Charles Darwin is celebrated for his claim that man and primates developed from a common ancestor. Man has been, since Darwin, treated by science as a biological species and scientists often compare his faculties to the instincts of animals. At the same time, the other side of Darwin’s discovery is forgotten – animals are similar to man in their behaviour and emotions. While for Darwin himself an anthropomorphic view of animals was self-evident, many contemporary Darwinists prefer a mechanical model. These two contradictory tendencies are established here by reference to the work of the biologists Richard Dawkins and Frans de Waal. The difference of perspective from which animals are viewed can be best seen in connection with the problem-area of morality and its evolutionary origin. It is shown that the empirical orientation of de Waal is fundamentally closer to the Darwinian tradition of research than Dawkins’ theoretical approach.
V únoru 1986 jsem fotografoval motýlí faunu Malajského poloostrova, západně od vrchoviny Cameron Highlands (asi 600 m n. m.). Pořídil jsem i několik snímků otakárka Lamproptera meges. Tento motýl v letu připomíná spíše vážku nebo šídlo, z čehož plyne jeho výhoda ve smyslu Batesova typu mimikry. Rozpětí má kolem 5 cm, ale zadní křídla vybíhají v 4 cm dlouhé ostruhy (obr. 1). Vnější polovina předních křídel je průsvitná a za letu neviditelná, podobně jako křídla hmyzu, který motýl napodobuje. Obývá lesní porosty v bezprostřední blízkosti tekoucí vody. Pravidelně usedá na vlhké bahno nebo písek a saje vodu obsahující sodné ionty a různé látky nutné pro výživu. and Our unintentional picture shows a Malaysian papilionid periodically every 4–6 seconds expelling water from its anus.
In 2018, during a rescue archaeological excavation taking place in one of the gardens of Staré Město near Uherské Hradiště, 23 early medieval graves containing skeletal remains of 26 individuals were detected. The site is situated on the northern border of the well-known Great Moravian burial ground ‘Na Valách’. In a large number of the newly excavated graves, greater or lesser deviations from the usual funeral rite were recorded. While the established burial rite in Great Moravian society means the deceased lies on their back in the supine position with extended extremities and head towards the west, here we found skeletons in very different orientations, lying in a prone or crouched position, or, at least, with unusual positions of their upper or lower limbs. Additionally, some of the graves contained incomplete or no skeletons. There is also one double burial and a triple burial, and several graves in superpositions. In nine graves, objects of material culture were found, the most important of them come from the rider’s grave 20/2018. The presented study aims to interpret the burial contexts using the bioarchaeological approach, which is, however, affected by the quality of the preserved finds, especially skeletal remains.
Although it has been generally reported that carnivorous plants of the genus Nepenthes are not very selective about their prey, the new studies have shown that the genus is under a strong selective pressure to specialize in certain prey. Moreover, novel nutrient sequestration strategies have recently been described, including leaf litter and faeces utilization. Thus the genus Nepenthes is a new and illustrative example of adaptive radiation with regard to nitrogen sequestration strategy. and Andrej Pavlovič.
Schopnost rychlého klonálního šíření suchopýru úzkolistého (Eriophorum angustifolium) na odtěženém rašeliništi Soumarský most již od začátku ovlivňuje nastartovaný průběh sukcese. V odumírající středové části porostu se hromadí stařina a příznivější mikroklimatické i živinové poměry tu umožňují uchycování dalších druhů rostlin, pro které je čerstvě obnažená půda příliš extrémním prostředím. and The capacity for the rapid clonal spreading of Eriophorum angustifolium in the extracted peat bog of Soumarský most influences the development of succession from the very outset. In the dying central part of the peat bog the old plant remains accumulate and favourable microclimatic and nutrient conditions facilitate occupation by other plant species for which freshly bare land represents too extreme a locality.