshes with the PI 0.9%, and 52 specimens were collected in the semi-deserts with the PI 0.4%. In the foothill steppes, 1,300 oribatids specimens were found per 1 m² with their procercoid infeсtion up to 18.0%, 2100 specimens with 16.0% were collected along river valleys, and 120 specimens with the PI of 0.5% on mountain plateaus. Lambs on low-lying wetlands of the lowland belt were infected with Moniezia sp. by 72.0% with the infection intensity (II) of 8-116 specimens, on steppe pastures by 67.5% at the II of 5–36 specimens, on salt marshes by 18.0% with the II of 2–8 specimens, and in semi-deserts by 12.0% with the II of 2–5 specimens. In the foothill steppes, lambs were infected with Moniezia sp. by 68.0% with the II of 9–64 specimens, along river valleys by 69.0% with the II of 11–62 specimens, and on mountain plateaus by 12.0% with the II of 2–4 specimens.

Altitudinal Zonation of Green Algae Biodiversity in the French Alps

Mountain environments are marked by an altitudinal zonation of habitat types. They are home to a multitude of terrestrial green algae, who have to cope with abiotic conditions specific to high elevation, e.g., high UV irradiance, alternating desiccation, rain and snow precipitations, extreme diurnal variations in temperature and chronic scarceness of nutrients. Even though photosynthetic green algae are primary producers colonizing open areas and potential markers of climate change, their overall biodiversity in the Alps has been poorly studied so far, in particular in soil, where algae have been shown to be key components of microbial communities. Here, we investigated whether the spatial distribution of green algae followed the altitudinal zonation of the Alps, based on the assumption that algae settle in their preferred habitats under the pressure of parameters correlated with elevation. We did so by focusing on selected representative elevational gradients at distant locations in the French Alps, where soil samples were collected at different depths. Soil was considered as either a potential natural habitat or temporary reservoir of algae. We showed that algal DNA represented a relatively low proportion of the overall eukaryotic diversity as measured by a universal Eukaryote marker. We designed two novel green algae metabarcoding markers to amplify the Chlorophyta phylum and its Chlorophyceae class, respectively. Using our newly developed markers, we showed that elevation was a strong correlate of species and genus level distribution. Altitudinal zonation was thus determined for about fifty species, with proposed accessions in reference databases. In particular, Planophila laetevirens and Bracteococcus ruber related species as well as the snow alga Sanguina genus were only found in soil starting at 2,000 m above sea level. Analysis of environmental and bioclimatic factors highlighted the importance of pH and nitrogen/carbon ratios in the vertical distribution in soil. Capacity to grow heterotrophically may determine the Trebouxiophyceae over Chlorophyceae ratio. The intensity of freezing events (freezing degree days), proved also determinant in Chlorophyceae distribution. Guidelines are discussed for future, more robust and precise analyses of environmental algal DNA in mountain ecosystems and address green algae species distribution and dynamics in response to environmental changes.

Mixed Helminthosis in Sheep Intestines in Dagestan

The purpose of the research is studying mixed zoonosis of sheep intestines and helminth biodiversity in the altitudinal zonation of Dagestan. Materials and methods. We used materials in our work that were collected in 1985-2018 from sheep (young animals up to 1 year old, 1 to 2 years old, and 3 years old and older) by seasons of the year. 5,000 fecal samples were tested and 180 intestinal dissections were performed. We used the method of complete helminthological dissection of animals and humans per Skrjabin, the method of sequential washing of feces according to Berman-Orlov, the method of cultivation of gastrointestinal Strongylata larvae in a thermostat, and the method of their differentiation according to Shumakovich by shape, number and location of intestinal cells. Results and discussion. In terms of species, representatives of the genera Nematodirus Ransom, 1907, 7 species, Trichostrongylus Loss, 1905, 5 species, Ostertagia Ransom, 1907, 6 species, and Cooperia Ransom, 1907, 4 species prevail in the plain and sub-mountain belts of Dagestan. At the population level, the species Nematodirus, Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus are more often recorded. H. contortus (Rudolphi, 1803), N. spathiger (Railliet, 1896), N. filicollis (Rudolphi, 1802), T. axei (Cobb., 1879), T. capricola (Ransom, 1907), T. colubriformis (Giles, 1829), Cooperia oncophora (Ranson, 1907), C. punctata (Linstov, 1906), Bunostomum trigonocephalum (Railliet, 1902), and Chabertia ovina (Fabricius, 1788) were observed in the mountain belt.

