Since ancient times, people have accumulated experience in using natural resources, among which various animals played an important role. By mining them, they gradually learned about the life and structure of animals. The beginning of zoology as a science was laid by the famous ancient Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle (IV century BC). In his works “History of Animals”, “On the Parts of Animals”, “On the Origin of Animals”, etc., he described 452 different animals known at that time. Aristotle made a significant contribution to the study of the structure of animals, considering their body parts in relationship.

The Romans' campaigns in distant countries significantly enriched science with knowledge about the animals of North Africa, Western Asia and Europe. The ancient Roman scientist Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) in his multi-volume “Natural History” gave a description of all animals known at that time.

During the era of feudalism, when Europe was divided into many small estates of feudal lords, and the religion dominating society hampered the development of science, the study of animals experienced a period of long stagnation.

The great Renaissance (XV-XVI centuries) was a time of new flourishing of science. The travels of the great explorers of that time - Columbus, Marco Polo, Magellan and many others - greatly enriched mankind's knowledge of the animal world of different continents.

Accumulated by the end of the 16th century. extensive material about the fauna of various parts of the Earth required their systematization and generalization. Of these generalizing zoological works, the most valuable is the multi-volume summary of the Swiss scientist K-Hesper (1516 - 1565) “History of Animals” - a genuine encyclopedia for that time of data on the animal world.

In the 17th century A microscope was created, which opened up to zoologists a vast and amazing world of the smallest animals and allowed them to begin studying the finest structures of the organs of multicellular animals. Among the first zoological studies using a microscope, we should first of all note the work of the Dutch naturalist A. Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), who published a 4-volume work “Secrets of Nature Discovered with the Use of a Microscope.” He discovered ciliates, described red blood cells, muscle tissue of higher animals, and much more. The Italian scientist M. Malyshgi (1628-1694) described capillaries in the circulatory system of vertebrates and made chain discoveries in the field of the microscopic structure of the excretory organs and integument of various animals.

M. Servetus (1511-1543) and especially W. Harvey (1578-1657) did a lot in physiology, describing the blood circulation in humans. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. modern animal taxonomy and paleontology were born. The name of J. Cuvier (1769-1832) is associated with the development of the principle of correlation, according to which all parts and organs of an animal organism are inextricably linked with each other, and a change in one of them entails a change in the remaining organs of the body (Aristotle previously wrote about this in general terms ). Paleontologists take advantage of this situation by restoring a whole animal based on its remains found in a fossilized state. Among the most important works of J. Cuvier, we note “The Animal Kingdom” in 5 volumes, “Iconography of the Animal Kingdom” with 450 tables and 6200 drawings, many of which are used in modern scientific and educational literature, “Discourses on revolutions on the surface of the globe and changes , what they produced”, “Research on fossil bones” (first edition in 4 volumes, fourth in 10 volumes). The “Discourses...” outlines the theory of catastrophes, the distribution of fossils to the layers of the Earth, and at the same time the refusal to recognize the change of faunas as a result of evolution.

XIX century is marked by the approval of the idea of evolution of the organic world, the gradual development of all living nature from simpler forms to more complex ones. The development of the idea of evolution was also facilitated by the creation in the 30s of the 19th century. theory of the cellular structure of animals and plants (T. Schwapn, M. Schleidep), which laid the foundation for the idea of the unity of the animal and plant worlds.

Great achievements in the development of the ideas of animal evolution belong to the famous French naturalist J. Lamarck (1744-1829). He developed and improved the taxonomy of animals proposed by C. Linnaeus, and did a lot of work on the study of invertebrates. But Lamarck’s work “Philosophy of Zoology” (1809) is especially valuable, in which he opposes the metaphysical views of most biologists of that time about the immutability of animal species and sets out the first holistic theory of the evolution of living nature. Lamarck argued that all plants and animals are constantly changing and transforming into new forms under the influence of external conditions and the internal desire for improvement inherent in each organism. K. A. Timiryazev considered Lamarck’s main work, “Philosophy of Zoology,” to be a work in which for the first time the question of the origin of organisms is discussed not in passing, but with all the necessary breadth of coverage, fully armed with the scientific knowledge of that time. But, having created the theory of evolution of the animal world, Lamarck gave an erroneous interpretation of the cause of this process.

The ideas of evolution in biology finally prevailed after Charles Darwin (1809-1882) published his main work “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Breeds in the Struggle for Life” (1859). In this remarkable work, Charles Darwin not only proved the existence of variability of species and evolution of the entire organic world, but also revealed the reasons for this process. He explained the expediency of organization and adaptability of living beings as a result of the action of long-term natural or artificial selection - the most important factor in evolution. Darwin's theory of evolution was highly appreciated by V.I. Lenin, who pointed out that Darwin was the first to put biology on a completely scientific basis, establishing the variability of species and continuity between them.

The significance of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of the organic world for natural science and, in particular, for zoology is enormous: a scientific materialistic explanation was given for the structure and phenomena of animal life. There is no branch of zoological knowledge in which the affirmation of evolutionary teaching would not cause fundamental changes in the views of scientists. The victory of the theory of evolution in biology served as a powerful stimulus to the development of all branches of zoology.

The rapid development of zoological research at the end of the 19th century. and especially in the 20th century. was closely related to the growth of livestock farming, fishing and hunting, and other branches of agriculture using zoological data. The development of zoological science has greatly contributed to the growth and improvement of agriculture and the protection of human health. The accumulation of enormous factual material and theoretical theories about animals and their lives led to the division of zoology in the 19th century. and the beginning of the 20th century. into a number of branches - zoology has become a complex science.

In our country, zoology has a long and glorious history. Even in the first Russian books (“Russian Truth”, etc.) there are references to many animals that lived in Ancient Rus'. But zoological research was widely developed in Russia in the 18th century, when the Academy of Sciences organized a series of distant expeditions to study the nature of various regions of the country. Academician P. Pallas (1741 -1811) traveled to the Volga region, Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Urals, S. Steller (1709-1746) - to the Far East, S. Gmelin (1745-1774) - to the south of European Russia, I. Gyldenstedt (1745-1781) - to the Caucasus, I. Lepekhin (1740-1802) - in the central and northern regions of the country. They collected large zoological collections and made many observations of animals in the areas visited. Based on these materials, P. Pallas created a major work, “Russian-Asian Zoography,” in which he described all the vertebrates of the Russian fauna known at that time.

The study of the animal world of Russia continued in the first half of the 19th century, when many scientists made a series of long trips to various remote areas of the country. Particularly fruitful was the three-year trip of Academician A. F. Middendorf (1815-1894), who traveled almost all of Siberia and, in the full sense of the word, “scientifically discovered” it for natural scientists.

Of great importance for the development of Russian zoological science were the works of Moscow University professor C. Roulier (1814 - 1858), in which he developed the ideas of the unity of the animal body and the environment, and sought to show that changes in living conditions cause changes in animals. C. Roulier opposed the metaphysical views of J. Cuvier and other scientists who defended the theory of the immutability of species.

K. Roulier's student N. A. Severtsov (1827-1885) created a number of remarkable works on ecology and zoogeography. In them, he always emphasized the need to study animals in connection with their habitat. At the risk of his life, N.A. Severtsov penetrated the mountains and deserts of Central Asia and gave a “detailed description of the fauna of this wonderful country.

The outstanding Russian researcher Academician K. M. Beer (1792-1876) made a great contribution to zoological science. He is deservedly considered one of the founders of the science of animal development - embryology. The expeditions of K-M. Baer to the Caspian and Azov Seas were of great importance for the development of fishing.

Russian zoological science began to develop especially quickly in the second half of the 19th century. after Charles Darwin published the theory of evolution of organic nature. Leading scientists of Russia - botanist K. A. Timiryazev (1843-1920), zoologists A. O. Kovalevsky (1840-1901), I. I. Mechnikov (1845-1916), V. O. Kovalevsky (1842-1883) and others - not only popularized and disseminated Darwin's teachings, but also enriched it with their research.

In the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The expeditionary study of the fauna of our country and its neighboring territories continued. Such are the expeditions of N. M. Przhevalsky (1839-1888) and his students to Central Asia, N. M. Kiipovich (1862-1939) across the seas of Russia. These trips significantly enriched knowledge about the fauna of Russia.

