The weed communities have changed dramatically in the 20th century. Because no weed vegetation relevés were recorded for South Moravia early in this century, changes in potential distribution of the most endangered vegetation type, the association Caucalido daucoidis-Conringietum orientalis, are evaluated using records of its diagnostic species. The diagnostic species group of this association was specified by the statistical calculation of fidelity. It includes Scandix pecten-veneris, Caucalis platycarpos, Bupleurum rotundifolium, Thymelaea passerina, Nigella arvensis, and Ajuga chamaepitys. The coincidence distribution maps of these diagnostic species were prepared. The resulting maps show that the potential distribution of Caucalido-Conringietum is the South Moravian region of thermophilous flora and possibly the adjacent regions of mesophilous flora. The incidence of this plant association in the area declined remarkably in the second half of the 20th century, but in the 1990s its diagnostic species appeared again at several sites.
The contribution focuses on ethnography in the Czech lands and its application as a research method. The concept of ethnography used for this purpose sees ethnography as one of the major methods of qualitative research, transformed and modified by development in the field and changes in the society. The author reminds of the fact that ethnography was widely used as a research instrument already in 20th century under different names not only within ethnology and social anthropology but also within other disciplines and that at present it is a favourite research instrument of a number of branches of social science which emphasize qualitative research. Thus ethnography is not the sole property of ethnologists and social anthropologists and they cannot be sure that this method will remain typical and characteristic exclusively for them. Although the text is historically retrospective, it mainly focuses on transformations of ethnography in the late 20th and at the turn of 20th and 21st centuries.
Experimentally produced interspecific hybrids between four Central European species of Rorippa (Brassicaceae), which are wide-spread in the Czech and Slovak Republics (allogamic R. amphibia, R. austriaca, R. sylvestris and autogamic R. palustris), were studied. The hybrid between the allogamic tetraploid species R. amphibia and R. sylvestris can produce hybrid swarms when they occur sympatrically with the parental species. The most plausible mode of formation of the tetraploid hybrid swarms introgressed by diploid R. austrica in nature was confirmed: The chromosome numbers of the offspring resulted from the controlled pollination of the triploid experimental hybrid R. austriaca × R. sylvestris mostly tended to the tetraploid level. Even healthy tetraploid plants, with high quality pollen, developed in the second generation after open pollination of the experimental triploid R. amphibia × R. austriaca. Plants with nearly tetraploid or tetraploid chromosome numbers and sufficiently fertile pollen gave rise to fully fertile tetraploid hybrid swarms, even without the presence of tetraploid R. austriaca. Failure of most experimental crosses of the autogamous tetraploid R. palustris with allogamous species (totally sterile F1 acquired only in combination R. austriaca × R. palustris) indicated that this species is unlikely to have participated in the formation of hybrid swarms in nature.
Scanning electron microscopy examinations of trematode specimens belonging to Crepidostomum farionis (O.F. Müller, 1784) and C. metoecus Braun, 1900, collected from brown trout, Salmo trutta fario L., in the Czech Republic, made it possible to study their surface morphology including details not described previously. The tegument of both species bears numerous characteristic papillae around the oral sucker (in C. metoecus also around the ventral sucker) and the ventral and dorsal surfaces of the forebody, exhibiting a high degree of variability in numbers and arrangement, with tegumental bosses forming lateral fields on the forebody and minute sensory receptors with submerged cilia scattered on the surface of the dorsal part of the oral sucker. In addition to marked differences in the size, shape and position of the oral muscular lobes, both species distinctly differ in the number of genital pores: two separate pores in C. farionis and a single pore in C. metoecus.
Five new records of the scale-bearing chrysophytes Mallomonas multiunca, M. paxillata, M. portae-ferreae, M. prora and M. retifera are reported for the Czech Republic. M. multiunca was found in a mesotrophic oxbow lake of the river Vltava. M. paxillata, M. portae-ferreae and M. prora were found in a mesotrophic to eutrophic floodplain pool of the river Lužnice. M. retifera was recorded from alluvial pools associated with the Vltava and Lužnice rivers, respectively. Autecology and distribution of the species are discussed. Three of the species occur in temperate and subarctic regions, M. paxillata probably has a cosmopolitan distribution and M. portae-ferreae prefers warmer water, occurring most frequently in tropical to subtropical regions.
