Environmental factors shaping ungulate abundances in Poland

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Winter Bird Assemblages in Rural and Urban Environments: A National Survey

Urban development has a marked effect on the ecological and behavioural traits of many living organisms, including birds. In this paper, we analysed differences in the numbers of wintering birds between rural and urban areas in Poland. We also analysed species richness and abundance in relation to longitude, latitude, human population size, and landscape structure. All these parameters were analysed using modern statistical techniques incorporating species detectability. We counted birds in 156 squares (0.25 km2 each) in December 2012 and again in January 2013 in locations in and around 26 urban areas across Poland (in each urban area we surveyed 3 squares and 3 squares in nearby rural areas). The influence of twelve potential environmental variables on species abundance and richness was assessed with Generalized Linear Mixed Models, Principal Components and Detrended Correspondence Analyses. Totals of 72 bird species and 89,710 individual birds were recorded in this study. On average (±SE) 13.3 ± 0.3 species and 288 ± 14 individuals were recorded in each square in each survey. A formal comparison of rural and urban areas revealed that 27 species had a significant preference; 17 to rural areas and 10 to urban areas. Moreover, overall abundance in urban areas was more than double that of rural areas. There was almost a complete separation of rural and urban bird communities. Significantly more birds and more bird species were recorded in January compared to December. We conclude that differences between rural and urban areas in terms of winter conditions and the availability of resources are reflected in different bird communities in the two environments

Congruence between breeding and wintering biodiversity hotspots: A case study in farmlands of Western Poland

Farmland landscapes are recognized as important ecosystems, not only for their rich biodiversity but equally so for the human beings who live and work in these places. However, biodiversity varies among sites (spatial change) and among seasons (temporal change). In this work, we tested the hypothesis that bird diversity hotspots distribution for breeding is congruent with bird diversity hotspots for wintering season, focusing also the representation of protected areas for the conservation of local hotspots. We proposed a framework based on the  use of species richness, functional diversity, and evolutionary distinctiveness to characterize avian communities. Although our findings show that the spatial distribution of local bird hotspots differed slightly between seasons, the protected areas’ representation was similar in both seasons. Protected areas covered 65% of the most important zones for breeding and 71% for the wintering season in the farmland studied. Functional diversity showed similar patterns as did bird species richness, but this measure can be most effective for highlighting differences on bird community composition. Evolutionary distinctiveness was less congruent with species richness and functional diversity, among seasons. Our findings suggest that inter-seasonal spatial congruence of local hotspots can be considered as suitable areas upon which to concentrate greater conservation efforts. However, even considering the relative congruence of avian diversity metrics at a local spatial scale, simultaneous analysis of protected areas while inter-seasonally considering hotspots, can provide a more complete representation of ecosystems for assessing the conservation status and designating priority areas

Seasonal changes in avian communities living in an extensively used farmland of Western Poland

To study the seasonal changes in avian communities, we collected data in an extensively used farmland in Western Poland during 2006-2013. Generalized additive mixed models were used in order to study the effects of seasonality and protected areas on the overall bird species richness. A similarity percentage analysis was also conducted in order to identify the species that contribute most strongly to dissimilarity among each bird according to the phenological season. Furthermore, the differences in bird communities were investigated applying the decomposition of the species richness in season, trend, and remainder components. Each season showed significant differences in bird species richness (seasonality effect). The effect of the protected areas was slightly positive on the overall species richness for all seasons. However, an overall negative trend was detected for the entire period of eight years. The bird community composition was different among seasons, showing differences in terms of dominant species. Greater differences were found between breeding and wintering seasons, in particular, the spatial pattern of sites with higher bird richness (hotspots) were different between breeding and wintering seasons. Our findings showed a negative trend in bird species richness verified in the Polish farmlands from 2006. This result mirrors the same negative trend already highlighted for Western Europe. The role of protected areas, even if slightly positive, was not enough to mitigate this decline process. Therefore, to effectively protect farmland birds, it is necessary to also consider inter-seasons variation, and for this, we suggest the use of medium-term temporal studies on bird communities’ trends

Simple yet effective: historical proximity variables improve the species distribution models for invasive giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum s.l.) in Poland

