Mordovia State Nature Reserve Research Articles

Post-Fire Coleoptera Fauna in Central Russian Forests after the 2021 Fires (Study Using Beer Traps).

Fires can significantly impact forest ecosystems. However, studies on the effects of fires on insect communities in post-fire plots in natural forests are rare. This study presents an analysis of the Coleoptera fauna in the forests of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (European Russia) in 2022 and 2023 after a fire. Insects were sampled from burned plots (9) in 2010 and 2021, as well as unburned (control) plots (2), and alpha diversity was compared. After processing the material, we examined a total of 12,218 Coleoptera specimens from 38 families and identified 194 species. The families Nitidulidae, Cerambycidae, Elateridae, and Scarabaeidae were the most abundant across all plots. Cerambycidae, Elateridae, Nitidulidae, Staphylinidae, Coccinellidae, and Scarabaeidae exhibited the greatest species diversity. In total, 17 species were found on all plots, including Cetonia aurata, Protaetia cuprea volhyniensis, Trogoderma glabrum, Carpophilus hemipterus, Epuraea biguttata, Glischrochilus grandis, Glischrochilus hortensis, Glischrochilus quadripunctatus, Soronia grisea, Pediacus depressus, Chrysanthia geniculata, Anastrangalia reyi, Leptura quadrifasciata, Leptura thoracica, Lepturalia nigripes, Rhagium mordax, and Anisandrus dispar. Only five species exhibited preferences for certain plots. Maximum abundance and species diversity were observed on unburned (control) plots. The plots where fires occurred in 2010 and 2021 had the lowest total abundance values for Coleoptera. These fires destroyed almost all potential sites for beetle settlement, feeding, breeding, and shelter. Traps recorded a higher abundance of Coleoptera in the first year after fires compared to the second year. The Coleoptera fauna showed the greatest similarity on the control plots.

Genus Xanthium (Asteraceae) in flora of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russia)

The history of Xanthium genus research in a protected area in European Russia (Mordovia State Nature Reserve) has been reviewed based on available data (herbarium collections, publications, archive of Chronicles of Nature). We found that X. strumarium was the only species, which has been mentioned in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve since 1939. However, the overview of available data allowed us to conclude that all Xanthium plants found in this protected area to date belong to Xanthium orientale, an invasive alien species.

VERTICAL STRATIFICATION OF SOME FAMILIES OF DIPTERA IN TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FORESTS (CENTRE OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA) : THE USE OF BEER TRAPS

Diptera is a crucial component of temperate forest systems in Europe. Vertical distribution of Diptera in forests is still insufficiently studied and there are many unanswered questions. The study has been conducted in the Republic of Mordovia (central European Russia). To collect insects, traps with beer and sugar bait were used. Collections were made during the period of June–September 2020 in four sites in deciduous forests. The maximum number of Diptera specimens has been collected at the height of 1.5 m from the ground level, and the minimum at the height of 3.5 m. Species from eight families (Anisopodidae, Calliphoridae, Drosophilidae, Fanniidae, Lonchaeidae, Milichiidae, Muscidae, Tipulidae) represent the main part of the sampled specimens. Calliphoridae, Drosophilidae, Dryomyzidae and Tipulidae, were most abundant at the height of 1.5 m from ground level. At the height of 12 m in the canopy, Anthomyiidae, Chloropidae, Lonchaeidae, Milichiidae, Periscelididae and Syrphidae were most abundant. Numbers of Fanniidae and Muscidae were almost equal at all heights. The species diversity of Muscidae was represented in the traps by 10 well-recofnized species. The most abundant species was Phaonia pallida (70.7%). Two species Thricops simplex (12.2%) and Muscina pascuorum (5.8%) were less abundant. Thricops simplex showed the greatest confinement to the height of 1.5 m, while Phaonia pallida increased in abundance from lower to higher levels of the forest community. The vertical distribution of Muscina pascuorum did not depend on the height of the trap. Key Words: beer trap, Mordovia State Nature Reserve, insects, dynamics, number

Spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) in Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny" (Russia).

