Lake Baunt Research Articles

New Annotated Records of Helminth Parasites with Light Microscopy III Acanthocephala (Archiacanthocephala and Eoacanthocephala)

We give an account of 8 species of acanthocephalans in two classes and 4 families collected from hosts in different geographical locations in Iran, India, Canada, Russia, and the USA. Each species account is annotated and morphologically presented using light microscopy showing characteristic diagnostic features. None of these accounts has been previously published. All geographical records and many host associations are new. In the Class Archiacanthocephala, we include Moniliformis kalahariensis Meyer, 1931 cystacanths (Moniliformidae) from Blattella (Phyllodromia) germanica Linn. in Bombay, India. In the Class Eoacanthocephala, we include Neoechinorhynchus (Hebesoma) carinatus Buckner and Buckner, 1993 from Erimyzon tenuis (Agassiz) in Louisiana, Neoechinorhynchus (Hebesoma) pungitius Dechtiar, 1971 in Lake Huron, Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) rutili (Müller, 1780) Hamann in Stiles and Hassall, 1905 from Leuciscus idus (Linn.) in Lake Baikal, Russia Neoechinorhynchus (Neoechinorhynchus) tumidus Van Cleave and Bangham, 1949 from Coregonus sp. in Baunt Lake, Russia, and Tanaorhampus longirostris Van Cleave, 1913 cystacanth (Neoechinorhynchidae) in Ohio. In the eoacanthocephalan family Quadrigyridae, we also describe specimens of Acanthocephalorhynchoides cholodkowskyi (Kostylew, 1928), from Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes) in Iran and provide morphometric comparisons with other collections from elsewhere.

Annotated catalogue of the type specimens of salmon, cod and cottoid fishes described by Dmitry Taliev

The article provides a brief biography of the ichthyologist Dmitry Nikolayevich Taliev (1908–1952), as well as information and illustrations for 24 taxa described by him from the White Sea (Gadidae – one subspecies), the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk (Salmonidae – one subspecies), Lake Baikal (Cottidae – 2 species and 4 subspecies; Abyssocottidae – 6 species and 8 subspecies), and Lake Baunt (Cottidae – 1 subspecies; Abyssocottidae – 1 species). For 19 taxa, photographs and radiographs of type specimens kept in the collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg, Russia) are presented for the first time. Type specimens of three species and two subspecies from the families Cottidae and Abyssocottidae found in the collection are examined and catalogued. It was revealed that Cottus kessleri bauntovi Taliev, 1946 and Limnocottus kozovi Taliev, 1946 are morphologically similar to Cottus sibiricus, a species widely distributed in Siberia, including Lake Baunt. According to modern fish taxonomy, Taliev’s 12 taxa are valid. Findings of type specimens in the historical collection are extremely important for the scientific community.

The Early Neolithic–Middle Bronze Age environmental history of the Mamakan archaeological area, Eastern Siberia

This study presents the first radiocarbon-dated palynological record from a peat section (57°49′10.03"N; 114°03′31.37"E, 251 m above sea level) in the Mamakan area located in the lower Vitim River valley, about 350 km northeast of Lake Baikal. While the area is particularly renowned for its numerous multi-layered Upper Palaeolithic (ca. 50,000–14,000/10,000 cal yr BP) archaeological sites with rich cultural assemblages, there is also evidence for human occupation during the Mesolithic–Neolithic–Bronze Age period (ca. 14,000/10,000–3000 cal yr BP). However, the absence of accurately dated palaeoenvironmental records does not allow discussion of prehistoric human–environment interactions in this area. The records of pollen, spores and other non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) from the Mamakan site presented in this article document changes in the vegetation and climate of the study area between 6570 and 3630 cal yr BP. From 6570 to 6200 cal yr BP the vegetation around the site was dominated by sparse forests of mainly spruce and larch, indicating that the permafrost layer was located relatively close to the surface. Fir was part of the forest communities in habitats with a milder microclimate and a deeper permafrost layer. Around 6200 cal yr BP Scots pine started to spread across the study area. Until 4670 cal yr BP it dominated the pollen spectra of the Mamakan record, indicating warmer conditions. Climate cooling and higher soil moisture is indicated by the spread of Siberian pine and Siberian dwarf pine at the expense of Scots pine between 4670 and 3840 cal yr BP. From 3840 cal yr BP the Mamakan record suggests a landscape opening associated with the spread of Sphagnum-dominated bog vegetation and an increase in the occurrence of wildfires (3870–3820 cal yr BP), which were either natural in origin or caused by human activities. The spread of Scots pine paralleled by a decline in dark conifers (spruce and fir) and larch in the Lake Baikal Region (LBR) has been linked to a ‘hiatus’ in the Cis-Baikal archaeological records of the Middle Neolithic (6660–6060 cal yr BP). Around the Mamakan site this vegetation change occurred comparatively late, about 600 years later than in the regions around and east (e.g. Lake Baunt area) of Lake Baikal. The Mamakan pollen and NPP records, together with the available archaeological data, suggest that the environmental conditions in the lower Vitim River area may have sustained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle also during the ‘hiatus’ interval.

