Astrakhan Regions Research Articles

The Attitude of Student Youth in the South of Russia to the 2021 Population Census

Introduction. A census is a necessary tool of managing a modern state. IT penetration into all spheres of life caused digitalization of census, the procedure which rests on consciousness and is voluntary in its nature. Transition to these technologies is related to a number of difficulties influencing the quality of census. The goal of the article is to identify the attitude of the south Russian students’ youth to participation in census, its optimal forms and the aspects causing major concerns among this target group. Materials and Methods. Students’ behavioral attitudes towards the census and participation in it, have become the subject of research. The research consisted of two stages: right before the census (2019) and right after it (2021). Using the method of standardized survey, the author has identified the attitudes and behavioral patterns of students from leading universities of Astrakhan and Rostov regions and the Republic of Kalmykia (n = 200 on 2019; n = 300 on 2021 in each subject). Constructivist approach considering different types of identities, referred to during the census as social constructs, has become the conceptual basis of the research. Results. The analysis of the empirical data gathered demonstrates a low level of student engagement in census accompanied by the majority of the target group lacking the comprehension of its sense. At the same time, the survey results point to the rise of civil identity paired with the stable interest to ethnocultural identity, high loyalty level to bilingualism and multiple cultural identity. Students have shared their concern about the quality of the census procedure. Discussion and Conclusion. The first experience of digitalizing the census procedure points to the necessity of using the youth appealing digital technology for appropriate presentation of this large-scale event and promoting it among the young audience. Lack of attention to this side of census defines the youth’s reluctant attitude to participating in it and may become the foundation for further distorting of its results. The obtained findings are useful to researchers when analyzing the results of the 2021 population census, as well as to specialists engaged in the development of the program and tools for the population census.

Противостояние сельхозпроизводителей рискам в аграрной сфере Юга России

In the harsh conditions of market realities, the constant sanctions of Western states announced against Russia for a long period, the strongest survive, those who successfully integrated into the system of economic relations, were able not only to adapt to the harsh conditions of the market, but also to increase the profitability of agricultural enterprises, improve activities, technologize many processes in the economy. This article analyzes the experience of profitable family farms in the studied southern Russian regions of the Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions. For this purpose, we have used materials from regional media and the Internet. Despite certain difficulties with low purchase prices, distribution channels, inaccessible loans, the high cost of feed, veterinary drugs, equipment, the entire 30-year post-Soviet period has shown that small rural businesses represented by farmers, individual entrepreneurs, are able to meet the growing consumer demand for high-quality and organic food, expanding the range due to the products of regional producers, local brands, adapting the release to the dynamic change in consumer demands. The considered farms not only successfully solve these problems, but also resist a variety of different risks (natural and climatic, macrosocial, financial), but also are for rural areas the most important factor in preserving rural society, its employment, rural infrastructure. The decline in the number of peasant farms throughout the country, which took place in the previous quarter of a century, should stop and be replaced by a reverse trend. This will indicate that the importance of this rural way of life in ensuring the country's food independence has been assessed and conditions have appeared for the mass management of family commodity farms, for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

Assessment of the wind power plants role in CO2 emissions reducing and energy supply in the regions of Russia

The article contains an analysis of the share of mayor wind power plants in regional energy mixes and evaluation of their contribution to CO2 emission reducing, basing on the data for wind capacities construction and launch. The estimations showed that wind plants in Republic of Kalmykia could cover more than 94% of industrial and household electricity demand. Forecast evaluations for the wind plants planned to be put into operation until 2024 demonstrate a high wind potential for satisfaction of energy demand in Republics of Kalmykia and Adygeya as well as in Ulyanovsk and Astrakhan regions. The decrease in CO2 emissions in the regions of Russia was estimated by 2024 due to the absence of emissions at wind farms in the amount of 4.5 million tons per year.

Floristic records in the Mangystau region (Western Kazakhstan)

The article reports on the floral records of seven plant taxa for the Mangystau region: Cakile maritima (subsp. euxina), Epilobium hirsutum, Rosa canina, Hordeum murinum. Among the finds, Cakile maritima subsp. euxina is a new genus and species for the flora of Kazakhstan, presumably it also grows on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, in the Atyrau (Kazakhstan) and Astrakhan Regions (Russia). Epilobium hirsutum and Rosa canina are given for the first time for the Mangyshlak floristic district, and Hordeum murinum – for the Northern Ust-Urt.