Ecosystems in protected areas are richer in animal and plant species diversity ("biodiversity hotspots") due to more stringent conservation conditions. Of particular importance is scientific research and monitoring of this diversity in such areas. The aim of this study is to describe a set of data on Araneae occurrence in two protected areas: Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny". About 29,000 individuals are identified to the species level. In total, 342 species were recorded for both PAs. The greatest species diversity was recorded in the families Linyphiidae (109 species; 32%), Lycosidae (38 species; 11%) Gnaphosidae (28 species; 8%), Araneidae (25 species; 7%), Salticidae (24 species; 7%), Thomisidae (23 species; 7%) and Theridiidae (22 species; 6% from total species diversity). The five species most abundant in the lower stratum (litter and moss layer) of biocenoses were Diplocephaluspicinus, Micronetaviaria, Tenuiphantestenebricola, Diplostylaconcolor and Abacoproecessaltuum and the five species most abundant in the vegetative stratum (herb, shrub and tree stems and canopy) were Linyphiatriangularis, Enoplognathaovata, Evarchafalcata, Misumenavatia and Evarchaarcuata. The dataset contains information on the occurrence of seven rare species (Centromerusnurgush, Centromeruspersimilis, Diplocephalusdentatus, Entelecaraflavipes, Metapanamomopskaestneri, Pelecopsisradicicola and Porrhommamicrocavense), three species (Agalenatearedii, Neosconaadianta, Thanatusoblongiusculus) that entered here from the steppe zone and two synanthropic species (Steatodacastanea, Tegenariadomestica).

Mordovia State Nature Reserve as a hotspot of invertebrate biodiversity (European Russia)

To study and conserve biological diversity is one of the most important tasks of protecting natural ecosystems. According to long-term data, the biodiversity of invertebrates of Mordovia State Nature Reserve accounts for 6823 species out of 10 types of invertebrates: Rhizopoda (58 species), Porifera (1), Platyhelminthes (156), Nematoda (67), Annelida (4), Acanthocephala (1), Mollusca (62), Bryozoa (1), Rotifera (80), and Arthropoda (6393). Thus, the Mordovia State Nature Reserve belongs to one of the hotspots of biodiversity in the forests of the temperate zone in European Russia. It is home to a large number of rare species and three endemic species. The protected area is connected by ecological corridors with other territories and can be a source of genetic and species diversity for nearby ecosystems.

Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling Analysis of Composition of Trichopterofauna from Two Protected Areas (Republic of Mordovia, Russia)

The fauna of caddisflies was studied from two protected areas of federal significance such as Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Temnikov district, Republic of Mordovia) and National Park “Smolny” (Ichalki district and Bolshoe Ignatovo district, Republic of Mordovia). The material was collected from May to October 2008, 2009, 2013–2021. There were 677 specimens from 59 caddisfly species from 12 families. The largest family Limnephilidae includes 29 species, there were 9 species each in the families Phryganeidae and Leptoceridae. Limnephilus sericeus and Holocentropus dubius dominated in the collections (12 and 10% from the total amount respectively), Hydropsyche angustipennis (8.9%), Hagenella clathrata (8.7%), Phryganea grandis (7.5%), Hydropsyche pellucidula (7.1%), Halesus tesselatus (6.6%) were numerous. Eighteen species of caddisflies (Rhyacophila fasciata, Holocentropus dubius, Agrypnia varia, Oligostomis reticulata, Anabolia concentrica, Anabolia furcata, Chaetopteryx villosa, Halesus digitatus, Limnephilus binotatus, Limnephilus extracatus, Limnephilus fuscicornis, Limnephilus ignavus, Limnephilus sericeus, Limnephilus sparsus, Limnephilus vittatus, Micropterna lateralis, Molanna albicans, Ceraclea excisa) supplement the known information on the fauna of the Republic of Mordovia, where 73 species from 14 families are currently recorded. The species Molanna albicans is indicated for the first time for the fauna of the Middle Volga region. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed similarities and differences in the composition of trichopterofauna among the study sites. There was the maximum similarity among the sites with more diverse biotopes. There were indicated preferred habitats of some species.

Biodiversity of Coleoptera (Insecta) in Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russia) using fermental traps.

