Mikhail Rusin

Kyiv Zoo

The common hamster (Cricetus cricetus L.) is supposed to be an abundant species in Eastern Europe including Ukraine. However, the current data on hamster’s occurrence in Ukraine from 1990 till nowadays show that the species became rare. The common hamster can be found in the West, North-East Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. The species have dec...

Alarm calls of ground squirrels are innate signals, showing substantial geographical variation across populations without masking the effects of sex and age- related variation. This makes them a convenient model for studying population genetic effects on the evolution of alarm communication. We compared data on the alarm call structure and the mito...

For the first time all members of Sicista caucasica species complex were genotyped using one mitochondrial and five nuclear markers. We revealed that there are two lineages in the group: western (caucasica + kluchorica) and south-eastern (armenica + kazbegica). This phylogeographic pattern corresponds with recent findings on several other species o...

Phylogeny of birch mice is estimated using sequences of ten nuclear genes and one mitochondrial gene. Based on the results of tree reconstructions and molecular dating, five major lineages are recognized: “tianschanica,” “concolor,” “caudata,” “betulina,” and “caucasica.” It is established that the three latter lineages constitute a clade and that...

Genetic variation in chromosomally polymorphic Sicista subtilis complex and related Sicista betulina species group was analysed using two mitochondrial markers ( COI and Cytb ). The S. subtilis group is shown to include six lineages, five of which correspond to species currently recognized based on cytogenetic and genetic data: Sicista nordmanni ,...

Про деякі екологічні наслідки військового вторгнення Росії в Україну говорять часто й голосно. Інші залишаються непоміченими, але в довгостроковій перспективі вони можуть бути набагато небезпечнішими. Наприклад, занесення інвазійних видів на окуповані території України. Використовуючи екосистеми, зруйновані та порушені обстрілами і бойовими діями,...

Some of the environmental consequences of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine are talked about often and loudly. Others go unnoticed, but in the long run, those can be much more dangerous, for example, the introduction of invasive species in occupied territories. Taking advantage of ecosystems destroyed and disturbed by shelling and combat an...

The phylogeographic analysis of Stylodipus telum was performed based on cytochrome b mitochondrial gene. Two westernmost subspecies, S.t. falzfeini and S.t. turovi, both formed independent monophyletic clades, but the genetic distance between them clearly indicates that neither should be treated as a separate species. Individuals from remote popula...

Білозубка білочерева (Crocidura leucodon) на території України зустрічається переважно в степовій та лісостеповій зонах Правобережжя; на заході заходить у лісову зону. Вид включено до Червоної книги України (2009) як недостатньо відомий. У нашому повідомленні надано інформацію про нові точки знахідки виду на території Львівської, Івано- Франківсько...

The dataset includes georeferenced occurrences of species listed in Annex I of Resolution 6 of the Bern Convention and, partly, in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The dataset was compiled within the work of NGO "Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group" aimed to prepare a Shadow list of Emerald Network (European network Areas of Special Conservation Inter...

Книга містить довідкову та методичну інформацію щодо оцінки впливу на довкілля (ОВД) проектів, що стосуються територій мережі Емеральд (Смарагдової мережі) України в частині впливу на біорізноманіття (види флори та фауни, а також типи природних оселищ). До видання включені окремі нариси по методиках виявлення для окремих груп та зведена таблиця вик...

The Tianshan birch mouse Sicista tianschanica is an endemic of the Central Asian mountains and has previously been shown to include several karyomorphs ("Terskey", "Talgar", "Dzungar"); however, the taxonomic status of these forms has remained uncertain. We examined the genetic variation in S. tianschanica based on historical DNA samples from museu...

Видання вміщує описи 147 територій, які пропонуються до включення у мережу Емеральд (Смарагдову мережу) України. Обгрунтування протягом 2019 року підготували 79 професійних біологів та експертів. Кожен з описів є самостійною роботою і має свій колектив авторів. Описи є оригінальною працею авторів та створені шляхом опрацювання власних даних і залуч...

The phylogeographic analyses of the common hamster revealed the existence of five mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages. However, the analyses did not include Ukraine and the area outside Carpathian arch located in Romania that is important for the species as presumably refugial territory. We investigated both areas and described phylogeographic relat...

Several conflicting hypotheses have been proposed to explain the phylogenetic relationship among the large-bodied mole rats (genus Spalax). In particular, the sandy mole rat (Spalax arenarius) was first described as a subspecies of S. zemni (see Reshetnik 1939). Later Ognev (1947) elevated it to the species status and based on morphological traits...

This report focuses on the faunal results of a mammalogical expedition, aimed to survey distribution, habitat preference, current density, threatening factors of birch mouse (Sicista) species inhabiting the Great Caucasus, as well as to assess their conservation status and to collect genetic samples for phylogenetic analyses. Sicista strandi was tr...

Armenian birch mouse is one of the least known species of mammals of Eurasia. It was described as a separate species based on three specimen trapped in 1986. From that time no other Sicista was found in Armenia. In 2015 we surveyed Central and Northern Armenia and established that probably population from the type locality is lost. But we found ano...

The nomenclature of the genus Sicista Griffith, 1827 was believed to be reviewed and finally established by Holden & Musser (2005) in the third edition of the Mammal Species of the World. After examining a number of ancient texts we came to several conclusions that should affect the scientific names of several taxa, particularly their synonymy, aut...

1.The systematics of the genus Sicista is unclear, mostly because of the high level of chromosomal variability within the genus. One of the most challenging groups for systematists is the steppic Sicista subtilis species group that extends from central Europe to Lake Baikal. We present a systematic review of these European southern birch mice using...

Ellobius talpinus was supposed to become extinct from the western bank of the river Dnipro. After 50 years the species was found again in Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson Region. The brief description of the current distribution of the northern mole vole to the west of the Dnipro is given. Altogether 11 localities were found. The rediscovered populations...

A szöcskeegerek jól bebetonozott rendszertanát orosz kutatók alakították az utóbbi évtizedekben, jellemzően kariológiai vizsgálatok eredményeire alapozva. Üdítő kivétel ez alól Méhely munkája, aki a Kárpát-medencében elszigetelten élő formát Sicista subtilis trizona-t alfaji rangon különítette el. A 2012-ben indított, OTKA által támogatott kutatási...

The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of the Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages in western Ukraine and Romania. The research in the Ukrainian part of the range is important as the mtDNA lineages come into secondary contact there and, moreover, the steppe areas of Ukraine were most probably refugi...

Sicista subtilis trizona, currently classified at the rank of subspecies, once occupied the grasslands of the Carpathian Basin, but today only two populations are known to exist: one in Hungary and another in Romania. Its taxonomic status was determined by examining the anatomy of male reproductive organ by Méhely more than a century ago. Then the...

The aim of this study was to determine the current range of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in western Ukraine by checking the points of occurrence known from literature, personal reports and museum collections. According to RUSIN et al. (2013) the common hamster was reported from 23 localities grouped in 12 areas in 7 oblasts of Western Ukr...

The concept of climate variability facilitating adaptive radiation supported by the "Court Jester" hypothesis is disputed by the "Red Queen" one, but the prevalence of one or the other might be scale-dependent. We report on a detailed, comprehensive phylo-geographic study on the ∼4 kb mtDNA sequence in underground blind mole rats of the family Spal...

Analyzed specimens of blind mole rats and their specifications. (DOC)

We report new records for the inadequately known Southern birch mouse Sicista subtilis in Poland. This species was found in Poland in 1994 by catching a live specimen by hand and to date there has been no other data on this species. The Polish population is most likely an isolated population of S. subtilis but its taxonomic status has not been stud...