INFECTION OF COREGONIDS OF CHIVYRKUISKY BAY OF LAKE BAIKAL AND TSIPO-TSIPICANSKIYE LAKES BY TRIAENOPHORUS CRASSUS PLEROCERCOIDS

Triaenophorus crassus is the causative agent of muscular trienophorosis in fish, especially pathogenic for juvenile salmonids and coregonids. The purpose of this work was to analyze the infection of coregonids with T. crassus plerocercoids in the Chivyrkuisky Bay of the Lake Baikal and Tsipo-Tsipikanskiye (Bauntovskie) lakes (basin of the Lena River, Transbaikalia). Level of infection with plerocercoids T. crassus in coregonids from 1976 to 2013 in the Chivyrkuisky Bay of the Lake Baikal did not cause concern: the prevalence in the Baikal omul did not exceed 23.6%; intensity was no more than 6 specimens; the prevalence in the Baikal whitefish is up to 5.0%. At the same time, in 1954, in the Chivyrkuisky Bay, a higher level of infection of the Baikal omul was noted (the prevalence was 44.4%; the intensity was 1–9 specimens), which does not allow us to exclude a recurrence of this situation in the future. There was a sharply different situation in terms of infection of coregonids with T. crassus plerocercoids in two lakes of the Tsipo-Tsipikanskaya group: in the lake Bolshoye Kapilyushi, the prevalence of this cestoda is ten times higher than in the lake Baunt. It is likely that such contrasting levels of infection were associated with the difference in the location of the habitats of pike (the definitive host of T. crassus) and coregonids in these lakes: the coincidence in the lake Bolshoye Kapylyushi and divergence in the lake Baunt.

Hydrological (in)stability in Southern Siberia during the Younger Dryas and early Holocene

Southern Siberia is currently undergoing rapid warming, inducing changes in vegetation, loss of permafrost, and impacts on the hydrodynamics of lakes and rivers. Lake sediments are key archives of environmental change and contain a record of ecosystem variability, as well as providing proxy indicators of wider environmental and climatic change. Investigating how hydrological systems have responded to past shifts in climate can provide essential context for better understanding future ecosystem changes in Siberia. Oxygen isotope ratios within lacustrine records provide fundamental information on past variability in hydrological systems. Here we present a new oxygen isotope record from diatom silica (ẟ18Odiatom) at Lake Baunt (55°11′15″N, 113°01,45″E), in the southern part of eastern Siberia, and consider how the site has responded to climate changes between the Younger Dryas and Early to Mid Holocene (ca. 12.4 to 6.2 ka cal BP). Excursions in ẟ18Odiatom are influenced by air temperature and the seasonality, quantity, and source of atmospheric precipitation. These variables are a function of the strength of the Siberian High, which controls temperature, the proportion and quantity of winter versus summer precipitation, and the relative dominance of Atlantic versus Pacific air masses. A regional comparison with other Siberian ẟ18Odiatom records, from lakes Baikal and Kotokel, suggests that ẟ18Odiatom variations in southern Siberia reflect increased continentality during the Younger Dryas, delayed Early Holocene warming in the region, and substantial climate instability between ~10.5 to ~8.2 ka cal BP. Unstable conditions during the Early Holocene thermal optimum most likely reflect localised changes from glacial melting. Taking the profiles from three very different lakes together, highlight the influence of site specific factors on the individual records, and how one site is not indicative of the region as a whole. Overall, the study documents how sensitive this important region is to both internal and external forcing.

