RUDN Journal of Ecology and Life Safety

The relevance of this study stems from the need to understand the role of bivalve mollusks as natural reservoirs of viral particles in aquatic ecosystems. The problem lies in the insufficient knowledge of the mechanisms behind the selective bioaccumulation of bacteriopha ges by mollusks and its ecological consequences. The aim of this work was a comparative study of the accumulation kinetics of bacteriophages T4 (genus Tequatrovirus) and RB43 (genus Pseudotevenvirus) in the freshwater mollusks Unio pictorum and Anodonta cygnea, and to identify the molecular basis for the differences in this process. During the experiments, a comparative analysis of the phage titer dynamics in the environment was conducted, revealing fundamentally different strategies in their interaction with the mollusk and the surrounding water. It was established that bacteriophage T4 actively replicates and is firmly sorbed within the mollusk, whereas RB43 demonstrates weak adhesion to the filtration apparatus and is subject to constant migration back into the environment. A correlation was found between these differences and the structure of their capsid proteins: T4 exposes 8.6 times more Ig-like domains (via the Hoc protein) than RB43 (via the Wac protein). This presumably determines the efficiency of binding to mollusk mucus mucin and, consequently, the retention within the mollusk’s body. The scientific significance of the work lies in discovering the dependence of bioaccumulation on the presence of specific Ig-like domains in the decorating proteins of phages, which expands the fundamental understanding of the evolution and ecological differentiation of bacterial viruses. The practical significance is related to the fact that phage RB43, unlike T4, is an efficient transducer of antibiotic resistance genes. The weak sorption of RB43 in mollusks and its constant migration could facilitate the widespread dissemination of resistance plasmids in aquatic environments. Prospects for further research involve studying the role of mollusks as an ecological niche that promotes the bacteriophage-mediated horizontal gene transfer between bacteria.

In the context of increasing anthropogenic load and more frequent man-made emergencies, the problem of pollution of water bodies by oil spills is becoming one of the most urgent environmental tasks. Accidents during transportation and storage of petroleum products lead to the formation of large-scale oil slicks, causing the death of aquatic organisms, degradation of natural ecosystems and deterioration of the quality of life of the population. Environmental legislation provides for regular monitoring of water bodies, implementation of innovative treatment technologies, and operational measures to deal with to spills. The paper analyzes modern technical solutions for collecting and removing petroleum products from the water surface. Improved designs of emergency response devices are presented, characterized by mobility, the ability to fine-tune operating parameters and the integration of digital filling control systems. The effectiveness of the described technical means has been confirmed during the elimination of real accidents in the Far Eastern region, which made it possible to significantly reduce environmental and economic damage, increase the efficiency of response and minimize long-term ecosystem disturbances. The introduction of the latest mobile installations and the use of effective sorbents contribute to reducing the loss of biological resources, reducing the cost of restoration work and exchange experience between regions. The results obtained emphasize the importance of further development and implementation of innovations to improve environmental safety and protect water resources from oil pollution.

An important class of natural processes is formed by those whose development is due to causal relationships with some observed factors that are ahead of them in time, which makes it possible to use such relationships for long-term forecasting. The principles of such forecasting largely determine the choice of methodology used in the development of forecasts, as well as their justifiability. Therefore, their improvement is a promising direction for the development of technologies for the prevention of dangerous consequences of the processes under consideration, as well as an urgent safety problem in emergency situations. In the longterm forecasting of the studied processes, the principle “the more accurate the modeling, the more accurate the forecasting” is traditionally applied, and it is also assumed that their development occurs according to an inertial scenario. To solve the problem under consideration, the principle of “to each his own” can also be applied, suggesting that for each section of the studied territory, forecasting is carried out taking into account the significant factors of the process under consideration, corresponding specifically to this section. When identifying such factors, it is assumed that the scenario for the development of the process under study will not change in the future. This allows us to use as a predictor of the predictive model, the factor of the process under study, the connection with which has been strengthened in the past. A method is proposed for identifying areas for which the considered factor of the process under study has the specified property. It has been established that there are few areas of the Asian Territory of Russia where the scenario of the development of any hydrometeorological processes is inertial. As a result, a priori estimates of the justifiability of long-term forecasts of such processes here, as a rule, differ significantly from its a posteriori estimates. Following the principle of “to each his own” leads to the need to develop a specialized predictive model for each studied area of the territory under consideration, the predictors of which are factors that have previously been strengthened. The more sites under consideration, the higher the complexity of developing the required number of specialized models. Therefore, it is important to test hypotheses about the abundance of sites where a priori estimates of the feasibility of the forecast are underestimated. The validity of the hypotheses is confirmed by the example of such a process as interannual variations in average monthly surface air temperatures in the Asian territory of Russia for the spring months and their factors such as changes in the number of landscape fires that occurred in the previous year in Yakutia.

