Marina Z. Magomedova’s research while affiliated with Dagestan State University and other places

Aim. The aim of the work is to identify the specific features of teaching the concept of sustainable development in the general education establishments of the Untsukul District of Dagestan. Methodology. Were used the methods of empirical study, test results of students of 5-11 grades of secondary schools, obtained during the expedition to the given region. The questionnaires and tests were developed by the staff of the Institute of Ecology and Sustainable Development of DSU. A total of 1825 anonymous questionnaires were analyzed. Of these, 1011 questionnaires in 5-8th grades; 499 in 9-11th grades as well as 315 teachers. Statistical processing of expedition data is based on well-known techniques using the Statistica software. Results. The analyzed data showed a negative downward trend in the level of both general and ecological knowledge. The findings of our previous studies in some other districts and cities of Dagestan coincide with those obtained in the Untsukulsky district, thus the findings reflect the general situation of the environmental education in Dagestan schools which is the students’ unbalanced knowledge in certain sections of the curriculum. In the analysis of students’ knowledge, it was revealed that the knowledge gained in the course of teaching biology dominates rather than from the course of geography. Our long-term extensive studies show deficiencies in the education system, including environmental training and, as a consequence, the likely complexity of the transition to a modern educational innovation paradigm. Conclusion. The results of empirical and statistical studies have revealed a low level of ecological knowledge of schoolchildren. We propose the introduction of a separate discipline "Ecology and Sustainable Development" to meet the requirements set by the society towards the modern education.

The aim is to give the description of the species composition of the click beetles of the genus Agriotes Eschscholtz, 1829, in order to show significant differences and differentiation between the faunas of certain regions of the Caucasus. Methods. When collecting materials, the following general entomological methods were used: soil traps, trapping beetles with baits and light, mowing, shaking them from trees and bushes on a polyethylene screen mesh. Results. Comparative analysis of the species composition of the genus Agriotes of the Caucasus showed that the Northwest Caucasus is dominant in species diversity and is represented by 19 species (70.3%); the second largest is the Northeast part of the Greater Caucasus, represented by 18 species (66.6%), the third are Armenia and Eastern Georgia represented by 15 (55.6%) and 14 (51.8%) respectively, followed by the South-Eastern part of Azerbaijan, 10 species (30%). Of the 27 species, 7 species are common to all natural areas (26.9%). Conclusion. The analysis of the obtained data revealed significant differences and differentiation between faunas of the clickbeetles of the genus Agriotes of certain regions of the Caucasus, which are explained by the presence of independent centers of species formation in the mountain regions.