Climate Signals in the Late Quaternary Bottom Sediments of Lake Baunt (Northern Transbaikalia)

Abstract —The bottom sediments of lakes with different mineralization located in the basins of inland areas are high-resolution archives of climate and environmental changes. We present results of study of the Late Pleistocene–Holocene sediments of freshwater Lake Baunt, one of the lakes of the Baunt (Tsipa) depression in the permafrost zone in northern Buryatia. The sediments were studied by XRD, IR spectroscopy, laser granulometry, elemental analysis, AMS dating, etc. Mineral analysis of the bottom sediments with an age of ~18 ka has revealed predominant phyllosilicates, quartz, and feldspars. Mathematical modeling of complex XRD spectra made it possible to identify chlorite, muscovite, illite, mixed-layer illite–smectite and chlorite–smectite, and kaolinite among the phyllosilicates. We have determined their structural and crystal-chemical features and quantitative proportions in the section (800 cm long core), which vary in accordance with the climate cycles and lake level fluctuations. The results obtained helped to reconstruct the evolution of the Lake Baunt basin controlled by the regional climate throughout the Late Pleistocene–Holocene. This paper continues a series of our publications concerned with the reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene–Holocene climate in East Siberia by comprehensive studies of the mineral composition of sedimentary sections of small lakes.

Phyllosilicates in bottom sediments of Lake Baunt (northern Transbaikalia) as indicators of paleoclimate

The lacustrine sediments are unique natural archives that store records of environmental and climatic changes. We present results of study of the Late PleistoceneHolocene sediments of freshwater Lake Baunt, located in the permafrost zone in northern Transbaikalia. The sediments were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectroscopy, laser granulometry, elemental analysis, AMS dating, etc. The results of mineral analysis of the bottom sediments with an age of ~18 ka showed that they are mainly represented by phyllosilicates, quartz, and feldspars. By the mathematical modeling of complex XRD patterns chlorite, muscovite, illite, mixed-layer illitesmectite and chloritesmectite, and kaolinite identified among the phyllosilicates. It was established that variations of their structural features as well as quantitative proportions in the section are in high correlation with the climate changes and lake level fluctuations. The results obtained helped to reconstruct the evolution of the Lake Baunt basin controlled by the regional climate throughout the Late PleistoceneHolocene.

Genetic Variability of Three Isolated Populations of the Muya Valley Vole Alexandromys mujanensis Orlov et Kovalskaja, 1978 (Rodentia, Arvicolinae)

In the present study, on the basis of cytogenetic and molecular genetic (mtDNA control region) analysis, genetic variability of the Muya valley vole, Alexandromys mujanensis, an endemic of Buryatia and the northwest of Zabaykalsky krai, was assessed. Three isolated valley vole populations from the Muisko-Kuandinskaya and Barguzinskaya depressions, as well as the Baunt Lake valley, were examined. Polymorphism in the number of autosomal arms (NFa = 46–49) with a stable number of chromosomes (2n = 38), determined by morphological variability of four pairs of autosomes (MMUJ2, MMUJ7, MMUJ8, and MMUJ14), rather than two, as previously thought, was revealed. To date, for the Muya valley vole, ten karyotype variants have been identified. It seems likely that chromosomal rearrangements (pericentric inversions, as well as two variants of fusion of acrocentric chromosome pairs, i.e., centromeric-centromeric and centromeric-telomeric), which led to variability in autosome morphology in the populations of the Muya valley vole, are not harmful. Analysis of the mtDNA control region revealed high haplotype and nucleotide diversity for the species as a whole, while in the valley vole samples from the Dzherginsky Nature Reserve (Barguzinskaya Depression) and the Baunt lake valley, nucleotide diversity was reduced compared to the sample from the Muisko-Kuandinskaya Depression. Despite the fact that each of the studied populations has a unique composition of chromosomal rearrangements and mtDNA haplotypes, higher similarity between the populations of the Muisko-Kuandinskaya Depression and the populations of the Baunt lake valley can still be suggested.

