This study reports seasonal presence of Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Southeast Turkey, in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Samples were collected from crops in agricultural areas at altitudes of 10 m, 800 m and 1400 m from stands of wild herbaceous plants , and at 1750 m from stone debris fields. First C. septempunctata adults were collected at the beginning of June at Tentcamp (800 m) and Tozlu (1400 m), early in July at Sarikiz (1700 m) when the mean air temperature reached 30°C. Adults became active in spring, after aestivating around Sarikiz and overwintering there under snow. First adults emerged on 2nd April in 2009 around Edremit Gulf when mean air temperature reached 14.8°C. Adult and immature stages of C. septempunctata were recorded attacking aphid populations till the end of June. C. septempunctata was present there for only one period each year during which they completed one generation. Adult individuals of this generation returned to Mount Ida to aestivate. Maximum numbers of adults present on Mount Ida in the first week of August in 2009 and 2010 were recorded. C. septempunctata adults aestivate and overwinter at Sarikiz on Mount Ida after completing their development on aphids in April, May and June around Edremit Gulf., Ali Özpinar, Ali Kürşat Şahin, Burak Polat., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The ladybird beetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius), has been extending its distribution in and around urban areas at higher latitudes in Japan over the past 100 years. Between 2003 and 2011, we investigated the seasonal occurrence, aphid prey and population dynamics of this species in an urban park in Osaka City, central Japan. We found that C. sexmaculata completes three generations a year in Osaka. Overwintered adults emerge in March or April and produce two (or rarely one) generations by summer. Second-generation adults aestivate and subsequently produce another generation in autumn. This species feeds on five species of aphids that infest planted shrubs and alien weeds throughout the vegetative season. We analyzed the association between accumulated temperature and when overwintered adults first emerged. In addition, we determined the association between their time of emergence, peak abundance and last occurrence, and meteorological conditions. There was no association between the sum of effective temperatures and termination of adult overwintering. There was, however, an association between first occurrence and peak abundance, and climatic conditions, such as warm temperatures or low humidity. This species maintained a stable population in an urban park by becoming quiescent when climatic conditions were unfavourable or prey was scarce. We discussed these findings in relation to urban environmental factors, such as climate, food conditions and vegetation., Yasuko Kawakami, Kazuo Yamazaki, Kazunori Ohashi., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We conducted a comparative population genetic analysis of levels of genetic variation and its geographical structuring in three closely related species of grasshopper that co-occur in the Mediterranean Basin: Calliptamus italicus, C. barbarus and C. wattenwylianus. In the western part of their distributions 5 populations of C. italicus, 13 of C. barbarus and 10 of C. wattenwylianus were sampled. Bootstrap re-sampling of populations and microsatellite loci within each species indicated a lower level of genetic diversity and higher level of genetic differentiation in C. barbarus, which is less of an outbreak pest species than either of the other Calliptamus species studied. This may be due to lower effective sizes of non-outbreak populations and/or lower gene flow among them., Elodie Blanchet ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
It is known that chromosomes occupy non-random positions in the cell nucleus. However, it is not clear to what extent their nuclear positions, together with their neighborhood, are conserved in daughter cells. To address specific aspects of this problem, we used the model of the chromosomes carrying ribosomal genes that are organized in clusters termed Nucleolus Organizer Regions (NORs). We compared the association of chosen NOR-bearing chromosomes (NOR-chromosomes) with nucleoli, as well as the numbers of nucleoli, in the pairs of daughter cells, and established how frequently the daughter cells had equal numbers of the homologs of certain NOR-chromosomes associated with individual nucleoli. The daughter cells typically had different numbers of nucleoli. At the same time, using immuno-FISH with probes for chromosomes 14 and 15 in HeLa cells, we found that the cell pairs with identical combinations appeared significantly more frequently than predicted by the random model. Thus, although the total number of chromosomes associated with nucleoli is variable, our data indicate that the position of the NOR-bearing chromosomes in relation to nucleoli is partly conserved through mitosis., M. Kalmárová, E. Smirnov, L. Kováčik, A. Popov, I. Raška., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The aim of our study was to answer whether any positive correlation exists between K+ uptake and salt tolerance in wheat. We carried out a sand-culture experiment with salt-tolerant, DK961 (ST), and salt-sensitive, JN17 (SS), wheat cultivars, where photosynthesis, the K+/Na+ ratio, growth, and the biomass yield were examined. The seeds were exposed for four weeks to six NaCl concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 mM), which were embodied in the Hoagland solution. Salinity-induced decrease of K+ or increase in the Na+ content was much smaller in ST than that in SS. The reductions in the light-saturated photosynthetic rate (P Nmax) and chlorophyll content caused by salinity were smaller in the ST compared to SS. Stomatal conductance decreased in both cultivars under saline conditions; nevertheless, it was lower in SS than in ST. The antioxidative capacity was higher in ST than that in SS under saline conditions. Significant positive correlations were observed in both cultivars between K+ contents and P Nmax/biomass yields. We suggest that higher-affinity K+ uptake might play a key role in higher salt tolerance and it might be a reliable indicator for breeding new species of salt-tolerant wheat., D. Cheng, G. Wu, Y. Zheng., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Článek pojednává o poněkud nenápadné hmyzí skupině našich vod - potápnících (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). V ČR žije přes 130 druhů potápníků. Jsou důležitou součástí společenstev jako predátoři a mohou sloužit i k bioindikaci kvality vody. Řada druhů je ohrožena rozsáhlými změnami v krajině v posledních 50 letech, např. narovnáváním řek či eutrofizací rybníků a mokřadů., The article deals with somewhat inconspicuous aquatic insects in our waters - diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). More than 130 species are present in the Czech Republic. They are an important part of aquatic communities as predators and may also serve as water quality biondicators. Many species have been threatened by large-scale changes in the landscape over the last 50 years, including regulation and damming of rivers and eutrophication of ponds and wetlands., and Vojtěch Kolář, David Boukal.
