Tapeworms of the genus Caryophyllaeus Gmelin, 1790 (Caryophyllidea: Caryophyllaeidae), common parasites of cyprinid fishes, are reviewed and taxonomic status of 42 nominal taxa that have been placed in the genus during its long history is clarified. The following seven species occurring in the Palaearctic Region are recognised as valid: C. laticeps (Pallas, 1781), C. auriculatus (Kulakovskaya, 1961), C. balticus (Szidat, 1941) comb. n. (syn. Khawia baltica Szidat, 1941), C. brachycollis Janiszewska, 1953, C. fimbriceps Annenkova-Chlopina, 1919, C. syrdarjensis Skrjabin, 1913, and newly described Caryophyllaeus chondrostomi sp. n. (= C. laticeps morphotype 4 of Bazsalovicsová et al., 2014) from common nase, Chondrostoma nasus (Linnaeus), found in Austria and Slovakia. The new species differs by the paramuscular or cortical position of preovarian vitelline follicles, a large, robust body (up to 64 mm long), conspicuously long vas deferens, flabellate scolex with small wrinkles on the anterior margin, and anteriormost testes located in a relatively short distance from the anterior extremity. Caryophyllaeus kashmirenses Mehra, 1930 and Caryophyllaeus prussicus (Szidat, 1937) comb. n. are considered to be species inquirendae, C. truncatus von Siebold in Baird, 1853 and C. tuba von Siebold in Baird, 1853 are nomina nuda. Data on the morphology, host spectra, distribution and known life-cycles of valid species are provided. Phylogenetic interrelations of four species of the genus including its type species and newly described C. chondrostomi were assessed based on an analysis of sequences of lsrDNA and cox1. A key to identification of all valid species of Caryophyllaeus is also provided., Daniel Barčák, Mikuláš Oros, Vladimíra Hanzelová, Tomáš Scholz., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Monozoic cestodes of the recently amended genus Promonobothrium Mackiewicz, 1968 (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), parasites of suckers (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) in North America, are reviewed, with information on their host specificity, distribution and data on the scolex morphology of seven species studied for the first time using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Evaluation of type and voucher specimens from museum collections and newly collected material of most species indicated the following valid nominal species: Promonobothrium minytremi Mackiewicz, 1968 (type species); P. ingens (Hunter, 1927); P. hunteri (Mackiewicz, 1963); P. ulmeri (Calentine et Mackiewicz, 1966); P. fossae (Williams, 1974) and P. mackiewiczi (Williams, 1974). Rogersus Williams, 1980 with its only species R. rogersi is transferred to Promonobothrium based on morphological and molecular data. Promonobothrium currani sp. n. and P. papiliovarium sp. n. are described from Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque) and Ictiobus niger (Rafinesque), and Erimyzon oblongus (Mitchill), respectively. The newly described species can be distinguished from the other congeners by the morphology of the scolex, the position of the anteriormost vitelline follicles and testes, the presence of postovarian vitelline follicles and the shape of the ovary. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of six species based on sequences of the small and large subunits of the nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (ssrDNA, lsrDNA) confirmed the monophyletic status of the genus and supported the validity of the species analysed. A key to identification of all species of Promonobothrium based on morphological characteristics is provided., Mikuláš Oros, Jan Brabec, Roman Kuchta, Anindo Choudhury, Tomáš Scholz., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Many species of carabid beetles are important pre- and post-dispersal seed feeders of herbaceous plants. Here we summarise data from dissections, field observations, rearing and "cafeteria" experiments on 55 granivorous and 188 omnivorous species that occur in Italy. We tested the hypothesis that seed feeding carabids are restricted to taxa with pronounced morphological adaptations for manipulating and crushing seeds in both the larval and adult stages. The feeding guilds of carabids were rearranged into the following groups: (i) strict predators with long mandibles and predaceous larvae, often depending also on non-prey food; (ii) omnivorous species with stout mandibles and larvae of a seed-eating morphotype; (iii) granivorous species, feeding only on seeds with larvae sometimes of the scarabeoid c-form type. The seed feeding carabids in the Italian fauna belong to the tribe Zabrini (Amara and Zabrus genera) and to all the Harpalinae (sub)tribes, from Anisodactylini to Ditomina. The time of reproduction seems to be associated with habitat preference; wetland or dry open land, rather than true granivorous versus omnivorous habits, but in stenophagous seed feeders, a phenological coincidence with particular plants is sometimes recorded., Federica Talarico, Anita Giglio, Roberto Pizzolotto, Pietro Brandmayr., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Water-filled tree holes are abundant microhabitats in forests worldwide and are inhabited by specialized communities of invertebrates. Despite their importance, the temporal dynamics of communities within and between years are largely unknown. Here, I present a case study on the phenology of insect larvae in two holes in a beech tree (lower and upper canopy) located in southern Germany over a period of three years. I asked whether water temperature and the characteristics of insect larvae at the community and population levels are similar in periodicity every year and whether they differ in the lower and upper canopy. The water temperature in tree holes differed greatly from air temperature, and this effect was more pronounced in the lower than in the upper canopy, which resulted in a lower probability of drying out occurring in the lower canopy. This was associated with a higher species richness in the lower canopy and greater abundance of drought tolerant species in the upper canopy. There was a significant periodicity in larval abundance, biomass, species richness and body size distribution of abundant species in both tree holes, but it was not seasonal. This result indicates that unpredictable drying out of tree holes are more important drivers of tree hole community dynamics than changes in water temperature. The community of larvae in the tree hole in the upper canopy lagged behind that in the lower canopy, which indicates that most species mainly colonize the more stable microhabitats