RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Knowledge about the distribution of living organisms on Earth is very important for many areas of biological science and understanding of the surrounding world. However, much of the existing distributional data are scattered throughout a multitude of sources, such as taxonomic publications, checklists and natural history collections and often, bringing them together is difficult. A very successful attempt to solve this problem is the GBIF project, which allows a huge number of researchers to publish data in one place in a single standard. Our dataset represents a significant addition to the occurrences of amphibians in the Volga, Don riverine basins and adjacent territories.The dataset contains up-to-date information on amphibian occurrences in the Volga river basin and adjacent territories, located for the most part on the Russian plain of European Russia. The dataset is based on our own studies that were conducted in the years 1996-2020. The dataset consists of 5,030 incident records, all linked to geographical coordinates. A total of 13 amphibian species belonging to nine genera and six families have been registered within the studied territory, although the distribution of amphibian species in this region of Russia has not yet been fully studied. This is especially relevant with the spread of cryptic species that can only be identified using molecular genetic research methods.The main purpose of publishing a database is to make our data available in the global biodiversity system to a wide range of users. The data can be used by researchers, as well as helping the authorities to manage their territory more efficiently. NEW INFORMATION: All occurrences are published in GBIF for the first time. Most of the data are stored in field diaries and we would like to make it available to everyone by adding it in the global biodiversity database (GBIF).
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Pelobates fuscus is an anuran amphibian that overwinters on land deep in soil, including regions with low sub-zero temperatures. It is not yet known if such behaviour can be explained by low cold-hardiness of the species. OBJECTIVE: To measure cold-hardiness of P. fuscus and compare the results with data about its location in winter in nature. METHODS: Lower lethal temperatures and supercooling points (SCP) were measured in specimens collected near the Saratov city in south-eastern European Russia. RESULTS: SCP of P. fuscus range from -1.7 to -2.7°C. All individuals withstood exposure of 1°Ð¡ for 20 days; but freezing is lethal to animals: one individual out of five withstood exposure of -1°Ð¡ for 3 days, and -2°Ð¡ is lethal to all animals. The condition of supercooling is unstable. CONCLUSION: The lower tolerable temperature is probably about 0°Ð¡. Low cold hardiness determines overwintering deep in substrates, which allowed the species to disperse over a large geographical range, which also includes cold regions with little snow in winter.