Features of Parasitic Fauna of the Common Ruff Gymnocephalus cernuus (L.) in Tsipo-Tsipikanskiye Lakes (Transbaikalia)

A study of the parasitic fauna of the common ruff from Tsipo-Tsipikanskiye lakes (Baunt and Large Kapylushi) has made it possible to identify 19 species, including 12 in the first Lake Baunt and 15 in the second Lake Large Kapylushi. A study of the parasitic fauna of the common ruff in Lake Baunt has been carried out for the first time. Ten species of parasites (ciliates Apiosoma campanulatum and Trichodina sp., monogeneans Dactylogyrus hemiamphibothrium and Gyrodactylus sp., cestodes Cyathocephalus truncatus and Proteocephalus cernuae, trematodes Diplostomum volvens and Tylodelphys clavata, the nematode Raphidascaris acus, and acantocephalan Pseudoechinorynchus borealis) have been recorded in the common ruff from Tsipo-Tsipikanskiye lakes for the first time.

New Transbaikalian finds of the Muja Valley vole (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Alexandromys mujanensis)

The Muja vole, Alexandromys mujanensis Orlov et Kovalskaya, 1975, was described in the result of the karyological analysis and experimental hybridization. Since the first description the Muja vole has been considered to inhabit only the Muja Valley. Some Far Eastern voles were collected in 2013 and 2014 from the Dzherginsky Nature Reserve of the Barguzin Valley (Dzhirga sample), and the Baunt Lake vicinity (Baunt sample) (Transbaikalia, Buryatia). The species from these geographic localities were identified by use of karyotypic and cytb-gene analyses. On the cytb-gene tree these voles are in the same clade with Muja voles from the type locality (the Muja Valley). The karyotype of the vole from Barguzin Valley corresponds to that previously described for the Muja voles (Meyer et al. 1996). According to the result of the shape analysis of m1 occlusal surface the sample from the Baunt Valley includes two species – A. mujanensis and A. maximowiczii. Unless more detailed analysis of the material from the different parts of the Baunt Valley is carried out, we suppose it to be inhabited by three species – A. maximowiczii, A. mujanensis, and according to the data from literature – A. oeconomus. So far as some molecular-genetic differences between Muja voles from the Dzhirga and Baunt Lake vicinity were found, the experiments on hybridization between them were set. The F1 hybridization between them were fertile. A. mujanensis taxonomic position and terms of its origination are discussed.

First Data on Gothenburg and Mono Lake Excursions in Paleomagnetic Records from Bottom Sediments of Transbaikal Lakes (Exemplified by Baunt Lake)

First Data on Gothenburg and Mono Lake Excursions in Paleomagnetic Records from Bottom Sediments of Transbaikal Lakes (Exemplified by Baunt Lake)

First Data on the Gothenburg and Mono Lake Excursions in Paleomagnetic Records from Bottom Sediments of Lakes of Transbaikalia (Exemplified by Baunt Lake)

The first results of radiocarbon dating of the Gothenburg and Mono Lake paleomagnetic excursions identified in a sedimentary section of bottom sediments of Baunt Lake (Northern Transbaikalia) are presented. The exact geochronological positions of these excursions are 13.2 and 25.8 ka, respectively. The estimated time of existence of the paleomagnetic events of ~100 and 500 years for the Gothenburg and Mono Lake excursions, respectively, can serve as geochronological markers for understanding the real time over which such global changes in the Earth’s magnetic field can occur.

