In order to study the diversity, phylogenetic relationships and distribution of marsh frogs of the Pelophylax ridibundus complex in Kazakhstan and northwest China, we conducted phylogeographic analyses of 125 samples from 53 localities using the mtDNA ND2 and COI genes and the SAI nuclear gene sequences. Phylogenetic inference of mtDNA revealed three main lineages—sister lineages Balkhash and Syrdarya (as the Central Asian P. sp. novum), and the Anatolian P. cf. bedriagae, while from nDNA data, we additionally detected the western form, P. ridibundus. According to mtDNA data, the mean genetic distances between P. sp. novum and two other forms of marsh frogs was more than 5%. Genetic homogeneity within populations of the Syrdarya lineage and P. cf. bedriagae is characterized by low nucleotide diversity and high haplotype diversity. Demographic analyses of the lineages showed past population expansions of the Balkhash and the Syrdarya forms. Divergence from the most recent ancestor had occurred in the Early Pleistocene period (2.46 Mya) for the Balkhash and the Syrdarya lineages, and 1.27 Mya for the P. cf. bedriagae. Our findings provide a first investigation of the lineage diversification and population dynamics of the Central Asian marsh frogs and will be useful for further taxonomic implications and conservational actions.

Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) is one of the most threatened falcon species of Northern Eurasia, the range and the number of which has fallen catastrophically over the last four decades. One large breeding group was concentrated in the Karatau Mountains in southern Kazakhstan. Based on the results of studies in 2010 and 2022, we modeled Saker Falcon distribution in Google Earth Engine using the image classification method – Random Forest (probability + regression). The area of Saker Falcon breeding biotopes in Karatau and adjacent territories is calculated at 4222.64 km2, area of habitats – 9084.3 km2. Saker Falcon population in the study area for 2010 is estimated at 128–281 pairs, 200 pairs on average; in 2022 – 28–66, 46 pairs on average, with a decrease by 77%. The “catalyst” for the collapse of the Saker Falcon population in Karatau is a prolonged depression in the number of rodents. Pairs that survive while nesting almost exclusively feed on birds. The preserved resource is important for population recovery, and the further fate of the species will depend both on restoration of rodent populations and on the pressure of other negative factors, such as poaching and mortality on overhead power lines.

No abstract

According to 2005 data, during the second half of the 20th century, the range of marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus complex) in Kazakhstan almost doubled, which was facilitated by the unintentional introduction of these amphibians in the central and eastern regions of the country against the backdrop of favorable climate change. This paper analyzes the results of the next monitoring of the distribution of the marsh frogs in Kazakhstan in the light of the hypothesis of the ongoing dispersal of amphibians throughout the country. During the revision of literature, museum and archival materials over the past 15 years and the analysis of the authors’ field data for 2021, about 500 amphibian sighting points were collected, which is almost 2 times higher than previously known information. It has been established that the modern range of the complex occupies the territory of all major hydrographic basins of Kazakhstan: The Ural-Emba, Aral-Syrdarya, Nura-Tengiz, Balkhash-Alakol, Tobol-Ishim and Irtysh basins, of which only the last two belong to the area of oceanic runoff, the rest are the drainless inland. A chronological analysis of the data obtained for each basin made it possible to conclude that over the historical period the area of the marsh frogs’ range has changed, but mainly due to periodic reductions or expansions within the drainless inland basins, the level and mineralization of water bodies of which are determined by cyclic climate fluctuations. In a broad sense, it is proposed to talk about the constancy of the autochthonous range of the marsh frogs in the west, south and southeast of Kazakhstan. The phenomenon of “settlement” includes the movements of lake frogs within the Nura-Tengiz and Irtysh basins, where they did not live in the historical past. In geological retrospect, this process probably restores the boundaries of the Neogene distribution of representatives of the P. ridibundus complex. From the point of view of the genetic composition of the complex, one can speak of the dispersal or even expansion of the Anatolian P. cf. bedriagae, which has successfully advanced to all regions of Kazakhstan from the eastern borders of its autochthonous range in the Caspian Plain and the coasts of the Mangyshlak Peninsula.

The Manchurian nemoral-subboreal underwing moth species, Catocala helena Eversmann, 1856 is reported from Kazakhstan for the first time. The data on the species bionomics in Kazakhstan and its general distribution are provided. Moths and the species habitats in Kazakhstan are illustrated.