амфибии

The development of a technology for hypothermic preservation of amphibian oocytes is one of the urgent tasks for cryobiology. The previously proposed method of “dry” hypothermic preservation in small sealed containers allowed us to increase the duration of refrigerated storage of unfertilized oocytes of the grass frog Rana temporaria up to 7 days (fertilization 40%; hatching 20%).

The study focuses on demographic characteristics of amphibians in a megacity environment, using Moscow City as a case study. The relevance of our research is driven by the impact of the urban environment on ecosystems. In Moscow City, home to over 13 million people, the urban infrastructure affects the natural habitats of amphibians. The study primarily examines the common toad (Bufo bufo) and common frog (Rana temporaria).

A brief history of the formation of the batrachological collection of the Zoological Museum (Saratov State University) is given. The museum’s collections taken within the Saratov region and beyond are analyzed.

On the basis of modern field surveys, collection data, and analysis of the literature data, a list of amphibian and reptile species recommended for inclusion into the 3rd edition of the Red Book of the Saratov Region was compiled. It contains 7 species of the batrachofauna and herpetofauna of the region, belonging to 3 groups, 5 families, and 6 genera. We offer to add 1 new species into the Book and to exclude 1 species, and there appeared prerequisites for revision of the existing protection status of 2 taxa.

An annotated list of amphibian and reptile species of the Russian Far East is presented with due account of modern data on the taxa systematics. 13 Amphibian species and 27 reptile ones have been reliably registered by now, including several random sea species.

The author has collected and integrated records on 7 amphibian species and 9 reptile ones in the Evreiskaya Autonomous Oblast’ (Russian Federation). Most of these species are found to be distributed in the mountain-forest area of the region, which is due to a combination of several factors (temperature limits, the availability of refuges, and food base).

Field research was conducted on the Kerzhensky Nature Reserve territory (the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia) in 2012-2013 to analyze the influence of the 2010 forest wildfires on the populations of amphibians and reptiles and to reveal features of their post-wildfire recovery. The recovery of the herpetocomplexes on the territories subjected to surface/crawling and controlled fires was found to occur during no more than two years, whereas crown/canopy fires with complete vegetation destruction required three years for recovery.

New data on the distribution of 10 amphibian and 6 reptile species in the Vladimir Region is given. The list of species contains 198 new records including such rare species as Bombina bombina and Coronella austriaca.

The characteristic is given and the taxonomic structure of the modern bathrachological collection of the Zoological Museum of the Saratov National Research State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky is analyzed. Currently, it has 1903 specimens of amphibians belonging to 46 species of 13 families. The Ranidae family is the most fully presented one (43.3% of the total number of storage units). In total, the Ranidae collection contains 711 specimens of 10 frog species, of which 2 species (569 specimens) account for Saratov regional collections.

The history of formation and the taxonomic composition of the salamander collection of the Zoological Museum of Tomsk State University, opened in 1888, are analyzed. The history of the collection is characterized by two periods of active formation, namely: late 19th – early 20th centuries and late 20th – early 21st centuries. It is associated with the names of prominent explorers of Siberia, namely: N. F. Kashchenko, S. I. Korzhinsky, A. A. Kulyabko, G. E. Ioganzen, M. D. Ruzsky, V. P. Anikin, and S. M. Chugunov.