Kolguev Island Research Articles

Новые находки лихенофильных грибов и лишайников с острова Колгуев (Российская Арктика)

Twenty-six species of lichenicolous fungi and fifteen lichen species are newly reported from Kolguev Island. These include Arthonia pannariae, A. peltigerea, Cercidospora punctillata, C. stenotropae, Didymocyrtis consimilis, Endococcus propinquus, Geltingia associata, Knufia peltigerae, Muellerella hospitans, M. lichenicola, Niesslia cladoniicola, Peltigera extenuata, Polyblastia gothica, Polycoccum peltigerae, and Stigmidium peltideae first reported for the Nenets Autonomous Area of Russia. A species of Sphaerellothecium growing on Psoroma hypnorum is briefly described, illustrated, and compared with Sphaerellothecium pannariacearum. The distribution of the taxa listed is discussed. A total of 95 lichen species and 27 species of lichenicolous fungi are known for Kolguev Island to date.

A high-altitude population of Hyperboreomyzon polaris (Hirudinea: Glossiphoniidae) in Altai Mountains, South Siberia, Russia.

Hyperboreomyzon polaris Bolotov, Eliseeva, Klass & Kondakov, 2022 (Hirudinea: Glossiphoniidae) is an enigmatic freshwater leech that was recently described based on three specimens from two remote regions of the Eurasian Arctic, that is, the Kolguev Island and Putorana Plateau, Russia. Later on, misidentified historical samples of this species were discovered in the Hirudinea collection of Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia). These samples were collected by Pavel G. Ignatov, a prominent Russian geographer and traveler, from a remote high-altitude area of the Altai Mountains (South Siberia) in 1901. To collect new samples from this population, we organized a field expedition to the same area (Lake Dzhulukul) in 2023. Molecular genetic data (COI and 18S rRNA) obtained from newly collected specimens revealed that they belong to H. polaris. Hence, this leech could be considered an Arctic-alpine species, the disjunctive range of which covers Arctic areas of Eurasia and Central Asian (South Siberian) mountains. We describe and illustrate living individuals of H. polaris for the first time, update its morphological diagnosis, present a life cycle reconstruction based on the frequency of four size classes in available samples. It is shown that this species prefers small lentic water bodies such as small lakes and lakelets. The crop content of a well-fed specimen from Altai contains DNA of the northern pintail Anas acuta Linnaeus (Aves: Anatidae), indicating that H. polaris feeds on blood of waterfowl. Our results indicate that Hyperboreomyzon may be considered a species adapted to cold high-latitude areas and mountain refugia.

Остров Колгуев как объект мониторинга биоты западного сектора российской Арк­тики

The article presents the research results on the Kolguev Island Arctic biota dynamics under climate change in the 21st century. The researchers substantiate the prospects for using the island as a model territory for studying the dynamics of the biota in the western sector of the Russian Arctic. They outline that the area meets all the requirements for a monitoring object due to the relative representativeness of climate, vegetation and landscapes, spatial integrity, diversity of biota, variability of structure, functioning and dynamics, as well as the presence of long-term observation series. The researchers propose a system of indicators for monitoring the state of the biota, soils and ecosystems of the island and methods of their observation.

New to Russia records of lichens and a lichenicolous fungus from the Kolguev Island (Russian Arctic)

Two species of lichens, Buellia insularis and Polyblastia cataractae, as well as a lichenicolous fungus Lasiosphaeriopsis lecanorae, were identified as new for Russia during the comprehensive studies of vegetation on the Kolguev Island. For each species, a brief description is given based on the specimens studied, differences from closely related species, ecological features, and global distribution are shown.

TWO LINEAGES OF ORIBATID MITES MORPHOLOGICALLY CORESPOND TO THE CIRCUMPOLAR SPECIES <i>AMERONOTHRUS NIGROFEMORATUS</i> (ACARI, ORIBATIDA) BUT DIFFER GENETICALLY AS DISTINCT SPECIES ARE REVEALED ON THE KOLGUEV ISLAND

Until recently, data on the genetic characteristics of the oribatid mite Ameronothrus nigrofemoratus have been reported only from the Northern Canada. Analysis of the partial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) mtDNA sequence of the mites from Kolguev Island that morphologically correspond to this species has revealed two highly divergent phylogenetic lineages of A. nigrofemoratus (divergence of 7%), neither of which was found on the Canadian coast. One lineage differs by four COI amino acid substitutions from North American A. nigrofemoratus. This corresponds to the degree of difference between A. nigrofemoratus and its sister species A. lineatus.

