Population-genetic structure of the eastern sand lizard Lacerta agilis exigua (Reptiilia, Lacertidae), assessed by ISSR-PCR and IRAP-PCR markers

Впервые описано присутствие участков гомологии в геномах восточной прыткой ящерицы к длинным концевым повторам эндогенных ретровирусов Sabrina и SIRE-1 и выполнен сравнительный анализ спектров продуктов амплификации фрагментов геномной ДНК ящерицы Lacerta agilis exigua, полученных с использованием двух типов ДНК маркеров - фрагментов геномной ДНК, ящериц, фланкированных инвертированными повторами микросателлитных локусов и длинными концевыми повторами эндогенных ретровирусов The presence of homology regions in the long terminal repeats of the endogenous retroviruses Sabrina and SIRE - 1 in the genomes of the eastern sand lizard was described for the first time. A comparative analysis of the spectra of amplification products of genomic DNA fragments of the mentioned lizard species obtained using two types of DNA markers - fragments of genomic DNA, flanked by inverted repeats of microsatellite loci and long terminal repeats of endogenous retroviruses, was performed.

Sustainable Development Goal Conflicts in Re-Mining of Tailings

<p>The Davidschacht tailings storage facility (TSF), operated from 1944 to 1964, represents one of the largest tailings dams in the historic Freiberg mining district. It contains a volume of 760,000 m³ of sulfidic flotation tailings, residues of former base metal and silver ore beneficiation. The tailings material still contains elevated concentrations of valuable elements such as zinc (0.4 wt.% on average), lead (0.2 wt.%) and copper (0.05 wt.%) as well as indium (10 ppm). The material has thus become the focus of efforts to enable eventual re-mining and recovery of valuable metals. However, such efforts have to take into account a number of important interests of the public. The first of these is the fact that the unrehabilitated tailings pose a significant risk to the environment. Cd (44 ppm on average) and As (0.6 wt.%) concentrations are particularly high – and have a marked influence on the adjacent water bodies, such as the Freiberg Mulde river. Curbing this influence has been the subject of multiple remediation studies, but pressure to act has risen recently due to increasing regulatory demands on the quality of surface water (EU Water Framework Directive of 2000). This is, in principle, very much in favor of re-mining the tailings in an effort to remove also hazardous components. Counteracting this reclamation scenario is the fact that the TSF is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Erzgebirge / Krusne Hory” that was awarded in 2019. Another restriction pertains to the highly protected status of individual species (esp. sand lizard) settling on the TSF surface. This constellation obviously provides ample space for discussion as to how to deal with the tailings material contained in the Davidschacht TSF in future. Different sustainable development goals (SDG) have to be weighed against each other in order to find a holistic and sustainable. Airlift reactor-based bioleaching has been considered as an opportunity to maximize the sustainability of re-mining activities on the Davidschacht TSF. This innovative approach – and its circumstantial limitations – are documented in this contribution.</p>

Materials on the ecology of background species of reptiles in the Tambov Region

The paper presents data on the ecology of two common species of reptiles in the Tambov Region: the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758, and the common grass snake, Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). The material was collected in the Michurinsky, Pervomaysky, Tambovsky and Inzhavinsky (on the territory of the Voroninsky State Nature Reserve) Districts of the Tambov Region during the 2019 field season. Field observations and accounting for the numbers of animals on the routes were carried out in the most typical biotopes for the study sites: in pine forest, deciduous forest, in steppe areas affected to varying degrees by anthropogenic transformation, in floodplains of rivers and along the shores of lakes and artificial reservoirs. Information on the following aspects of the ecology of these reptile species in the region is presented and discussed: habitat distribution and numbers, seasonal and diurnal activity, phenology of reproduction and development and the influence of anthropogenic factors. All materials obtained as a result of our own research are compared with the data of the literature sources cited in the paper. On the basis of wide distribution in the region, relatively high numbers and trends to synanthropy it is stated that the state of the populations of the sand lizard and common grass snake in the region in the present conditions is safe and special measures for their protection are not required.