Detection of West Nile Virus in Overwintering Mosquitoes in the Volgograd Region

Introduction: West Nile fever is a zoonotic, vector-borne viral infection caused by West Nile virus. The possibility of persistence of West Nile virus in overwintering mosquitoes in regions with a temperate climate is of great importance for understanding the mechanisms of pathogen circulation. Objective: To detect West Nile virus in mosquitoes during the inter-epizootic period in the Volgograd Region. Materials and methods: In 2013–2021, we collected overwintering mosquitoes in different locations of the Volgograd Region using a battery-powered aspirator with a Krishtal’s trap to detect West Nile virus RNA in them using a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. An isolate (WNV Volgograd_o16/19) was obtained from sample o16/19 (Cx. pipiens, collected on April 2, 2019) with detected West Nile virus RNA using a VERO cell culture. After that, total RNA was isolated from the filtered cell supernatant of that isolate. Metagenomic sequencing of the sample was performed using a high-throughput Illumina MiSeq sequencer, Illumina Inc., USA. Results: In total, we collected 4,070 mosquitoes in wintering shelters and tested 157 pools of the insects for West Nile virus RNA. The latter was detected in two pools of Culex pipiens and in one pool of Anopheles maculipennis complex. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the WNV Volgograd_о16/19 strain isolated from the pool of wintering mosquitoes belonged to lineage 2 of West Nile virus. We also established its belonging to the monophyletic clade of West Nile virus strains isolated in the Volgograd, Astrakhan, and Rostov regions in the years 2007 and 2018–2020. Conclusions: We were first to detect West Nile virus in overwintering mosquitoes in the Volgograd Region. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that lineage 2 strains of encephalitic West Nile virus persist in mosquitoes during the inter-epizootic period and can be transmitted from mosquito to bird in springtime as one of the mechanisms of forming autochthonous foci in WNV endemic areas of the Russian Federation in the absence of the annual import of this infection.

The biochemical composition of gwizotia (Guizotia abissinica) oil seeds depending on growing conditions

This paper presents a comparative assessment of the content of fatty acids in the oil seeds of Abyssinian Guizotia grown in various agro-climatic regions. The Guizotia seeds grown in contrasting agro-climatic regions had a high and stable yield of 1.38-1.75 t/ha. The fat content in Guizotia seeds varied within 36.51-40.18%. On the rich chernozem soils of the Penza and Tambov regions, the fat content is 39.21 and 38.74%, respectively. A low amount of fat was noted on slightly humus soils of the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions (36.51 and 36.73%). The main component of the fatty acid composition of Abyssinian Guizotia oil is a polyunsaturated fatty acid - linoleic, the content of which reaches a high value from 65.85 to 80.01%. Its maximum content reaches in seeds from Penza and Tambov (79.17 and 80.01%). At higher temperatures and poor soils in North Ossetia-Alania, a decrease in the concentration of this acid to 65.85% was noted. At the same time, the concentration of oleic and palmitic acids increases here to 9.16% and 9.17%, the values of which are 1.2-1.7 and 1.1-1.3 times higher than these figures in other areas. The content of saturated stearic acid ranged from 4.91% (Tambov) to 8.90% (Astrakhan). The concentration of linolenic acid remains at a low level of 0.14-0.39%, with its maximum value in the original seeds grown in the homeland (Ethiopia). The percentage of arachidic acid is 0.12-0.70%, with its maximum in oil seeds grown in the Astrakhan region. Hotter, drier conditions during the growing season of Guizotia tend to increase saturated acids and decrease linoleic acid.