Protected areas are unique ecosystems that are minimally affected by anthropogenic activities. Therefore, in many cases, they are refugia and relevance of faunistic research is undeniable here. A simple method of catching insects, such as trapping with the help of fermental traps, was used in this area for the first time. The authors of the dataset used this method from 2018 to 2021. One thousand and fifty-one traps of our own design were installed. The dataset includes data on 367 species from 52 families (6,497 records of 44,600 specimens). Ten species were dominant in the traps (Cryptarchastrigata, Protaetiamarmorata, Glischrochilusgrandis, Glischrochilushortensis, Soroniagrisea, Rhagiummordax, Lepturathoracica, Lepturaquadrifasciata, Quediusdilatatus and Protaetiafieberi). These species accounted for 76.9% of all individuals in the total amount of captured specimens. Cryptarchastrigata was the most numerous species (28.8% of the total) and the most frequently encountered species (64.9%). The greatest species diversity was recorded in the families Cerambycidae (53 species), Elateridae and Curculionidae (39 species each), Nitidulidae and Coccinellidae (22 species each). The dataset contains information on the occurrence of 15 rare species. We have recently published a checklist of the Coleoptera of Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Egorov et al. 2020). It included 2,145 species from 88 families. However, the published list did not contain information about the occurrence of various species of beetles, especially caught in recent years. Part of this list contained information about species collected using fermental traps. However, the list of species did not provide information about specific locations.

Seasonal Dynamics of Fruit Flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Forests of the European Russia.

Simple SummaryIt is the first investigation of drosophilid seasonal population changes considering their biotope association, abundance and species diversity in European Russia. The material was collected using beer traps in different forest biotopes. Beer is an attractive component for fruit flies. Two species were most common (Drosophila obscura and Drosophila histrio). We found three groups of mass species with a significant correlation of seasonal dynamics.(1) Background: Seasonal dynamics of the abundance and species diversity of various insect groups is of great importance for understanding their life cycles; (2) Methods: In our study, Drosophilidae species and their seasonal changes in Mordovia State Nature Reserve were explored. We collected the flies by crown fermental traps in five types of forests (birch, aspen, linden, pine and oak) since May to October in 2019. (3) Results: A total of 4725 individuals belonging to 9 genera and 30 species of drosophilid flies were identified, among them 15 species in 3 genera are new to the Republic of Mordovia. Drosophila obscura and D. histrio were the most abundant species in traps, the other mass species are D. kuntzei, D. testacea, D. phalerata, S. rufifrons, D. bifasciata, A. semivirgo, and L. quinquemaculata. (4) Conclusions: We found three groups of mass species with significant correlation of seasonal dynamics, e.g., D.obscura and D. bifasciata; D. histrio, D. kuntzei, D. phalerata, and D. testacea, and, finally, A. semivirgo and S. rufifrons. Apparently, the similarity observed in the seasonal dynamics of these drosophilid species is influenced at a high degree by their food preferences and rearing sites.

Sawfly Fauna (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Central Russia)

Protected areas are biodiversity hotspots of the world. Knowledge of their overall biodiversity is essential for nature conservation. Sawflies are an integral part of terrestrial ecosystems; being phytophages, they play a significant role in the processing of primary production. The aim of the research was to study the biodiversity of sawflies in the Mordovian Reserve. The research was carried out in 2008, 2009 and 2012-2019 on the territory of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Republic of Mordovia, Central part of European Russia). The article provides information on records of 169 species of sawflies of 9 families in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve. The annotated list includes 103 new species for the reserve, of which 1 species (Dineura parcivalvis) is listed for the European part of Russia for the first time, and 3 species are specified for the first time for the Central part of European Russia (Arge beckeri, Rhogogaster genistae, Tenthredo amurica).

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF THE REPUBLIC OF MORDOVIA, RUSSIA

The biodiversity conservation is based on our knowledge of the complete composition of plants and animals within a certain area. In this paper, we present data of biodiversity research in the Republic of Mordovia (European Russia). The obtained results are reflected in six vascular plant found for the first time in the studied region. Of them, four alien taxa (Philadelphus coronarius, Rosa x majorugosa, Spiraea japonica, Syringa josikaea) are known only in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve now. This underlines the need paying our attention to alien plants that escape into the wild (naturalize) in the least disturbed ecosystems of this Protected Area. The Urtica galeopsiifolia distribution needs to be clarified in more details because of its similarity to the widely known Urtica dioica. Thus, a majority of the species under discussion are alien plants considered as cultivated plants escaping in the wild. Taking into account the newly revealed species, the vascular plant flora of the Republic of Mordovia currently includes 1,472 species. In this study, we propose the continuing the study of man-made habitats in terms of accidentally or intentionally introduced alien species, as well as the searching of hidden taxa, such as Urtica galeopsiifolia found in this study.

