Biologists from Altai State University explored the Fergana Valley
The fauna of Central Asia is extremely diverse, making the region one of the so-called biodiversity hotspots. A large number of different mountainous regions (Altai, Tien Shan, Pamir-Alai, Gissar-Darvaz, etc.) and deserted regions (Kyzylkum, Karakum, Ustyurt plateau, Gobi) are radically different from each other. Identification of the composition of the local faunas of these areas, rich in terms of biodiversity, is one of the tasks of the project of entomologists of Altai State University (FZMW-2023-0006 “Endemic, local and invasive arthropods (Arthropoda) of the mountains of Southern Siberia and Central Asia: a unique gene pool of a biodiversity hotspot ”State assignment Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation").
The research took place in Namangan, Andijan and Fergana regions. It is no secret that the Fergana Valley has been one of the regions of our planet most affected by anthropogenic pressure for more than one century; almost the entire oasis consists of countless fields, gardens and settlements.
“Despite the overpopulation and extremely severe degradation of the biotopes of the Fergana Valley, endemic lizards can still be found there. We carefully planned the expedition and visited all the preserved areas of the Fergana oasis, both in its central part and on the periphery. Searches were carried out for rare species of insects, spiders and centipedes. Among the collected material we expect to have many faunal discoveries, but it is too early to talk about the results, since summer is a hot season, which is entirely subordinated to expeditionary work. In just a week, we, in the same team, are moving to one of the most poorly studied regions of the Southern Transcaucasus - the Republic of Nakhichevan,” Roman Yakovlev comments on the trip. "Once again, we were deeply moved by the hospitality and exceptional professionalism of our colleagues - zoologists from Samarkand University: Professor Abdurashid Raimovich Jabborov, Associate Professor Fazliddin Zakirovich Khalimov, and young staff members Muhammadtuychi Rakhimov and Feruz Shodmonov, and, of course, the international department personnel: Vice-Rector Akmal Rustamovich Akhatov and Head of the department Mukhtor Gafarovich Nasyrov. On the way back, we had a wonderful meeting with our colleagues from Tashkent, including the Director of the Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Rustamovich Kholmatov, and the head of the entomology laboratory, Gulnara Saidarifovna Mirzaeva. During the meeting, we discussed possible new projects and joint field research.”