Microbial Population of the Digestive Tract of Click Beetle Larvae (Elateridae, Coleoptera).

The composition and functional structure of the intestinal microflora of three wireworm species (Agriotes obscurus (L.), Selatosomus aeneus (L.), and Ampedus pomorum (Herbst)) with different dietary regimes were studied.

[Effects of the Vital Activity of Soil Insect Larvae on Microbial Processes in the Soil].

The effects of Elateridae larvae (wireworms) on the structure, functional diversity, and tolerance of the soil microbial population in steppe ecosystems have been investigated. The trophic and locomotor activity of wireworms leads to an appreciable increase in bacterial abundance and suppression of fungal activity. The fungal hyphae in the presence of wireworms are significantly damaged, which can be related to the feeding activity of Elateridae.

[Peculiarities of the biotope distribution of click beetle larvae (Coleoptera, Elateridae) in the Irtysh river valley].

The spatial distribution of Elateridae larvae in the Lower Irtysh valley has been analyzed. The larvae analyzed belonged to 19 Elateridae species inhabiting soils of the floodplain and the river terrace. It has been pointed out that the larvae of Paraphotistus nigricornis, A.

[The contribution of M.S. Giliarov to the theory of evolution].

A review is presented of academician M.S. Ghilarov's principal works dealing with general problems of the evolutionary biology.

[Factors determining the origin and maintenance of redundant species diversity of the soil animal population (by a case study of the Far East)].

The factors determining the origin and maintenance of a high taxonomic diversity of soil communities are discussed by a case study of the key groups constituting the soil saproblock. The bulk of the species richness in the southern Far East is localized to the coniferous-deciduous forests retaining the tertiary elements in their flora and ancient relations with the Asian tropical fauna. The roles of the following factors are considered: the long-term geographic isolation in the absence of catastrophic climate changes; pyrogenic effects, enhancing formation of isolated survival sites; and abundance of mutagenesis in various pedobiont groups.

[Prospects of using the electrophoresis technique for identification of the taxonomic status of earthworms (Lumbricidae)].

The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique was used for comparison of common protein of body wall tissues in five species of Lumbricidae (Eisenia nordenskioldi, E.fetida, Lumbricus rubellus, Aporrectodea caliginosa, A. longa).

[Specific features of nitrogen transformation in the gut and coprolites of earthworms].

It has been found that nitrogenase activity in the guts and coprolites of three earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris, Aporrectodea rosea, and Aporrectodea caliginosa) is one to three orders of magnitude higher than that in the control soil. In A. caliginosa earthworms, the actual nitrogenase activity remains high upon keeping them in soils of different types.

[Genetic diversity of populations of the earthworm Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffm.) (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae)].

The genetic diversity of Lumbricus rubellus Hoffm. earthworms collected in different parts of the Moscow and Kiev regions was studied by means of electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, using the loci encoding unspecific esterases and generic proteins as biochemical-genetic markers. A considerable diversity of samples in all alleles of these loci was revealed.

[Evaluation of production parameters of earthworms Eiseniella tetraedra Sav. in a laboratory culture].

Use of earthworm Eiseniella tetraedra in vermiculture was tested for the first time. The structural parameters of its natural and laboratory populations under constant hydrothermal conditions were determined together with the production parameters such as the rate of weight gain, cocoon production, and duration of embryonic development. The mean weight gain was 84% of the baseline within 6 weeks, the rate of cocoon deposition was 0.

[The recent trend of the biodiversity dynamic of biotic communities in forest-steppe oak forests].

Comparative studies of the structure and diversity of model biotic communities (grass cover, soil macrofauna, xylotrophic fungi and xylophilous coleopterans) were carried out in oak forests of the core and buffer zones of the Voronezh biosphere reserve. The functional structure of the communities in the buffer zone had clearly expressed nemorose features characteristic of the broad-leaved zonal forests, while that in the core zone demonstrated more xerophilous patterns with a wide participation of meadow-steppe elements. The restricted anthropogenic activity in the buffer zone enhances the mesophytization of the oak forest habitats.

[Temperature as a factor of niche separation in free-living mesostigmatid mites (Mesostigmata: Arachnida, Parasitiformes) of storm detritus].

We carried out a laboratory investigation of temperature effect on survival as well as reproductive and trophic activities of mesostigmatid mites. Representatives of gamasid (three species) and uropodid (two species) mites abundant in storm detritus were used as model species. The upper reproduction limit and the upper survival limit were determined for the mites and their preys in the thermal range of 29-47 degrees C.

[Rates of decomposition processes in mountain soils of the Sudeten as a function of edaphic-climatic and biotic factors].

The rate of grass litter decomposition was studied in soils of the Karkonosze Mountains of the Sudeten at different altitudes. Parallel structural-functional investigations of the soil animal population on the example of soil macrofauna were carried out and heavy metals were assayed in the soil at stationary plots to reveal the effects of both natural and anthropogenic factors on the soil biological activity. The recent contamination of soil in the Sudeten by heavy metals and sulfur does not affect the spatial distribution and abundance of the soil-dwelling invertebrates and the decomposition rates.

[Study of diversity of the animal population in zonal climatic gradients using the transect method].

Zonal trends of changes in animal population diversity on land are studied with the models of individual taxa and multispecies communities. Development of the transect method and use of different scale topoecological gradients make it possible to follow the succession of the species composition and topical preferences of individual species, as well as changes in their absolute and relative abundance, which lead to changes in the structure and pattern of functioning of the community as a whole. Modern methodological approaches concerning organization of complex studies on megatransects crossing several natural zones are analyzed.