Biological Station “Rybachy”

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At the Biological Station “Rybachy”, various aspects of bird migration, including orientation and navigation, hormonal regulation of migration, long-term trends of seasonal events and of avian numbers are studied.

In the recent years, it was shown the use of the parameters of the geomagnetic field for navigation by migrating birds (magnetic map); the magnetic compass of birds is studied. It was also shown that spring and autumn migratory disposition, in spite of apparently similar physiological processes, differ in their hormonal background. It turned out that circadian rhythm alterations of locomotor activity during facultative nocturnal flights are similar to the ones during migratory flights, supporting the idea of the common underlying mechanism for nocturnality in avian annual cycle. In addition, Biological Station “Rybachy” together with the Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology of the Lithuanian Nature Research Centre studies the mechanisms of virulence of avian blood parasites and their transcontinental spread by migrating birds.

The biological station “Rybachy” has an electronic database on trapping and intravital examination of birds based on the material of long-term standardized monitoring of bird abundance, dates of life cycle events, and physiological state of birds, constitutes more than 3 million records and is constantly replenished. Standard monitoring performed by the station in the Curonian Spit since 1957, enters the top three in the world longest continuous data series of such kind.

Staff

12 employees (10 researchers, 2 postgraduates).

Andrey L. Mukhin (Deputy Director of the Zoological Institute, Director of the station, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Alexander A. Davydov (Senior research engineer)

Irina V. Demina (Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Maria M. Erokhina (Junior Researcher)

Dmitry Yu. Leoke (Junior Researcher)

Mikhail Yu. Markovets (Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Alexander Ph. Pakhomov (Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Elena V. Platonova (Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Alexandra Yu. Sinelschikova (Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Anatoly P. Shapoval (Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Arseny L. Tsvey (Leading Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

4 employees (Scientific projects and grants).

Polina A. Gorvat (Senior assistant-researcher)

Eugenia O. Koblikova (Senior assistant-researcher)

Gleb A. Utvenko (Senior assistant-researcher)

Vladimir V. Shakhparonov (Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences)

Topics of State Assignments

2025-2027
“Ecophysiological aspects of animal migration: hormonal control, spatial orientation and pathogen spreading”.
PI: Director of the Biological Station A. Mukhin.
№ 125012800913-4.

2022-2024
“Animal Migrations: physiology, orientation and parasite burden during climate change”.
PI: Director of the Biological Station A. Mukhin.
№ 122031100261-7.

Station staff participate in the following grants

RSF No. 20-14-00049. “The price to cope with avian malaria: physiological cost of choosing a different defense strategie” (Mukhin A., PI).

RSF No. 23-24-00522. “Identification of vector species transmitting avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites on the South-East Baltic cost” (Platonova E., PI).

RSF No. 21-74-00093. “Magnetoreception in mammals: the magnetic compass of migratory bats and its position in a hierarchy of compass systems” (Pakhomov A., PI).

Main publications of the Station staff

2025

1. Utvenko G., Gorvat P., Grebenkova A., Pakhomov A., Chernetsov N., 2025. Magnetic orientation of marsh warblers (Acrocephalus palustris) and spotted flycatchers (Muscicapa striata) after simulated crossing of the magnetic equator. J Experimental Biology 228 (3): JEB248169. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.248169

2. Erokhina M., Bushuev A., Platonova E., Khaitov V., Davydov A., Mukhin A. 2025. Dynamics of resting metabolic rate and innate immune response in malaria-infected Eurasian siskins. J Current Zoology x(x): xx-xx. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoaf015. In press

2024

3. Erokhina M.M., Bushuev A.V., Palinauskas V., Platonova E.V., Mukhin A. 2024. Intensity of Haemoproteus spp. blood infection differs between wild birds captured using different trapping methods. Biological Communications 69(3): 192-199. doi: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2024.307

4. Sokolov L, Sinelschikova A., Markovets M. 2024. Ultra-long-distance migration of the common Cuckoo (cuculus canorus, cuculiformes, cuculidae) from Kamchatka to Namibia Zoologicheskiy zhurnal 103(2): 37-47. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0044513424020056 [in Russia]