ABSTRACT ON ZOOLOGY ON THE TOPIC:

"Outstanding Scientists"

Novosibirsk city

1. Krasheninnikov Stepan Petrovich (1713-1755)

2. Pallas Peter Simon (1741–1811)

3. Roulier Karl (1814-1858)

4. Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich (1839–1888)

5. Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich (1840–1901)

6. Kovalevsky Vladimir Onufrievich (1842–1883)

7. Menzbir Mikhail Alexandrovich (1855–1935)

8. Severtsov Alexey Nikolaevich (1866–1936)

9. Sushkin Petr Petrovich (1868-1928)

10. Ognev Sergei Ivanovich (1886-1951)

11. Zenkevich Lev Alexandrovich (1889-1970)

12. Serebrovsky Alexander Sergeevich (1892–1933)

13. Geptner Vladimir Georgievich (1901–1975)

Krasheninnikov Stepan Petrovich

Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov (10/18/1713-02/12/1755) - the first Russian academic geographer, participant in the Second Kamchatka Expedition, explorer of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Born in Moscow in the family of a soldier. In 1724–1732 he studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (Moscow), then in the philosophy class of the Academy of Sciences and Arts (St. Petersburg). In 1733, he was enrolled as a “student student” in the Academic detachment of the Second Kamchatka Expedition and went to Okhotsk. Here he conducted hydrometeorological research, studied ichthyology, and compiled a dictionary of the “Lamut language”. On October 4, 1737, on the ship "Fortuna" he left Okhotsk for Kamchatka, where he was engaged in research for 4 years, making many expeditions around the peninsula. Over the course of four years, he crossed the peninsula in different directions: he walked, rode sledges, rafted down rivers, and climbed mountains. He conducted extensive research as a geologist and geographer, as a botanist and zoologist, as a historian and ethnographer, meteorologist and linguist. Krasheninnikov conducted a comprehensive study of Kamchatka in the field of natural sciences (geography, geology, seismology, volcanology), was the first Russian to study tsunamis, made meteorological observations, paid a lot of attention to the ethnography of local peoples (Itelmens, Koryaks, Ainu), compiled aboriginal dictionaries, collected folklore of the inhabitants of Kamchatka . In Nizhne-Kamchatsk, Verkhne-Kamchatsk, Bolsheretsk, based on archives and interviews with local residents, he reconstructed the history of the region. He studied the flora and fauna of Kamchatka, and the ichthyology of rivers and adjacent sea waters. In February 1743, with his young wife Stepanida Tsibulskaya (from Yakutsk), he returned to St. Petersburg. Since 1748, he was the rector of the academic university and its gymnasium. Based on the collected material, he wrote the books “Description of the Kamchatka People”, “On the Conquest of the Kamchatka Land” (1751), and the major work “Description of the Land of Kamchatka” (1756) with the appendix of two maps. This was the first thorough work about Kamchatka. In 1745, Krasheninnikov was elected an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences, and in 1750 he was appointed professor (academician) of natural history and botany. In 1751, he completed his book “Description of the Land of Kamchatka,” but the author never managed to see it published. On February 25, 1755, Krasheninnikov died, and his book was published in 1756. His work was the first study in Russian and world scientific literature about Kamchatka, dedicated to its geography, natural history, description of the life and languages of local peoples. “Description of the Land of Kamchatka,” which has not lost its scientific value for more than 200 years, is an example of a comprehensive regional study description of a little-studied territory, an example of the Russian literary language of that time. S.P. died Krasheninnikov in St. Petersburg. In 1989, his name was given to the Kamchatka Regional Library. 10 geographical objects are named after Krasheninnikov, including in Kamchatka - a peninsula, a bay, a mountain, an island; on Karaginsky Island there is a cape, on Paramushir Island there is a bay, a cape, near it there is an underwater valley; on Novaya Zemlya - a peninsula and a cape, in Antarctica - a mountain.

Pallas Peter Simon

In 1767, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences elected Pallas as a full member. Despite his incomplete 27 years, Pallas already had behind him the reputation of a brilliant biologist, paving new paths in the taxonomy of animals. He gave more than 40 years of his scientific life to his new homeland.

Pallas's first big undertaking was an expedition to Eastern Russia and Siberia. From 1768–1774 The scientist explored central Russia, the regions of the Lower Volga region, the Caspian lowland, the Middle and Southern Urals, crossed Siberia, visited Lake Baikal, Transbaikalia, and Altai.

Pallas endured the hardships of the journey with great difficulty. He suffered from dysentery several times, suffered from chronic colitis, rheumatism, and his eyes were constantly inflamed. The 33-year-old scientist returned to St. Petersburg completely exhausted and gray-haired.

Thanks to Pallas, zoology was enriched with new research techniques related to ecology and ethology.

Over six expedition years, unique material was collected on zoology, botany, paleontology, geology, physical geography, economics, history, ethnography, culture and life of the peoples of Russia.

Peter Simon proposed a diagram of the structure of the Ural Mountains, and in 1777 he first compiled a topographical diagram of Siberia. The scientist presented the collected material about the flora and fauna of these territories in the work “Travel to Various Provinces of the Russian Empire.”

Pallas described more than 250 species of animals that lived on the territory of Russia, additionally reporting on the distribution, seasonal and geographic variability, migrations, nutrition, and behavior of the animals he described. Pallas often expressed ideas about the physical and geographical factors of their settlement, so he can be considered one of the founders of zoogeography.

In the 1780s, he worked hard to prepare a general compendium of plants in Russia. Due to lack of funds, it was possible to publish only two editions of this extensive work “Flora of Russia”, 1784 and 1788, containing descriptions of about 300 plant species and amazing illustrations.

At the same time, Pallas published articles on geography, paleontology, ethnography, and a two-volume work on the history of the Mongolian people was published. On behalf of Catherine II, Pallas published a comparative dictionary of all languages and dialects of Russia.

In 1793-1794, Pallas undertook his second great journey, this time through the southern provinces of Russia. He explored Crimea. The collections collected during this trip formed the basis of the collections of the academic cabinet of curiosities, and some of them ended up at the University of Berlin.

Pallas's works provide detailed information about the climate, rivers, soils, flora and fauna of the Crimean Peninsula, and contain descriptions of many historical places (Mangupa, Ai-Todora, Ayu-Dag, Sudak, etc.). The scientist was the initiator of the foundation of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, vineyards and gardens in the Sudak and Solnechnaya valleys, and founded the Salgirku park in Simferopol. In honor of the geographer, one of the species of Crimean pine was named Pallas pine.

In 1797, Pallas’s work “List of Wild Plants of the Crimea” was published. The author was the first to brilliantly describe the vegetation cover of the Crimean Peninsula and compiled an exhaustive list of 969 species of wild plants for that time.

The scientist was the initiator of the foundation of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, vineyards and gardens in the Sudak and Solnechnaya valleys, and founded the Salgirku park in Simferopol. In honor of the geographer, one of the species of Crimean pine was named Pallas pine.

Roulier Karl

Roulier Karl (1814-1858) - Russian zoologist and doctor of medicine - was born on April 8 (20), 1814 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire.

In 1829, Roulier entered the Moscow branch of the Medical-Surgical Academy, from which he graduated on August 18, 1833 with a silver medal and received the title of physician. On August 6, 1836, he was approved as a tutor (assistant) under G.I. Fischer von Waldheim. I worked with Fischer Roulier for one year. In September 1837, Fisher retired, and the department of natural history passed to Professor I.O. Shikhovsky, and Roulier was appointed associate professor. By this time he had already received his doctorate in medicine. It was awarded to him for his dissertation on bleeding in general and hemorrhoidal bleeding in particular.

On March 5, 1838, the Council of the Academy assigned Roulier to independently teach a course in zoology and mineralogy. At the same time, he was entrusted with the management of the zoological and mineralogical rooms of the Academy, the exhibits of which Roulier widely used for demonstration at his lectures. Even before this - on July 13, 1837 - Roulier was appointed curator of the Museum of Natural History of Moscow University. On November 18, 1837, he was elected a full member of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists. On September 20, 1838, Roulier was elected second secretary of this society. On July 13, 1840, in connection with the move of I.O. Shikhovsky to St. Petersburg Roulier was elected first secretary of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists and remained there until 1851.

At the same time, Roulier began extensive work on studying the history of zoology in Russia. Roulier's work did not see the light of day, but with the help of processing a huge amount of factual zoological material, Roulier was able to quickly understand the main directions of contemporary zoological science and understand the prospects for its development.

On February 28, 1840, the Council of Moscow University invited Roulier to occupy the department of zoology vacated after the death of Professor A.L. Lovetsky. In 1842 he was elected extraordinary, and in 1850 ordinary professor.

In the article “Doubts in Zoology as a Science” (1842), Roulier showed that the main direction of contemporary zoology - taxonomy - does not have reliable scientific principles of classification, that “where there should be the strictest laws, pure arbitrariness governs” and, Consequently, many prevailing ideas in zoology are completely untenable. Accepting the idea of the evolution of organisms, Roulier believed that the evidence put forward by Lamarck, Geoffroy and others was insufficient.

Roulier believed that to prove the variability of species, numerous observations and “historical evidence” - data from geology and paleontology - are necessary. Until 1849, Roulier intensively conducted field geological and paleontological research and studied in detail all the most interesting outcrops of the Moscow basin.

The study of geology and fossil organisms increasingly convinced Roulier of the historical development of the earth's surface and life on it, of the interconnection of natural phenomena and the materiality of the causes that determine the development of the organic world. His classic work “On the Animals of the Moscow Province” and many others were essentially devoted to proving this.

Roulier developed the idea that the evolution of the earth's surface was accompanied by the evolution of the organic world, that changes caused successive changes in organic forms.

Roulier called the path that a researcher of the organic world should follow a comparative-historical method of research. He was deeply confident in the historical development of nature and the organic world, in the obligatory unity of the organism and conditions of existence.

Roulier's significant contribution to the development of the theory of evolution was that he included the interaction between organisms in the concept of environment.

