chornobyl_2023
The Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve is a unique location, which is an area of posttechnogenic habitat restoration, including the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, where comprehensive surveys of insect diversity have not yet been conducted. The communities of bees, sand wasps, and crabronids represent different functional groups in ecosystems (pollinators, predators, and kleptoparasites), so their taxonomic diversity provides a more complete conception of biodiversity in general. Our research was carried out in May and August 2020- 2021. We identified 159 species from 12 families. For each insect species, information is provided on the diet, nesting, lifestyle, and conservation status of bees according to the European Red List of Bees and the Ukrainian Red Book. Most of the bee species on the European Red List of Bees belong to the category 'Least Concern', but also registered rare species from the category 'Data Deficient' - 8 species, 'Near Threatened' - 5 species, 'Endangered' - 4 species (Colletes nasutus, Melitta melanura, Dasypoda braccata, Trachusa interrupta), 'Vulnerable' - 2 species (Colletes fodiens, Halictus leucaheneus). There have also been some interesting finds among the wasps, e.g. Arachnospila alvarabnormis, this species of spider wasps (Pompilidae) registered for the first time in the fauna of Ukraine. Data on the taxonomic diversity of bees and wasps are given for the Reserve for the first time, and although they are preliminary, we demonstrate considerable scientific potential for studying multicomponent communities in areas recovering from man-made disasters. Keywords: Chornobyl exclusion zone, digger wasp, spider wasps, taxonomic diversity, wild bees. Introduction In the Anthropocene, biodiversity loss due to increased habitat transformation remains an increasingly obvious challenge for the scientific community. Reserves, in turn, are designed to protect diversity; they have unique conditions that allow the conservation of native species and their habitats. The Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve (ChREBR) is a unique place that represents the gradual restoration of ecosystems after a technogenic disaster and the cessation of human activity. The reserve was established on 26 April 2016 with the purpose of preserving the typical natural complexes of Polissya, supporting and increasing the barrier function of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and the unconditional (mandatory) resettlement zone, rehabilitation of areas contaminated with radionuclides, assistance in organising and conducting international scientific research (Decree, No. 174/2016). It is necessary to recall that the Chornobyl accident in 1986 resulted in the release of large amounts of radioactive materials and the significant contamination of approximately 200000 square kilometres of land (Yablokov et al. 2010). Investigating communities of different species, and in particular the assessment of taxonomic diversity, helps to understand ecosystem restoration processes. The selected insects represent different functional groups and occupy different ecological niches. Bees, as pollinators of flowering plants, depend on their diversity and also on the availability of nesting sites. Therefore, bee diversity is an indirect indicator of flowering plant diversity. The current state of bee populations is a matter of concern, as their diversity is now declining worldwide. Therefore, according to Nieto et al. (2014) and Rasmont et al. (2017), 77 species of wild bees in Europe are at high risk of extinction, while there are insufficient data to estimate the populations of another 1101 species (56.7 % of species in Europe). Wasps are both predators and situational pollinators. For instance, Pompilidae wasps are known for their dietary preferences - certain groups of spiders, so in the context of habitat - Pompilidae are indicators of the diversity of their prey - spiders. Crabronid wasps are also predators, which also sheds light on the wider diversity of prey species associated with crabronids. Many insects studies have been carried out on the territory of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone; the beginning of these studies dates back to the year of the accident – 1986 (Stovbchatyy and Rodionova 2011). Some studies on insects have recently been carried out: Møller & Mousseau (2006, 2009), Møller et al. (2012), Mousseau & Møller (2012), Bezrukov et al. (2015), Drozda (2017), Raines et al. (2020) and others. To a greater extent, these works are devoted to studying the effects of radiation at different times of exposure at the genetic and physiological levels. Fewer studies have been devoted to the assessment of insect diversity. These include the notable work of Møller et al. (2013), who concluded that the diversity of insects in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone depends on the level of radiation, and in this and other work, Raines et al. (2020), the authors report finding 13 species of bumblebees. However, at present, there are no papers showing the current state of taxonomic diversity of Hymenoptera in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. There are not many studies showing ecosystem recovery after man-made disasters, but there are studies in Fukushima, (Yoshioka et al. 2015). The authors showed that in the evacuation zone, the number of the largest bees Xylocopa appendiculata Smith, 1852 decreased, while the number of small bees decreased slightly. It is likely that the difference in number and diversity of insects may depend on the time since the accident and, of course, after human activity has ceased. The aim of our study is to describe the taxonomic diversity of the ChREBR hymenopterans, as there is no comprehensive information on the species composition and distribution of these insects in the reserve. In this paper, we do not relate insect diversity to the level of radiation contamination. Note that our research does not cover the entire period of flight activity of the insects studied, and was stopped due to military events in 2022, so we give a preliminary taxonomic diversity, which will be updated when it becomes possible to resume research in the area.
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