The work describes the results of assessing developmental stability and the degree of differentiation in Chionomys gud within Protected Areas of the Central and Western Caucasus. We characterised developmental stability in Chionomys gud in different eco-geographical conditions by means of fluctuating asymmetry levels (FA nm) in a series of cranium phenes in four geographical populations. Thus we estimated the effect of environmental factors on FA nm levels. We registered the highest FA nm value for the sample from middle mountains of the Central Caucasus, i.e. the vicinities of the village Elbrus. The environment conditions of the given sample were the most stressful for the species (annual average temperature below 5°C and annual average precipitation below 1000 mm). Two-way ANOVA for factors «annual average temperature» and «annual average precipitation» verified a correlation between FA nm levels and complex effects of the two climatic factors. We evaluated the levels of interpopulation phenetic distances by the analysis of frequencies of phenes of nonmetric cranial traits in Chionomys gud populations. Maximum phenetic distances were revealed between geographically distant (over 300 km) populations of the Central and Western Caucasus. The degree of morphological differentiation of the samples from the Central Caucasus, which are apart at the absolute distance of 20-60 km, was less pronounced. Our results suggest that the level of phenetic distances is determined not only by the effect of territorial isolation, but also by climatic peculiarities of a particular locality.
The main directions of the scientific conference are 1. biological diversity in mountain conditions (the laws of its formation, species and population diversity, dynamics in time and space), 2. ecology and evolution of organisms and communities in mountain areas, 3. scientific basis for ecologically balanced nature management and protection of natural resources of mountains, including problems of invasion of alien organisms as a basis for counteracting man-made and biogenic threats to society, 4. environmental education and enlightenment as an element in the activity of social institutions at the present stage of global development.The most interesting theoretical and global practical problems of modern biological ecology are reflected in the plenary reports. Bolshakov V.N., Badenkov Yu.P. 50th Anniversary of UNESCO "Man and Biosphere" Programme and MAB-6 Mountain Project. Aliev Kh. U. Significance of beech forests in conservation of Dagestan flora valuable species. Puzachenko A.Y. History of Central European mammal fauna for the last 200 thousand years: what is evolution?
A phenetic analysis of non-metric cranial traits of two genetically identified cryptic species of the genus Apodemus in different ecological conditions of the North Caucasus was carried out. The maximum distance obtained between cryptic species did not exceed the level of subspecies differences. The phenetic distance between A. uralensis and A. flavicollis, which inhabit symbiotopically and sympatrically in the Western Caucasus, is almost 2 times lower. The smaller value of phenetic differences is probably related to the habitat of both species in similar land-scapebiotopic and climatic conditions, which contributes to the development of phenotypic similarity. In general, the obtained results indicate weak morphological differentiation of the studied species according to the studied phenetic characters (cranial foramen), although according to the results of molecular genetic analysis of the cyt b gene site, the genetic distance between the studied taxa is 10% and corresponds to the level of interspecific differences. Based on the above, reliable diagnosis of the studied species in the Caucasus is possible only by molecular genetic methods.
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