Morphological function of toe fringe in the sand lizard Phrynocephalus mystaceus

Toe fringe is the most typical morphological feature of lizards adapted to sandy environments, and it is simple in shape, can evolve repeatedly, and has a high degree of repetition; therefore, this feature is suitable for testing the adaptive convergence suggested by form-environment correlations. Phrynocephalus mystaceus mainly lives in dune habitats, has a developed bilateral toe fringe, and exhibits fast sand-burying behavior for predator avoidance. We tested the effects of resecting the medial and bilateral toe fringes on the locomotor performance and sand-burying performance of P. mystaceus. The results showed that the maximum sprint speed and acceleration on sand substrate did not significantly differ under different conditions (P > 0.05). Sand-burying performance scores of the unresected individuals were significantly greater than those of the resected individuals (P < 0.05). A partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis showed that the relative area of toe fringe was the main factor affecting the sand-burying performance of unresected P. mystaceus. For lizards without fringe, the PLS regression showed that the swinging index of the hind-limb was the main factor affecting the sand-burying performance of the lizard. A comparison of the swinging indexes of the hind-limb of the lizard under three states revealed that under the unresected states, the frequency of the swinging of the hind-limb was significantly higher than those of lizards with resected bilateral fringes, further indicating that the lizards compensated for the loss of fringe by increasing the time and frequency of swinging of the hind-limb. A path analysis also showed that the fringe affected the sand-burying performance of P. mystaceus not only directly but also indirectly by affecting the frequency of the swinging of the hind-limb. After the bilateral toe fringe was removed, a significant negative correlation between locomotor and sand-burying performance was observed (P < 0.05). Taken together, these results provide experimental evidence that toe fringe is positively associated with the sand-burying performance of P. mystaceus.

Pathomorphological Changes in Organs of Rabbits with Experimental Colibacillosis

The aim of this research was to study pathomorphological alterations in the internal organs of rabbits through experimental reproduction of colibacillosis. The studies were conducted on 10 clinically healthy rabbits at the age of 3 months from a private farm. Animals were infected by intraperitoneal injection of a suspension of a pure culture of Escherichia coli isolated from a sand lizard. The disease of infected rabbits was accompanied by cachexia, dehydration and fever. The pathological process in the organism of infected animals was characterized by the violation of hemodynamics, the protein dystrophy of the parenchyma of liver, kidneys, myocardium and the formation of specific granulomas in the lungs and liver. The edema of reticular tissue and the hyperplasia of lymph nodes were observed in the organs of the immune system. The expressive edema of mucous membrane and submucosa, as well as alterative and necrotic processes were detected in the intestine.

State of herpetofauna of the shelterbelts at different distances from the agrocenoses treated by pesticides

Differences in the herpetofauna of the shelterbelts, which are located at different distances from the fields treated with pesticides, have been studied. It was found that the herpetofauna of artificial forest plantations on the right bank of the Samara River consists of five species: Bufotes viridis, Pelobates vespertinus, Natrix natrix, Coronella austriaca and Lacerta agilis. The grass snake was only found in forest plantations that remote at a distance of 5 kilometres from agrocenoses and could not be treated with pesticides. In the studied areas, two species of snakes (C. austriaca and N. natrix) had the lowest numbers. Amphibians and the sand lizard are the most numerous animals in both groups of shelterbelts. The highest indicator of relative dominance in the herpetofauna of forest belts was observed for the sand lizard, which reflects the greater ecological plasticity of this species. The Renkonen index (more than 90%) showed the similarity of herpetofauna groups of shelterbelts both remote and adjacent to agrocenoses treated by pesticides. The herpetofauna groups of forest belts of both groups had similar indices of dominancy (0.35–0.46), alignment (0.78–0.97) and diversity according to the Shannon (1.07–1.22) and Simpson indices (0.29– 0.35). The lowest indicator of species richness (0.48) is determined for the forest belts adjacent to agrocenoses. Thus, artificial forest plantations that are directly affected by agricultural activities (pesticide use, reduction in food, etc.) can also act as refugia to maintain biodiversity. Nevertheless, this will depend on the amount and duration of pesticide use, so further research is needed for definitive conclusions. Forest belts, which have existed for half a century or more, are a kind of separate ecosystems that can help in understanding various issues of Zoology (fauna and species distribution), Ecology (population dynamics, population structure) and microevolution (processes in new relatively isolated systems).

