The paper discusses promising directions of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation in the field of ecology and nature management, and related problems and solutions for assessing the public health risk. The prospects of creating methods for rapid assessment of public health risk using modern data and representations of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of the substance are substantiated. It is shown that it is possible to deduce adequate mathematical dependencies for substances regardless of their structure, based on modern concepts of the formation of the dose of a toxicant in the body from the position of toxicokinetics. For an adequate forecast of toxicometric indicators (LD, ED) when constructing mathematical models, it is proposed to use pharmaco- and toxicokinetic parameters estimated within the normal range as independent variables (for medicinal substances – not higher than their therapeutic doses, for the other ones – not higher than their thresholds). Our definitions of the notions of norm, threshold of harmful action and pre-pathological conditions of the body from the position of detoxification of substances are presented. The reference range of the norm for the values of the pharmaco- and toxicokinetic parameters of a substance is justified taking into account individual differences of the organism within the boundary of the standard deviation (±2δ) from the normatively established value, which does not lead to any negative (side) physiological deviations.

Flocculation using polyacrylamides is one of the most promising methods of industrial wastewater treatment. The aim of our research was to estimate the efficiency of the use of new types of polyacrylamide-based flocculants for industrial wastewater treatment. The objects of the study were the wastewaters of the enterprise LLC “Saratov Chemical Plant of Acrylic Polymers “ACRYPOL” and several flocculants (water-soluble polymers) obtained on the basis of acrylamide, acrylic acid and chitosan. It was established that the optimal dose of nonionic flocculant H600™ was 5 mg/dm³. Industrial wastewater treatment efficiency was studied on two samples of weakly cationic flocculants (215-2 and 233-2) synthesized in a laboratory way, as well as on a sample of nonionic flocculant H600™. It was found that the tested flocculants had no significant effect on the pH value and the content of sulfate ions in water. Flocculant 233-2 with the highest chitosan content was the best in terms of chemical oxygen demand, dry residue and the amount of suspended solids. Flocculant 215-2 with the lowest chitosan content had a slightly worse performance. The worst of the tested flocculants was the nonionic H600™, which does not contain chitosan.

In the southern Russia, during migrations, Temminck’s Stint (Calidris temminckii) is rare and in a small number, unlike the mass migrant Little Stint (Calidris minuta). The rarity of Temminck’s Stint was earlier explained by various causes, including possible omissions when registering similar Little Stints. The paper collects and analyzes all the known data on the phenology of migration, numbers and distribution of Temminck’s Stint in the Southern Russia and adjacent regions. They show that migrations of this species are mainly directed through Central Europe and Central Asia, and Temminck’s Stint arrives in the Southern Russia by chance, flying mostly from the Western Black Sea region and Crimea, when, due to various causes, migratory birds deviate to the east of their European migration route.

Based on our analysis of the spore-pollen complexes of the Holocene, the controversial issue of the primary origin of the Volga mountain oak forests of the Volga Upland has been resolved. The main stages of their formation have been restored, namely: “tundra-steppe” with wormwood-haze, horsetail and fern cenoses (forest zone 10, 10,300–9,300 years ago); cereal-forb, wormwood and wormwood-haze steppes, steppe sparse birch forests (zone 9, 9,300–8,500 years ago); gramineous-forb and sod-gramineous steppes and very sparse birch woodland (zone 8, 8,500−8,000 years ago); birch forests and grass-forb steppes, the emergence of the Volga upland oak forests (zone 7, 8,000–6,000 years ago); the formation and flowering of oak forests (zones 6– 4, 6,000–2,500 years ago); stepping and thinning of deciduous forests and sod-grass steppes with a noticeable participation of weed and cultivated species, the emergence of the first agrocenoses (zone 3, 2,500–700 years ago); and the emergence of secondary undergrowth birch forests, oak forests, lime forests and aspen forests. Secondary meadow and sandy steppes with an abundance of weed species (ruderal, pasqual and segetal). The emergence of secondary steppes in the place of deforestation. Expansion of agrocenoses (zone 2, 700–300 years ago); reduction in the area of Volga upland oak forests, massive introduction of maple and, singly, pine (zone 1, 300 years ago – to the present). It has been concluded that the Volga upland oak forests are the native vegetation formation of the Volga Upland, formed about 6,000 years ago, long before the beginning of human economic activity. The modern appearance of this territory was formed about 400–300 years ago, with the beginning of the mass development of the territory.

