The freshwater invasive mollusc Dreissena polymorpha and its host-specific commensal ciliate Conchophthirus acuminatus represent a convenient model to study various aspects of symbiotic relationships. This study was conducted to test whether the nutrient enrichment of waterbodies inhabited by D. polymorpha is associated with C. acuminatus infection. Three lakes differing in their trophic conditions were simultaneously sampled to estimate the levels of C. acuminatus infection in D. polymorpha (eutrophic Lake Batorino, moderately eutrophic Lake Myastro, and mesotrophic Lake Naroch, Republic of Belarus). Although the percentage of infected molluscs did not differ among these waterbodies, the average number of ciliates per host showed a significant increase with respect to the lake trophic status. This pattern could be explained by favorable feeding conditions experienced by D. polymorpha and its commensal C. acuminatus in waters of higher trophy. In particular, the average size of D. polymorpha (i.e., carrying capacity for the infection) significantly positively correlated with the lake trophic status. Higher trophy could also directly affect reproduction potential of the ciliate C. acuminatus, which supposedly feeds on bacteria, algae, and other organic particles filtered out from the water by its host. The results of this study may apply to a wider spectrum of similar commensal associations in fresh waters.
BioInvasions Records (2012) 1(3): 161-169

As of the end of 2008, 25 species of non-native fishes have been documented in the Republic of Belarus. Of these, 17 (68%) species were deliberately introduced for aquaculture, six (24%) species invaded from the adjacent territories by natural dispersal, and two (8%) species were likely introduced accidentally. During the 20th century, the number of non-native fishes in Belarus increased exponentially, resulting in significant shifts in taxonomic composition of the country’s ichthyofauna. For the first time, we assessed the invasive potential of the introduced fishes by applying a uniform protocol, the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK). Based on the total FISK scores, all the non-native fishes in Belarus were classified into two groups: high and medium risk of becoming invasive. In terms of the economic sectors at risk (‘aquacultural/fisheries’, ‘environmental’, and ‘nuisance’), all species were classified into three distinct groups. The highest risk to all of these sectors wa s posed by the brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus Le Sueur, 1819, gibel carp Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782), round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814), Amur sleeper Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877, and topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846). The two risk categories identified in the present study can be used in prioritizing the resources for the management of non-native fish species of Belarus and in countries with similar environmental conditions.
Aquatic Invasions (2010) 5(1): 101-114

This study provides field evidence in support of the “parasite spillback hypothesis” that predicts a positive numerical response of native parasites to the presence of an exotic host that is competing for these parasites with native hosts.We examined the role that the exotic mollusc Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) plays as the second intermediate host of the echinostomatid trematode Echinoparyphium recurvatum in Lake Naroch, Belarus. We found that due likely to the disproportionately high abundance of its novel exotic host, the metacercarial stage of this parasite has become substantially more abundant than that of other echinostomatid trematodes recorded in native molluscs. This finding suggests an increased load (the “spillback”) of E. recurvatum on native waterfowl that serve as its final hosts. The risk of aquatic birds becoming infected with this trematode via feeding on D. polymorpha was found to vary both spatially and seasonally. This risk was particularly high in the autumn at a depth of 2 m and at sites of bird gatherings.
Parasitology Research (2010) 106: 667–675

A comparative analysis of 9 pollen diagramsderived from 7 section of the Eemian Interglacial deposits from several areas of Belarus were carried out.

Independence in 1991 and the need to construct a new national identity have drawn the attention of national post-Soviet political elites to the capital cities. Minsk was unique in this process because the set of possible cultural interpretations was initially limited there to post-war architecture that represented the Soviet power and its attributes. In this study, I analyzed cultural narratives in the space of Minsk as represented by the names of the places, the outer look and decorations of the city.
Shirokanova, Anna. Making Sense of the Post-Soviet Capital: Politics of Identity in the City of Minsk, The Anthropology of East Europe Review, 2010, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 355-387.

