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The value of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of trees and small mammals is considered as an indicator of developmental instability. The urban territories with recreation zones, sites with increased radiation background, and the areas affected by mining facilities have been analyzed as anthropogenically transformed areas. The following tree and small mammalian species are the objects of the study: Siberian silver birch ( Betula platyphylla), spreading birch ( B. divaricata), dwarf birch ( B. exilis), shrub alder ( Duschekia fruticosa), basket willow ( Salix viminalis), northern red-backed vole ( Clethrionomys rutilus), tundra vole ( Microtus oeconomus), Laxmann's shrew ( Sorex caecutiens), and tundra shrew ( S. tundrensis). In total, 60000 leaves have been measured and 3500 rodent sculls have been examined. The issues of selection of bioindicator species and the factors distorting the results of environmental quality assessment according to developmental instability are discussed. A statistically significant increase in FA of plants is recorded in urban territories as compared with the wildlife biotopes. A positive correlation of FA value with transport load, concentration of heavy metals in soil, and atmospheric air pollution is observed. The proximity to a roadway and the state of road pavement influence the FA value. The main source of pollution in the administrative center (Yakutsk) is motor vehicles; correspondingly, large streets and crossroads with a high transport load are the most polluted sites. As for the industrial center (city of Mirnyi), pollution spreads from the areas affected by mining to the residential area. The main pollution source in a small administrative center (city of Aldan) is the federal highway. It is recommended to concurrently use the FA characteristics of plant and animals in the area affected by the mining industry. Characteristic of this industry is withdrawal of large areas of natural landscapes; typically, transformed plots alternate weakly affected plots. The specific features of the effects of diamond, gold, and coalmining industries, as well as oil and gas field development, are discussed, which should be taken into account in sampling for bioindication. The problem of bioindication in the areas completely devoid of soil and plant cover can be solved by biotesting via assessment of bunching onion seed germination rate and the rate of mitotic aberrations. An increase in the FA level in trees and small mammals is observed in the areas transformed by the mining industry displaying a chronically increased radiation background and oil-polluted as a result of technogenic accidents. The use of FA index makes it possible to estimate the environmental quality and to compare the state of territories located under different natural and climatic conditions and influenced by multicomponent anthropogenic impacts differing in their strength and genesis, which interferes with their comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental and functional abnormalities of the reproductive system of fishes are examined in connection with the changes in conditions of their existence, in particular, the anthropogenic influence. The author's own data and literature sources on abnormalities of gametogenesis and gonadogenesis in a number of sturgeon species in relation to anthropogenic pressure on the water bodies are analyzed, and their systematization is performed. It is shown that these abnormalities, which are disorders of the stability of development, can serve as indicators of the environmental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the developmental stability in natural populations is a promising direction of population developmental biology, which opens new possibilities for estimation of the nature of the observed phenotypic diversity and understanding the mechanisms of population dynamics and microevolutionary transformations. This direction of the studies allows one to approach the estimation of the condition of natural populations. A special analysis of possible changes in the developmental stability indicators under different anthropogenic effects allows one to characterize this approach as one of the main within the methodology of the health of environment estimation based on the organism condition characteristics by the developmental homeostasis. The approach seems promising for the estimation and monitoring of the condition of natural populations of different species as well as for the environmental quality estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The value of fluctuating asymmetry is considered to be an indicator of the developmental instability of the organism. The consequences of activities of the mining industry facilities, which are characterized by alienation and transformation of large areas of natural landscapes, are analyzed as an anthropogenic factor. The objects of study were small mammals (northern red-backed ( Clethrionomys rutilus) and gray red-backed ( Clethrionomys rufocanus) voles, tundra vole ( Microtus oeconomus), Laxmann's ( Sorex caecutiens) and tundra ( S. tundrensis) shrews) and trees (Japanese white birch ( Betula platyphylla), Betula divaricate, Betula exilis, Duschekia fruticosa, and busket willow ( Salix viminalis)). In total, 3500 skulls and approximately 30000 leaves collected in the taiga zone of Yakutia were studied. The index of fluctuating asymmetry, as well as population parameters and composition of small mammal communities, were analyzed. The data on the value of the fluctuating asymmetry in the studied species in natural habitats are given. It is shown that, in natural conditions, this parameter can rise with deterioration in living conditions, particularly at the ecological periphery of the range. Anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes creates an 'anthropogenic periphery' and causes changes similar to the adaptive responses at the northern limit of the distribution of species. It was found that, through pollution and disruption of ecosystems, the mining industry affects all levels of organization of the living matter, but the population and cenotic parameters give an unambiguous response only at macroanthropogenic transformations. Increase in the level of fluctuating asymmetry is the most sensitive indicator of anthropogenic impact and it should also be taken into account that disruptions in the developmental stability of an organism reflect the destructive processes occurring in the population and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The status of amphibians in populations subjected to anthropogenic influence of various natures has been evaluated. We studied the effect of complex anthropogenic influences as well as chemical and radiation pollution. The status of the specimens in populations was evaluated by morphological (developmental stability as the level of fluctuating asymmetry) and cytogenetic (micronucleus test) methods. Disturbed developmental stability and cytogenetic homeostasis have been observed in populations affected by anthropogenic factors, which indicates the changed status of the organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have generalized the materials of population-phenogenetic studies of the weeping birch in different environmental conditions using developmental stability analysis and photosynthetic activity measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ontogenetic and population studies traditionally develop independently. At the same time, the relevance of specific analysis of a specimen as ontogenesis for both correct assessment of populations and their dynamics in time and space and understanding the mechanisms underlying population processes is becoming more and more clear. Developmental stability serves as the most general description of the developing organism status. The level of developmental noise commonly evaluated by fluctuating asymmetry is the main index of developmental stability. High developmental stability is maintained on the basis of genetic coadaptation under optimal developmental conditions. Coordinated changes in developmental stability and other homeostatic indices, including genetic, physiological, biochemical, and immune indices suggest that we consider the general status of the organism by evaluating its developmental stability. Evaluation of developmental stability as a measure of environmental stress, apparently, is the most promising. In practical terms, this allows us to evaluate and monitor environmental health under both natural and various anthropogenic conditions. Outlooks of this approach as relates to studies of developmental stability are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental stability of small-leaved lime ( Tina cordata Mill.) was estimated in populations on territories of the Kerzhenskii State Nature Reserve, Nizhni Novgorod District, and in an industrial region of Nizhni Novgorod. The developmental stability was estimated according to the fluctuating asymmetry of the leaf measurements. The results obtained suggest that, in the urbanized territory, the homeostatic developmental mechanisms are weakened, as expressed in the increased degree of leaf asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]