Problems of transport noise monitoring are considered. Existing approaches to transport noise monitoring have a number of disadvantages. The influence of the noise from transport and other sources on the public health was estimated. The results show a reliable, statistically significant dependence of the population illness growth on acoustical pollution. A new system of transport noise monitoring is suggested and approved in conditions of the Samara region of Russia. This system has a number of advantages for acoustic research. The acoustic characteristics of separate vehicles and their spectral values were investigated as well. Analysis of our measurement results of the transport noise from cars of different kinds shows that the most significant noise values are observed within a low frequency range. Thus, when reducing transport noise down to appropriate hygienic values, special attention should be paid to reduction of the low-frequency component of noise.

This work is devoted to assessment of the bacterial contamination of drainage systems in a galvanic production. In the course of the study, two strains of microorganisms which cause microbial contamination and lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the process equipment were isolated from water and wash sediment samples taken in the industrial water supply system of the enterprise and identified. Our study of the morphological and cultural properties of the isolated strains of bacteria has allowed them to be attributed to the genus Bacillus. As a result of a metagenomic analysis of the composition of microbial communities for the 16S rRNA gene (16S rDNA variable regions) according to the GenBank database on an ABI Prism 3730 automatic sequencer, the homology of the first strain with typical strains of the subgroup B. velezensis and B. amyloliquefaciens was established within 99.4–99.9%. When identifying the second isolated strain, the homology with B. altitudinis was 99.7%. Our study of the properties of the isolated strains has shown that they are neither pathogenic nor toxigenic. To reduce the microbial load in the technical water supply system, a series of experiments was carried out to select a biocide. Several variants of disinfectants of various groups were tested, namely: oxidizing ones (chloramine (a chlorine derivative of ammonia), hydrogen peroxide) and non-oxidizing ones (polymeric derivatives of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) produced by JSC NPK Mediana-filter and polyazolidine ammonium ionohydrate (PAG-M) produced by LLC “Constanta”). The polymeric compounds were found to be more effective than the chlorine-based disinfectants. An aqueous solution of polyhexamethylene guanidine had the best bactericidal effect on the microorganisms, therefore it was recommended to combat the existing bacterial contamination.

Meta-analysis of the spontaneous activity of Internet users is proposed as an alternative to traditional methods of counting the number of species which people often encounter in their lives. Using the wordstat.yandex.ru tool the statistics of search queries on the topic of struggle against the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus L., 1758) as an agricultural pest was collected for  4 years. The tool allows tying the obtained data array to particular administrative subjects. As a result, a “pest map” of the species (equivalent to its relative abundance) was compiles. Our comparison of these data with those obtained earlier for the furs harvest (1950s) has allowed us to reveal trends in its changes by provinces. It is supposed that search statistic analysis is an underestimated resource, which would allow one to effectively obtain information on the abundance and distribution not only of the common hamster, but also of other species frequently contacting with humans (brown rat, water vole, beaver, muskrat, etc.).

The results of our monitoring of small rivers in the Saratov region (tributaries of the Volgograd reservoir) are presented. Hydrochemical and organoleptic analysis of water quality was carried out. The species composition of the ichthyofauna of water bodies has been investigated. Factors affecting the chemical composition and organoleptic parameters of small river water are shown, namely: the degree of economic development of the river valley and geomorphological characteristics. An increase in the degree of pollution (eutrophication) of the small tributaries of the Volgograd reservoir negatively affects the ichthyofauna of the reservoirs by reducing the numbers of the most water-demanding fish species (stenobionts) with their subsequent disappearance and, as a result, the reservoir passes from one fishery type to another one.