Environmental tradeoffs of agricultural growth in Russian regions and possible sustainable pathways for 2030

The paper analyses the current ecological consequences of agricultural growth in Russia’s main regions (oblast level) during 2011–2019. Our main hypothesis was that local environ­mental risks, like waste concentration, would be closely related to global climate risks such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production of crops, meat, milk, eggs, and from land use change (LUC) activities leading to a larger carbon footprint. We first analyze official data for agricultural waste and find that 30% of it is concentrated in just two regions (Belgorod and Kursk), while they produce only 10% of agricultural value of Russia. Next, we find that manure nutrients have a high concentration in regions where the livestock production is not balanced with appropriate nutrient use on croplands (Dagestan, Astrakhan, Leningrad, and Pskov regions) which might lead to the pollution of soils and local waters. Next, we test the GLOBIOM partial equilibrium model to evaluate proper agricultural protein production quantities in Russian regions and respective GHG emissions from crop, livestock and land use change activities. We find that 21% of the GHG emission in 2019 came from the conversion of former abandoned agricultural land into cropland (starting from 2011). While some regions such as Krasnodar, Rostov, and Stavropol increase productivity with low carbon footprint, others, like Amur and Bryansk, increase production by cropland expansion without respective productivity growth which leads to higher carbon footprint. Our results for livestock operations show that the main hypothesis did not hold up because regions which increase meat production, like Belgorod, Kursk, Pskov, and Leningrad, have a lower carbon footprint due to the production of pork meat and poultry which have lower GHG emissions due to specific digestion. On the other hand, these regions experience a higher environmental footprint due to the large concentration of waste which could be harmful for local eco­systems. Finally, we use the model to project possible future development up to 2030. Our results show the possible growth of crop and livestock products in most of the regions driven by external demand for food. The extensive scenario shows additional GHG emissions from cropland expansion, while the intensive scenario reveals a larger growth rate accompanied by productivity growth and lower carbon footprint, which is essential in harmonizing the current agricultural and climate policy of Russia.

Arkadiy Ivanovich Korolev: 60th birthday!

The paper analyzes Arkadiy Ivanovich Korolevs creative career. He was born in a teachers family, worked at an automobile manufacturing company, graduated from the Faculty of History of Kuibyshev State Pedagogical Institute named after V.V. Kuibyshev (currently Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education), and worked as a teacher at school. Since 1985, he has worked his way up from a laboratory assistant at the archaeological research laboratory to the dean of the History Faculty of Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education. Starting from his students life, he became interested in research work. He conducted archaeological excavations in the republics of Bashkortostan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, as well as Astrakhan, Volgograd, Penza, Tambov, Ryazan, Moscow, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk and other regions. His scientific interest is the study of the Volga region during the Stone Age. He studied the monuments of the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Ages. He defended his PhD thesis in 1999. He is a co-author of several monographs on the Eneolithic of the Sura and Moksha interfluve. He has written more than 100 scientific publications and methodological recommendations on various aspects of archaeology. He actively participates in the accomplishment of state tasks and grants. A.I. Korolev is a member of the European Association of Archaeologists, he participates annually in international conferences and has published articles in highly ranked scientific journals. In his tenth year as dean, he continues to conduct archaeological students internships, provides methodological assistance to his students for the preparation of speeches and papers, teaches undergraduates, and provides leadership to graduate students.

РАЗМЕЩЕНИЕ И СПЕЦИАЛИЗАЦИЯ ПРОИЗВОДСТВА СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННОЙ ПРОДУКЦИИ В ПРИГРАНИЧНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

