Based on more than 1100 samples of Emys orbicularis and E. trinacris, data on mtDNA diversity and distribution of haplotypes are provided, including for the first time data for Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and the Volga, Ural and Turgay River Basins of Russia and Kazakhstan. Eight mitochondrial lineages comprising 51 individual haplotypes occur in E. orbicularis, a ninth lineage with five haplotypes corresponds to E. trinacris. A high diversity of distinct mtDNA lineages and haplotypes occurs in the south, in the regions where putative glacial refuges were located. More northerly parts of Europe and adjacent Asia, which were recolonized by E. orbicularis in the Holocene, display distinctly less variation; most refuges did not contribute to northern recolonizations. Also in certain southern European lineages a decrease of haplotype diversity is observed with increasing latitude, suggestive of Holocene range expansions on a smaller scale.
The 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.
Our 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”.
Data on the leukocyte blood composition of two co-habiting species of freshwater turtles, Emys orbicularis and Mauremys caspica, from the Republic of Dagestan (Russia) are provided. Lymphocytes are the predominant cells in the blood of females and males of both species. Heterophils predominated among granulocytes. Two-way multivariate analysis of variance showed a statistical significance of the influence of two factors on the leukocyte formula of freshwater turtles, namely: species (λWilks = 0.459, p < 0.001), sex (λWilks = 0.809, p = 0.019) and their interaction (λWilks < 0.001, p < 0.001). The blood formula (WBC) of E. orbicularis females showed higher levels of eosinophils (z = 3.040, p = 0.001) and basophils (z = 5.394, p < 0.001) and reduced levels of heterophils (z = 3.579, p < 0.001) and lymphocytes (z = 3.391, p < 0.001) compared to M. caspica females. Males of E. orbicularis differed from those of M. caspica by increased levels of eosinophils (z = 2.716, p = 0.003) and basophils (z = 4.829, p < 0.001) and a reduced level of heterophils (z = 3.474, p < 0.001). With general adaptive responses, interspecific differences were clearly expressed: the variability in the parameters of the white blood cell system of E. orbicularis was associated with rearrangement of the ratio of granulocyte cells (heterophils, eosinophils and basophils). The predominance of a specific component of the immune system (lymphocytes) was found in the immune responses of M. caspica. Changes in the leukocyte profiles of freshwater turtles were associated with a change in the agranulocyte–granulocyte ratio, which was confirmed by statistically significant differences in the integral leukocyte indices. The leukocyte profile of Emys orbicularis testified to the insufficient resource of adaptive mechanisms in specific environmental conditions. On the other hand, the blood formula (WBC) showed the possibility of an active response, more pronounced in M. caspica than in E. orbicularis.
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