Barnacle geese Branta leucopsis breeding on Novaya Zemlya: current distribution and population size estimated from tracking data

The Russian breeding population of barnacle geese Branta leucopsis has shown a rapid increase in numbers since 1980, which has coincided with a southwest-wards breeding range expansion within the Russian Arctic. Here barnacle geese also started to occupy coastal and marsh land habitats, in which they were not know to nest on their traditional breeding grounds. While these changes have been well documented by studies and observations throughout the new breeding range of barnacle geese, observations are lacking from the traditional breeding grounds on Novaya Zemlya, as this area is remote and difficult to access. This is especially relevant given rapid climate warming in this area, which may impact local distribution and population size. We used GPS-tracking and behavioural biologging data from 46 individual barnacle geese captured on their wintering grounds to locate nest sites in the Russian Arctic and study nesting distribution in 2008–2010 and 2018–2020. Extrapolating from nest counts on Kolguev Island, we estimate the breeding population on Novaya Zemlya in 2018–2020 to range around 75,250 pairs although the confidence interval around this estimate was large. A comparison with the historical size of the barnacle goose population suggests an increase in the breeding population on Novaya Zemlya, corresponding with changes in other areas of the breeding range. Our results show that many barnacle geese on Novaya Zemlya currently nest on lowland tundra on Gusinaya Zemlya Peninsula. This region has been occupied by barnacle geese only since 1990 and appears to be mainly available for nesting in years with early spring. Tracking data are a valuable tool to increase our knowledge of remote locations, but counts of breeding individuals or nests are needed to further corroborate estimates of breeding populations based on tracking data.

Генетическое разнообразие домашнего северного оленя по маркерам двух типов

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare the genetic diversity of populations of domestic reindeer by hereditary polymorphism of proteins and ISSR DNA fragments. Methodology and methods. The polymorphism of proteins and enzymes was studied by electrophoresis in starch and polyacrylamide gels. Polymorphism of ISSR DNA fragments was studied by the standard method of flanking by inverted repetition of microsatellite loci of DNA sites. Data processing and plotting were performed using standard computer programs Gclstats, Genepop, Exsel. Results. According to the transferrin locus (Tf), nine alleles were identified in the deer of the Little-Earth and Big-Earth tundra. Island Kolguev and mainland Chukchi deer have five and seven alleles, respectively. According to the allelic diversity of hepatic esterase (Est-P3) and ISSR DNA fragments, the examined populations did not differ. Judging by the values of the Shannon indices and effective elements, the level of genetic diversity of the Chukchi mainland tundra and Kolguev Island populations was lower than that of the Eastern European tundra mainland populations. Relative to the reindeer of the mainland tundra of Eastern Europe, the Chukchi mainland and Kolguev island populations diverged in opposite directions according to the frequencies of 10 out of 11 ISSR DNA fragments, Est-P3 alleles, as well as rare Tf alleles. Comparison of estimates of genetic diversity by different types of markers in the examined populations using Shannon indices and effective elements gave ambiguous results. Scientific novelty. According to the level of genetic diversity in the time interval of 40–50 years, similar trends in the divergence of the mainland Chukchi and island Kolguev populations relative to the mainland populations of the Little and Big-Earth tundra of Eastern Europe were revealed.

Species Diversity, Settlement Routes, and Ecology of Freshwater Mollusks of Kolguev Island (Barents Sea, Russia)

Species Diversity, Settlement Routes, and Ecology of Freshwater Mollusks of Kolguev Island (Barents Sea, Russia)

Phylogeography and ecology of bumble bees on Kolguev Island, a remote European Arctic landmass.