Groups of border geostrategic territories bordering the EAEU countries unite 11 regions that are part of the Southern, Volga, Ural and Siberian Federal Districts. Agribusiness development management systems in these territories should be formed based on the administrative-territorial situation of each individual region, based on the available evidence, taking into account macro-regional interactions within the framework of the listed federal districts, since the territories included in the same federal district have similar trends in the regional development of agricultural specialization and the level of development of the gross regional product. The Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, with different volumes of agricultural production in GRP (8.4% and 15.5%, respectively), have a preponderance of the crop production sub-sector in the structural proportion of agriculture, have similar volumes of production of the industry per capita and relatively the same levels of average wages, which ultimately affects the ratio of agricultural production per capita the ratio of the population to wages in the region, which had a value of 1.8 in both regions. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the gross production of agricultural products in the Volgograd region is 3 times higher than the production in the Astrakhan region. The Volga region regions differ the most from the analyzed group of border geostrategic territories, since production per capita significantly exceeds the level of wages. So, in the Samara region, this indicator was 2.75, in Orenburg – 3.78, and in Saratov – 4.73, which is the fourth place out of all the analyzed regions. In these areas, there is an uneven distribution of the shares of agriculture in GRP. If agriculture occupies almost 18% of the GRP in the Saratov region, then in the Orenburg and Samara regions these indicators are 10% and 6%, respectively. The development of agricultural business management systems in these territories should be based on the geographical location of these regions, which have unique opportunities for the development of crop production, which occupy a large share in the regional structure of agricultural products. Three regions of the analyzed group are included in the Ural Federal District – Kurgan, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions. They are also similar in terms of the ratio of agricultural production to the average regional wage, and this value varies from 1.02 (Tyumen region) to 1.35 (Kurgan region), and the latter region has the lowest GRP – 233.5 billion rubles. and almost 20% of it is occupied by agricultural production.

Atmospheric transport of dust aerosol from arid zones to the Moscow region during fall 2020

<abstract> <p>We analyzed the unique episode of long-range dust/sand atmospheric aerosol transport from the arid zones of the southern European territory of Russia, i.e. the Northern Caspian and Astrakhan regions and the Kalmykia Republic, to the Moscow region during fall 2020. Intensive complex experiments were carried out at the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciencesin the center of Moscow through different seasons during 2020–2021 to study the composition of near-surface aerosols in the Moscow megacity. The experimental data are considered to take into account the synoptic features and meteorological conditions. Abnormally high values of near-surface aerosol mass concentrations in Moscow were registered during the period from 6 to 14 of October 2020 under stable anti-cyclonic conditions, with calm or quiet/light wind (1–2 m/s), and under the conditions of the dominance of southeastern air mass transport. At the same time, the average daily mass concentration of aerosol particles PM<sub>10</sub> exceeded the Maximum Permissible Concentration (MPC) value (60 µg/m<sup>3</sup>) by 1.5–4.5 times, and the number of large (micron) particles increased by an order or more. Comparative analysis of aerosol elemental composition in Moscow (during this episode) and in Kalmykia (according to observations in July 2020) showed high correlation for terrigenous elements' patterns. The aerosol origin for this episode was confirmed by performing long-range trajectory analysis of air mass transport (HYSPLIT model), and by using MERRA-2 reanalysis data for dust aerosol spatial distribution.</p> </abstract>

Масличность сортообразцов сафлора красильного в условиях аридной зоны Северного Прикаспия

Safflower is a low-cost, low-maintenance crop that, when grown in arid conditions in Astrakhan and other regions with unstable weather conditions, with the right selection of varieties, can produce stable yields of oilseeds and be an insurance crop. The resulting safflower oil seeds can be used as a highly nutritious feed for poultry and livestock, or as a raw material for the oil and fat industry. Safflower oil can also be widely used both in the food industry, as an alternative to sunflower oil, and in the chemical industry, for example, for the production of drying oil. Experiments on the study of safflower varieties in the arid conditions of the northern Caspian Sea were laid during 2019 ... 2021. The study was carried out with varieties from the world collection of the All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources named after N.I. Vavilov. 24 varieties of various ecological and geographical origin underwent a comprehensive study. As a result, varieties with promising productivity and oil content were identified that can be used in further breeding when creating varieties adapted for arid territories. This article presents the results of the analysis for the oil content of the studied varieties. The highest oil content of 31.0 ... 31.6% was noted in varieties from Kazakhstan - Moldir and Nurlan, as well as in the Alexandrite sample of the Nizhnevolzhsky Research Institute of Agriculture breeding. The calculation of the oil yield per hectare made it possible to identify the most productive samples from Kazakhstan - Center 70 with an oil yield of 348.3 kg/ha and Shirkas - 292.7 kg/ha, as well as Akmai - 291.4 kg/ha. The variety samples isolated during the study can be used in further breeding of adapted, high-oil varieties of safflower.

