Student Research Projects (UIRSs) at Haidary-2012

As in the previous year, I would like to briefly characterize the topics of the UIRSs (educational research projects) conducted by students during field practice at Haidary. Of course, the results of these works belong first and foremost to their authors; my account is not written on their behalf, but rather from the perspective of an observer (and supervisor of some of them). A later addition: a number of these works were presented as reports at the VII International Conference of Young Scientists "Biology: from Molecule to Biosphere". Abstracts of those in which I served as supervisor have been posted on Batrachos. Links to these abstracts have been added to the project descriptions. During the field practice, 28 projects on vertebrate zoology were completed and defended. I will list them in alphabetical order by the last names of their authors. What follows are not the official titles of the works, but rather their topics, which I have designated in a rather approximate manner. It turned out, of course, that the projects carried out with my guidance have been characterized more fully than those supervised by T.A. This is simply a consequence of my particular vantage point. The outcomes of the field practice are described not only on this page. Formal results are presented here, a brief photo report — here and a bit more here, and an attempt at reflection (regrettably, a melancholy one) can be found there. 1. Artemieva Elizaveta, Litvin Alexander, Petryk Arsenii: Retina of di- and triploid frogs. When Arsenii Petryk (the leader of this working group) finished his presentation, the audience burst into applause. Here is the reason. It is well known that triploid frogs have larger erythrocytes than diploid frogs. But what about other cells? Arsenii found a protocol for dissecting the retina of a chimpanzee eye online, traveled to Kharkiv, brought back the necessary reagents and an ultrasonic bath, and together with his colleagues carried out a meticulous and elegant study. Indeed, the retinal cells of triploids are larger and fewer in number than those of diploids. Grade A, of course; the results must be published. Abstracts have been published. 2. Belousova Ekaterina, Vinogradova Kristina, Sakun Yuliia: Fluctuating asymmetry of perch. They studied the asymmetry of a sample of small perch collected during ichthyology classes. This sample was divided into three size classes; using scales, they confirmed that these correspond to three age groups. Three morphological traits were examined and shown to be valid measures of fluctuating asymmetry. It was demonstrated that more symmetrical perch within each group grow faster than less symmetrical ones. The proportion of asymmetric individuals decreases with age, indicating selection acting against them. Grade A; the work needs to be developed into a publication. Abstracts have been published. 3. Belykh Kirill: Simulation modelling of self-organization in a frog chorus. A pilot project, in the execution of which third-year students Roman Mironov (Biology Faculty) and Anton Leonov (Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty) also participated. The idea is as follows: the complex behaviour of a frog chorus may be explained by self-organization based on very simple rules governing the behaviour of individual frogs. Here is their set. In a silent frog, the motivation to sing gradually increases; in a singing frog, this motivation decreases. A silent frog begins to sing when its motivation exceeds a certain activation threshold, and falls silent when the motivation drops below a silencing threshold. The singing of frogs mutually increases one another's motivation. The model was implemented in Excel and demonstrated the complex self-organization of the chorus. Unfortunately, certain shortcomings occurred in its presentation; grade B. Nevertheless, I believe it is quite feasible to bring it to the level of a published abstract. 4. Botsula Iryna, Goncharenko Dasha, Oleinichenko Elizaveta: Lung ventilation in frogs at different temperatures. From UIRSs of previous years we already know how the lung ventilation mechanism works in frogs. The gular apparatus oscillates up and down, setting a certain rhythm. During some upward movements of this apparatus the nostrils close and air is pushed into the lungs — these are the "working" cycles. The aim of this project was to determine how the duration of cycles and the proportion of "working" cycles depend on temperature. The UIRS began with the students and me gluing together from glass a thermostat with a water jacket and a central working chamber; the thermostat leaked continuously, and the students had to reseal it time and again. They then recorded video of frog respiration at different temperatures, described the dynamics of the process through frame-by-frame analysis, and demonstrated the temperature-induced changes. Unfortunately, the work was presented with shortcomings; grade C. 5. Buinovskaia Yana, Kushch Ekaterina, Sazonova Elina: Birds of the biological station. A project carried out under the supervision of T.A. In the course of its execution, the students compiled all records of nest findings on the territory of the biological station and plotted them on a map. The avifauna of our station proved to be genuinely rich. Grade B. 6. Vegerina Anastasia, Temnikov Aleksei: Karyotype analysis of juvenile frogs. This