The bumble bee fauna of the Russian Arctic is rather poorly known. Kolguev Island, a remote insular territory in the Barents Sea, is one of the deficiently studied areas. In this study, material on Kolguev's bumble bees is re-examined, phylogeographic data analysed, putative scenarios explaining the origin of the bumble bee fauna on the island discussed, and the biology and phenology of these insular populations described. Five bumble bee species, i.e., Bombusflavidus, B.lapponicus, B.jonellus, B.pyrrhopygus, and B.balteatus, were recorded on this island. All of these species are widespread throughout the Eurasian Arctic. Bumble bee populations on Kolguev Island are characterised by a low level of molecular divergence from mainland populations. Based on paleogeographic reconstructions and phylogeographic patterns, it is hypothesised that the bumble bees appeared on this island in the Early Holocene. The lack of rodents (lemmings and voles) sharply decreases the number of available nesting places for bumble bees on Kolguev Island.

Severe feather deformation in greater white-fronted goose (Anser alb. albifrons) goslings during hot summer period on Kolguev Island 2016.

In summer 2016, we observed premature feather malformation among goslings of greater white-fronted goose (Anser alb. albifrons), between 7 and 10 weeks of age on family gathering areas on Kolguev Island, Russia, the most important breeding island in the Western Palearctic. Rarely reported in wild birds, to our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been recorded in wild geese of this species, despite continuous ringing and marking of thousands of wild geese across Northern Europe and Arctic Siberia. This feather malformations were documented in 36 unfledged goslings showing weak feather basis, deformed or unevenly grown wing feathers or even dead feather buds. Approximately about one-third of all chicks were affected. Feather malformations like this, causing flightless chicks as a result, have never been noticed in any other of our 12 study years since 2006. The lesion was characterised by soft feather buds, weak or incomplete wing feathers and lack of feather development. No other abnormalities were observed in the goslings, so goslings did not differ in weight or body sizes. Affected fledglings never became airworthy and were killed in large numbers by predators or at latest perished during the Arctic winter. Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10344-022-01603-9.

The first record of Boloria frigga (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) on Kolguev Island, Arctic Russia

A new record of Boloria frigga from the Arctic islands of European Russia is given. Image of a captured specimen, as well as brief considerations on the species habitat, are provided.  

Year-round movements of Long-tailed Ducks Clangula hyemalis from Kolguev Island, Barents Sea

Arctic birds migrating southwards face a multitude of challenges such as habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation of food resources and climate change impacts. Long-tailed Duck winter populations in the Baltic Sea have declined in recent decades. However, precise spatial data are lacking, especially from males. Thus, we aimed to identify the wintering grounds, timing of migration and stopover sites of males and females. We studied spatiotemporal distribution patterns of eight male and five female Long-tailed Ducks using implanted ARGOS satellite transmitters. Birds were tagged in the breeding season on Kolguev Island, Russia. After the breeding period, Long-tailed Ducks from Kolguev used three main post-breeding areas: most males undertook long distance eastward post-breeding migration to areas around the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, while one male and four females moved short to the southeast coast of Kolguev, and one female moved to Mezhdusharsky Island in the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. Autumn migration included stopover sites in the White Sea, Lake Ladoga, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga, and all birds except one spent the winter in the southern part of the Baltic Sea, from the Pomeranian coast and Hoburgs bank to the Gulf of Finland. Only one female stayed in the White Sea for the winter. All but one bird used the White Sea as a stopover site in May, suggesting that this area is of special importance.

The Long-Term Monitoring of Bird Populations on Kolguev Island in the Barents Sea

Kolguev Island (69˚05′ N 49˚15′ E) is located in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The island’s ecosystem is unusual due to the total absence of rodents and specialized predators such as weasels, while non-specialized predators such as Arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red (V. vulpes) foxes and Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) are common. Currently, 111 bird species have been registered here, of which 58 are nesting. The absence of rodents and the relatively stable predation pressure have resulted in the high abundance of many bird species: Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), several goose species, some waders, and passerines. Over the 125-year history of ornithological studies on Kolguev, the island avifauna has changed significantly. The trend of an increase in the proportion of widespread and Siberian species together with a decrease in the proportion of Arctic species was observed. Since 2006, a thorough monitoring of Kolguev avifauna has been carried out, during which the dynamics of the bird population densities have been traced. The abundance of Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina) decreased, while the numbers of Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) have increased sharply since the 1980s. The breeding density of Rough-legged Hawk has also increased in recent years. The long-term monitoring of Kolguev ecosystems has indicated the high international conservation value of the island due to the high breeding density of many bird species. Our study, covering more than a century of avifaunal studies with almost annual monitoring over the past three decades, provides an unusually long and detailed time-series for an Arctic island.