High host specificity and dependence on the host plants are common attributes of herbivorous insects. Their usage in ecosystem studies and landscape assessment is shown by examples from a group of Central European weevils and leaf beetles. Biodiversity can be assessed from the degree of completeness of present herbivore feeding guilds. Wingless species with narrow habitat requirements can be used as good bioindicators of relic natural habitats. and Pavel Špryňar, Jaromír Strejček.
V současné době čelí naše planeta - Evropu nevyjímaje - rostoucí četnosti extrémních klimatických jevů. Tyto změny jsou monitorovány, dokumentovány a diskutovány jak na úrovni jednotlivých evropských zemí, tak na mezinárodních fórech, jakým je např. Mezinárodní klimatický panel. Problémy, které tyto jevy přinášejí, vyžadují řešení. To není zvládnutelné v rámci jediného oboru - např. vodního hospodářství či ekologie. Musíme se zabývat různorodými ekosystémovými procesy, ekonomickými a sociálními interakcemi, správními, legislativními i politickými aspekty. Máme-li zmíněným rizikům lépe rozumět, čelit jim a předcházet, musíme k nim přistupovat bez ohledu na hranice tradičně pojatých oborů. V článku se zaměříme na segment krajiny, který je spoluvytvářen vodními toky - na říční krajinu. V koloběhu vody má jistě své specifické místo. Děje v krajině při hydrologických extrémech závisejí také (možná převážně) na skutečnosti, co se dělo na zorněných svazích nebo svazích lesů a luk předtím, než se voda dostala do řek. Nicméně stále existuje škála možností, co se s vodou může dít při různých scénářích využití a správy vodních toků a říční krajiny., Due to the increasing occurrence of extreme hydrological events, water management is forced to develop both adaptive and prevention strategies. Purely technical solutions are often contradictory. Thus restoring the water cycle must involve restoration of the alluvial and river ecosystems. Three main regulatory ecosystem services - flood and drought protection, and nutrient retention - are discussed in terms of their relevance in water management and dependency on the ecological state of ecosystems. Ecosystems should be used as an effective tool in water and landscape management., and David Pithart.
Vodní retenční kapacita půd závisí na mnoha faktorech, z nichž nejdůležitější jsou textura, struktura, obsah a kvalita organické hmoty, aktivita a diverzita půdních organismů, pórovitost a hloubka půdního profilu. Článek je zaměřen na roli půdní organické hmoty a půdních organismů. Ukazuje, že v České republice jsou zemědělské půdy ochuzeny o organickou hmotu v průměru o 50%. Půdy z horských a podhorských oblastí jsou na ochuzení náchylnější než půdy v nižších nadmořských výškách. Diskutuje opatření vedoucí ke zvýšení kvality půd., Water retention capacity depends on many factors, of which soil texture, structure, organic matter content and quality, functioning of soil fauna and microflora, pore size and distribution, soil depth and properties of subsurface horizons are of the highest importance. We discuss the importance of soil organic matter and the key role played by soil microflora and fauna. We also document a reduction in organic matter and microbial biomass contents in the arable soils of the Czech Republic. On average, soil organic matter in arable soils is depleted by 50 %. The possibilities of improving the quality of arable soils are discussed., and Hana Šantrůčková, Stanislav Malý, Emil Cienciala.