project was carried out following the UIRS of Nadezhda Iskenderova and others (see below, number 16), and Olga Mikhailova, a master's graduate of that year, also participated in its execution. Unfortunately, the sample of juveniles used was not the same one that Iskenderova had worked with, but a different one. Intestinal epithelium was obtained from colchicine-treated frogs and squash preparations of macerated tissues were made. Of 17 frogs, only one proved to be triploid; the hypothesis that the proportion of triploids is higher among juveniles than among adults, with selection acting against them, was not confirmed. However, part of the predictions from Iskenderova's work were partially confirmed: the erythrocytes of the triploid found were small — smaller than the size considered to be the boundary value. Grade A, of course; publication is necessary (despite the small sample size). Abstracts have been published. 7. Velichko Natalia, Garkusha Evgenia, Gladkova Vika, Dikaia Liliia: Fluctuating asymmetry of frogs. In the course of several projects, standardized photographs of frogs were obtained using a specially designed apparatus. Since it stretches frogs into the pose of Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", we informally named this apparatus the "vitruviator" (there is a photograph of a student beside a screen showing a "Vitruvian" photograph of a frog). A group of four female students analyzed the photographs produced by the "vitruviator" and compared samples from several habitats with respect to the fluctuating asymmetry of the pattern. The method works; it is interesting that the highest asymmetry was recorded at Iskov Pond. There were significant shortcomings in the presentation of the results. Grade C. 8. Galamaiichuk Mykola, Kozlov Igor, Psariova Iryna: Absolute bird counts. A high-quality ornithological study carried out together with T.A. During excursions conducted in the early morning, the bird fauna of the upland oak woodland was established during the second part of the breeding season. A detailed analysis of the faunal composition was conducted. Grade A, of course; I hope the work will be published. 9. Gladkova Yuliia, Kozak Natalia, Kulymova Mariia: Determination of frog ploidy by erythrocyte size. Samples of frogs caught on the riverbank, in a floodplain lake, and at Dobrytske Pond near the Homilsha valley were examined. Surprisingly, the highest proportion of triploids (judged by erythrocyte size) was found in the sample collected on the bank of the Siverskyi Donets River. It seems to me that if the samples had been collected in, say, July, the result would have been different. Grade A; publication is necessary. Abstracts have been published. 10. Gorulko Igor, Ostras Daniil: Results of fish catches using different gear. A project that provoked some controversy. Daniil Ostras worked on it throughout the entire field practice, and the second co-author joined him later. The gear-specificity of different fishing methods was clearly demonstrated. Ostras received a grade of A; his co-author (who, under the pretext of working on his UIRS and partly due to illness, missed the vast majority of zoology classes) received an E. 11. Griaznova Anastasia, Tsiklauri Oksana: Frog egg clutches. One of the parameters important for modelling frog population systems is fecundity. It is known that the number of eggs depends on the size of the female, but the exact nature of this relationship is unknown. The students used photographs of egg clutches obtained from frog pairs during field practice, as well as older photographs taken by me and E.E. Usova. Of course, the data are still scarce, but it is already clear that females of the same size can produce numbers of eggs differing by several fold. I hypothesize that this is related to the distinction between fast-maturing and slow-growing individuals, a distinction characteristic not only of toads but of frogs as well. Grade A, naturally; the data must be published. Abstracts have been published. 12. Dushkevich Veronika, Mironenko Ekaterina, Pushkina Anastasia: Bioacoustics of the corncrake. The study employed analysis of corncrake sonograms obtained by T.A. and A.A. Atemasov. The students had no recordings of their own — not due to laziness: they made heroic efforts during long nocturnal excursions together with T.A. The fact that the corncrakes inexplicably did not sing during the UIRS work period was not their fault. Each song reflects the individuality of the performer; statistical analysis of song parameters made it possible to hypothesize which recordings from different years captured the singing of one and the same male. Grade A. 13. Zhebina Tatiana, Krivoshei Yuliia: A badger sett. A project carried out together with T.A. and Natalia Brusentsova. An analysis of the structure of a large badger sett was conducted. Based on the structure and use of the burrows, interesting conclusions were drawn about the particularities of the inhabitants' lives. Grade A. 14. Zlenko Oksana, Pukovetska Olga, Tkachenko Alevtyna, Filatova Yuliia: Comparison of non-lethal methods for capturing small mammals (rodents and shrews). Over the past year, nature conservation in Ukraine has made progress. Specialists from the Kyiv Ecological and Naturalistic Center, led by Volodymyr Boreiko, managed to identify the most pressing contemporary problem: mice caught in mousetraps experience suffering. Only naive people would