Tick parasitism is associated with home range area in the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis

The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a common species in Europe that inhabits a wide range of habitats, including anthropogenic environments. It is a frequent carrier of common ticks (Ixodes ricinus), which poses a severe threat to the lizards’ health. We determined the living space used by lizards in a rapidly changing environment and ascertained the number of parasitic ticks found throughout the reptile’s active season. We conducted telemetry research on a dynamically developing housing estate located on the outskirts of the city of Zielona Góra (western Poland) in 2016-2017. We obtained data from 16 adult lizards, from which we collected 2529 ticks. Using generalized linear models (GLMs), we determined the relationships among the number of transmitted parasites, size of occupied areas (minimum convex polygon, MCP), the weight of lizards, and sex of lizards. Results indicated that the number of ticks was negatively correlated with lizard body mass, but positively correlated with home range. Sex was not significantly associated with the number of ticks. Additionally, the parasite load was lower during the lizard’s non-breeding season than during the breeding season and was lower for males than for females during the non-breeding season. Males have larger home ranges than females.

Cytochrome b mitochondrial gene analysis-based phylogeography of a Sand lizard in the Crimea: ancient refugium at the peninsula, late expansion from the North, and first evidence of Lacerta agilis tauridica and L. a. exigua (Lacertidae: Sauria) hybridization

The contact zones of the distribution ranges of closely related reptile taxa are the source of valuable data on the microevolutionary processes in populations, the history of regional faunas origin, and the environmental preferences of the studied forms. Our study is focused on the genetic structure of the populations of sand lizard, Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758, at the Crimean peninsula. This lacertid species inhabits the mountain (afforested) and plain (steppe) parts of the Crimea, being abundant or common in many areas. Lacerta agilis is represented in the Crimea by two subspecies: the widely distributed Eastern (L. a. exigua Eichwald, 1831) inhabiting a large part of Northern Eurasia, and the endemic (L. a. tauridica Suchow, 1927) residing in the Crimean mountains. Mitochondrial haplogroup affiliation corresponding to one of the subspecies (L. a. tauridica, L. a. exigua or L. a. chersonensis) was established for 225 L. agilis individuals from 81 localities in the Crimea and adjacent mainland territories. The nucleotide sequences of the complete cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA (1143 bp) were studied in 75 L. agilis individuals from 68 localities. The genetic distance between both subspecies inhabiting the Crimea revealed by used molecular marker comprised 2.8%, which indicates their early divergence approximately at the transition of Early to Middle Pleistocene (ca. 1 Mya). L. a. tauridica is characterized by a comparatively deep genetic structure. Haplotypes occupying isolated positions on the phylogenetic tree of this subspecies were found in the south-western part of the Crimean Mountains, what might be explained by the localization of L. agilis microrefugia in areas least affected by the Late Pleistocene cooling. Genetic structure of L. a. exigua is more homogeneous. Another important result of our study was an identification of zones of haplogroups «exigua» and «tauridica» coexistence localized along the northern and eastern margins of the Crimean Mountains. The portion of the «exigua» haplogroup in local populations decreases southward and westward. The observed pattern of the spatial distribution of haplogroups seems to be a result of the hybridization zone formation between the sand lizard subspecies during the Holocene expansion of L. a. exigua. Ecological niches modeling for L. agilis subspecies and analysis of morphological variability of the lizards support the hypothesis of L. a. exigua and L. a. tauridica hybridization in the area of contact of their ranges in the eastern part of the Crimean Mountains.