Roulier was the first Russian biologist to begin developing the problems of zoopsychology as a special branch of biology and pointed out the need to create “comparative psychology.” He proved the dependence of the mental activity of animals, their instincts and way of life on the conditions of existence in which a given species has lived throughout history. Roulier was the first to approach the problems of zoopsychology as an integral part of animal ecology.

Roulier opposed considering the instincts and mental activity of animals as phenomena that cannot be scientifically explained. “Either there is no instinct, or it makes sense,” this is how he formulated his approach to the study of instincts, which he understood as reactions developed by a species throughout its history to certain environmental influences.

In 1854, Roulier founded and edited the journal “Bulletin of Natural Sciences” until his death (1858).

Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich

Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich (March 31, 1839 – November 20, 1888) - scientist, geographer, traveler, explorer of Central Asia, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences from 1878, major general from 1886.

Born in the village of Kimborovo, Smolensk province, into a noble family. Since childhood I dreamed of traveling. His father, Mikhail Kuzmich, served in the Russian army. His initial teacher was his uncle P. A. Karetnikov, a passionate hunter, who instilled in him this passion and with it a love of nature and wandering.

In 1855 he graduated from the Smolensk gymnasium. After completing the course at the Smolensk gymnasium, Przhevalsky became a non-commissioned officer in the Ryazan infantry regiment in Moscow; Having received the rank of officer, he transferred to the Polotsk regiment, then entered the Academy of the General Staff. At the height of the Sevastopol defense he entered the army as a volunteer, but he did not have to fight. After 5 years of being unloved by Przhevalsky N.M. military service was refused to transfer him to Amur for research work.

In 1861 he entered the Academy of the General Staff, where he completed his first geographical work, “Military Geographical Survey of the Amur Region,” for which the Russian Geographical Society elected him as a member.

In 1863 he completed his academic course and volunteered to go to Poland to suppress the uprising. He served in Warsaw as a teacher of history and geography at a cadet school, where he seriously engaged in self-education, preparing to become a professional researcher of little-studied countries.

In 1866 he was assigned to Eastern Siberia. He made a number of expeditions to the Ussuri region (1867-1869), as well as in 1870-10 -1885 to Mongolia, Tibet and China. Surveyed more than 30 thousand km. the path he traveled, discovered unknown mountain ranges and lakes, a wild camel, a Tibetan bear, and a wild horse named after him. He talked about his travels in books, giving a vivid description of Central Asia: its flora, fauna, climate, peoples who lived in it; collected unique collections, becoming a generally recognized classic of geographical science.

The result of the first trip was the book “Travel in the Ussuri Region” and rich collections for the geographical society. For the first time he described the nature of many regions of Asia, lakes and mountain ranges unknown to Europeans; collected collections of plants and animals, described a wild camel, a wild horse (Przewalski's horse), etc.

He died of typhoid fever (11/20/1888) while preparing to make his fifth expedition to Central Asia. A number of geographical objects, animal and plant species are named after him. In 1892, a monument to N.M. Przhevalsky was unveiled in St. Petersburg. sculptors Shroeder I.N. and Runeberg R.A.

Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich

Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich (1840–1901) - a famous Russian scientist, was born on November 19, 1840 in the Vorkovo estate, Dinaburg district, Vitebsk province. Alexander Onufrievich entered the Corps of Railway Engineers, but soon left it and entered the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University as a free student. In 1960, Kovalevsky left for Germany, where he soon began scientific work in the laboratory of the famous chemist Bunsen. Having become interested in zoology, Alexander Onufrievich began to study histology and microscopy techniques with Professor F. Leydig. Returning to St. Petersburg, in 1863 Kovalevsky passed university exams and received the degree of candidate of natural sciences for his work on the anatomy of the sea cockroach.

In 1864, the scientist went abroad again. On the Mediterranean coast A.O. Kovalevsky conducted a study of the larval development of ascidians, which showed similar development to the lancelet larva. The zoologist studied the structure of intestinal-breathers, observed the embryonic development of ctenophores, bryozoans, phoronids, and echinoderms.

In 1865, Kovalevsky defended his master’s thesis: “The history of the development of the lancelet - Amphioxus lanceolatus”, two years later he received a doctorate for the thesis: “On the development of Phoronis”. Having completed a number of comparative embryological studies, Kovalevsky formulated his provisions on the complete correspondence of the germ layers in vertebrates and invertebrates, drawing evolutionary conclusions from this position. For his work on the development of worms and arthropods (1871), the scientist was awarded the Baer Prize of the Academy of Sciences.

Alexander Onufrievich was successively a professor of zoology at Kazan and Kiev universities. In Kyiv, he took an active part in organizing the Society of Natural Scientists, and published his works in its publications. In 1870 - 73, the scientist made scientific expeditions to the Red Sea and Algeria, where, studying the biology of the development of brachiopods, he established their similarity in embryogenesis with bryozoans and annelids. It became clear that Brachiopoda could not be grouped with molluscs. Later, brachiopods were identified as a separate phylum.

In 1874, I.I. Mechnikov persuaded Kovalevsky to move to Novorossiysk (Odessa) University. The scientist often traveled abroad; in Villafranca, a town near Nice, in 1886, with the participation of Kovalevsky, a Russian zoological station was organized; nowadays it is run by the University of Paris. His article “Observation of the development of Coelencerata” (1873) was published, where the author provided data on the development of hydroid polyps and jellyfish, scyphojellyfish and coral polyps.

In Odessa, Kovalevsky continued his embryological observations and began comparative physiological studies of the excretory organs of invertebrates. Kovalevsky A.O., applying Mechnikov’s teaching to explain the processes of dissolution of larval organs and pupae of flies, showed that the larval organs are destroyed and eaten by the blood cells of the pupae, and special accumulations of cells (imaginal primordia) remain intact and subsequently give the organs of an adult insect.

After being elected as an ordinary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1890, A.O. Kovalevsky moved to St. Petersburg, where in 1891 he took the chair of histology at St. Petersburg University. On the Black Sea coast, the scientist founded the Sevastopol Zoological Station, and for a long time was its director.

Since 1897, Kovalevsky was one of the editors of the biological sciences department in the 82-volume Brockhaus-Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.

In the last years of his life, he spent a lot of time studying leeches, exploring their anatomical structure, physiological characteristics and way of life.

Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky died after a cerebral hemorrhage on November 22, 1901 in St. Petersburg.

Kovalevsky Vladimir Onufrievich

Kovalevsky Vladimir Onufrievich (1842–1883) - Russian paleontologist was born on August 12, 1842 in the village of Shustyanka, Vitebsk province. Since 1851 V.O. Kovalevsky studied at the private boarding school V.F. Megina in St. Petersburg. In March 1855 he entered the sixth grade of the School of Law, from which he graduated in 1861. Having become interested in natural science, following his brother (the famous embryologist Alexander Kovalevsky), Vladimir Kovalevsky made a living by translating books on natural history.

In 1861 he left for Germany, then to England, where at first he continued to study law. At the beginning of 1863 V.O. Kovalevsky went to Poland, where, together with P.I. Jacobi took part in the Polish uprising. Returning to St. Petersburg at the end of the year, Kovalevsky met I.M. Sechenov and Dr. P.I. Lateral. Soon V.O. Kovalevsky abandoned the profession of lawyer, and, again taking up translations, finally became interested in the natural sciences.

In the fall of 1868 V.O. Kovalevsky married Sofya Vasilyevna Korvin-Krukovskaya, who later became an outstanding mathematician. Family circumstances forced the couple to leave Russia for Germany: only there could Sophia go to university.

In 1870, having difficulty moving to London due to the Franco-Prussian War, the Kovalevskys settled near the British Museum. The scientist began an in-depth study of geology in all its directions. He spent a lot of time in the museum library, studying the taxonomy of mollusks, fish, and reptiles. Using the works of Cuvier, Owen, and Blainville, using the skeletons and dental systems available in the Anatomical Museum, Vladimir Onufrievich studied mammals.

One of the most important tasks of paleontology V.O. Kovalevsky believed in clarifying family relationships in the animal world. He traced phylogenetic series, considering them the best evidence of evolution. IN. Kovalevsky made the first attempt to construct a pedigree of ungulates based on the principles of Charles Darwin’s theory. His classic monograph “On anchitheria and the paleontological history of horses” (1873) is devoted to this issue.

In his works, the scientist posed and correctly resolved such problems as monophyly and polyphyly in evolution, divergence of characters (principles of divergence and adaptive radiation). He was concerned about the problem of the relationship between progress and specialization, the role of leaps in the development of the organic world, factors and patterns of extinction of organisms, changes in organs due to changes in functions, the problem of correlations (ratios) in the development of organs and some other patterns of the evolutionary process. V. O. Kovalevsky became a pioneer of the paleoecological direction in paleontology.

Despite the fact that the approach of V.O. Kovalevsky’s approach to the study of paleontological material, based on Darwin’s theory, was fresh and new; world fame came to the scientist only after his death: V.O. Kovalevsky was recognized as the founder of evolutionary paleontology, a new stage in the development of this science.