point to the fact that a mouse in its natural habitat has almost no chance of dying peacefully and contentedly. The argument that, in order to protect against potential outbreaks of dangerous infections and for many other purposes, small rodent populations must be studied using effective capture methods — is not accepted. President Yanukovych signed a law prohibiting the use of traps, including Havahart-type traps (ordinary mousetraps). The students, under the supervision of T.A., conducted a comparison of two "humane" methods of capturing small mammals — using pitfall trenches and drift fences. Unfortunately, the assessment of fauna and rodent numbers using these methods proved insufficiently reliable. Grade A. 15. Zmievskaia Yuliia, Klempert Olga, Us Aliona: Erythrocyte size in frogs from Zhovtneve. During the course of this project, the students did not achieve the originally stated goal, but instead obtained new and highly interesting data. We have been studying the population system of frogs from a pond near the settlement of Zhovtneve, Vovchansk district, for 5 years. The population there consists almost exclusively of hybrids, with a high proportion of triploids. In certain respects (I will not specify further until the data are published) this population system is simply unique. The students carrying out this project were supposed to assess the proportion of triploids in a sample from Zhovtneve using a well-established methodology (the same as that used by Gladkova, Kozak, and Kulymova in the project described here under no. 9, or by Kravchenko and Ohiienko in project no. 20). While analyzing the distribution of erythrocyte sizes, the students discovered a factor that apparently influences erythrocyte size more strongly than ploidy. This factor is strongly associated with sex. Triploids are apparently present in different groups that differ with respect to this factor, but cannot be reliably identified. Now we need to understand why erythrocyte sizes in Zhovtneve are associated with sex... The work was carried out reliably (key results were recalculated twice); third-year student Aliona Melieshko also participated in its execution. Grade A; the results must be published. Abstracts have been published. 16. Iskenderova Nadezhda, Pavliuk Oksana, Chebukina Marina: Erythrocyte size and body size of frogs. Authoritative reference works state that triploids can be identified by erythrocyte size only among sexually mature frogs. But what about immature individuals? The authors of this project sought an answer to this question. Based on its results, it was possible to identify several triploids among sexually mature frogs from the floodplain. Erythrocyte sizes in immature frogs were substantially smaller. When analyzing the relationship between erythrocyte size and body length, the young frogs separated into those with small and those with relatively larger (though still far smaller than in sexually mature triploids) erythrocytes. We hypothesized that frogs with relatively larger erythrocytes are triploids. If this hypothesis proved correct, it would mean that the proportion of triploids among juveniles is far higher than among mature individuals, which would be interpreted as evidence of selection against triploids. These hypotheses were tested in the project by Vegerina and Temnikov (described here under no. 6) and were only partially confirmed. Nastia Bondareva, a bachelor's graduate, provided important assistance during the execution of this project. Grade A; publication is necessary. Abstracts have been published. 17. Kashirin Oleg, Melamed Rodion, Moskalev Vitalii: Distribution of green frogs across different habitats. Differences in the composition of frog samples collected at different points within the range of one population system, or caught by different methods, have already given rise to many disputes. Colleagues from Kyiv visit our biological station, for example, collect a single frog sample with our assistance, and then report that the results of our studies, conducted on several dozen samples, are not confirmed. This UIRS demonstrated that the exact collection site and catching method significantly affect the composition of the collected sample. Grade A; publication is necessary. Abstracts have been published. 18. Klochko Inna: Mutual spatial arrangement of tadpoles. Last year, describing the project by Kiienko and Melnyk, I wrote that I would like to see such studies continued. An attempt was made to determine how tadpoles position themselves in an experimental setup: cooperatively (more often side by side) or antagonistically (more often at a distance from each other). What should the recorded distribution be compared with? With the theoretically expected distribution obtained through simulation of random tadpole movement. The work was completed and a tendency toward cooperative distribution of frog tadpoles was demonstrated. Unfortunately, as in the previous year, the results of this project were poorly presented. Grade D. 19. Kostoglodova Anzhela, Martynenko Mariia, Khomenko Andrii: Perch feeding ecology. A carefully executed study supervised by H.L. Goncharov, a staff member of the National Park (with minimal involvement on my part). A sample of perch from three age groups was collected (part of the sample studied in the project described under no. 2). It included one-year-old, two-year-old, and a few three-year-old fish. The perch were dissected, the stomach contents were sorted, and the component remains were identified. Changes in the dietary spectrum of perch were described and a sound interpretation of the results was provided. Grade A, of course; the results must definitely be published. 