Species distribution models are scarcely applicable to invasive species because of their breaking of the models’ assumptions. So far, few mechanistic, semi-mechanistic or statistical solutions like dispersal constraints or propagule limitation have been applied. We evaluated a novel quasi-semi-mechanistic approach for regional scale models, using historical proximity variables (HPV) representing a state of the population in a given moment in the past. Our aim was to test the effects of addition of HPV sets of different minimal recentness, information capacity and the total number of variables on the quality of the species distribution model for Heracleum mantegazzianum on 116000 km2 in Poland. As environmental predictors, we used fragments of 103 1×1 km, world- wide, free-access rasters from WorldGrids.org. Single and ensemble models were computed using BIOMOD2 package 3.1.47 working in R environment 3.1.0. The addition of HPV improved the quality of single and ensemble models from poor to good and excellent. The quality was the highest for the variants with HPVs based on the distance from the most recent past occurrences. It was mostly affected by the algorithm type, but all HPV traits (minimal recentness, information capacity, model type or the number of the time periods) were significantly important determinants. The addition of HPVs improved the quality of current projections, raising the occurrence probability in regions where the species had occurred before. We conclude that HPV addition enables semi-realistic estimation of the rate of spread and can be applied to the short-term forecasting of invasive or declining species, which also break equal-dispersal probability assumptions

Spatial distribution of regional whole tree carbon stocks and fluxes of forests in Europe

This report presents carbon stocks and fluxes of the whole-tree biomass of European forests and other wooded land, distinguished into coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests. The results are presented at the European, the national and (where possible)the regional level. Results concerning carbon stock, net ecosystem production and net biome production for the whole-tree biomass were derived from a detailed European forest resource database and converted to carbon using biomass expansion factors. Uncertainties and differences from other estimates are discussed

Out of the Black Sea: Phylogeography of the Invasive Killer Shrimp Dikerogammarus villosus across Europe

The amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus has colonized most of the European main inland water bodies in less than 20 years, having deteriorating effect on the local benthic communities. Our aim was to reveal the species phylogeography in the native Black Sea area, to define the source populations for the colonization routes in continental Europe and for the newly established UK populations. We tested for the loss of genetic diversity between source and invasive populations as well as along invasion route. We tested also for isolation by distance. Thirty three native and invasive populations were genotyped for mtDNA (COI, 16S) and seven polymorphic nuclear microsatellites to assess cryptic diversity (presence of deeply divergent lineages), historical demography, level of diversity within lineage (e.g., number of alleles), and population structure. A wide range of methods was used, including minimum spanning network, molecular clock, Bayesian clustering and Mantel test. Our results identified that sea level and salinity changes during Pleistocene impacted the species phylogeography in the Black Sea native region with four differentiated populations inhabiting, respectively, the Dnieper, Dniester, Danube deltas and Durungol liman. The invasion of continental Europe is associated with two sources, i.e., the Danube and Dnieper deltas, which gave origin to two independent invasion routes (Western and Eastern) for which no loss of diversity and no isolation by distance were observed. The UK population has originated in the Western Route and, despite very recent colonization, no drastic loss of diversity was observed. The results show that the invasion of the killer shrimp is not associated with the costs of loosing genetic diversity, which may contribute to the success of this invader in the newly colonized areas. Additionally, while it has not yet occurred, it might be expected that future interbreeding between the genetically diversified populations from two independent invasion routes will potentially even enhance this success

Patterns and correlates of claims for brown bear damage on a continental scale

Wildlife damage to human property threatens human-wildlife coexistence. Conflicts arising from wildlife damage in intensively managed landscapes often undermine conservation efforts, making damage mitigation and compensation of special concern for wildlife conservation. However, the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of damage and claims at large scales are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the patterns of damage caused by brown bears Ursus arctos and its ecological and socio-economic correlates at a continental scale. We compiled information about compensation schemes across 26 countries in Europe in 2005-2012 and analysed the variation in the number of compensated claims in relation to (i) bear abundance, (ii) forest availability, (iii) human land use, (iv) management practices and (v) indicators of economic wealth. Most European countries have a posteriori compensation schemes based on damage verification, which, in many cases, have operated for more than 30 years. On average, over 3200 claims of bear damage were compensated annually in Europe. The majority of claims were for damage to livestock (59%), distributed throughout the bear range, followed by damage to apiaries (21%) and agriculture (17%), mainly in Mediterranean and eastern European countries. The mean number of compensated claims per bear and year ranged from 0·1 in Estonia to 8·5 in Norway. This variation was not only due to the differences in compensation schemes; damage claims were less numerous in areas with supplementary feeding and with a high proportion of agricultural land. However, observed variation in compensated damage was not related to bear abundance. Synthesis and applications. Compensation schemes, management practices and human land use influence the number of claims for brown bear damage, while bear abundance does not. Policies that ignore this complexity and focus on a single factor, such as bear population size, may not be effective in reducing claims. To be effective, policies should be based on integrative schemes that prioritize damage prevention and make it a condition of payment of compensation that preventive measures are applied. Such integrative schemes should focus mitigation efforts in areas or populations where damage claims are more likely to occur. Similar studies using different species and continents might further improve our understanding of conflicts arising from wildlife damage

