We analyzed the abundance, distribution and niche overlap of species (Pianka's Ojk index) in tenebrionid beetle communities inhabiting different biotopes in Tyrrhenian and Adriatic sand dunes. The rank abundance distribution of the different species has the form of a geometric series in both communities as predicted by the niche preemption hypothesis for communities in harsh environments. Mean niche overlap values did not deviate significantly from null expectations, which indicates random interspecific interactions. These results, coupled with evidence of species habitat preferences, led us to conclude that the community organization of tenebrionid species inhabiting coastal dunes is determined more by habitat preferences than interspecific competition., Simone Fattorini, Davide Bergamaschi, Cristina Mantoni, Alicia T. R. Acosta, Andrea Di Giulio., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Climate change may facilitate shifts in the ranges and the spread of insect pests, but a warming climate may also affect herbivorous insects adversely if it disrupts the locally adapted synchrony between the phenology of insects and that of their host plant. The ability of a pest species to colonize new areas depends on its ability to adjust the timing of phenological events in its life cycle, particularly at high latitudes where there is marked seasonality in temperature and day length. Here we incubated eggs of three species of geometrid moth, Epirrita autumnata, Operophtera brumata and Erannis defoliaria from different geographical populations (E. autumnata and O. brumata from Northern Finland, E. autumnata and E. defoliaria from Southern Finland and all three species from Germany) in a climate chamber at a constant temperature to determine the relative importance of geographic origin in the timing of egg hatch measured in terms of cumulative temperature sums (degree days above 5°C, DD5); i.e. the relative importance of local adaptation versus phenotypic plasticity in the timing of egg hatch. In all three species, eggs from northern populations required a significantly lower temperature sum for hatching than eggs from southern populations, but the differences between them in temperature sum requirements varied considerably among species, with the differences being largest for the earliest hatching and northernmost species, E. autumnata, and smallest for the southern, late-hatching E. defoliaria. In addition, the difference in hatch timing between the E. autumnata eggs from Southern Finland and Germany was many times greater than the difference between the two Finnish populations of E. autumnata, despite the fact that the geographical distances between these populations is similar. We discuss how these differences in hatching time may be explained by the differences in hatch-budburst synchrony and its importance for different moth species and populations. We also briefly reflect on the significance of photoperiod, which is not affected by climate change. It is a controller that works parallel or in addition to temperature sum both for egg hatch in moths and bud burst of their host plants., Julia Fält-Nardmann, Tero Klemola, Mechthild Roth, Kai Ruohomäki, Kari Saikkonen., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Insects produce pigment and structural colours mainly for camouflage, signaling, physical protection or temperature regulation, and colour patterns can provide information about individual quality. Although the evolutionary function and nature of the variability in colouration are well known for many invertebrate taxa, there is little information on this topic for ants. We studied individual variation in the melanin-based colour traits of workers of the red wood ant, Formica rufa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), from 20 colonies in Southern Finland and revealed the type of colouration in this species. First, using the threshold approach we distinguished between continuous and discrete variations. Furthermore, the analyses affirmed nine discrete morphs in terms of the colouration on the head and eight on the pronotum, while only continuous variation were found on the other body parts. Measuring the size of a particular colour pattern, the intensity of colour expression (degree of melanization) and statistical analyses allowed an assessment of the intra-individual variation in both discrete and continuous patterns. The results revealed substantial modularity in the above mentioned colouration traits. In workers of F. rufa there were individuals with a dark head and light coloured thorax and vice a versa. Size of the dark pigment colour patterns exhibited less modularity than the degree of melanization. Finally, the interrelation between colouration traits and individual body size revealed their size-dependent origin. Small individuals had relatively larger areas of colour on the head and thorax than big individuals. These results are likely to facilitate further taxonomical and ecological studies on red wood ants, as they show it is possible to assess colouration traits in ants. However, more studies are needed on the function of polymorphism and modular colouration in this group of ants., Oksana Skaldina, Jouni Sorvari., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Nález kolonie mravence lužního na dubu na hrázi rybníka Vrkoč posouvá hranici recentního výskytu tohoto druhu o 15 km severozápadním směrem. Podle dosavadních terénních šetření jde o izolovanou kolonii, jejíž původ je nejasný. Obývaná lokalita se přitom velmi liší od preferovaného biotopu v podobě lesních porostů, protože jde o solitérní strom. Solitérní stromy či aleje přitom podle starších výzkumů využívá pouze 7 % kolonií tohoto druhu., A new colony of the ant species Liometopum microcephalum was found on the solitary oak tree growing on the dam of the pond Vrkoč near Pohořelice (southern Moravia). This discovery extends its recent distribution in the Czech Republic about 15 km to the north-west. The new colony is isolated and unusual in respect that only 7 % of south Moravian colonies are living on solitary trees or on trees in alleys., Antonín Krása., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The tiny land snail V. geyeri is a highly endangered species, exclusively inhabiting alkaline tree-less spring fens. After two unexpected findings in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, we explored this region more properly and found another 18 sites, including Nature Reserve Řeka with the richest known European population. V. geyeri is threatened mainly by hydrological changes, eutrophication and cessation of traditional management practices. and Veronika Schenková, Michal Horsák.