20. Kravchenko Yuliia, Ohiienko Svitlana: Composition of the frog population system at Iskov Pond. Few frog population systems have received as much attention as the one inhabiting Iskov Pond. In 1995, a pure population system of diploid hybrids was found here; in 2000 the pond was drained and the frog population system passed through a severe crisis. Subsequently, numerous triploids and pool frogs were found there. As this project showed, the Iskov Pond population system is now gradually returning to its pre-crisis state — the baseline condition as known at the start of its study. Aliona Melieshko, a third-year student, provided enormous assistance in carrying out this project. Grade A; publication is necessary. Abstracts have been published. 21. Liskovska Olga, Liashenko Anna, Nadeivets Aliona: Morphometry of bleak. Another ichthyological project, largely supervised by H.L. Goncharenko. Bleak of different size groups were collected. Scale analysis made it possible to show that these groups correspond to different ages. A detailed morphometric description of bleak of different ages was compiled. It is unfortunate that the students were unable to ensure consistency between the description of the work and the conclusions drawn during their presentation; consequently their grade was B. 22. Makarchuk Liudmyla, Mikheeva Marina: White wagtail foraging. An ornithological project carried out under the supervision of T.A. The students recorded and analyzed in detail the foraging behaviour of the white wagtail (Motacilla alba) on video. Grade A. 23. Malchenko Eduard: Marking of frogs at Iskov Pond. Frog marking at Iskov Pond was begun in the previous year, and Aliona Melieshko had already participated at that time. This year she continued the earlier work with the assistance (and under the protection) of Eduard Malchenko. The distinguishing feature of this year's work is that in addition to group marks, photography was used for subsequent individual identification. Grade A; may be published jointly with the work of Kravchenko and Ohiienko. Abstracts have been published. 24. Matsiuk Yuliia, Oleinyk Darya, Rabkina Elizaveta: Release calls of green frogs. In the course of this project, release calls of male and female green frogs (both the parental species and hybrids) were recorded. We planned to describe the difference between calls of males and females (and, if fortunate, between females carrying eggs and those that had already spawned). Unfortunately, the students became overwhelmed by the diversity of the material and were unable to identify sufficiently clear differences among the obtained sonograms. Grade C. 25. Rupeta Anastasia, Selina Nadezhda: Effect of temperature on lung ventilation in small and large frogs. A continuation of the project described here under no. 4. The results do not fully correspond to those obtained in the previous project but, unlike those, proved to be statistically significant. In cold water, the rhythm of the gular apparatus slows down and the proportion of "working" cycles decreases sharply. During operation of the gular apparatus, the slowing of the rhythm is associated not with the phase of air expulsion from the oral cavity, but with the phase of lowering of the gular apparatus downward. Frog body size did not significantly affect the processes studied. Unfortunately, these results could have been presented more effectively; grade C. 26. Slepukhova Anna, Sokolova Anna, Starichenko Iryna, Syromiatnikova Yuliia: Responses of biological station birds to vocal playback. Territorial behaviour of birds during the breeding and post-breeding period was studied. Species-specific song recordings amplified through loudspeakers were played to the birds, and their responses were recorded. The typology of such responses was successfully linked to phases of the life cycle and to characteristics of the birds' way of life. Supervisor — T.A.; grade B. 27. Tabikelova Karina: Tadpole development. In 2010, three UIRSs investigated features of the growth and development of green frog tadpoles from the Donets River. This year it was only possible to collect one sample. For all tadpoles in this sample, the developmental stage (based on the state of the hind limbs), body length, trunk length, and weight were determined. The results obtained were compared with those from two years earlier. Grade C (problems with the presentation), but the raw results could be published if desired. 28. Chaiuk Olga, Shulik Viktoria: Flight of sand martins. How does the flight of sand martins (Riparia riparia) differ when they approach a nest burrow versus when they emerge from it? In this project the students attempted to answer this question using photo and video recording (including high-speed video). In the course of the project, some non-trivial footage was obtained. Grade A. This year marked the fourth time we held a joint conference with combined reports on both botanical and zoological UIRSs during field practice. In the general view, the student presentations (both zoological and botanical) this year were more interesting than in any of the three preceding years. Let us strive to make the 2013 UIRSs even more interesting!