In November 1874 V.O. Kovalevsky successfully passed the exams for a master's degree at St. Petersburg University and on March 21, 1875, at the same university, defended his dissertation on the topic “Osteology of Anchitherium aurelianense Cuv, as a form elucidating the genealogy of the horse type (Equus).”

On December 22, 1874, the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society awarded V.O. Kovalevsky prize for his work on Entelodon Gelocus and his dissertation on Anchytheria.

Vladimir Onufrievich established a number of patterns in the evolution of ungulates. Of particular importance is the discovery by Kovalevsky in 1875 of the Law of adaptive and non-adaptive changes. The ecological distribution of almost all living organisms is subject to this law: the relative appropriateness of the structure of the organism is developed in connection with certain changes in the environment as a result of natural selection.

In 1875, due to a deteriorating financial situation, the paleontologist had to resume publishing work and, at the insistence of his wife, begin a number of commercial activities, in particular the construction of apartment buildings and baths. He died in 1883 after a serious illness.

Menzbir Mikhail Alexandrovich

Menzbir Mikhail Alexandrovich (1855–1935) - was born on October 4, 1855 in Tula, Russian Empire, into a poor noble family. His father was a military man; when Mikhail Alexandrovich was 11 years old, he lost his mother, who died of tuberculosis. After graduating from the Tula gymnasium in 1874 with a silver medal, Menzbier entered Moscow University in the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. His teachers were Yakov Andreevich Borzenkov (1825-1883) and Sergei Aleksandrovich Usov (1827-1886), students of K.F. Roulier (1814-1858).

Mikhail Aleksandrovich graduated from the university in 1878, and was left to prepare for a professorship at the Department of Zoology in the laboratory of Ya.A. Borzenkova. Menzbier's first scientific work, “The Ornithological Fauna of the Tula Province” (1879), was devoted to fauna and zoogeography.

In 1879, having met N.A. Severtsov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich began working on his master’s thesis “Ornithological Geography of European Russia”, successfully defending it in 1882.

After defending his dissertation M.A. Menzbier completed a mandatory overseas assignment in Europe. The scientist studied not only zoogeography, but also the comparative anatomy of vertebrate and invertebrate animals.

To work on his monograph, he collected material on birds of prey, became acquainted with the organization of museum work, studied evolutionary problems, explored and described many new subspecies and forms of diurnal raptors. Despite the long period of rejection of the “triple taxonomy” and critical statements about it, Mikhail Aleksandrovich was one of the first in our country to switch to the use of triple (subspecies) nomenclature and subsequently maintained interest in the new taxonomy among his students - zoologists B.M. Zhitkova, S.I. Ogneva, N.A. Bobrinsky, G.P. Dementieva.

Returning to Moscow University in 1884, M.A. Menzbier took the position of associate professor and began teaching. Mikhail Alexandrovich was a brilliant lecturer; he taught courses in zoology, comparative anatomy, and zoogeography.

At the age of 31, Mikhail Aleksandrovich became one of the youngest professors-zoologists in the entire history of Moscow University; he was confirmed as a professor in the department of comparative anatomy and zoology.

The principles of morphological and taxonomic analysis laid down in Mikhail Aleksandrovich’s doctoral dissertation “Comparative osteology of penguins in application to the main divisions of the class of birds” (1885) were later brilliantly developed by one of his talented students - P.P. Sushkin.

In 1914 M.A. Menzbier introduced a number of fundamental amendments and additions to the zoning schemes proposed by N.A. Severtsov, zoogeographical schemes of A. Wallace, having completed his study “Zoological areas of the Turkestan region and the probable origin of the fauna of the latter.”

In the two-volume book “Birds of Russia”, for the first time, a synthesis of all knowledge on the taxonomy, distribution and biology of birds in our country was carried out. This monograph laid down the modern principles and traditions of taxonomy, zoogeography and ecology.

In 1911, in protest against the arbitrariness of the authorities, Menzbier left the university along with other professors and teachers. After the revolution, the scientist returned and became its first rector (1917-1919). In 1896 he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, in 1927 he became an honorary member, and in 1929 - a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Also M.A. Menzbier was elected an honorary member of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists, and for many years served as its president.

In 1930 M.A. Menzbier, having made a long trip abroad, headed the Zoogeographical Laboratory of the USSR Academy of Sciences, established for him.

However, in 1932, a serious illness confined Mikhail Alexandrovich to bed, and on October 10, 1935 he died.

Severtsov Alexey Nikolaevich

Aleksey Nikolaevich Severtsov (1866–1936) – domestic evolutionist, author of studies on the comparative anatomy of vertebrates. Created the theory of morphophysiological and biological progress and regression. In 1889 he graduated from Moscow University, in 1890 he received a gold medal from the university for his essay “A set of information on the organization and history of the development of the gymnofion.” In 1896 he brilliantly defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Metamerism of the head of the electric stingray.” He was a professor at Yuryevsky (1898-1902), Kyiv (1902-1911) and Moscow (1911-1930) universities. In 1930 he organized and headed the Laboratory of Evolutionary Morphology and Animal Ecology (now the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution).

Basic scientific research of A.N. Severtsov are devoted to evolutionary morphology, establishing the laws of the evolutionary process, and problems of ontogenesis. Each theoretical judgment of A.N. Severtsov is a generalization arising from specific, many years of his own research and the research of his students. He devoted a lot of time to studying the metamerism of the head and the origin of the limbs of vertebrates, the evolution of lower vertebrates. As a result, he created a theory of the origin of the five-fingered limb and paired fins in vertebrates, which is now generally accepted in world science.

Based on the analysis of morphological patterns of evolution A.N. Severtsov created two theories: the morphobiological theory of evolutionary paths and the theory of phylembryogenesis. Developing the first theory, A.N. Severtsov came to the conclusion that there are only two main directions of the evolutionary process: biological progress and biological regression. He established four main directions of biological progress: aromorphosis, idioadaptation, cenogenesis, and general degeneration. His teaching about the types of phylogenetic changes in organs and functions, about phylogenetic correlations made a significant contribution to the major general biological problem of the relationship between form and function in the process of evolution. He gave a detailed classification of the methods of phylogenetic changes in organs and proved that the only cause of phylogenetic changes is changes in the environment.

For 26 years, developing the significance of the role of embryonic changes in the process of evolution, A.N. Severtsov created a coherent theory of phylembryogenesis, which highlighted in a new way the problem of the relationship between ontogenesis and phylogeny. This theory develops the position about the possibility of hereditary changes at any stage of ontogenesis and their influence on the structure of descendants.

His ideas and works A.N. Severtsov developed it until his death, that is, until 1936.

Sushkin Petr Petrovich

Sushkin Petr Petrovich (1868-1928) - a prominent Russian zoologist. Widely known as an ornithologist, zoogeographer, anatomist and paleontologist.

Born in Tula into a merchant family on January 27 (February 8), 1868. He received his secondary education at the Tula Classical Gymnasium, after which in 1885 he entered the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University.

Sushkin’s brilliant abilities distinguished him early from among students. Professor M.A. Menzbier (also from Tula), from whom he studied ornithology and comparative anatomy of vertebrates, immediately appreciated the student’s observation and other important qualities and tried in every possible way to help him.

In 1892, Sushkin’s first scientific work, “Birds of the Tula Province,” was published.

After graduating from the university in 1889 with a gold medal, Sushkin was left at the department to prepare for a professorship. In 1904 he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation.

He carried out extensive teaching work at Moscow and other universities. Students appreciated the extremely high level of his teaching.

P.P. Sushkin early rose to the ranks of major zoologists and earned recognition in his homeland and abroad. He was not only a theorist, but also a first-class field naturalist; he continued his activities as a field researcher and traveler until old age and personally explored the fauna of a vast territory from the Smolensk and Tula provinces to Altai. The trip resulted in numerous observations and rich collections.

In 1921, Sushkin headed the ornithological department of the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences. In 1922, he began work at the Geological Museum of the Academy of Sciences and was able to do a lot for the development of paleontological research.

In 1923 P.P. Sushkin was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. His scientific heritage includes 103 works.

P.P. Sushkin died suddenly of pneumonia on September 17, 1928. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk cemetery.

Ognev Sergey Ivanovich

Ognev Sergei Ivanovich (11/5/1886-12/20/1951) - Soviet zoologist, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1947). Outstanding spine zoologist, head of the Moscow school of theriology in 1930–1940. Comes from a family of hereditary Moscow intelligentsia. He graduated from Moscow University in 1910, remained at the Department of Zoology (with which at that time the Zoological Museum formed a single whole) as an assistant to prof. G.A. Kozhevnikova.

He taught a number of courses at the department, in 1926 he received the title of associate professor, in 1928 - the title of professor, in 1935 - doctor of sciences.

All of his professional activities were related to scientific collecting and the study of theriological collections. He was one of the first in Russia to collect serial materials on small mammals.

Already in 1910, based on these collections, his first solid monograph, “Mammals of the Moscow Province,” was published, which laid the foundations for the fauna-ecological direction of research of both Ognev himself and his students. S.I. Ognev traveled a lot around the country to study local theriofaunas. Since the mid-1920s. he began to assemble his personal collection of small mammals, which later became one of the largest collections of its kind in Russia and was acquired by the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University.