in the lower canopy. Hopefully this case study will encourage future larger-scale phenological studies to test (1) whether the patterns observed in this study can be generalized over larger spatial scales and (2) the relative importance of abiotic and biotic drivers of the dynamics of communities in tree holes., Martin M. Gossner., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Temporal patterns and frequency spectra of the songs and stridulatory files of 14 species of the genus of the phaneropterid bush-crickets Isophya from Eastern Europe, Altai and the Caucasus are given. The sound signals of the species studied can be separated into three main types: (1) those consisting of two syllables (Isophya gracilis, I. kalishevskii, I. schneideri, I. caspica, Isophya sp. 1); (2) one syllable and series of clicks (I. modesta rossica, I. stepposa, I. taurica, I. brunneri, I. doneciana, I. altaica); (3) single repeating syllables of uniform shape and duration (I. pienensis, Isophya sp. 2 and possibly I. stysi). The acoustic signals and behaviour of eastern European, Altai and Caucasian species are compared to those of several other European species of Isophya., Roustem Zhantiev, Olga Korsunovskaya, Alexander Benediktov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Diapause is a common dormancy strategy exhibited by many species of invertebrates and insects to temporarily avoid seasonally recurring unfavourable conditions for their development, most usually in winter. Less frequently, a prolonged diapause lasting two or more years is described in species living in unpredictable environments where it is adaptive, but with significant costs. In this paper we examine the occurrence of prolonged diapause in the lycaenid butterfly Tomares ballus. Pupae of this species undergo an obligate diapause from mid-May to late January the following year. However, during our rearing experiments (from 2009 to 2016) the emergence of adults occurred sequentially and a fraction of the pupae remained in diapause for up to seven years. The annual percentage emergence after the first year of diapause was 45.6%, and only barely exceeded 50.0% in 2015. Remarkably, 12 pupae (11.4% of the initial brood) remained in diapause in their eighth year. The negative exponential equation fitted to the emergence data suggests that further emergences may occur within the next five years. Therefore, the potential for successful prolonged diapause of T. ballus pupae may be more than 10 years. The adaptive value of this strategy is discussed in relation to the effects of adverse and unpredictable weather during the flight period of the butterfly, intra-guild competition, parasitoids and changes in habitat quality. We suggest that this strategy may also be exhibited by other species of Mediterranean lycaenids., Rafael Obregón, Juan Fernández Haeger, Diego Jordano., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Ground-dwelling sciurids, including prairie dogs (Cynomys), marmots (Marmota) and several genera of ground squirrels (e.g. Ammospermophilus, Spermophilus, Notocitellus, Ictidomys, Urocitellus), emit alarm calls in the presence of predators to warn their kin. These calls show high intra- and inter-species variation. The alarm calls of many species have potential to encode information about caller identity, and possibly enable the ground squirrels to recognize unreliable callers or to estimate the degree of risk. The alarm calls can be used to determine species or subspecies, and can also help resolve some taxonomic complexities. and Irena Schneiderová.
The article summarises results of our research on inter- and intra-species variability in alarm calls (emitted in the presence of predator) of the European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) and closely related species (Taurus Ground Squirrel - S. taurensis, Anatolian Ground Squirrel - S. xanthoprymnus). Alarm calls of all three species mostly consist of two different elements; individuals producing alarm calls with only one of them were, however, also recorded. Although their alarm calls share the same basic structure, the three species can be clearly distinguished. Significant inter-individual differences allow identification of particular callers in a colony. and Irena Schneiderová, Richard Policht.
Cytochrome P450s (P450s) involved in insecticide resistance reduce the efficacy of insecticide-based vector control by rendering vector control ineffective. They are recorded in many species of vectors and have various constitutive and insecticide induction profiles. In this study, the isolation and prediction of the structure of a P450 from a strain of Aedes aegypti originating from Malaysia is reported. Quantitative mRNA expression of this gene and a previously reported P450, CYP4H28v2, in the developmental stages of the mosquito after exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of insecticides is also reported. The isolated P450, CYP4H31v2, is an allelic variant of CYP4H31 and contains several conserved motifs of P450s. The secondary structure of the protein is mostly made up of alpha helices and random coils. The tertiary structure was generated using homology modeling and was of good quality based on structure validation using protein structure assessment tools. CYP4H28v2 and CYP4H31v2 were differentially expressed in the developmental stages of the vector, with a significantly increased expression in adult males. The genes were significantly over-expressed in larvae exposed to deltamethrin and permethrin for 6 h. In the DDT-treated larvae, only CYP4H31v2 was significantly over-expressed after a 6 h exposure. Under-expression of the genes was predominant in larvae treated with the organophosphates malathion and temephos. Though the functions of these P450s are unknown, their response to induction by exposure to insecticides indicates the likely involvement of these genes in insecticide tolerance. and Fatma M. A. El-Garj, Mustafa F.F. Wajidi, Silas W. Avicor.
Three adult nematode specimens, all ovigerous females belonging to the family Cystidicolidae Skryabin, 1946, were found for the first time in the subcutaneous tissue around the eye of the captive porcupinefish Diodon nichthemerus Cuvier at a public aquarium in Osaka, Japan. Because no male was available, these could not be identified to the genus and species. This case highlights the risk of parasitism in aquaculture puffer fish, as these may ingest small shrimp, which probably act as intermediate hosts for the nematode., Kozue Sasaki, Yoshimi Miyagawa, Itsuki Kiyatake, Kiyoko Onda, Takaomi Ito, Mitsuhiko Asakawa., and Obsahuje bibliografii