Социальная полезность российской модели профессионального спорта

Introduction. This article defines the relevance of the research, substantiated by the need to study the processes of transformation of professional sport in the last decades of its development. The problem is posed, according to which the actors of professional sport have multidirectional target orientations, which causes the loss of institutional stability. The hypothesis is put forward, according to which the loss of the norms-principles that constitute content of professional sport will cause deformation of the essence of sport. The current domestic and foreign discourse on the problem is presented. Methods. The empirical research was carried out using the method of an expert survey in the form of a questionnaire. The object is the main actors of professional sport. Number of experts – 490. Place of the research – city Moscow, Rostov and Astrakhan regions. Results and its discussion. In order to preserve professional sport as a sport of the highest achievements, it is necessary to secure the status of the leading actor of this sub-institute for the state. Russian professional sport has few independent sources of livelihood. At the same time, the importance of barriers to its development is significant, among which it should be noted 1) the lack of sufficient number of large business, independent of the government and able to be a sponsor, especially in the regions. 2) low purchasing power of the population. 3) poorly developed consciousness of law and legal nihilism, due to which there are serious threats to expect the deformation of professional sport into pseudo-sport spectacles without rules and with deliberately prescribed results. If we wish to avoid the loss of high-performance sport as a national treasure, then reducing the burden of state spending on professional sport can only be achieved in the distant future, and the path to this lies through a significant increase in the quality of training the sport reserve.

Phytoplasma diseases of vegetable crops in Russia

Phytoplasma DNA was detected in 72 samples of vegetable crops collected in eight regions/territories of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Crimea. The analyzed plants belonged to 13 species (Armoracia rusticana, Artemisia dracunculus, Capsicum annuum, Conundrum sátivum, Cucumis melo, Cucurbita maxima, Daucus carota var.sativus, Melissa officinalis, Petroselinum crispum, Phaseolus vulgaris, Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum melongena and Vicia faba), to 7 families (Apiacea, Asteracea, Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae and Solanaceae). The belonging of phytoplasma to a group/subgroup was established by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of amplicons obtained in nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We identified phytoplasmas of four groups most characteristic of the Russian Federation: Aster yellows - 16SrI, X-disease - 16SrIII, Clover proliferation - 16SrVI and Stolbur - 16SrXII. All phytoplasmas isolated from plants collected in the southern regions of the Russian Federation (Astrakhan and Rostov regions, Krasnodar Territory, and the Republic of Crimea) belonged to stolbur group, subgroup 16SrXII-A, like most phytoplasmas from plants of the Samara region. Phytoplasmas of the 16SrVI group were found in plants from the Moscow, Samara, and Novosibirsk regions, the 16SrIII group - in plants from the Vologda and Moscow regions, and the 16SrI group - only in samples from the Moscow region.

Эффективность применения комбинированного гербицида Акрис, СЭ на основе диметенамида-Р и тербутилазина в посевах подсолнечника

Trials with a herbicide Acris, SE (280 g/l of dimethenamid-P + 250 g/l of terbuthylazine) were carried out in the Astrakhan, Krasnodar and Altai regions. The aim of this work is studying biological and economic efficiency of pre-emergence treatment with the combined herbicide Acris, SE on sunflower. The treatment with the herbicide Acris, SE (2.0–3.0 l/ha) made it possible to prevent many annual dicotyledonous weeds: Chenopodium album, Amaranthus retroflexus, Fagopyrum tataricum, Abutilon theophrastii and Solanum nigrum. Ambrosia artemisiifolia, found in the Krasnodar region, is less sensitive to this herbicide. The herbicide Acris, SE was highly effective in suppressing annual monocotyledonous weeds: Echinochloa crusgalli and Panicum miliaceum. Efficiency of the herbicide ACRIS was at the level of the standard Gardo Gold, and at the maximum application rate (3.0 l/ha) exceeded the standard one. Pre-emergence soil treatment with the herbicide Acris, SE did not have a negative effect on the germination of sunflower. Significant increase of sunflower yield was noted in all regions of trials. The most significant values were observed on varieties Flagman and R 453 in the Krasnodar region (8.7–9.2 and 7.0–7.5 quintal/ha, respectively). The lowest yields of sunflower in untreated control (10.2 and 11.0 quintal/ha) were observed in the Altai region, but the relative increase in yield in variants with the herbicide Acris, SE application was maximum (from 29.1 to 67.6% in relation to yields in untreated control). In the Astrakhan region, application rates of the herbicide Acris, SE of 2.5 and 3.0 l/ha were characterized by statistical significance (increases up to 2.5 and 3.2 quintal/ha, respectively).