Post-fire insect fauna explored by crown fermental traps in forests of the European Russia

Wildfires considerably affect forest ecosystems. However, there is a lack of data on the post-fire status of insect communities in these ecosystems. This paper presents results of a study conducted in 2019 which considered the post-fire status of the insect fauna in a Protected Area, Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Republic of Mordovia, centre of European Russia), considered as regional hotspot of insect diversity in Mordovia. We sampled insects on intact (unburned, control) and fire-damaged (burnt in 2010) sites and compared the alpha-diversity between sites. In total, we sampled and analysed 16,861 specimens belonging to 11 insect orders, 51 families and 190 species. The largest orders represented in the samples were Coleoptera (95 species), Diptera (54 species), Hymenoptera (21 species), and Neuroptera (11 species). Other insect orders were represented by between one and four species. The largest four orders (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera) represented 96.7% of all studied specimens. We found that in the ninth year after low intensity surface fire damage, the insect diversity had returned to a similar level to that of the control (unburned) sites. Sites damaged by crown wildfire differed considerably from other sites in terms of a negative impact on both species diversity and the number of specimens. This indicates the serious effect of the crown fires on the biodiversity and consequent long-term recovery of the damaged ecosystem.

Environment Status Estimation of the Forest Communities Based on Floristic Surveys in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve, Russia

Environmental scales include species responsive to changes in environmental conditions. The present paper aims to apply floristic survey data to reveal environmental conditions in habitats studied in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve, European Russia. In total, 161 square plots were established within a selected forest area. In each plot, all species were registered to conduct a further analysis. Then, average values of six environmental factors were calculated based on the Tsyganov environmental scale. Contour maps were created for four factors to demonstrate spatial changes through the study area. All study pots were assigned to seven habitat types during the field surveys. To test the correctness of the determined classification, a principal component analysis was performed based on Tsyganov’s environmental factors. Additionally, PERMANOVA was used to test the correctness of the habitat distinguishing. The results demonstrate that differences in environmental conditions among the majority (mires, coniferous forests, broadleaved forests, mixed forests) of the distinguished habitats are statistically significant, except for water bodies, forest gaps and roads, which have no significant differences in environmental factors compared with other habitats. We assume that this is caused by the very small sampling size for these habitat types. To obtain correct results, each habitat group should be represented by at least 3–4% samples of the whole sampling set. The main conclusion represents a simple way to assess the habitat environmental status based on floristic data. Based on Tsyganov’s environmental factors, the spatial distribution of only plant specialists can be recognised well. The allocation of plant generalists is impossible based on the proposed approach. Finally, the correctness of habitat classification based on dominated plants is well-testable using environmental conditions found on these sites. We also recommend the use of the here applied approach in plant ecology studies in the subzone of coniferous–deciduous forests of Eastern Europe.

Ground beetle fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russia).

BackgroundProtected areas are organised in different climatic zones, which usually include typical ecosystems characteristic of certain climatic zones. In most cases, protected areas are biodiversity hotspots. These areas are benchmarks in terms of nature conservation and to determine their biological diversity is becoming an important task. It is important to investigate the carabid family of protected areas within the framework of understanding the overall biological diversity of these systems. In addition, ground beetles, as one of the largest groups of ground-based inhabitants, are indicators of the state of ecosystems and serve as markers of their well-being.New informationWe present 2,969 new occurrence records comprising 226 species of Carabidae, belonging to eight subfamilies, from the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (central Russia). Ten species are listed for the first time for the Mordovia State Nature Reserve fauna after previous research: Cicindelamaritima, Bembidionstriatum, Dyschiriusangustatus, Dyschiriusarenosus, Notiophilusaestuans, Bembidionargenteolum, Bembidionvelox, Bradycelluscaucasicus, Cymindisangularis and Syntomustruncatellus, five of which were first recorded for the Republic of Mordovia (Egorov et al. 2020). Previously, this information was not published anywhere and we wanted to make it available to everyone by embedding it in the global database on biodiversity (GBIF).

Occurrence of butterflies and moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera) in Mordovia State Nature Reserve.