The main work of his life was a multi-volume summary of the fauna and ecology of mammals in Russia and adjacent territories: the first two volumes were called “Beasts of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia”, the next five were called “Beasts of the USSR and Adjacent Countries”.

In addition, S.I. Ognev, being the head of the Department of Zoology at Moscow State University, published a number of textbooks, including the fundamental work “Vertebrate Zoology”. Major works also on the taxonomy and fauna of mammals; works on bird fauna, history of zoology, biogeography, animal evolution. Conducted field research in Central Russia, the Caucasus, the Urals, Semirechye and Turkmenistan.

He described a number of new species of mammals and paid a lot of attention to the cause of nature conservation. Founder of the Moscow school of theriologists - specialists in mammals, among whom: S.S. Turov, V.G. Geptner, A.N. Formozov, N.A. Bobrinsky, A.G. Tomilin and others. USSR State Prize (1942, 1951). Awarded the Order of Lenin and medals. He died after a serious illness in 1951.

Zenkevich Lev Alexandrovich

Lev Aleksandrovich Zenkevich (1889-1970) - was born in the city of Tsarev, Astrakhan province of the Russian Empire, into the family of a veterinarian. In 1916 he graduated from the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Upon completion of his studies, he remained at the university to prepare for a professorship. From 1930 until his death he headed the Department of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy of Invertebrates at Moscow University.

All the life of L.A. Zenkevich was devoted to the study of marine biology. He was one of the founders of our country's first oceanographic institution - the Floating Marine Scientific Institute. He was directly involved in the construction and equipment of the Perseus, the pioneer of our research fleet, and then led complex expeditions on it in the Barents, White, and then the Kara Seas. During work in the Barents Sea, for the first time on the scale of the entire sea, he used quantitative methods for studying bottom fauna.

In the 30s, the attention of L.A. Zenkevich is attracted by our southern seas and, first of all, by the Caspian Sea, which is exceptionally rich in valuable sturgeon fish. Studies of the benthic fauna of the Northern Caspian Sea, which showed its relative poverty, are cited by L.A. Zenkevich to search for ways to increase the biological productivity of this sea. Together with Ya.A. Birshtein, he developed a project for the acclimatization of valuable food invertebrates from the Sea of Azov in the Caspian Sea, which was successfully implemented.

During the Patriotic War, which interrupted expeditionary research at sea, L.A. Zenkevich is engaged in experimental and theoretical development of the problem of the evolution of the motor system of animals.

His scientific knowledge is great. He has published more than 300 scientific articles in journals and collections, over 10 monographs and textbooks, and many popular articles and correspondence. He edited seven volumes of the Proceedings of the Institute of Oceanology and a number of thematic collections of scientific articles. His works cover a wide range of issues on the anatomy, systematics and ecology of aquatic organisms, biocenology and productivity of marine fauna and flora, their quantitative distribution and biogeography. In recent years, he has paid special attention to the problems of studying deep-sea fauna and its origin in connection with the problem of the antiquity of the ocean as an aquatic environment. Theoretical works related to the development of ideas about the biological structure of the ocean and ocean ecosystems are highlighted. Among applied research, noteworthy works are on the use of biological and mineral resources of the oceans and seas, forecasts on the prospects for the development of fisheries, the development of mariculture, and much more. Of exceptional importance is his monograph “Biology of the Seas of the USSR,” which was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1965. Being a high-class zoologist, L.A. Zenkevich acted as a pioneer in the field of broad comprehensive studies of marine fauna. He significantly expanded the concept of biological productivity of a reservoir, introduced a quantitative method into the study of fish nutrition, which literally caused a scientific revolution in marine biological research. Developing theoretical problems of oceanology, he proceeded from the concept of the ocean as a single whole, where the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in it are interconnected and interdependent. His concept of the biological structure of the ocean became the methodological basis for many years of biological research at the Institute of Oceanology in the World Ocean. Years of life of L.A. Zenkevich occurred during a difficult period in the history of our country. He headed the department for 40 years (from 1930 to 1970) and one can imagine how incredibly difficult it was to preserve the department and not lose face either during the years of Stalinist repressions or during the period of rampant Lysenkoism! All my life L.A. Zenkevich dedicated himself to science, he worked for his country and for world science. His scientific and organizational activities are extensive. He was the founder and permanent president since 1952 of the All-Union Hydrobiological Society, organizer of the Interdepartmental Oceanographic Commission under the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences since 1951, vice-president of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists since 1956, founder and editor-in-chief of the journal "Oceanology" since 1961, member of the editorial board many other scientific journals, including foreign ones. His achievements in science were awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, the medal "For Valiant Labor", the Lomonosov Prize of Moscow State University (1954), the Gold Medal named after. F.P. Litke Geographical Society of the USSR (1956), Gold Medal of Prince Albert I of Monaco - the highest award of the French Oceanographic Institute (1959). He was the recognized head of Russian oceanology, an outstanding biologist, the creator of an extensive school of Russian marine biologists, the largest organizer of research into the World Ocean, a scientist of exceptional breadth and versatility, a Man with a capital M. The marginal underwater shaft bordering the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench in the Pacific Ocean and studied during the Vityaz expeditions was named after him.

In the post-war years, with the advent of the new research vessel “Vityaz”, a new stage began in research into the biology of the World Ocean, in which L.A. Zenkevich plays the leading role. He led a complex multi-year oceanographic expedition of the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which covered almost the entire World Ocean with research. He became the initiator, organizer and participant in deep-sea research of oceanic fauna, in particular in the Kuril-Kamchatka basin, where depths of 9.5 km were explored.

L.A. Zenkevich was an excellent lecturer and teacher. He laid the foundations of the zoological education system in our country, which is still in effect today.

Serebrovsky Alexander Sergeevich

Serebrovsky Alexander Sergeevich (1892–1933) - was born in Tula, Russian Empire in 1892. Serebrovsky belonged to the group of biologists who had a tremendous influence on the development of genetics and selection in the USSR. Research work by A.S. Serebrovsky began in the first years after the Great October Socialist Revolution and continued until his premature death. In addition to 120 published works, his scientific archive still contains about 30 unpublished works, including several large monographs.

Range of interests of A.S. Serebrovsky as a researcher was very broad - from issues of general biology and evolutionary theory, to specific issues of selection of certain species of farm animals.

At the same time, he was a very strong analyst and mathematician. Serebrovsky’s mathematical mindset was revealed in his first works, for example, in the article “An Experience in Statistical Analysis of Sex” (1921). “Polygons with focuses and their significance for biometrics” (1925), etc.

Having begun to develop the genetics of domestic chicken, he inevitably faced the need to develop a theory of genetic analysis, those issues that are now included in the so-called mathematical or statistical genetics. There was very little work in this area at that time and A.S. Serebrovsky had to go largely his own, original ways. The results of A. S. Serebrovsky’s long work on the development of the theory of genetic analysis are reported in the monograph “Genetic Analysis”.

In 1928, the theory of the indivisibility of the gene underwent its first limitation. Immediately after the discovery of the mutagenic effect of X-rays, they were used in many laboratories around the world to produce mutations. Serebrovsky's laboratory obtained evidence that a gene is not an indivisible genetic structure, but is a region of a chromosome, individual sections of which can mutate independently of each other. This phenomenon was called Serebrovsky step allelomorphism.

Having developed a system that allows quantitative assessment of the result of each mutation, Serebrovsky, Dubinin and other authors then discovered the phenomenon of complementing one mutant gene with another. In this case, the impaired function of one gene was corrected by the normal function of another. The second gene, in turn, could be defective in another region that was normal in the first gene. This phenomenon was subsequently rediscovered in microorganisms and was called complementation.

In the 30s A.S. Serebrovsky promoted the ideas of so-called genogeography, developed its methods and himself conducted several genogeographic studies. Unfortunately, these methods are now forgotten.

Serebrovsky was engaged in one of the main methods of studying the effectiveness of natural selection, the analysis of complex protective devices (body shape, coloring, behavior, etc.). The presence of such adaptations indicated that their evolution could not be explained either by the direct influence of the environment, or by the exercise or lack of exercise of organs, or reduced to a single mutation. It could not be understood solely on the basis of recognition of the complex relationships between predators and their prey, in which the former play the role of cullers of the latter. A brilliant analysis of these relationships was given by Serebrovsky in 1929 in the article “An Experience in Qualitative Characteristics of the Evolutionary Process.”

Geptner Vladimir Georgievich

Geptner Vladimir Georgievich (06/22/1901–07/5/1975) - June 22, 1901 in Moscow, in a Russified German family. His father was an accountant. Having graduated from high school in 1919, he immediately entered the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Since 1925 - in postgraduate studies with famous environmentalists and professors of GA. Kozhevnikov and S.I. Ogneva. Since 1929, he has been working at the Moscow State University zoomuseum and participating in expeditions in Central Asia. From 1934 until the end of his days, he was a professor at the Department of Vertebrate Zoology at Moscow State University.