About the Epizootic Situation on Major Helminthoses of Cattle Under Different Management Systems in Georgia

The purpose of the research is studying the epizootic situation on major helminthoses in cattle under different management systems in Georgia. Materials and methods. The epizootic situation in Georgia on major helminthoses in cattle subject to management systems and the altitudinal zonation of areas location was studied by coprological examination of animals. In 2014–2018, the cattle aged over 2 years held on pasture from March-April until November was studied in homesteads of 59 districts. Similar studies were performed at 19 farms owned by limited liability companies, homesteads and entrepreneurs. The livestock there is presented by Schwyz and Holstein; all processes of care, feeding and milking are mechanized. Results and discussion. Currently, the major helminthoses in pasture cattle in Georgia are paramphistomidosis, fasciolosis, dicrocoeliosis, gastrointestinal strongylatosis and dictyocaulosis which infect 67.5% of the examined cattle. Paramphistomidosis and fasciolosis are found in 59.7 and 21.5% of the examined cattle respectively. With increasing elevation of the altitudinal zonation, the paramphistomidosis and fasciolosis prevalence rates reduce. In case of paramphistomidosis, the infection ranges from 78.4% (low elevation from 0 to 200 m above sea level) to 23.9% (the subalpine area from 1901 to 2300 m above sea level), and in case of fasciolosis, 28.2–8.1% respectively. The rest species of helminths infected cattle to a lesser degree. Dicrocoelium sp. was found in 2.7% of animals, gastrointestinal Strongylata in 6.3%, and Dictyocaulus sp. in 3.9%. Paramphistomum spp., Fasciola sp. and gastrointestinal Strongylata infected 1.2% of the examined cattle in the farms with stabled cattle.

Altitudinal zonation of mosses in west of the Sierra Nevada of Cocuy, Boyacá, Colombia

ABSTRACT This study was carried out with bryophyte populations in order to study the presence of populations and how they change over altitudinal gradients. Mosses were chosen as a model to do this study because they have a high sensitivity to climatic conditions and wide distribution. The western region of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Boyacá, Colombia has a wide range of climate and ecosystems due to its complex topography. Plots were sampled every 200 m from the peak of Mount Mahoma at 4,200 m a.s.l. south to the Chicamocha River canyon at 1,200 m a.s.l. Diversity and cover are analyzed in each plot from soil, rock and bark substrates. We found 80 species distributed in 29 families, with Pottiaceae and Brachytheciaceae the most diverse families. Ours results show a tendency of the diversity and the coverage to increase with altitude, and we observed five altitudinal belts with three populations defined by mosses species. The Páramo and Superpáramo belts are the richest ones.

Altitudinal zonation of landscapes on the local testing area in the southern Baikal region

Today identification of altitudinal zones of landscapes in local areas, especially in mountainous areas, is inextricably linked with the creation of digital terrain models and their geoinformation interpretation. We have considered the altitudinal zonation of landscapes on the Mamai model testing area, located on the Northern macroslope of the Khamar-Daban Ridge and in the Tankhoi coastal plain of the Baikal Lake. The special geoinformation software, partially modernized during the works, was used. Landscapes were studied by their main components: relief and geomorphological processes, soils and soil-forming processes, vegetation. The landscapes of the testing area are represented by three main groups: 1) goltsy altitudinal and mountain-taiga landscapes of the Khamar-Daban Ridge on the crystalline metamorphic rocks of the khungurul series of the lower Proterozoic age and granites of the Khamar-Daban and Sayan intrusive complexes of the upper Proterozoic and lower Paleozoic, respectively; 2) taiga and meadow-marsh landscapes of the Tankhoi plain on loose sediments of the Late Pliocene and Quaternary ages; 3) intrazonal landscapes within transverse mountain river valleys on the Late Pleistocene and Neo-Pleistocene and modern loose sediments. The base of the identification of altitudinal zones of the landscape is layers of a relief. But the relief is a fairly static component of the landscape, its invariant structure change for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. To determine a more detailed and dynamic structure of the altitudinal zonation, we use other components: soils and vegetation. Changes in the invariant structure of the soil cover occur for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and of the vegetation cover – for hundreds or thousands of years. Features of the landscapes structure and characteristics of their main components allowed us to allocate six altitudinal zones in the testing area: goltsy altitudinal, subgoltsy altitudinal, low-mountain, foothill, foothill-plain, and coastal-plain. The intrazonal landscapes of transverse mountain river valleys, which violate the normal structure of the altitudinal zonation, are singled out as a separate type.