The Alcathoe bat, Myotis alcathoe von Helversen et Heller, 2001, has so far been re - corded in 16 European countries, including the Czech Republic. Our consultation with a linguist resulted in the change of the bat’s Czech name to netopýr alkathoe. and Jiří Gaisler, Vladimír Hanák.
Článek se věnuje nově popsanému rodu Oreojuncus Záveská Drábková et Kirschner, který zahrnuje dva druhy - Oreojuncus trifidus a Oreojuncus monanthos. V České republice se vyskytuje pouze O. trifidus, sítina horská trojklanná, které je věnována větší pozornost. Rod Oreojuncus byl tradičně zařazován mezi sítiny (Juncus) sekce Steirochloa, avšak na základě komplexního výzkumu zahrnujícího fylogenetickou analýzu molekulárních dat a revizi morfologie byl vyčleněn jako samostatný, osmý rod čeledi sítinovitých (Juncaceae)., The new genus Oreojuncus Záveská Drábková et Kirschner has been described, with two species - O. trifidus and O. monanthos. Attention is given to the first species, which occurs in the Czech Republic. The genus Oreojuncus has been traditionally included in the Juncus sect. Steirochloa; however, complex research based on phylogenetic analysis of the molecular data and morphological revision revealed the necessity to establish this eighth genus in the Juncaceae family., and Lenka Záveská Drábková.
The mechanism of sex determination is common for all honeybee species (Apis spp.) by the complementary sex determination (csd) gene. The csd gene has been studied in the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), the Eastern honey bee (Apis cerana F.) and the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.), whereas no studies had been conducted on the high altitude Himalayan or black giant honey bee, Apis laboriosa Smith. In the present study, we cloned the genomic exon 6 to exon 9 region of the A. laboriosa csd gene, and identified 13 csd haplotypes. The data was analyzed and compared with the other aforementioned three honeybee species. The results showed that, as with the other three Apis species, region 3 of the csd gene contains an RS domain at the N terminal, a proline-rich domain at the C terminal, and a hypervariable region in the middle. A phylogenetic tree showed that the csd haplotypes from A. laboriosa fell into one clade with those from A. dorsata, and were separated from those from the other two species, A. mellifera and A. cerana. The network map also showed that the csd haplotypes from A. laboriosa and A. dorsata are well mixed among each other, and do not form two separate branches. Pairwise Fst analysis revealed that the value between A. laboriosa and A. dorsata was very low (0.098), confirming a close relationship to exist between them., Huan Wang ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Ovsenka skalní (Chondrina avenacea) je plicnatý plž, který žije celoročně na holých vápencových skalách, kde dochází k drastickým denním i sezonním změnám ozáření, teploty, vlhkosti a také dostupnosti potravy. V článku popisujeme fyziologické a biochemické adaptivní mechanismy, které umožňují ovsenkám přežít na jejich extrémním stanovišti., Chondrina avenacea is a pulmonate snail dwelling on exposed rock walls where it experiences drastic daily and seasonal fluctuations of abiotic conditions and food availability. In this paper, we describe the physiological and biochemical adaptive mechanisms that allow the snails to survive in their extreme microhabitat., Vladimír Košťál, Jan Rozsypal, Pavel Pech., and Obsahuje seznam literatury