Developing and Testing a Deep Learning Approach for Mapping Retrogressive Thaw Slumps

In a warming Arctic, permafrost-related disturbances, such as retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS), are becoming more abundant and dynamic, with serious implications for permafrost stability and bio-geochemical cycles on local to regional scales. Despite recent advances in the field of earth observation, many of these have remained undetected as RTS are highly dynamic, small, and scattered across the remote permafrost region. Here, we assessed the potential strengths and limitations of using deep learning for the automatic segmentation of RTS using PlanetScope satellite imagery, ArcticDEM and auxiliary datasets. We analyzed the transferability and potential for pan-Arctic upscaling and regional cross-validation, with independent training and validation regions, in six different thaw slump-affected regions in Canada and Russia. We further tested state-of-the-art model architectures (UNet, UNet++, DeepLabv3) and encoder networks to find optimal model configurations for potential upscaling to continental scales. The best deep learning models achieved mixed results from good to very good agreement in four of the six regions (maxIoU: 0.39 to 0.58; Lena River, Horton Delta, Herschel Island, Kolguev Island), while they failed in two regions (Banks Island, Tuktoyaktuk). Of the tested architectures, UNet++ performed the best. The large variance in regional performance highlights the requirement for a sufficient quantity, quality and spatial variability in the training data used for segmenting RTS across diverse permafrost landscapes, in varying environmental conditions. With our highly automated and configurable workflow, we see great potential for the transfer to active RTS clusters (e.g., Peel Plateau) and upscaling to much larger regions.

Specific Features of the Macrozoobenthic Communities of Small Arctic Lakes in Eurasia

The taxonomic structure, typology, species richness, and total abundance of bentic and littoral macroinvertebrate communities from small lakes of the Arctic and Subarctic zones are considered on the basis of original data from three northern Palearctic regions (the foot of the Putorana Plateau, Kolguev Island, and Western Svalbard Island). A comparative analysis of the communities of these regions has been carried out. The features of High Arctic insular, Low Arctic, subarctic, and boreal lake communities are discussed using a large volume of literature data. The complex pattern of changes in the total benthos biomass of small lakes has been revealed: it decreases in the subarctic taiga, increases in the hypoarctic tundra, and decreases again in the High Arctic.

On the spider fauna (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Kanin Peninsula and Kolguev Island, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

On the spider fauna (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Kanin Peninsula and Kolguev Island, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

Year-round spatiotemporal distribution pattern of a threatened sea duck species breeding on Kolguev Island, south-eastern Barents Sea

BackgroundThe long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) was categorized as ´Vulnerable` by the IUCN after a study revealed a rapid wintering population decline of 65% between 1992–1993 and 2007–2009 in the Baltic Sea. As knowledge about the European long-tailed duck’s life cycle and movement ecology is limited, we investigate its year-round spatiotemporal distribution patterns. Specifically, we aimed to identify the wintering grounds, timing of migration and staging of this population via light-level geolocation.ResultsOf the 48 female long-tailed ducks tagged on Kolguev Island (western Russian Arctic), 19 were recaptured to obtain data. After breeding and moulting at freshwater lakes, ducks went out to sea around Kolguev Island and to marine waters ranging from the White Sea to Novaya Zemlya Archipelago for 33 ± 10 days. After a rapid autumn migration, 18 of 19 birds spent their winter in the Baltic Sea and one bird in the White Sea, where they stayed for 212 ± 3 days. There, they used areas known to host long-tailed ducks, but areas differed among individuals. After a rapid spring migration in mid-May, the birds spent 23 ± 3 days at sea in coastal areas between the White Sea and Kolguev Island, before returning to their freshwater breeding habitats in June.ConclusionsThe Baltic Sea represents the most important wintering area for female long-tailed ducks from Kolguev Island. Important spring and autumn staging areas include the Barents Sea and the White Sea. Climate change will render these habitats more exposed to human impacts in the form of fisheries, marine traffic and oil exploitation in near future. Threats that now operate in the wintering areas may thus spread to the higher latitude staging areas and further increase the pressure on long-tailed ducks.