Aeromycology: studies of fungi in aeroplankton

Air is a natural environment for spores of many genera and species of fungi. Despite its small size and a significant dispersion they have a great impact on human health and different areas of our activities, such as agricultural production. The study on spores of fungi that belong to aeroplankton or bioaerosole is called aeromycology. The most frequent fungi present in the air are Cladosporium and Alternaria species. Their numbers are abundant regardless of latitude and height above the sea level and above the ground. They mostly originate from agricultural environment. Other frequently listed species of fungi, whose spores are present in the air include of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Sclerotinia and Ganoderma. The concentration of spores in the air strongly depends on the abundance of their formation during the studied period. This in turn relates to geobotanical region, vegetation, degree of urbanization, climatic conditions, season, current weather, wind force and direction, local microclimate, and many other factors. Changes in humidity affect the concentration of different types of fungal spores. In general they are divided to ‘dry’ (Alternaria, Cladosporium, Puccinia, Ustilago, Melampsora, Epicoccum, Drechslera) and ‘wet’ (Didymella, Fusarium, Ganoderma, Gliocladium, Leptosphaeria, Verticillium). Study of the composition of species and genera are being done using different types of spore samplers, mostly volumetric instruments. Visual identification is based on colony morphology of the fungus and the shape and size of spores. The identification at the species level is possible with molecular tools. Methods based on DNA/RNA amplification are very sensitive and accurate. They allow the identification below the species level, e.g. chemotypes, mating types or isolates with genes or alleles of interest. Aerobiological monitoring is widely used in the epidemiology of human diseases (inhalant allergies) and infections of arable crops (decision support systems for the protection of cultivated plants). Aeromycology is interconnected with such diverse areas as industrial aerobiology, bioterrorism, ecology, climatology or even speleology and cultural heritage.Powietrze jest naturalnym środowiskiem dla zarodników licznych rodzajów i gatunków grzybów. Pomimo niewielkich rozmiarów i znacznego rozproszenia mają one wielki wpływ na zdrowie ludzi i różne kierunki ich działalności, w tym w szczególności na produkcję rolniczą. Badania nad zarodnikami grzybów stanowiącymi część aeroplanktonu są przedmiotem aeromykologii. Niezależnie od szerokości geograficznej i wysokości nad poziomem morza w powietrzu szczególnie często występują grzyby z rodzajów Cladosporium i Alternaria, a ich źródłem jest najczęściej środowisko rolnicze. Innymi często notowanymi rodzajami grzybów, których zarodniki występują w powietrzu są m.in. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Sclerotinia i Ganoderma. Stężenie zarodników w powietrzu jest ściśle uzależnione od obfitości ich tworzenia w danym okresie, co jest pochodną regionu geobotanicznego, szaty roślinnej, stopnia zurbanizowania danej lokalizacji, warunków klimatycznych, pory roku, aktualnej pogody, siły i kierunku wiatru, lokalnego mikroklimatu i wielu innych czynników. Zmiany wilgotności powietrza wpływają na stężenie zarodników różnych rodzajów grzybów, określanych na tej podstawie jako „suche” (Alternaria, Cladosporium, Puccinia, Ustilago, Melampsora, Epicoccum, Drechslera) lub „mokre” (Didymella, Fusarium, Ganoderma, Gliocladium, Leptosphaeria, Verticillium). Badania składu rodzajowego i gatunkowego prowadzone są przy zastosowaniu różnego rodzaju chwytaczy zarodników, a identyfikacja wizualna na podstawie morfologii kolonii grzyba oraz kształtu i wymiarów zarodników uzupełniana jest obecnie przez wyjątkowo czułe metody detekcji molekularnej, specyficzne względem rodzajów, gatunków, chemotypów, a nawet składu genów i kompozycji poszczególnych alleli. Monitoring aerobiologiczny znajduje bezpośrednie wykorzystanie w epidemiologii chorób ludzi (alergologia) i roślin uprawnych (systemy wspierania decyzji w ochronie roślin uprawnych). Badania z zakresu aeromykologii znajdują zastosowanie w tak różnych kierunkach jak aerobiologia przemysłowa, bioterroryzm, ekologia, dziedzictwo kulturowe, klimatologia lub speleologia