5. Payevsky V.A., Shapoval A.P. 2024. Seasonal migrations and morphometry of the European Nightjar according to long-term (1957–2016) trapping and ringing in the Eastern Baltic. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS 328(1): 101–107. https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2024.328.1.101

6. Bojarinova J., Demina I., Chetverikova R., Babushkina O., Tsvey A. 2024. Sex-specific migration strategies and underlying physiology contribute to spring arrival protandry in a songbird. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 78(7): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03499-8

2023

7. Züst Z., Mukhin A., Taylor P.D., Schmaljohann H. 2023. Pre-migratory flights in migrant songbirds: the ecological and evolutionary importance of understudied exploratory movements. Movement Ecology 11: 78. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00440-y

8. Цвей А.Л. 2023. Гормональная регуляция миграционного поведения птиц // Труды Зоологического института 327(4): 683-718 doi: https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2023.327.4.683

9. Romanova N., Utvenko G., Prokshina A., Cellarius F., Fedorischeva A., Pakhomov A., 2023. Migratory birds are able to choose the appropriate migratory direction under dim yellow narrowband light. Proceedings of Royal Society B 290: 20232499. doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2499

10. Polikarpova D., Demina I., Berezantseva M., Zhukova E., Tsvey A., 2023. Dynamics of stress-induced changes of leukocyte profile in Great Tits: testing effect of age. J Ornithology 164: 803-813. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02068-6

2022

11. Pakhomov A., Prokshina A., Cellarius F., Mouritsen H., Chernetsov N., 2022. Access to the sky near the horizon and stars does not play a crucial role in compass calibration of European songbird migrants. J Experimental Biology 225(16): jeb.243631. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243631

12. Demina I., Tsvey A. 2022. Total white blood cell counts but not HL ratio changes in the transition from post-juvenile molt to autumn migration in the first-year Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). J Experimental Zoology A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology, 337(2): 159-170. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.2548

13. Chernetsov N., Markovets M. 2022. The Indo-European flyway of migrating songbirds: Crossing the arid plains of central Eurasia. J Arid Environments 203: 104786. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104786

2021

14. Platonova, E., Aželytė, J., Iezhova, T., Ilgūnas, M., Mukhin, A., Palinauskas, V. 2021. Experimental study of newly described avian malaria parasite Plasmodium (Novyella) collidatum n. sp., genetic lineage pFANTAIL01 obtained from South Asian migrant bird. Malaria J. 20: 1-16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03588-3

15. Zolotareva A., Utvenko G., Romanova N., Pakhomov A., Chernetsov N., 2021. Ontogeny of the star compass in birds: pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) can establish the star compass in spring. J Experimental Biology 224(3): jeb.237875. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.237875

16. Ktitorov P., Bulyuk V., Leoke D., Kulikova O. 2021. Meteorological factors affecting refueling of European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) during migrations. Int J Biometeorol 65: 291–299. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02031-7

2020

17. Sinelschikova A., Vorotkov M., Bulyuk V., Bolshakov C. 2020. Compensation for wind drift in the nocturnally migrating Song Thrushes in relation to altitude and wind. Behavioural Processes 177. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104154.

18. Chernetsov N., Pakhomov A., Davydov A., Cellarius F., Mouritsen H. 2020. No evidence for the use of magnetic declination for migratory navigation in two songbird species. PLOS ONE 15(4): e0232136. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232136

19. Bojarinova J., Kavokin K., Pakhomov A., Cherbunin R., Anashina A., Erokhina M., Ershova M., Chernetsov N. 2020. Magnetic compass of garden warblers is not affected by oscillating magnetic fields applied to their eyes. Scientific Reports 10: 3473. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60383-x

2019

20. Demina I., Tsvey A., Babushkina O., Bojarinova J. 2019. Time-keeping programme can explain seasonal dynamics of leukocyte profile in a migrant bird. J Avian Biol 50(7): jav.02117. https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02117