STRATIGRAPHICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GORNY ALTAI ALLUVIAL DEPOSITS IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE

It is shown that representative sections of the Late Pleistocene alluvial deposits are found mainly in planations of main valleys and intermountain basins of the Gorny Altai. The data of optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating characterizing the Malyi Yaloman alluvium in the stratotypic Malyi Yaloman section and in same-age reference sections in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Katun River are presented. That implied the regional stratigraphical significance of the Malyi Yaloman alluvium and it attribution to the epoch separating two Late Quaternary glaciations of the Gorny Altai. The question is raised of the need to identify the stratigraphical significance of regional and local events that caused not only glacial, but also seismic damming of the Gorny Altai valleys in the Late Pleistocene.

New records of vascular plants for the flora of Lebanon: a rare species rediscovered after seventy years, Daphne pontica L. (Thymelaeaceae), and three new occurrences, Atropa bella-donna L. (Solanaceae), Circaea lutetiana L. (Onagraceae), and Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (Celastraceae)

During a series of surveys in two valleys of Mount Lebanon between 2014 and 2020, four new occurrences of vascular plants were detected. Atropa bella-donna L. (Solanaceae, Spermatophyte), Circaea lutetiana L. (Onagraceae, Spermatophyte), and Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (Celastraceae, Spermatophyte) were recorded for the first time in Lebanon, while Daphne pontica L. (Thymelaeaceae, Spermatophyte), thought to be extirpated in Lebanon was rediscovered after 70 years. The updated distribution and ecology of these four Euro-Siberian elements, relics of the Quaternary glaciations, are presented.

Diversity of Ostrya carpinifolia Forests in Ravine Habitats of Serbia (S-E Europe)

We investigated vegetation in ravine habitats of Serbia, in order to classify hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia Scop.) forests in syntaxonomic terms, assess the effects of environmental factors on their floristic differentiation, and detect the biodiversity components of the analyzed communities. Both K-means clustering and Bayesian classification revealed five ecologically interpretable groups of forests that belong to the alliances Ostryo carpinifoliae-Fagion sylvaticae, Ostryo carpinifoliae-Tilion platyphylli, Fraxino orni-Ostryion carpinifoliae, Pseudofumario albae-Ostryion carpinifoliae, and Achilleo ageratifoliae-Ostryion carpinifoliae. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that these alliances are clearly differentiated along a combined light–moisture gradient (from shade and mesic to sunny and xeric variants). The alpha diversity increases from xeric to mesic alliances. A lower alpha diversity in xeric forests may be explained by the stress conditions that prevent mesic species from colonizing the saxatile habitats. Extremely high—almost the greatest possible—values of both the species turnover and beta diversity were detected in all variants of the analyzed forests. Such high diversity may be the result of the strong environmental gradients in ravine habitats. The investigated forests represent an important pool of rare, paleo-endemic species that survived Quaternary glaciations in ravine refugia.

Impact of the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution and Anthropogenic Factors on the Dispersion of Asian Black-Spined Toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

Divergence-time estimation critically improves the understanding of biogeography processes underlying the distribution of species, especially when fossil data is not available. We hypothesise that the Asian black-spined toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, expanded into the Eastern Indomalaya following the Quaternary glaciations with the subsequent colonisation of new landscapes during the Last Glacial Maximum. Divergence dating inferred from 364 sequences of mitochondrial tRNAGly ND3 supported the emergence of a common ancestor to the three D. melanostictus clades around 1.85 (±0.77) Ma, matching with the Lower to Mid-Pleistocene transition. Duttaphrynus melanostictus then dispersed into Southeast Asia from the central Indo-Pacific and became isolated in the Southern Sundaic and Wallacea regions 1.43 (±0.10) Ma through vicariance as a result of sea level oscillations. The clade on the Southeast Asian mainland then colonised the peninsula from Myanmar to Vietnam and expanded towards Southeastern China at the end of the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution 0.84 (±0.32) Ma. Population dynamics further highlight an expansion of the Southeast Asian mainland population towards Taiwan, the Northeastern edge of the species’ range after the last interglacial, and during the emergence of the Holocene human settlements around 7000 BP. Thus, the current divergence of D. melanostictus into three segregated clades was mostly shaped by Quaternary glaciations, followed by natural dispersion events over land bridges and accelerated by anthropogenic activities.