First results of study of Lake Baunt bottom sediments (northern Transbaikalia)

In March 2014, the Lake Baunt bottom sediments were drilled in the deepest part of the lake basin (33 m). The penetrated interval is 13.7 m thick, with the age of the base being evaluated at 28-30 ka. Lithological study of the penetrated sediments demonstrates the upper part of the section dominated by diatom ooze, whose concentration decreases gradually downward the section, up to the replacement of the ooze by silty clay. The obtained data on variations in petromagnetic parameters, concentration of biogenic silica, and sediment compaction indicate considerable variations of sedimentary environments during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Being compared with the previously reconstructed landscape and climate dynamics for the sedimentary succession of Lake Kotokel for this time interval, the above parameters reveal that the Lake Baunt bottom sediments reliably fix the regional paleoclimate signal. For the first time for lakes of the Baikal region, Gothenburg and Mono Lake magnetic excursions are identified in the paleomagnetic record of the Lake Baunt section.

Taxonomic status and origin of some ecological forms of whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) from water bodies of Siberia

Molecular genetic analysis of some ecological forms of whitefish belonging to the Coregonus lavaretus (L.) complex from different water bodies of Siberia revealed a high degree of differentiation between them. On the basis of the analysis of the mitochondrial DNA protein-coding ND1 gene, it was demonstrated that the previously described ecological forms of C. anaulorum, Yenisei River whitefish, or Issatschenko’s whitefish (C. fluviatilis), and cisco-like whitefish from Lake Baunt were good biological species. Moreover, each ecological form was represented by a number of phylogenetic lineages, one of which was species-specific. The remaining lineages were characterized by the mitochondrial DNA of another whitefish species, usually, the most common in each geographic region. The results of genetic analysis demonstrated that the formation of modern ecological forms of Siberian pidschian-like whitefish was accompanied by natural introgressive hybridization. It is suggested that most of the modern pidschian-like whitefish species originated as a result of reticulate evolution.

Environmental changes in the northeast of the Buryat Republic during the Holocene post-Optimum: First results

The results of a high-temporal-resolution geochemical and pollen analysis of bottom sediments in Lake Baunt (55°11′15″ N and 113°01′45″ E), located within the continuous permafrost zone, have made it possible to reconstruct the environmental and climate changes in northern Buryatia during the Holocene post-Optimum for the first time. Over the last almost 7000 years, the natural and climatic conditions in the northeast of Buryatia have not remained homogeneous. A relatively warm and dry climate occurred here at the end of the Holocene Optimum between 6900 and 6000 BP. Later, about 6000–1500/1000 BP, the climate became colder, long-term permafrost activated, and chemical weathering attenuated. The climate over the last 1500–1000 years was colder in general than the modern climate. The environmental indices have different values in sediments with respect to warm and cold intervals and reflect the sedimentation conditions what were controlled by climate changes.

Determination of main rock-forming elements, strontium and zirconium by X-ray fl uorescence analysis for the geochemical characterization of bottom sediments

Quantitative X-ray fluorescence determination of major rock-forming oxides (Na 2 O, MgO, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , P 2 O 5 , K 2 O, CaO, TiO 2 , MnO and Fe 2 O 3 ) and some microelements (Sr and Zr) was performed in the samples of 143 cm-long sediment core of Lake Baunt (Buryat Republic) by the wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis on the S8 Tiger spectrometer. Calibration curves were obtained by measuring the certified reference materials of the sedimentary rocks. Both analyzed and reference samples were prepared as glass beads by fusion of 110 mg of sample with1.1 g of lithium metaborate. We have used 110 mg mass to ensure the formation of beads with appropriate 10 to 12 mm size across to be measured by the spectrometer with8 mm mask. Rh Kα Compton line was used as a background standard for Sr and Zr determination. The repeatability did not exceed the allowable standard deviation for a wide range of concentrations. Results of major rock-forming oxides determination were compared with the data of spectrophotometry and flame photometry techniques, results of Sr and Zr determination were compared with the data of synchrotron radiation excited X-ray fluorescence technique. All results of the X-ray fluorescence analysis were accepted as satisfactory. Quantitative analysis of each centimeter of Lake Baunt sediment core allowed building first reconstructions of the local environment during the last 7000 years with unique resolution of about 100 years. Keywords: wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis, synchrotron radiation induced X-ray fluorescence analysis, sediments, paleoclimate (Russian) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/analitika.2017.21.1.003 A.A. Amosova, V.M. Chubarov,E.V. Kaneva, Iu.N. Markova Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Favorsky , 1A, Irkutsk , 664033, Russian Federation