Urban green spaces play a crucial role in regulating the environment, improving the quality of life, and contributing significantly to achieving the goals of sustainable urban development. However, the rapid pace of urbanization in recent years has led to substantial changes in land use, particularly a reduction in the area of vegetation and urban green zones. This study utilizes Sentinel-2 L2A satellite data, which offer advantages in spatial resolution and multitemporal observation capabilities. To complement information on vegetation conditions, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated. For the classification of major land-cover categories, including water bodies, vegetation, urban areas, and bare land, the Random Forest machine learning algorithm was applied. The analysis results show that urban green spaces in Thai Binh have undergone significant temporal changes, with urban expansion identified as the main factor contributing to the decline of vegetation cover. The findings provide a clear understanding of the development and degradation of urban greenery at the local level and have practical significance for management and planning. They contribute to forming sustainable urban development strategies that balance urban growth and environmental protection, applicable not only to Thai Binh but also to other cities in Vietnam.

This research discusses an innovative approach to creating an automated system for monitoring water bodies based on modern remote sensing and computer vision technologies. The presented solution is aimed at overcoming the key limitations of traditional environmental monitoring methods, such as high labor intensity, subjectivity of assessments and insufficient efficiency of data acquisition. The developed software package implements a three-stage analysis algorithm: automatic recognition of water bodies on satellite images, calculation of their morphometric characteristics and optimized design of a network of monitoring stations. Particular attention is paid to the adaptability of the system to various types of initial data and shooting conditions, which ensures high accuracy of results even when working with lowquality images. The mathematical foundations of the algorithms, the results of experimental studies and practical recommendations for implementation are described. The results demonstrate the promise of using automated analysis systems to solve environmental monitoring problems in the face of increasing anthropogenic load on aquatic ecosystems.

Oil products are one of the most typical pollutants of the urban environment. With surface runoff from the urbanized territory, oil products enter the gullies and are transported by watercourses. The research analyzes the seasonal dynamics and conducts a geoecological assessment of the content of oil products in the alluvium of the gullies in the city of Saratov. The urban area has a high erosional dissection, the runoff of the city ravines is directed to the Volgograd Reservoir. The Volgograd Reservoir closes the cascade of reservoirs on the Volga River, serves as a source of drinking water supply and an object of recreation, and is of fishery importance. Samples of bottom sediments were collected from the source to the mouths of the gullies from the surface layer up to 2 cm deep. 45 samples were collected from thalwegs of 11 gullies during the minimum runoff in August-September 2022 and after snowmelt in April 2023. Laboratory analysis of the content of oil products was performed by the gravimetric method. The features of land use and technogenic load within each catchment area are considered. It was found that in one half of the samples the higher content of oil products was in spring, in the other - in summer. Almost half of the samples during both seasons are characterized as very dirty. The most polluted alluvium is in the gullies in the southern part of Saratov, where large industrial enterprises are located.

The need to improve recreational areas taking into account the preservation of the functions of natural ecosystems for future generations requires comprehensive research into the possibilities of recreational destinations. Specialized studies of individual aspects of environmental management and the ecological state of the Maly Woodyavr lake basin have been carried out, but there is no work examining the totality of recreational opportunities and consequences of recreational activities in the lake basin. The purpose of the study is to identify factors that stimulate the practical implementation of recreational potential. The object of the study is the basin of Lake Maly Woodyavr. The work is based on materials of own summer field studies, as well as various literary data. The work anticipates the assessment of recreational potential: by analyzing recreational regression, ecosystem resilience to recreational loads, comfort of a recreational area, As well as the aesthetic attractiveness of a landscape, resources for recreational activities are determined. The results of field studies and further cameral processing have shown that, so far, the first stage of regression has been fixed on a larger area of the lake basin, with the exception of the south-eastern part of the lake, where the “Zhemchuzhina” tourists’ camp site is located. Also, much of the coastal strip of the lake is accessible and comfortable for tourists. The aesthetic attractiveness analysis did not reveal areas with low attractiveness: the sum of indicators and parameters at all points exceeded the threshold of 40 points. Thus, it can be stated that the available recreational resources are not depleted.