Mnoho vědeckých jmen ptáků je odvozeno od antických mýtických jmen. Důvodem je mimo jiné to, že bohové za trest nebo z dalších příčin proměňovali mýtické postavy v ptáky. Příklady uvádí druhý díl seriálu., Many scientific names of birds are derived from ancient Greek and Roman mythical names. One of the reasons is that gods used to turn mythical characters into birds as a punishment or for other causes. The examples are given in the second part of the series., and Tomáš Pavlík.
Vědecká jména živočichů a rostlin jsou různého původu. Často bývají odvozena od osobních jmen, a to i fiktivních postav. V prvním díle seriálu se představí někteří nositelé jmen božstev, héróů a dalších antických mýtických bytostí mezi savci., Scientific names of animals and plants are of various origins, often derived from personal names, and even from fictitious characters. In the first part of the series some bearers of the names of divine beings, heroes and other ancient mythical creatures among the mammals are introduced., Tomáš Pavlík., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Halančíci rodu Nothobranchius jsou přizpůsobeni životu v periodických vodních tůních v afrických savanách. Období sucha přežívají v embryonální fázi vývoje. V současné době se rozeznává přes 60 druhů halančíků rodu Nothobranchius, kteří žijí v travnatých savanách a řídkém sezonním lese v širokém pásu východní Afriky. Druh N. furzeri se stal modelovým organismem pro výzkum stárnutí a věnují se mu v několika laboratořích v Evropě, USA a Asii. Náš výzkum se zaměřuje hlavně na evoluční ekologii tří druhových komplexů tohoto rodu v oblasti jižního a středního Mosambiku., Killifish from the genus Nothobranchius are adapted to temporal pools in African savannahs. They survive the dry phase as dormant eggs and develop rapidly after the onset of rainy season. There are about 60 species of Nothobranchius distributed throughout Eastern Africa. One species group became a model for studies on ageing. Our current field and laboratory research on annual Killifish from Mozambique is reviewed and particular studies on their ecology and evolution are highlighted., and Martin Reichard.
1_Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is one of the economically more important trees in the north of Portugal. Spiders, as generalist predators, are potential controlling agents of pests, yet the composition of the community of spiders associated with this crop is only poorly known. The objective of this study was to determine the spider communities in the canopies of chestnut trees subject to three different soil management practices in northeastern Portugal. Three chestnut groves each subject to a different agricultural practice (grazed, tilled or untilled) were studied in 2008 and 2009. The Araneae communities were sampled by beating the branches and the individuals collected were identified to family and species when possible. To investigate the structure of the spider community in each grove the abundance and family richness of spiders were calculated and compared between managements. In total, 4172 spiders were collected and, in both years, the three most abundant families were Araneidae, Philodromidae and Linyphiidae. In 2008, there was a greater abundance of spiders in the grazed, followed by the tilled and untilled groves, but no significant differences among groves. However, in 2009 there was a greater abundance of spiders in the tilled grove, followed by grazed and untilled groves and the differences between the untilled and the other two groves were significant. Araniella, Oxyopes and Anyphaena were the most abundant genera in the three groves. This study showed that soil management may influence the diversity of spiders, but the effects were weak and not consistent between years., 2_The reduction or absence of a suitable habitat for spiders under the trees in the tilled treatment might have resulted in the spiders migrating up into the canopy. However, based on the weak effects on spider abundance recorded and its potentially adverse effects on soils, tillage is not recommended for managing the incidence of pests in chestnut groves., Jacinto Benhadi-Marin ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
In this study we evaluate how variations in taxonomic composition and physical structure of macrophyte stands affect plant-dwelling chironomid assemblages in highly variable macrophyte assemblages in two densely vegetated backwaters. By using multivariate explanatory techniques we found that similar vegetation composition did not unequivocally relate to similar chironomid assemblages, moreover the diversity of macrophyte stands did not correlate with the taxonomic diversity of chironomid assemblages in the backwaters investigated. Taxonomic composition and structural characteristics of the vegetation had little influence on the taxonomic or functional (i.e. feeding groups) composition of chironomid assemblages inhabiting them. Similarly, there are only weak relationships between the distribution of certain chironomid species or functional feeding groups and the environmental variables investigated. In general, the structure of the vegetation was more closely associated with the distribution of dominant chironomid taxa than compositional variables (i.e. density of specific macrophyte taxa). In summary, the structure of aquatic vegetation (i.e. position, size of a stand of vegetation, total plant density) and characteristics of the environment where it develops may be more important in shaping plant-dwelling chironomid assemblages than the