This dissertation work is dedicated to the study of the current state of the amphibian fauna of the Rightcoastal Polissia of Ukraine, the collection of current data on their distribution, the study of the peculiarities of their ecology, biology and morphology, the study of territories climatically favorable for the preservation of amphibians today and in future (2050) as well as creation of new nature conservation areas.
The research was conducted on material from own collections (more than 70 expedition trips in 2013-2021), "citizen science" records, data from iNaturalist, UkrBIN and GBIF internet resources, materials from museum collections of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Chernivtsi. Geocoding of records was performed in MAPS.ME and Google Earth Pro programs, followed by visualization in QGIS (v.2.18). Geoinformation modeling was performed in Maxent (v.3.4.0) for 19 bioclimatic factors available on WorldClim open resource. The climate changes used for the simulations were taken from the MIROC-6 ssp126 model for 2050. The simulation results were evaluated in the R environment. The ventral coloration of B. bombina toads was studied in Vidana program (v.1.0.1beta). External morphological anomalies were described by calculating the frequency of occurrence of abnormal individuals (Pas, %), the total spectrum of detected anomalies (Sap) and the partial frequency of occurrence of anomalies (Aas, %). The species identification of frogs from Pelophylax genus was determined by external morphological features and electrophoretic analysis of a species-specific genetic marker - the Ldh-B gene. The Standard SDM Manager (v.4.2.3) program was used to create new Emerald Network territories.
A database of amphibian records, consisting of 1,911 geocoded points, of which 32.75% are own finds, and 48.61% of their entire number are new to the studied area, was created.
13 taxonomic units (12 species and 1 hybrid) of batrachofauna were found on in Rightcoastal Polissia. Over the last 20 years, the presence of a reproductive population of the natterjack toad (E. calamita) has been confirmed for the first time. Over a 40-year period, changes in morphology (increase in cases of morphological anomalies, registration of new morphs not previously described in the literature), as well as phenological features (shifting time frames of the spawning period, disruption of wintering) occurred in the amphibian populations. During the study of the biotope distribution of amphibians, it was determined that the most valuable refugia territories are river valleys. For the first time, lists of amphibian species that are most characteristic for meadow habitats according to the EUNIS classification have been created.
The average degree of abdomenenal coloration of B. bombina was calculated (45.8%). All 5 known clusters of phenomorphs were found. The moderate correlation between the coloration level and the coordinate of the find, demonstrating the so-called “clines of variability”, was revealed.
It was estimated that the percentage of individuals with skin anomalies tends (moderately correlated) to be higher in regions with a higher integrated “Human Footprint” values. The largest number of abnormal individuals was registered for “Pelophylax esculentus” complex - 57.5%. The highest partial frequency of anomalies’ occurrence was calculated for skin anomalies - 52.8%, while other types of anomalies occurred singly.
Bioclimatic modeling of climatically favorable territories was made. As of now they comprise (in % of the research territory) for P. ridibundus – 20.73%, H. orientalis – 15.89%, B. viridis – 9.31%, B. bombina – 29.97%, P. fuscus – 9.98%, L. vulgaris – 16.77%, E. calamita – 4.63%, R. temporaria – 12.93%, B. bufo – 17.97%, T. cristatus – 18.88%, P. ridibundus x P. lessonae hybrid – 11.84%, P. lessonae – 5.91%, R. arvalis – 28.68%. It was found that for most species in terms of climate, the territory of the Rightcoastal Polissia will remain favorable until 2050, while P. lessonae and R. arvalis will have significantly less climatically favorable territories. 8 new Emerald Network sites were created on the studied territory. 6 of them are officially approved by the Secretariat of the Bern Convention and 2 more are currently candidate sites. Projects for the creation of 5 new sites of the nature reserve fund of local significance were prepared as well.
The scientific novelty of the work consists in obtaining modern data on the state of amphibian populations of the Rightcoastal Polissia (data on the number and trends of its change), conducting an analysis of the presence of territories climatically favorable for amphibians’ surviving within the framework of the present and future. For the first time, the analysis of morphological anomalies for this territory was done and the data on the morphological descriptions of these animals from the studied territory were clarified.