New host species and new distribution areas of Salmincola lavaretus (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae): A parasite of coregonid fishes of Siberia

Data on the infestation of certain fish species by the parasitic copepod Salmincola lavaretus are presented for the first time. The infested fish species included Bauntovsky whitefish (Coregonus baunti), an endemic species from the Maloye and Bolshoye Kapylyushi lakes; Siberian whitefish (C. pidschian) and Siberian cisco (C. sardinella) from Bolshoye Kapylyushi Lake and Baunt Lake, which belong to the Tsypo-Tsypikan lake system (the Lena River basin, Transbaikalia); and Teletsky whitefish (C. lavaretus natio smitti) from Teletskoe Lake (the Ob River basin). Previously, S. lavaretus had been described as a parasite of Baikal omul (C. migratorius) and Baikal whitefish (C. baicalensis) from Baikal. The taxons of S. longimanus complex (S. longimanus, S. l. sibirica, S. svetlanovi, and S. lavaretus)—parasites of nasal fossae of grayling and coregonid fishes—were registered in the lakes of the Lake Baikal basin (Lake Baikal and Khovsgol Lake), the Lena River, the Yenisei and the Ob rivers (the largest rivers of the Arctic zoogeographic province), and the Kobdo River (the Western Mongolian province). It was assumed that S. longimanus complex is more widely distributed in the water bodies of the Arctic zoogeographic province of the Palearctic.

Parasitic fauna of whitefishes of the genus Coregonus (C. pidschian, C. baunti, and C. sardinella) from lakes of the Tsipa-Tsipikanskaya system (Transbaikalia)

The parasitic fauna of whitefishes of the genus Coregonus from Lakes Baunt and Large Kapylushi of the Tsipa-Tsipikanskaya system in the riverhead of the Vitim River (the inflow of the Lena River) has been studied. It is presented by 25 species. The maximum species diversity of the parasitic fauna (20 species) was registered in Coregonus baunti, which is the local endemic from Large and Small Kapylushi lakes. The lowest species diversity (9 species) was revealed in C. sardinella, in the refugium, from Lake Baunt isolated from the solid habitat of this fish. The parasitic fauna of C. pidschian included 17 species in the population from Lake Large Kapylushi or 13 species in Lake Baunt. The influence of taxonomic and ecological factors on the diversity and similarity of the parasitic fauna of various whitefishes is discussed.

The History of Manayunkia [Polychaeta: Sedentaria: Sabellidae] propagation in North Eastern Asia

This study aimes to elucidate the history of propagation of the freshwater Manayunkia polychaetes in North-Eastern Asia and their speciation in Lake Baikal. Nucleotide polymorphism analysis of of the CO1 Folmer fragment allowed to establish the sequence of migration and speciation events. Phylogenetic analysis and bayesian comparison of possible scenarios supports the hypothesis that the origin of the Manayunkia migration was the Kolyma river basin, from where the polychaetes migrated into Baikal and diverged into at least three species, one of which (M. godlewskii) served as the source of migrants into the Lake Baunt system.

Morphological, ecological and mtDNA sequence variation in coregonid fish from the Baunt Lake system (the Vitim River basin)

We performed morphological, ecological and genetic analyses of taxonomically complex sympatric whitefi sh forms inhabiting the Baunt Lake system in the Vitim River basin, Transbaikalia. It was shown that the whitefi sh forms in this system clearly differed based on morphological traits, growth rate and diet. The most signifi cant differences were based on the number of gill rakers, while the number of lateral line scales was similar. These whitefi sh had distinct diets, namely euryphagous and planktivorous diets. We developed a phylogeny of mtDNA haplotypes among the whitefi sh species and populations from the Baunt Lake system and the headwater regions of the Ob and Yenisei River basins. A morphologically homogeneous cisco-like whitefi sh sample revealed two distinct mitochondrial lineages. A strong genetic divergence between the fi rst mitochondrial lineage of cisco-like whitefi sh and all of the studied whitefi sh forms was revealed. We analyzed alternative hypotheses regarding the ori gin of cisco-like whitefi sh and the densely rakered whitefi sh form from the Baunt Lake system.