Since 1938, Vladimir Georgievich became deputy chairman of the section for the protection of mammals of the VOOP, and since 1943 - its chairman. From 1938 to 1955 - member of the presidium of this then only environmental public organization in the USSR. From 1952 to 1964 - Member of the Commission for Nature Reserves (Nature Conservation) of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the 60-70s, he participated in the scientific and technical councils of the Main Directorate of Hunting of the RSFSR and the Directorate of Nature Protection of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, and was a member of the IUCN.

His area of interest in environmental activities is the protection of mammals and reserve management. As chairman of the mammal conservation section, he did a lot to protect the bison, saiga, muskrat, sika deer, polar bear, sable, and walrus.

It was thanks to his support that zoologist L. Kaplanov managed to accomplish so much in protecting the Amur tiger. Heptner headed the Soviet commission for the restoration of the bison. On the initiative of V.G. Geptner, a bison nursery was created in the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve, and work began on the restoration of the bison.

In August 1946, he, together with V. Makarov, G. Dementyev and other members of the Presidium of the VOOP, prepared a memorandum on the needs of nature conservation for the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, participated in a meeting of the Russian Council of Ministers, as a result of which the first post-war resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR was adopted “ On nature protection on the territory of the RSFSR.” He edited the two-volume book “Reserves of the USSR” (1951).

Professor Heptner did an extraordinary amount for conservation work. He is one of the few who defended the reserves from reduction in 1951 and 1961. In April 1954, he signed a collective letter from scientists addressed to G. Malenkov with a request to restore closed reserves, and in April 1957 he published in Izvestia, together with other biologists, a rather bold article for those times, “In Defense of Reserves.”

Vladimir Georgievich is one of the main developers of the “Perspective Plan for the Geographical Network of Nature Reserves of the USSR,” which was prepared by a commission led by Academician E.M. Lavrenko in 1957 and greatly promoted the creation of other reserves in the USSR. Geptner is one of the organizers and participants of all-Union environmental meetings at the Moscow Institute of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in 1954, 1957 and 1958.

It is impossible not to note the honesty, decency and integrity with which V.G. approached. Heptner to nature conservation. When in August 1951 the threat of disbandment loomed over the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, together with other VOOP activists, he went to see the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, Bessonov, and convinced him not to close the Society.

In January 1952, after numerous complaints and slanderous statements, enemies achieved the removal of the head of the VOOP V.N. Makarova. Many friends and colleagues recoiled from him. But not Heptner, who at the meeting of the Central Council of the VOOP on January 24, 1952 defended V.N. Makarova: “V.N. is not the only one to blame. Makarov - even though we offered him to resign, but this is wrong. Everyone knows Makarov’s activities, the name V.N. Makarova will go down in the history of nature conservation.. V.N. Makarov, a sick man, overloaded with his main work, worked selflessly in the Society, but the presidium did not help him...” (RGAE, f. 600, op. 1, d. 59, pp. 161-179).

In 1965, the scientist, along with his wife and son, detained a major Council of Ministers official, Chairman of the Central Council of the All-Russian Society of Opportunities M. Bochkarev, while fishing poaching. And he brought the matter to the point of publishing the facts in Krokodil, after which Bochkarev left the walls of the Nature Conservation Society with a bang.

Heptner also did a lot to popularize environmental protection. He is the author of more than 20 scientific and many popular articles on nature conservation (by the way, his very first scientific publication is devoted to nature conservation), and a participant in various congresses and conferences on nature conservation and conservation. The scientist helped a lot with the first student environmental team in the USSR, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University.

V.G. Heptner has been involved in the development of many government environmental regulations.

The wheel of Stalinist repressions affected Vladimir Georgievich. On February 16, 1933, he, being a senior researcher at the Museum of Zoology of Moscow State University, was arrested and by a resolution of the OSO at the OGPU Collegium of March 22, 1933, under Art. 58-11 (organizational activities) of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, he was imprisoned in a forced labor camp for 3 years. First he was transferred to the Mariinsky, then Novosibirsk Siblag camps. By a resolution of the OSO at the OGPU Collegium of July 9, 1933, he was released early and was allowed to live freely in the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, living with his family in Sverdlovsk, V.G. Heptner was almost arrested a second time (this time as a German), and only chance saved him from the Gulag.

List of used literature

1. Belyaev D.K.; Ruvinsky A.O. – General biology. Moscow - 1991.

2. Brockhaus F.A.; Efron I.A. - Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow - 1990.

3. Markin V.A. - Great journeys. Moscow "AST" - 1999.

4. Filatova Z.A., Vinogradova N.G. Academician L.A. Zenkevich: on the 90th anniversary of his birth // Vestn. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1979. No. 7. pp. 92–101.

5. http://www.libex.ru/detail/book48293.

Animals. The credit for bringing zoological material into the system belongs to Carl Linnaeus (Linn e, 1707-78). In addition to the concept of species established by Re, Tournefort introduced in the 18th century. first in botany; and then in zoology the concept of genus, Adanson began to apply to mollusks a system of designation with a double name (genus and species) - double nomenclature. This system was also adopted by Linnaeus, who...

Professor G. Retzius describes the decisive stage of the ingeniously conceived expedition as follows: “Thousands of people gathered around the Colin Archer shipyard, thousands climbed the surrounding mountains. Fridtjof Nansen and his wife climb onto the stage, arranged near the bow of the ship. She approaches the bow of the ship, smashes a bottle of champagne about him and says in a loud and clear voice: “His name is Fram.”

Based on artificial classification, it became a precise part of research in which the search for causes and natural connections came to the fore. Conclusion As a result of the study

Nikolai Nikolaevich Drozdov (June 20, 1937, Moscow) is a Russian zoologist, professor at Moscow State University, who has been broadcasting “In the Animal World” since 1977.

Life and career

The future zoologist was born into a family of scientists. His father was a professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry, his mother worked as a general practitioner. Drozdov's great-great-grandfather on his mother's side, Ivan von Dreyling, came from an old Tyrolean family and was a guards officer. Dreiling took part in the Russian-French War and kept a diary of military operations, which is now kept in the Historical Museum. On his father's side, Drozdov's family tree goes into the strata of the highest Russian clergy.

While studying at school, Nikolai worked as a herdsman at a stud farm. After graduating from school, he entered Moscow State University at the Faculty of Biology. True, I studied for only 2 years and went to work. He worked in a garment factory for about 2 years. During this time, Nikolai became a master in tailoring outerwear. Then he took up his studies again.

1963 – graduated from the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University (Department of Biogeography).

1964-1966 - Studied in graduate school.

1968 – starred for the first time in the television program “In the Animal World.” At first, Nikolai Drozdov was a speaker and scientific consultant for films about animals (“Riki-Tiki-Tavi”, “Black Mountain”). At the same time, he defended his PhD thesis and began working at the Department of Biogeography at Moscow State University.

1971-1972 – Trained at the Australian National University (Canberra). During this time he traveled extensively around Australia. As a result, the book “Flight of the Boomerang” was written.

1975 – was elected a member of the World Conservation Union Commission on National Parks.
1977 – became the host of the TV show “In the Animal World.”

1979 - became an associate professor at the Department of Biogeography at Moscow State University. At the moment Drozdov is a professor. He lectures on ornithology, ecology, world biogeography and conservation. In addition, Drozdov was a participant in numerous scientific expeditions. In particular, he climbed Elbrus.

1980 – took part in the UNESCO expedition to the islands of Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.

1989 - included in the Global 500 - a list of leading ecologists from all countries of the world.

1993-1995 – participated in expeditions to the North Pole.

1994 – became a member of the international Researchers Club.

1996 - became a member of the Academy of Russian Television.

2001 – elected member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.

2002 - made another landing at the North Pole. But this time I lived here for a week.

Nikolai Drozdov wrote about 200 scientific articles, 20 books and textbooks. His books have been published:

"Biogeography of the World";
"Stories about the biosphere";
"Ecosystems of the World";
"Biogeography of continents";
"Deserts".

"Rare animals";
“Through the pages of the Red Book”;
"The Kingdom of the Russian Bear";
"Biosphere standards".

Drozdov has repeatedly been a member of the jury of international popular science film festivals. He also narrated BBC films (the “Wildlife” series).

2006 - starred in the TV series “Rublevka. Live."

2008 – hosted the program “In the World of People” (Channel One). But this program did not last long, causing a lot of criticism.

In 2003 and 2004 he took part in the TV show “The Last Hero”.
Drozdov's wife Tatyana teaches biology. The zoologist met her in the elevator. He has two daughters - Elena (veterinarian) and Nadezhda (biologist).

Nikolai Drozdov loves to perform Russian romances, folk and modern songs. In the 90s, he even shot a video for the song for the program “In the Animal World.” In 2005, Nikolai Nikolaevich released a disc with his favorite songs entitled “Have you heard Drozdov sing?”

Drozdov was at the North Pole 3 times and sank to the bottom of the island 2 times. Baikal.

He enjoys skiing, horse riding, ice swimming and yoga. In addition, he has not eaten meat for many years. In his free time, Nikolai Nikolaevich works with animals. His favorites are snakes, phalanxes, tarantulas and scorpions.

