Varanovec bornejský (Lanthanotus borneensis) patří k nejvzácnějším a nejméně známým plazům. V článku je popsána historie jeho objevů a její průběh ve 20. století, dále jeho anatomie, osteologie, morfologie a fylogeneze. Jsou podány i vzácné informace o jeho ekologii. Je v něm popsán i první nález tohoto druhu ve Východním Kalimantanu (Borneo, Indonésie) a první poznatky z chovu a chování varanovce v podmínkách terária v japonské zoo. Kameraman Stano Slušný a etnolog Miroslav Nožina viděli v roce 2001 uloveného živého varanovce ve vsi Respen na břehu řeky Sesayap v okrese Malinau na severu indonéské provincie Východní Kalimantan. Z literatury vyplývá, že šlo o první pozorování varanovce bornejského nejen v této provincii, ale v té době dokonce o první nález tohoto druhu na území Indonésie., The Earless Monitor Lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis) is one of the rarest and least known of all reptiles. This article describes the history of discoveries throughout the 20th century, as well as its anatomy, osteology, morphology and phylogenesis. Valuable information on its ecology is also provided. The first discovery of this species in Eastern Kalimantan (Borneo, Indonesia) – Respen by Sesayap river in 2001 – by Czech travellers and the first findings from breeding and rearing of these lizards in terrarium conditions at a zoo in Japan are also reported., and Ivan Vergner.
Procesům adaptace na život v lidských sídlech podléhají mnohé druhy ptáků nejenom v Evropě, ale i v Latinské Americe. Během několika cest po tropických zemích Nového světa od Mexika po Argentinu autoři zaznamenali v tamních městech i na venkově několik desítek ptačích druhů se sklonem k synantropnímu způsobu života. V sumáru 57 druhů z patnácti čeledí, které byly zařazeny do článku, dominují pěvci (41 druhů). Přestože jde o subjektivní výběr a jednotlivé druhy ptáků nebylo možné podrobněji charakterizovat, uvedené informace mohou návštěvníkům této oblasti usnadnit orientaci při setkání se zástupci avifauny latinskoamerických sídel., Many bird species are involved in processes of adaptation to life in human settlements, not only in Europe, but also in Latin America. During several trips to tropical countries in the New World, from Mexico to Argentina, the authors noted several dozen bird species in the cities and the countryside that tended to adopt a synanthropic lifestyle. Songbirds predominate (with 41 species) in a list of 57 species from the 15 families presented. The article may help visitors to the region find their bearings among the birdlife in Latin American conurbations., and Jozef Májský, Stanislav Chudý.
The oldest butterfly fossil known, which was formed about 55 Ma in what is now Denmark, is described. The fragments of its forewing venation indicates it belongs to the Hesperiidae. Further reconstruction indicates that it fits in the Coeliadinae and is close to the extant genera Hasora and Burara. It is here described as Protocoeliades kristenseni gen. et sp. n. It is the first butterfly fossil found on a continent (Europe) where its closest relatives do not currently occur. Its position on the phylogenetic tree of the Coeliadinae and its importance in understanding the time dimension in the evolution of butterflies, and their ecological and biogeographic implications are discussed., Rienk De Jong., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Several studies address the question of which forest attributes are most important for the conservation of biodiversity. Unfortunately, there are no unequivocal answers because the response of a biological group to changes in forest structure depends on its natural history and scale of organization. It is important to increase our knowledge of the potential relationships between under studied groups of species and forest variables in order to adopt timber harvesting strategies not detrimental to biodiversity, especially in old-growth forests. We assessed the importance of 10 forest attributes and old-growth for Psychidae (Lepidoptera) species and communities. Research was carried out in 12 forest stands in a mountainous beech dominated landscape in southern Italy, in the middle of the Mediterranean Basin. Samples were collected in 2001 and 2013 and data were merged after pairwise comparison analyses that confirmed the long term stability of communities. Correspondence Analysis, Cluster Analysis and non-parametric Spearman Rank Order Correlation were used to identify determinants of Psychidae abundance and diversity. We collected 2,732 Psychidae belonging to 8 species. Correspondence analysis identified old-growth as the main determinant of communities. Most significant attributes for individual species were beech dominance, diameter at breast height and its standard deviation. For Taleporia defoliella there were positive correlations with these forest parameters, whereas for Psyche crassiorella the correlations were negative. This study underlined the importance of forest attributes associated with old-growth forests for sustaining biodiversity. These findings indicate the need to incorporate these attributes in forest planning, especially those aspects that are easily recognizable such as the number of large trees., Stefano Scalercio, Teresa Bonacci, Rosario Turco, Vincenzo Bernardini., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Gender-specific reproductive roles are important factors determining sexual dimorphism. Here, we investigate the effects of sex-based differences and reproductive status on the defence of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) against infection by Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev, 1934) (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae). Female and male beetles, either virgin or post-copulation, were exposed individually to nematodes. Individuals were then sampled every 12 h, dissected, and checked for the presence of nematodes; we also measured their phenoloxidase (PO) activity. Reproductive status affected resistance to nematodes and PO activity as infected virgin individuals had a higher PO activity and lower mortality than reproducing individuals, with no differences between sexes. Mortality also increased with time, while PO activity did not change. Parasite load was related to reproductive status and sex, with reproducing females with the highest parasite loads in all treatments, and virgin males with more nematodes than sexually active males. Our results indicate that the costs of reproduction impair the immunological system of T. castaneum similarly in both sexes. It is possible, however, that other components of the immunological system that we did not measure, such as lysozyme activity, are impaired by infection with S. feltiae in a sex-specific way., Paulina Kramarz, Dariusz Małek, Maria Gaweł, Szymon M. Drobniak, Joanna Homa., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We studied the effects of the overstory canopy cover on ground-dwelling harvestmen communities in European beech forests in the Western Carpathian Mts. We analyzed the differences in species richness, abundance and composition in two tree canopy cover categories (closed and open canopy). Overall, 1765 individuals belonging to 16 species were caught using pitfall traps. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that under both closed and open canopies a similar absolute and rarefied species richness and number of individuals (standardized to 100 pitfall trap days) were caught, and that both species richness and abundance were affected by the season (i.e., time of trap replacement); yet the total number of individuals trapped was more than two times greater under the open canopy than under the closed canopy. Despite the subtle differences in the taxonomic composition of the catches under the open and closed canopies revealed by DCA followed by RDA, the composition of ground-dwelling harvestmen assemblages differed under the two canopy covers. The open canopy was more suitable for heliophilic, xerothermic eurytopic harvestmen species typical for open and ecotonal habitats, such as Egaenus convexus (C.L. Koch) and Oligolophus tridens (C.L. Koch) but still suitable for hemihygrophilic Lophopilio palpinalis (Herbst). The closed canopy stands were preferred by shade-tolerant, hygrophilic eurytopic harvestmen species, such as Trogulus sp. Latreille, Dicranolasma scabrum (Herbst) and Platybunus bucephalus (C.L. Koch). Our results highlight the importance of intra-habitat heterogeneity of a harvestmen community., Ľudmila Černecká, Ivan Mihál, Benjamín Jarčuška., and Obsahuje bibliografii