Field data collection is a very important part of my research. My early expeditions focused on sampling of insects for taxonomic and morphological research, but over the past two decades these collecting trips have become less frequent. I intensively collected moths and butterflies in the following regions:
- Abkhazia (1978, 1980)
- Kivatch Reserve in Karelia, Russia (1979, 1981)
- Kola Peninsula, Russia (1980-2019)
- Kirgizia (1982)
- Primorye, Sakhalin and Kurily Islands, Russia (1983, 1984, 1986)
- Georgia (1987-1990)
- Australia and New Zealand (1994)
- Taiwan (2001)
- Taimyr, Russia (2002)
- Arkhangelsk oblast, Russia (2011-2019)
- China (1992)
I collected data on the impacts of industrial pollution on terrestrial ecosystems around industrial enterprises located at:
- Apatity, Russia (1992, 2006)
- Bratsk, Russia (2002)
- Harjavalta, Finalnd (1997-2007)
- Jonava, Lithuania (2005-2007)
- Kandalaksha, Russia (1998-2007)
- Karabash, Russia (2003, 2007)
- Kostomuksha, Russia (2001, 2002, 2006)
- Krompachy, Czech Republic (2002, 2004, 2006)
- Monchegorsk, Russia (1981-2019)
- Nadvoitsy, Russia (2004-2007)
- Nikel, Russia (2001-2007)
- Norilsk, Russia (2002)
- Revda, Russia (2003, 2007)
- Straumsvík, Iceland (2002)
- Sudbury, Canada (2002, 2007)
- Volkhov, Russia (1988-2017)
- Žiar nad Hronom, Czech republic (2002, 2004, 2006)
The largest proportion of the ecological and environmental data collected by my team since 1991 has originated from the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia. This region houses several large-scale industrial enterprises, among which the copper-nickel smelter at Monchegorsk is best known for the acute adverse impact of its aerial emissions on the surrounding ecosystems.
However, the Kola Peninsula does not consist strictly of heavily polluted areas – it includes many pristine regions and beautiful sites, offering wide opportunities for research on various aspects of fundamental ecology.
I collected data on insect herbivory, including losses of plant biomass to all feeding guilds of insects (defoliators, gallers, miners, sap- and root-feeders) in/near:
- Antananarivo and Nosy Be, Madagascar (2018)
- Batumi, Georgia (2018)
- Curitiba, Brazil (2019)
- Cusco and Puerto-Maldonado, Peru (2019)
- Jurmala and Montu, Estonia (2020)
- Katlapi, Latvia (2020)
- Kola Peninsula, Russia (2018-2019)
- Leningrad region, Russia (2018)
- Nuuk, Greenland (2018)
- Samarqand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan (2019)
- San Pedro de Atacama and Santiago, Chile (2019)
- Trebon, Czech Republic (2019)
- Vinales, Cuba (2019)
- Xishuangbanna, China (2018)