Outstanding zoologists

ABSTRACT ON ZOOLOGY ON THE TOPIC:

"Outstanding Scientists"

Novosibirsk city

Plan

1. Krasheninnikov Stepan Petrovich (1713-1755)

2. Pallas Peter Simon (1741–1811)

3. Roulier Karl (1814-1858)

4. Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich (1839–1888)

5. Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich (1840–1901)

6. Kovalevsky Vladimir Onufrievich (1842–1883)

7. Menzbir Mikhail Alexandrovich (1855–1935)

8. Severtsov Alexey Nikolaevich (1866–1936)

9. Sushkin Petr Petrovich (1868-1928)

10. Ognev Sergei Ivanovich (1886-1951)

11. Zenkevich Lev Alexandrovich (1889-1970)

12. Serebrovsky Alexander Sergeevich (1892–1933)

13. Geptner Vladimir Georgievich (1901–1975)

Krasheninnikov Stepan Petrovich

Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov (10/18/1713-02/12/1755) - the first Russian academic geographer, participant in the Second Kamchatka Expedition, explorer of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Born in Moscow in the family of a soldier. In 1724–1732 he studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (Moscow), then in the philosophy class of the Academy of Sciences and Arts (St. Petersburg). In 1733, he was enrolled as a “student student” in the Academic detachment of the Second Kamchatka Expedition and went to Okhotsk. Here he conducted hydrometeorological research, studied ichthyology, and compiled a dictionary of the “Lamut language”. On October 4, 1737, on the ship "Fortuna" he left Okhotsk for Kamchatka, where he was engaged in research for 4 years, making many expeditions around the peninsula. Over the course of four years, he crossed the peninsula in different directions: he walked, rode sledges, rafted down rivers, and climbed mountains. He conducted extensive research as a geologist and geographer, as a botanist and zoologist, as a historian and ethnographer, meteorologist and linguist. Krasheninnikov conducted a comprehensive study of Kamchatka in the field of natural sciences (geography, geology, seismology, volcanology), was the first Russian to study tsunamis, made meteorological observations, paid a lot of attention to the ethnography of local peoples (Itelmens, Koryaks, Ainu), compiled aboriginal dictionaries, collected folklore of the inhabitants of Kamchatka . In Nizhne-Kamchatsk, Verkhne-Kamchatsk, Bolsheretsk, based on archives and interviews with local residents, he reconstructed the history of the region. He studied the flora and fauna of Kamchatka, and the ichthyology of rivers and adjacent sea waters. In February 1743, with his young wife Stepanida Tsibulskaya (from Yakutsk), he returned to St. Petersburg. Since 1748, he was the rector of the academic university and its gymnasium. Based on the collected material, he wrote the books “Description of the Kamchatka People”, “On the Conquest of the Kamchatka Land” (1751), and the major work “Description of the Land of Kamchatka” (1756) with the appendix of two maps. This was the first thorough work about Kamchatka. In 1745, Krasheninnikov was elected an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences, and in 1750 he was appointed professor (academician) of natural history and botany. In 1751, he completed his book “Description of the Land of Kamchatka,” but the author never managed to see it published. On February 25, 1755, Krasheninnikov died, and his book was published in 1756.

His work was the first study in Russian and world scientific literature about Kamchatka, dedicated to its geography, natural history, description of the life and languages of local peoples. “Description of the Land of Kamchatka,” which has not lost its scientific value for more than 200 years, is an example of a comprehensive regional study description of a little-studied territory, an example of the Russian literary language of that time. S.P. died Krasheninnikov in St. Petersburg. In 1989, his name was given to the Kamchatka Regional Library. 10 geographical objects are named after Krasheninnikov, including in Kamchatka - a peninsula, a bay, a mountain, an island; on Karaginsky Island there is a cape, on Paramushir Island there is a bay, a cape, near it there is an underwater valley; on Novaya Zemlya - a peninsula and a cape, in Antarctica - a mountain.

Pallas Peter Simon

Thanks to Pallas, zoology was enriched with new research techniques related to ecology and ethology.

Over six expedition years, unique material was collected on zoology, botany, paleontology, geology, physical geography, economics, history, ethnography, culture and life of the peoples of Russia.

Roulier Karl

Roulier Karl (1814-1858) - Russian zoologist and doctor of medicine - was born on April 8 (20), 1814 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire.

Roulier developed the idea that the evolution of the earth's surface was accompanied by the evolution of the organic world, that changes caused successive changes in organic forms.

Roulier's significant contribution to the development of the theory of evolution was that he included the interaction between organisms in the concept of environment.

In 1854, Roulier founded and edited the journal “Bulletin of Natural Sciences” until his death (1858).

Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich

Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich

Since 1897, Kovalevsky was one of the editors of the biological sciences department in the 82-volume Brockhaus-Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.

In the last years of his life, he spent a lot of time studying leeches, exploring their anatomical structure, physiological characteristics and way of life.

Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky died after a cerebral hemorrhage on November 22, 1901 in St. Petersburg.

Kovalevsky Vladimir Onufrievich

On December 22, 1874, the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society awarded V.O. Kovalevsky prize for his work on Entelodon Gelocus and his dissertation on Anchytheria.

Menzbir Mikhail Alexandrovich

In 1879, having met N.A. Severtsov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich began working on his master’s thesis “Ornithological Geography of European Russia”, successfully defending it in 1882.

In 1930 M.A. Menzbier, having made a long trip abroad, headed the Zoogeographical Laboratory of the USSR Academy of Sciences, established for him.

However, in 1932, a serious illness confined Mikhail Alexandrovich to bed, and on October 10, 1935 he died.

Severtsov Alexey Nikolaevich

His ideas and works A.N. Severtsov developed it until his death, that is, until 1936.

Sushkin Petr Petrovich

Sushkin Petr Petrovich (1868-1928) - a prominent Russian zoologist. Widely known as an ornithologist, zoogeographer, anatomist and paleontologist.

In 1892, Sushkin’s first scientific work, “Birds of the Tula Province,” was published.

After graduating from the university in 1889 with a gold medal, Sushkin was left at the department to prepare for a professorship. In 1904 he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation.

He carried out extensive teaching work at Moscow and other universities. Students appreciated the extremely high level of his teaching.

02/21/2012 | Scientific discoveries in zoology and biology. February 2012

Zoologists have discovered new species of the smallest reptiles

A group of German and American scientists have discovered four new species of dwarf chameleons on the islands of northern Madagascar. Discoverers believe these lizards may be the smallest reptiles in the world.

Very young individuals of the species Brookesia micra fit on a match head (photo by Jorn Kohler).

As Wired reports, all the new species belong to the genus Brookesia. The smallest of the new brookesias, called B. micra, is 24 mm long including its tail, making it the smallest chameleon on Earth. Individuals of the other three species do not exceed 29 mm in length.

Researchers say the new species are very similar in appearance, but have remarkable genetic differences that suggest millions of years may have passed between the appearance of these chameleons on Earth.

Scientists note that all the new lizards have a very small range (it is limited to a few square kilometers), and for this reason, chameleons are in danger of extinction along with their tiny habitat.

Males (left) and females (right) of the new species. A and B - B. tristis. C and D - B. confidens. E and F - B. micra. G and H - B. desperata (photo by Frank Glaw).

Thus, B. micra lives only on one island, Nosy Hara, and the species B. desperata and B. tristis rely on small forest areas, which are officially considered nature reserves, but suffer from illegal logging, which has recently increased significantly, partly due to with the political crisis in Madagascar. Zoologists deliberately gave species names that scream for help: desperata means desperate, and tristis means sad. (The name of the fourth species, B. confidens, does not contain such a call.)

Portrait of an adult male "desperate looking" B. desperata (photo by Frank Glaw).

Scientists described “striking examples of miniaturization and microendemism” in an article published in the free access journal PLoS ONE.

Biologists have discovered self-medication with alcohol in fruit flies

If the potential victims of this wasp, the larvae of a fruit fly, are taken to the breast, the aggressor will not only fail in his plan, but will also die in terrible agony.

As LiveScience reports, American biologists from Emory University experimented with the black-bellied fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The larvae of these flies feed on fungi and bacteria from rotten fruits.

"They're essentially living on a binge," explains Todd A. Schlenke. - The amount of alcohol in their natural habitat can vary from 5 to 15 percent. Imagine that your entire daily diet of food and drink consists of 5% alcohol. We couldn’t live like that, and fruit flies have a good detoxification mechanism.”

However, some fruit flies can resist wasp venom and have an immune response to fight off the wasp eggs. The blood cells of these flies emit egg-killing chemicals.

“There is an ongoing evolutionary battle between the fly's immune system and wasp venom. Any new defense mechanism in fruit flies tends to spread through natural selection,” comments Todd Schlenke, who suggested that alcohol may be such a defense for D. melanogaster.

To test the theory, the researchers filled a Petri dish with yeast. The scientists mixed 6 percent alcohol on one side of the saucer and not on the other, after which they released Drosophila larvae into the cups and allowed them to move freely in any direction.