Heracleum mantegazzianum is one of the most invasive species in the Czech flora. The present study describes its flowering phenology and assess the effectiveness of protandry in preventing selfing in this self-compatible species, describes the timing of flowering in a heavily invaded area of Slavkovský les (Czech Republic) and estimates fruit set in a large sample of plants, which provides reliable data on the often exaggerated fecundity of this species. The study of flowering phenology revealed that protandry is always effective only within individual flowers, where male and female flowering phases are completely separated. In contrast, anther dehiscence in some flowers can occasionally overlap with stigma receptivity in other flowers in the same umbel, providing an opportunity for geitonogamous (i.e. between-flower) selfing. Nevertheless, the potential for selfing in H. mantegazzianum is determined mainly by an overlap in the male and female flowering phases between umbels on the same plant; at least a short overlap between some umbels was observed in 99% of the plants at the Slavkovský les. Although the degree of protandry in H. mantegazzianum favours outcrossing, the opportunity to self may be of crucial importance for an invasive plant, especially if a single plant colonizes a new location. At Slavkovský les, flowering started within one week (from 20 to 27 June 2002) at all 10 sites. The duration of flowering of an individual plantwas on average 36 days,with maximum of 60 days, and increased significantly with the number of umbels on a plant. In the second half of August, the majority of the fruits were ripe and had started to be shed. The beginning of flowering of a plant was significantly negatively correlated with the number of umbels it had – the earlier a plant started to flower the more umbels it had produced. A significant negative relationship was also found between basal diameter and beginning of flowering; plants with large basal diameters started to flower earlier. An average plant at Slavkovský les produced 20,671 fruits. Of these, 44.6% were produced by the terminal umbel, 29.3% by secondary umbels on satellites, 22.6% by secondary umbels on branches and only 3.5% by tertiary umbels. The estimated fruit number of the most fecund plant was 46,470 – compared to an average plant, the proportional contribution of tertiary umbels increased relative to the primary umbel. This study revealed a significant positive relationship between fecundity and plant basal diameter. Although the results of this study indicate that the fecundity of this species is often overestimated in the literature, the number of fruits produced by H. mantegazzianum provides this invasive species with an enormous reproductive capacity.
Since 1989, Prague has become a major destination for gay tourists and for sex tourists of all orientations from Western countries. To date, relatively little attention from policy or social theory perspectives has focused on males involved in sex work in Czech Republic. Based on the author's fieldwork in the gay community in Prague during 1999-2002 with follow-up visits in 2004-2006, this article looks at the experiences of young men (especially gay-identified men) involved in homosexual sex work in Prague, describes their relationship to the mainstream gay scenes in Prague in several phases since the mid-1990s, and discusses problems they face. Findings include the following: 1) Transactional sex exists on a continuum - ranging from one-time explicit exchanges of sex for money, through flirting for drinks, to longer-term relationships strongly motivated by financial considerations. 2) The latter types provide both a potential point of entry to sex work and a point of contact or plausible deniability on the gay mainstream. 3) Young men involved in various forms of sex work provide one of the major encounter points between Western tourists and native Czechs and Slovaks; this has been aggressively marketed in Western Europe and North America since the mid-1990s by por-nographers, both Czech and foreign. 4) Male sex work does not generally provide a long-term career in Czech Republic; many former sex workers appear to end up in jobs such as bartending or as tour guides, where they can use their language skills and customer service experience.
In the past couple of decades the social sciences have paid much
attention to the topic of boundaries and boundary regions. The present article analyses the changes in the discursive assessment of the Czech-Saxon boundary after 1989. It focuses on the transformation of the national and transnational culture and politics of history related to boundaries, cross-border regions and
cross-border interactions. The interplay of the socio-political transition with its discursive implications and the application of new methods and concepts in social sciences (boundary and identity studies, spatial turn etc.) created conditions for a significant
modification of the approach to boundaries and boundary regions. Concentrating on the public and academic discourse, the article assesses the conceptualization and representation of the
Czech-Saxon boundary in political and public rhetoric, historiography and museology. and Článek zahrnuje poznámkový aparát pod čarou
This discussion paper deals with equal opportunities for women and men policy in the Czech Republic financed by the European Social Fund. It presents findings of a case study focused on the position of the “gender expert” which was introduced as obligatory within call no. 76 OP HRE, area of support 3.4 “Equal Opportunities of Women and Men on the Labour Market and Reconciliation of Family and Working Life,” in order to increase the quality of equal opportunities projects. The evaluative case study concludes that the position was not defined sufficiently which lowered the potential quality improvement of the projects. Further policy steps are suggested and a broader context is discussed where the position of the “gender expert” may surprisingly be seen as a contribution to the financial stability of some NGOs focused on equal opportunities. The paper also aims to provide those who work as gender experts with an opportunity for a much needed self-reflection.
The distribution of Alisma gramineum in the Czech Republic was determined using herbarium specimens, data in the literature and the authors’ own records. Comparison of records from four periods (before 1900, 1901–1945, 1946–1970, 1971–2001) revealed that the total number of localities has not decreased, but the occurrence changed considerably both in terms of the localities and regions where the species is found. Abundant populations were observed on exposed shores of water reservoirs. It has colonized the Třeboň Basin, S Bohemia, over the last few decades. Effect of water regime, light/darkness regime and temperature on germination and dormancy was studied. A. gramineum is adapted to germinate in water and in the dark; germination occurs in late spring, i.e. a period of high temperature. The high variation in the germination response to particular environmental factors may be accounted for the irregular occurrence of A. gramineum at certain localities. Best conditions for seed production are shallow water and recently exposed shores of water reservoirs, where plants can grow and set seed within one growing season. The ability to survive in a vegetative stage is more important in deep water, but seed banks in the mud at the bottom of reservoirs is the only way the species can persist when adult plants die.