taxonomic composition of the vegetation., Mónika Tóth ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Moths are frequently used as indicators of biodiversity or habitat quality. Light traps are the most effective and widely used method for gathering data on moth communities. Knowing the distance from which moths are drawn to a light trap is therefore essential for the ecological interpretation of such data. Two community-wide mark-release-recapture experiments were carried out in forest habitats in central Europe in order to investigate whether the percentage of marked moths recaptured at weak artificial light sources (2 × 15 W UV-light tubes) is dependent on the distance they were released from the light source. Altogether 2,331 moths belonging to 167 species were caught at light traps and released at distances of 2–100 m. Of these moths 313 returned to the light trap within 5 min of release. Percentage recapture was generally low (gross rate 13.4%) and strongly decreased with increase in the distance at which they were released. Percentage recapture was not significantly affected by ambient temperature or the sex of the moths. Only for the Geometroidea was the percentage recaptured slightly greater for the larger species. We found no significant differences between moth super-families with regard to the distance dependence of their attraction to light. Our data confirm that the radius of attraction of low powered light traps for moths is very small often even below 10 m. Thus, moths are good indicators of habitat quality and fragmentation as they are rarely attracted from distant habitats to such light traps., Christine Truxa, Konrad Fiedler., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
1_Certain monoterpenes produced by aromatic plants are known to have lethal and sublethal effects on insects. As there is a need to replace conventional pesticides (organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids) with biorational pesticides, we evaluated the behavioural and toxicological responses of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, exposed to the following monoterpenes, namely (+)-a-pinene, (–)-a-pinene, limonene, menthone, linalool, menthyl acetate and geraniol. Locomotor activity and repellency were quantified using a video tracking system. To study the effect on locomotor activity, larvae were exposed to filter papers treated with concentrations of monoterpenes ranging between 1.4 and 1,400 µg/cm2. Only menthyl acetate applied at a concentration of 14 µg/cm2 or higher increased the locomotor activity of the larvae. Repellency was evaluated by exposing larvae to circles of filter paper divided in two equal zones: one zone was treated with a solution of a monoterpene in acetone (14 or 140 µg/cm2) and the other with only acetone. Larvae were repelled by all the monoterpenes tested. The two concentrations of geraniol and the highest concentration of menthyl acetate and linalool were as repellent as DEET (positive control). The fumigant effect was evaluated by exposing larvae to vapour from 100 µl of pure monoterpene in a sealed container., 2_The values of the 50% Knock-down Times (KT50), expressed in minutes, were: (+)-a-pinene: 11.8, (–)-a-pinene: 14.6, limonene: 81.0, menthone: 141.0, and linalool: 238.6. (+)-a-Pinene was as good a fumigant as dichlorvos (positive control, KT50 = 9.7 min). The least effective compounds were menthyl acetate and geraniol (both affected less than 50% of larvae after 490 min of exposure). In conclusion, (+)-a-pinene (for its fumigant effect), menthyl acetate (for its hyperactivant effect) and menthone and geraniol (for their repellent properties) could potentially be used for controlling B. germanica., Raúl A. Alzogaray ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Larvae of the endangered Scarce Large Blue butterfly, Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius, are initially endophytic, feeding upon developing seeds of Sanguisorba officinalis, but complete their development as social parasites preying on the brood of Myrmica ants. Females show very specific preferences, laying eggs exclusively in young flower heads of the food plant. In the present contribution we report the results of a detailed study of female behaviour at three sites differing in size and abundance of S. officinalis. Tracked individuals switched between feeding on nectar (nectaring), flight and oviposition. They fed exclusively on flowers of reddish, pink or violet colouration, favouring Viccia cracca and S. officinalis. However, females spent about one fifth of the time they were active ovipositing and laid about 20 eggs per hour. Oviposition visits to flower heads were highly stereotyped and followed a specific ritual. Examination of accepted, rejected and randomly sampled flower heads showed that females avoided those containing conspecific eggs and at a site where this was difficult due to a shortage of suitable flower heads, they tended to distribute their eggs evenly among the available flower heads. Our results indirectly indicate the existence of an oviposition-deterring pheromone (ODP) in P. teleius. This hypothetical marking ensures a more even distribution of eggs and possibly increases the chances of survival of caterpillars by reducing competition during both the phytophagous and myrmecophagous stages of development. There are few reports of butterflies producing ODPs and to our knowledge this is the first evidence of their presence in the family Lycaenidae., Marcin Sielezniew, Anna M. Stankiewicz-Fiedurek., and Obsahuje seznam literatury