Resource-saving elements in onions growing technology on Nizhjeje Povolzhje region irrigated lands

The aim of this work was to prove many years research (at least two rotations) devoted to the problems of onion growing for industrial purposes on Nizhneje Povolzhje irrigated land. For these purposes, we have selected two farms with typical characteristics and production conditions in Astrakhan and Volgograd regions. During the period of the first rotation (2011-2015), we conducted competitive tests for the number of onion varieties and hybrids introduction and adaptation, as the result of which the zoned variety Volgodonets was selected for the second rotation (2016-2020) as a control and two regionalized hybrids of foreign selection Pandero F1 and Benefit F1. These samples were sown in the selected experimental plots as part of five-field vegetable-grain crop rotations in both farms. As the result, over five years of observations, the Benefit F1 hybrid showed the highest yield of 150.16 t/ha, Pandero F1 - 139.58 t/ha, and the Volgodonets variety - only 69.35 t/ha in Astrakhan region and 129.57 t/ha; 103.10 t/ha; 74.00 t/ha, respectively, in Volgograd region. The highest profitability indicator was provided by the Benefit F1 hybrid, which amounted to 87.94%.

Prospects for the development of aquaculture in the southern regions of Russia

The article presents an analysis of the prospects for the development of aquaculture in the southern regions of Russia. It is shown that the volume of aquaculture in the southern regions of the country in 2020 amounted to more than 78.6 thousand tons, which is 24% of the all-Russian. The Southern Federal District is one of the three leaders in the production of aquaculture products, its volume amounted to 81.4 thousand tons in 2019 and 70.2 thousand tons in 2020. About 90.6% of aquaculture products were received in the Rostov and Astrakhan regions, Krasnodar Krai. The volume of commercial production in the Republic of Crimea has increased significantly (by 23%). Pasture aquaculture, pond and industrial fish farming, recreational aquaculture, and mariculture are promising areas in the federal District. There is a great variety of growing objects, these are both traditional species for the region and the country — carp, herbivorous, sturgeon, and pike, common and channel catfish, walleye, perch, pilengas, paddlefish, buffalo. In addition, shellfish farms are actively developing on the coast of Crimea. The prospects of interaction between fundamental, branch, university science and enterprises of the real sector of the economy are shown. In order to achieve sustainable development of the country’s aquaculture, it is necessary to strengthen state support measures, especially for small businesses and fish farming. At the same time, support should be provided not only at the state, but also at the regional level.

Elimination of the consequences of pasture digression in the desert-steppe zone with the help of phytomelioration

The state of pasturelands within the borders of the Volgograd, Astrakhan regions and the Republic of Kalmykia, where the scale of degraded and unproductive land increases every year, is considered. At the moment, the area of degraded and unproductive farmland is 6819.6 thousand hectares. In particular, 2249.0 thousand hectares are subject to erosion, 88.8 thousand hectares to deflation, 4.7 thousand hectares to the combined manifestation of erosion and deflation. Unproductive saline lands are in the region of 1459.3 thousand hectares. The area of land with salt complexes reaches 2517.6 thousand hectares. Pastures are most at risk. Their productivity is 1-8 c/ha of dry weight, depending on the type of soil, the degree of its salinity, the mode of use, the stage of the process of desertification. The possibilities of practical use of phytomeliorants for improving the land reclamation status and restoring the fertility of zonal soils of the semi-desert-steppe zone of southern Russia are considered. Phytomeliorated forage lands are effectively used, produce stably, become zootechnically comfortable and provide an increase in the number of animals.

