Research

The Department of Bioecology, Hygiene and Public Health is studying biological components of ecosystems under anthropogenic transformation of the natural landscape of the Middle Volga region.

There are two research groups at the Department which organize the research activities for students and staff:

• 1. Adaptation of animals to the conditions of the transformed environment, i.e. identifying faunal complexes formation regularity and the reactions of species on anthropogenic impacts.

A research school "Ecosystems under Anthropogenic Transformation of Natural Landscapes" was formed by the scientists working in this field: Alla Arinina, Aizat Basiyrov.

Rustem Saifullin conducts research on the inventory of aquatic biological resources of Tatarstan, including studies of the ichthyofauna of the Middle Volga region water bodies . Besides ichtyocenosis biodiversity, he is also interested in different fish species population characteristics, breeding efficiency and so on.

Alisa Ilyasova successfully studies invertebrate animals in natural and anthropogenic landscapes of the Republic of Tatarstan. The research work is aimed at studying the biodiversity of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, distribution and ecology of different species, and study of endangered species in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Elena Minakova conducts research on water quality assessment of different water bodies and the degree of anthropogenic impact on aquatic ecosystems. The scientific work is conducted in collaboration with the Department of Applied Ecology of the Institute of Environmental Sciences of Kazan Federal University and Institute of Limnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg).

• 2. Population ecology of rare and endangered species of flora of Tatarstan and adaptation of plants to the conditions of the transformed environment.

Population ecology of plants is one of the modern trends in theoretical and practical ecology. According to the research results, Kadriya Ibragimova and Niaz Salakhov displayed age and spatial structures of populations of several plant species.

Traditionally, the work on the inventory of plant species of Kazan is carried out, hence the Herbarium of Kazan Flora has been produced and such facilities as gardens and park of the urban area were assessed on the subject of the recreational value. These studies are managed by Naziya. Sungatullina.

Natalya Arkhipova supervises the study of mechanisms of plants adaptation to different environmental conditions. The works on environmental plant physiology concern the problems of stability of cultivated and wild plants species under different environmental factors. The experimental studies on the effect of pollutants on plants are also conducted.

The results of biomonitoring provided by the Department are annually included in the scientific reports of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences and the state report on the State of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in the Republic of Tatarstan.

Staff, post-graduate students and students of the Department regularly participate in regional and international scientific conferences and actively promote the results of their research. Every year, dozens of publications reflect the basic scientific achievements of the Department of Bioecology.

In 2011, the Department was awarded the diploma of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences named "Golden Chair of Russia" for the results obtained by their tremendous effort.

Since 2005, The Department provides postgraduate studies in Ecology (03.02.08), 11 Candidate of Science dissertation and two Doctoral dissertations were successfully defended. The students can enroll in 2 MSc programs in Bioecological Education and Bioecology and Environmental protection.