We report the results of a two-year study in the Svisloch River (Minsk, Belarus) on the dynamics of infection in Dreissena polymorpha by nematodes and three ciliate species Conchophthirus acuminatus, Ophryoglena sp., and Ancistrumina limnica. Although these endosymbionts were present in most of the samples, their prevalence and infection intensity differed significantly. C. acuminatus and A. limnica infection intensities in both years of the study had a maximum in summer and were positively correlated with water temperature. In contrast, Ophryoglena sp. and nematode infection intensities were considerably lower in summer versus winter and were negatively correlated with temperature. In the first long-term study to monitor the size and reproductive rate of C. acuminatus, we found that mean length was negatively correlated with temperature and that temperature was positively correlated with asexual reproduction, with a peak of cell division in April as water temperatures increased.
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (2003) Volume 83: 73–82

On 23 July 2003, a new, previously unreported, molluscan species Lithoglyphus naticoides (gravel snail) was found in the benthos of Lake Lukomskoe, Belarus. As Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) is also present, Lithoglyphus naticoides is the second Ponto-Caspian species recorded in this waterbody. Previous long-term observations on benthos and L. naticoides abundance data obtained in 2003-2005 imply that this species appeared in the lake in approximately 2000 and that currently its population is growing. We review available information on distribution of the snail in both Belarus and in adjacent countries and also discuss possible invasion pathway into Lake Lukomskoe.
Aquatic Invasions (2006) Volume 1, Issue 3: 161-170

The Ponto-Caspian snail Lithoglyphus naticoides was recorded for the first time in Lake Lukomskoe in 2003. During parasitological examinations conducted in May and August 2006, the snail was found to harbor cercariae of three trematode species: Palaeorchis sp., Rossicotrema donicum and Sphaerostomum bramae. The finding of R. donicum is especially alarming because this highly specific parasite of L. naticoides can cause severe epizootics among its second intermediate hosts, i.e. perch and cyprinid fishes.
Aquatic Invasions (2007) Volume 2, Issue 2: 149-151

During a survey of the Belarusian part of the Dnieper River conducted on 19-22 July 2006, we revealed five invasive Ponto-Caspian amphipod species in its benthos community: Chaetogammarus ischnus, Chelicorophium curvispinum, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, Dikerogammarus villosus and Pontogammarus robustoides. All of them except C. curvispinum are reported in Belarus for the first time. The number of alien amphipod species and their abundance were found to decrease gradually in the upper sections of the river.
Aquatic Invasions (2007) Volume 2, Issue 1: 39-44

We analyzed the role of the waterways of Belarus in the spread of aquatic exotic invertebrates through the central European invasion corridor. Present day Belarus became critically important when in the end of the 18th—beginning of the 19th century three interbasin canals connecting rivers from the Black and Baltic seas basins were constructed for international trade. These canals became important pathways facilitating the spread of aquatic alien species. For more than a hundred years, only Ponto-Caspian species colonized Belarus using ships and especially timber in rafts exported by Russia into Western Europe. In the second half of the 20th century, new vectors of spread appeared in Belarus, such as stocking of economically important invertebrates and accidental introductions. This paper is the first comprehensive review of aquatic exotic invertebrates in Belarus. Currently, 19 exotic aquatic invertebrates are known in Belarus, including 14 species of Ponto-Caspian origin. The rate of spread of aquatic invasive species in the second half of the 20th century increased 7-fold compared to the 19th—beginning of the 20th century. We found a significant positive correlation between the time since initial invasion and number of waterbodies colonized. We predict a further increase in the rate of colonization of Belarus by exotic invertebrates as well as an increase in the diversity of vectors of spread and donor areas of alien species, especially when the ongoing reconstruction of the interbasin canals will be completed and the hydrological connection between Black Sea and Baltic Sea basins will be reestablished after an interruption that has lasted for almost a century.
Biological Invasions (2008) Volume 10: 215–232