Филогеография скорпиона М. caucasicus (Nordmann 1840) внутри ареала рода Mesobuthus (Vachon 1950) (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Currently, new habitats of scorpions of the genus Mesobuthus have been established on the territory of the republics of Armenia and Dagestan. The aim of the study was to determine the phylogenetic position of scorpions inhabiting the territories of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Dagestan. This study contributes to the development of ideas about the zoogeographic distribution of the scorpion fauna in the Palaearctic. In the course of the research, phylogenetic relationships of the species Mesobuthus caucasicus from the territory of the Republic of Dagestan and Armenia with other taxa of the genus Mesobuthus from the Lower Volga region and southern Kazakhstan were established. This work is a continuation of the authors’ research on the study of phylogeny, morphological features and distribution of scorpions of the genus Mesobuthus in the Caspian, North Turan and Scythian regions. For the first time, DNA sequences for the СОI gene of the species M. caucasicus and M. eupeus from the territory of the Republic of Dagestan (Russia) and the Republic of Armenia were introduced into the complex analysis. A dendrogram was constructed based on the decoded nucleotide sequences of representatives of the populations of the Saratov, Volgograd, Astrakhan regions, the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Armenia and South Kazakhstan. It was found that representatives of M. caucasicus from Dagestan are included in the Central Asian complex of species of the genus Mesobuthus, in particular, they are close to the species M. fuscus, M. intermedius, M. kreuzbergi. As for scorpions from the populations of the Saratov, Volgograd, and Astrakhan regions, at the moment of research they form a separate cluster, which confirms their isolation from the species M. caucasicus and M. eupeus.

Alien Pests Can Spread Quickly: Wooly Ash Aphid Prociphilus fraxinifolii (Hemiptera: Eriosomatidae) Has Occupied Europe in 18 Years

Prociphilus fraxinifolii (woolly ash aphid) is a pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). This species, which is native to North America, was first recorded in Europe in 2003, in Budapest, and then began to spread quickly. In 2019–2021, we first detected P. fraxinifolii in Belarus (Brest) and eight regions of European Russia, namely Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Volgograd and Voronezh regions. By 2021, P. fraxinifolii has spread over a vast territory in Europe: from Spain in the west to the Volga River in the east. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost localities is 4180 km. The known range is disjunctive: Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Spain and 16 regions of European Russia. This case indicates that some alien pests are able to occupy the whole of Europe in less than two decades after the first record in the continent. It is known that P. fraxinifolii can infest native ash species F. excelsior, but all our findings, as well as most findings indicated in the literature, were on F. pennsylvanica introduced from North America. We never found P. fraxinifolii on F. excelsior even near infested F. pennsylvanica trees.

Molecular genetic analysis of West Nile virus variants circulating in European Russia between 2010 and 2019

Aim. A study of the prevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) genetic lineages and genovariants in the south of European Russia between 2010 and 2019.Materials and methods. The study was carried out on 311 WNV containing biological samples from patients, vectors and reservoirs of infection. WNV typing was carried out using reverse transcription and real-time polymerase chain reaction with designed three pairs of primers and three probes and by the sequencing of the 277 bp WNV genome region corresponding to the 5'-untranslated region and locus of the polyprotein gene encoding the capsid protein C. Sequencing results were analyzed using the Nucleotide BLAST software (NCBI).Results. As a result of typing, out of 311 WNV RNA isolates taken for the study, 15 (4.82%) were assigned to lineage 1 (from Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Republic of Tatarstan), 285 (91.64%) to lineage 2 (from Astrakhan, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Penza, Rostov and Saratov regions, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Republics of Kalmykia and Crimea), and 11 (3.54%) to lineage 4 (from the Volgograd region, Republics of Kalmykia and Crimea). The predominance of viral lineage 2 was demonstrated. The identified isolates of the viral lineage 1 belonged to the «Astrakhan» variant, isolates of lineage 2 belonged to «Russian» and «European» variants. Previously uncommon WNV variants of lineages 1 and 4 were also found.Conclusion. Lineage 2 of WNV prevailed in the south of European Russia in the last decade. The «Russian» variant is most common and its area is expanding. The circulation of various WNV genetic lineages in Russia indicates the need for further study of their spread and improving diagnostic methods and test systems for identifying and differentiating pathogen strains.