Students of the Faculty of Natural Sciences conducted biodiversity monitoring as part of a scientific and educational intensive at the educational and production base of ASU “Mountain Legend”

From May 17 to May 23, at the training and production base “Mountain Legend” of ASU in the village of Dakhovskaya, Maykop District, a scientific and educational intensive “Monitoring of biodiversity and bioindication” was held for 1^st and 2^nd year students of the “Biology” department.

As part of the educational process and when carrying out research projects on biological monitoring, ASU students travel to different parts of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory throughout the year, but the intensive in the “Mountain Legend” is the largest and most effective form of organizing the scientific and educational process.

The intensive program included lectures and master classes. Moreover, this year, for the first time, not only teachers of ASU, but also invited scientists shared their experience with future biologists at an intensive course – these are employees of the Institute of Biology of Inland Waters named after I.D. Papanin of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Borok) and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg).

The main goal of the intensive course is to master the methods of collecting representatives of the fauna in natural conditions, to study the biodiversity of invertebrates and vertebrates of Adygea, to get acquainted with the methods of bioindication of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. During the week, students are completely immersed in the process of scientific work and field observations. It is organized and financed as part of the Upgrade of Educational Programs project, implemented under “the Priority 2030” program, which provides for the synthesis of science and education.

- The program is very rich. The plan was scheduled from early morning until late at night. For example, already at 4 am, the guys went on excursions to count birds by voices. And, by the way, species of birds uncharacteristic for this time in this area were noted. This is the material for the analysis that the students carried out during the day. Separate groups of students collected insects in the evening and at night using light traps. Under the guidance of experienced mentors, they recorded and formalized the collected data, classified the animals and drew conclusions about the state of the population and the ecosystem, – said Nadezhda Ilyinova, director of the educational policy department of ASU.

For a week, students worked in different areas of observation in the foothill and mountainous zones of the republic and used different methods of monitoring and collecting material. A trip to the territory of the Caucasian State Nature Reserve (Guzeripl cordon) was organized.

To conduct the intensive, the university purchased additional scientific equipment and necessary consumables.

- The effective implementation of the scientific and educational intensive was facilitated by its good equipment. ASU purchased special light traps and lamps with different spectra for nighttime collection of insects, hydrobiological and ground entomological nets, and kits for preparing entomological collections. The use of new methods for collecting insects made it possible to identify a number of rare species of insects, said Maxim Shapovalov, professor of the Department of Physiology of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of ASU.

The results of the scientific and educational intensive were summed up in the form of a reporting conference, at which students presented their projects, which were carried out throughout the year and supplemented by new collected collection material.

The intensive course allows students to acquire specific research skills: collection of animal collection material, observations in nature, field research work on the biology and ecology of invertebrates and vertebrates, laboratory processing of material, fixing observations using photographs and drawings, as well as educating students scientific outlook, curiosity, love for nature and respect for it.

The collected collection material will be used for the Digital Bioresource Collection project, which is being implemented at the Adyghe State University also under “the Priority 2030” program.