Terrestrial Mammals on Islands Located in the Pechora Sea

The characteristics of the distribution and ecology of the terrestrial mammals on Kolguev, Vaygach and Dolgii islands located in the Pechora Sea are presented. The data of the field surveys carried out in these regions during the summer and winter seasons in 2001–2017 served as a material underlying this work. Overall, nine species of the terrestrial mammals were recorded, while only two of them, the Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus (Linnaeus 1758)) and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus (Phipps 1774)) can be found in all the explored insular land areas. The climatic and geographical features of these territories determine the diversity of terrestrial mammals on the islands. The main summer diet of the Arctic fox includes birds and their nestlings and egg clutches in the absence of the small mammals on the islands. A close relation between the reproductive success of this predator on Dolgii Island and the anseriformes spring migration period is established. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus 1758)) on Kolguev Island is a species with a sparse breeding population. Data on the sedentary patterns for this species on other Eurasian islands within the tundra zone are unavailable. Kolguev Island is probably a single Arctic insular land area forming a part of the breeding ground for the red fox in Eurasia. The reduction in the period for the sea ice extent and the decline in the sea ice cover in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea, observed over the last decade, can affect the migration routes of the polar bear toward the Pechora Sea and the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus 1758)) inhabiting the Novaya Zemlya archipelago to Vaygach Island.

A Genetic Predisposition to Chronic Wasting Disease in the Reindeer Rangifer tarandus in the Northern European Part of Russia

Nucleotide sequences of the prion protein gene PRNP have been obtained in order to assess potential genetic predisposition to the deadly prion chronic wasting disease (CWD) in three regional groups of wild reindeer and two regional groups of domesticated reindeer Rangifer tarandus in the northern European part of Russia. We report identification of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms corresponding to the substitutions in six codons of the prion protein PrP, namely 2(V/M), 129(G/S), 138(S/N), 169(V/M), 176(N/D), and 225(S/Y). Six alleles of the PrP protein have been described. The genotypes with asparagine (N) in codon 138 (138NN and 138SN), which are associated with higher resistance to CWD, were detected in 8.7, 14.3, and 18.2% of animals in the wild reindeer groups from Novaya Zemlya, Kola Peninsula, and the forest regions of Arkhangelsk oblast and the Komi Republic. It has been found that the frequency of these genotypes in domesticated reindeers from the Komi Republic and Kolguev Island was higher, 37.5 and 42.1%, respectively. It has been noted that due to the predominance of PrP genotypes with serine in codon 138 (138SS), which are associated with increased susceptibility to CWD, and the detection of this disease in reindeer, moose, and red deer in Scandinavia, there exists a real danger that CWD will spread among the reindeer inhabiting the European part of Russia.

Reindeer Herders Without Reindeer. The Challenges of Joint Knowledge Production on Kolguev Island in the Russian Arctic

Kolguev Island in the Russian Arctic has a unique tundra ecosystem and an indigenous Nenets population whose livelihood is traditionally based on reindeer herding. The Nenets faced a major crisis in 2013–2014 when the reindeer population collapsed. Widely different explanations for this collapse were put forward. This lack of a shared perspective points at the failure of genuine joint knowledge production (JKP) in the island’s UNEP–GEF’s ECORA project (2004–2009). The ECORA project aimed to achieve integrated ecosystem management by stimulating dialog and mutual learning among indigenous people, state agencies, and scientists. This paper analyses the failure of ECORA’s JKP, using a recently developed framework of conditions for successful JKP. The results suggest that ECORA met none of these conditions. It failed at bringing the scientific and indigenous knowledge systems together, and the produced knowledge did not resonate with indigenous people’s perception of living in Kolguev.