BackgroundFaunistic research in protected areas is of greatest interest since these are the most unique places in the region. Many of these are islands of minimal anthropogenic impact, such as the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russian Federation), founded in 1936. The purpose of the publication of the basis of faunistic research - occurrences of species, is availability of factual information to a broad range of researchers and its implication in research on a wider scale.New informationFor the first time, a total of 7,606 records of Lepidoptera occurrences from the Mordovia State Nature Reserve with coordinates have been published as a dataset. It is necessary to embed them in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) in order to make them accessible to everyone. As a result of research from 2007 to 2021, more than 600 taxa were identified for the first time for the territory of Mordovia State Nature Reserve, including more than 450 species for the Republic of Mordovia, four species for the Middle Volga Region and eight species for the Middle and Lower Volga Region.

The effect of landscape pattern on the 2010 wildfire spread in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve, Russia

The effect of landscape pattern on the 2010 wildfire spread in the Mordovia State Nature Reserve, Russia

Материалы к фауне жесткокрылых (Insecta, Coleoptera) окрестностей Мордовского заповедника

Материалы к фауне жесткокрылых (Insecta, Coleoptera) окрестностей Мордовского заповедника

Morphological variability of Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Nematoda: Molineidae) in reptiles inhabiting the protected areas of the Republic of Mordovia (Russia)

The morphological variability of the nematode Oswaldocruzia filiformis Goeze, 1782 from five reptile species (Lacerta agilis, Zootoca vivipara, Anguis fragilis, Natrix natrix, Vipera berus) was studied in 2018-2020 in the Smolny National Park and the Mordovia State Nature Reserve. We analyzed the morphological characters traditionally used in the taxonomy of Oswaldocruzia spp. A wide morphological variability of nematodes has been found, both in different host species and within the same host species. Variation of the morphological characters of O. filiformis from different reptile species was due to the host-induced variability. The morphological variability of nematodes from the same host species could be due to the phenotypic plasticity of O. filiformis.

Reptile occurrences data in the Volga River basin (Russia).

BackgroundThe Volga basin is one of the most industrially-developed regions of Russia with a high degree of anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems. Human influence negatively affects the species diversity and number of animals, including reptiles. There are no endemic species in the reptile fauna of the Volga basin. The herpetofauna of the region makes up 25% of the reptile fauna of Russia (Dunaev and Orlova 2017). We began to study the fauna of reptiles and their distribution in the Volga basin in 1988. Although we registered 20 reptile species in the Volga basin to date, apparently this is not a complete list of species in the region (Bakiev et al. 2004, Bakiev et al. 2009a, Bakiev et al. 2015, Kirillov et al. 2020). The distribution of reptiles in this region is not fully understood.New informationOur dataset contains information on reptile occurrences in the Volga River basin. The dataset is based on original research by the staff of the Laboratory of Herpetology and Toxinology and Laboratory of Population Ecology of the Institute of Ecology of the Volga River basin of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Joint Directorate of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park “Smolny”. A total of 5,086 occurrences of 20 species are published for the first time with georeferencing. Many of these reptiles are listed in regional Red Data Lists. The European Pond Turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) is included in the IUCN Red List with the category “Near Threatened”.

Checklist of the Coleoptera of Mordovia State Nature Reserve, Russia.

All 2,145 species of Coleoptera from 88 families known to occur in Mordovia State Nature Reserve, Russia, are listed, along with their author(s) and year of description using the most recent classification framework. Adventive species for European Russia are indicated. There are 31 adventive species in the reserve, comprising 1.44% of the total beetle fauna.

Seasonal activity of Coleoptera attracted by fermental crown traps in forest ecosystems of Central Russia

The seasonal activity of Coleoptera was studied using fermental crown traps. The study was conducted from April to October 2019 in five forest biotopes (aspen, lime, pine, birch and oak) in the territory of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve (Russia, Republic of Mordovia). Eighty-three species are found from 31 families. Cerambycidae (13 species), Nitidulidae (11 species) and Curculionidae (9 species) had the greatest species diversity. A significant part of the identified taxa (57 species from 23 families) can be attributed to saproxylic beetles. The peak abundance of Coleoptera in four biotopes (aspen, lime, pine and birch forests) was in mid-May; in an oak forest, it was at the beginning of June. Seven species seasonal activity was monitored (Cryptarcha strigata, Glischrochilus hortensis, Glischrochilus grandis, Cychramus luteus, Soronia grisea, Protaetia marmorata and Anisandrus dispar).