After 24 hours, 80% of the wasp-infected larvae were on the “alcoholic side” of the saucer, while only 30% were uninfected in this kind of bar.

Meanwhile, those few wasps that encroached on the “alcoholized” larvae faced a terrible death. "In many cases, the wasp's internal organs fell out of its anus," Schlenke says. “The wasps were turned inside out.”

Zoologists explain the appearance of stripes on zebras

Before creating their model for analysis, scientists carefully recalculated the width of black and white stripes on different parts of the body, using the skins of three types of zebras (photo by Adam Egri et al. / Journal of Experimental Biology).

Hungarian researchers have proposed a new version of the purpose of black and white stripes, which intrigued Charles Darwin. The reasons for their appearance turned out to be unexpectedly related to insects.

Adam Egri from Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem University and his colleagues believe that alternating black and white stripes protects zebras from blood-sucking insects.

Biologists from Budapest decided to revive and retest the hypothesis first expressed back in the 1930s. Scientists say striped horses attract far fewer horse flies than their uniform black, brown, gray or white equivalents.

The point is the visual characteristics of insects. The decrease in the attractiveness of a striped surface is not so much due to the alternation of brightness as due to polarization effects.

White and black stripes reflect light with different polarizations, scientists explain, and this confuses horseflies (the stripes get confused in their head, disrupting the functioning of the spatial orientation system).

To experimentally test the hypothesis, biologists used trays of oil, reports New Scientist. It was necessary to catch annoying flies. Researchers hunted near Budapest on farms where many of the necessary insects were found.

Black trays were covered with white patterns of various types - thick and thin stripes, ribbons running parallel and intersecting in a criss-cross pattern were tested, and so on.

The authors note that horseflies have learned to identify water using the horizontal polarization of light. After all, insects drink, mate, and lay eggs near bodies of water. The pictures show several options for test trays. From top to bottom - color image, degree of polarization, angle of polarization and the proportion of the surface identified by the horsefly as water, that is, attracting its attention (photo by Adam Egri et al. / Journal of Experimental Biology).

Tests have shown that horse flies are less likely to fly onto thin strips than thick ones, and are less likely to be caught in trays with parallel stripes than with intersecting ones.

Well, since diseases are transmitted through horsefly bites, it is clear that striped creatures in ancient Africa statistically had a greater chance of growing up and giving birth to offspring than variants with other colors. The authors of the work believe that the version with insects can explain the striping of the skins of animals in some other cases, in addition to zebras.

The scientists reported on the results of the study in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

In this set of tests, biologists gradually reduced the width of the strips and looked at how many insects fell into the tray (photo by Adam Egri et al./Journal of Experimental Biology).

Other known explanations for the stripes, their causes and functions are numerous, but none have yet been definitively established.

One of them says that zebras “invented” this coloring for camouflage in tall grass. (But this doesn't work well on open plains.) The second is that the stripes confuse large predators by creating optical illusions. This flickering especially confuses the eye when several animals are moving quickly nearby. (This is a probable, but not certain reason.) The third version is that stripes are needed for social interaction, as an identification mark, especially important during courtship. (Such a purpose is possible, but it does not follow that they appeared for this reason.) The fourth option is that the stripes are needed for thermoregulation. (And this hypothesis has not been proven.)

Voluntary castration was the spiders' response to female cannibalism

Spiders of the species Nephilengys malabarensis have come up with an unusual tactic to escape from bloodthirsty females - in order to increase the chances of survival of their offspring without being eaten, they “break off” their genitals after mating.

The results of a study by biologists from the National University of Singapore surprised even seasoned scientists. For a long time they could not understand why males actually sterilize themselves.

However, it turned out that in this way the males “finish what they started” and at the same time manage to escape before the spider decides that the partner will go for a snack.

The sexual organ, separated from the male’s body, while in the female’s body, continues to emit sperm for a long time, biologists write in an article in Biology Letters. It would be possible to delay and complete the process, but voluntary castration saves the spider’s life.

Long-term insemination “from afar” increases the male’s chances of procreation, since more of his sperm enters the female’s genitals, in addition, the tip covers the hole, preventing other spiders from copulating with the same female.

It is curious that females also sometimes interrupt the copulation process by breaking off the tip of the spider’s genital organ, in this way they probably regulate the duration of the act of fertilization.

In this image, the red square highlights the broken tip of the male's genital organ protruding from the female's body (photo by D. Li et al., Biol. Lett., The Royal Society).

Scientists also do not rule out that eunuch spiders gain some advantage for themselves personally. Voluntary castration can make them more aggressive and agile, which helps in hunting and fighting other individuals.

Scientists: Dogs are smarter than chimpanzees

A team of researchers from the Max Pank Institute (Leipzig, Germany) conducted a study, the results of which surprised everyone - it turned out that dogs are superior in intelligence to chimpanzees, although the latter are considered the most intelligent creatures after humans.

During the work, the scientists asked the animals, which included only dogs and chimpanzees, to bring various objects from the back of the room in which they were located. All objects were similar pairs, such as a piece of hose and a piece of rope. For correctly identifying the item, the test animal was rewarded with food.

A person can perform similar tasks as early as 14 months, so the test was classified as fairly easy. However, none of the chimpanzees tested were able to cope with it as quickly as the dogs did. In addition, the number of dogs that completed the task was 25% higher than the number of chimpanzees that completed the task.

However, scientists have found a fairly logical explanation for this phenomenon: “Dogs are bred to follow human orders. They are highly receptive to human cooperative relationships, which makes them an indispensable tool in activities such as hunting and herding.”

One of the hypotheses confirmed during the study suggests that dogs perceive human speech as a certain set of imperatives and spatial directives that regulate their behavior.

This study correlates with previous work by British scientists who decided to find out which pet is smarter - a dog or a cat. For this purpose, 11 criteria of cognitive activity were identified, in 5 of which cats were stronger, and in 6 - dogs, which proved the slight superiority of dogs over cats. However, it turned out to be too early to rejoice - as statistics show, UK residents with higher education more often prefer a cat than a dog as a pet.

Spiders' eyes 'blur' images to judge distance, scientists say

The front eyes are “rangefinders” of the jumping spider Hasarius adansoni

Jumping spiders estimate the distance to their prey by using image “blurring,” which allows them to calculate the exact distance to the target by how blurry the green component of the image becomes on the retina of their front eyes, Japanese biologists say in a paper published in the journal Science.

Vertebrates and invertebrates use several methods to determine distance using their eyes. For example, people estimate the distance to objects using their binocular vision, which allows them to determine the distance by the difference between the images in the right and left eyes. Other animals and insects turn their heads, estimating distance by the displacement of an object relative to a distant background.

A group of scientists led by Akihisa Terakita from Osaka University (Japan) studied the structure of the eyes of jumping spiders of the species Hasarius adansoni, trying to find out the secret of the extraordinary accuracy of jumping of these arthropods.

These arthropods have a pair of well-developed front eyes, which are one of the most important hunting tools. As a rule, damage to these organs is accompanied by a loss of the ability to make accurate jumps. According to scientists, the front eyes of horses must use some special mechanism to estimate distance, since they are not binocular and cannot focus on a specific point to determine displacement.

As the researchers note, the retina of Hasarius adansoni and many other spiders is designed in a special way. It has four layers with different sets of light-sensitive receptors. Each layer is responsible for recognizing four separate colors. This is explained by the fact that the spider does not know how to arbitrarily focus the image and therefore it has to read different components of light separately on those layers on which the picture will be clearest.

Terakita and his colleagues noticed that green light receptors are not located where green light waves are focused. Scientists have suggested that the spider uses this part of the retina not to recognize the green part of the visible spectrum, but to estimate distance by how “blurred” the image will be compared to pictures of other colors.

To test this hypothesis, biologists caught several horses and put them in a cage, which was illuminated by a monochrome lamp of green or red light. According to the researchers, the red radiation should have disrupted the spiders' "sight" and their jumps would have been shorter than the actual distance to their target.

As the scientists expected, the horses jumped and captured their prey very accurately when illuminated with green light. The light of the red “sun” forced their players to make mistakes. In such cases, the spiders did not reach up to 10% of the distance to the target. This result is in good agreement with theoretical calculations that explain the physics of “misses.”

Scientists believe that this method of estimating distance is well suited for simulating it using digital devices and can serve as the basis for creating artificial analogues of the eye.

Killer whales could destroy modern marine ecosystems

Killer whales hunting in ice-free Arctic waters could disrupt marine ecosystems, Canada's University of Manitoba reported today. According to scientists, mammals are increasingly exploring northern waters due to the fact that Arctic ice is melting very quickly. As a result, killer whales are integrating into ecosystems to which they previously had little connection.

Researchers are trying to understand what changes will occur in the food chain. How will predators behave in the near future, how will their diet change in connection with new lands being developed, how will smaller mammals behave in changing conditions, and also how can existing species of mammals be preserved in connection with global warming? - all these questions remain unanswered.

So far, scientific observations, largely based on the experience and knowledge of indigenous Canadian peoples, show that in areas occupied by killer whales, smaller marine inhabitants prefer to “bury themselves” in shallow water or, conversely, in depth and wait out the hunting time of large predators.