The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of macrophyte communities in thirty small, temporary ponds over a period of ten years

Ponds are important habitats within many landscapes because of the diversity of wildlife they support. This arises in part because of the heterogeneity of ecological communities found in neighbouring ponds but this variation has proved difficult to explain. Chance and unrecorded historic events have often been emphasised as explanations. This study describes the development of spatial heterogeneity and the role of historic events in the development of pond plant macrophyte communities from the ponds' creation until ten later using thirty small, adjacent temporary ponds in Northumberland. Plant communities showed significant spatial variation from the first year onwards. Metacommunity spatial patterns changed over time but even after ten years several distinct macrophyte communities persisted in different ponds. The outcome was that a greater variety of pond communities persisted than was likely if a single, larger pond had been created on the site. The spatial patterns of the plants communities were compared to spatial variation of summer dry-phase and winter inundation. Macrophyte heterogeneity appeared to result from deterministic change which would have been difficult to detect in a snap-shot survey not knowing the history of the ponds. Winter inundation showed significant spatial trends every year which mirrored the changing distribution of macrophyte communities between ponds. The proximate influence of the inundation is ultimately determined by the position of each pond in the landscape so that the marked spatial and temporal heterogeneity of plant communities was strongly influenced by small scale variation in hydrology. The results suggest that the heterogeneity of pondlife across a landscape may be deterministic when recorded over a longer time period and not due to chance, but that the determining environmental factors are highly contingent on the locality of the pond

Coping with Temperature at the Warm Edge – Patterns of Thermal Adaptation in the Microbial Eukaryote Paramecium caudatum

Ectothermic organisms are thought to be severely affected by global warming since their physiological performance is directly dependent on temperature. Latitudinal and temporal variations in mean temperatures force ectotherms to adapt to these complex environmental conditions. Studies investigating current patterns of thermal adaptation among populations of different latitudes allow a prediction of the potential impact of prospective increases in environmental temperatures on their fitness.In this study, temperature reaction norms were ascertained among 18 genetically defined, natural clones of the microbial eukaryote Paramecium caudatum. These different clones have been isolated from 12 freshwater habitats along a latitudinal transect in Europe and from 3 tropical habitats (Indonesia). The sensitivity to increasing temperatures was estimated through the analysis of clone specific thermal tolerances and by relating those to current and predicted temperature data of their natural habitats. All investigated European clones seem to be thermal generalists with a broad thermal tolerance and similar optimum temperatures. The weak or missing co-variation of thermal tolerance with latitude does not imply local adaptation to thermal gradients; it rather suggests adaptive phenotypic plasticity among the whole European subpopulation. The tested Indonesian clones appear to be locally adapted to the less variable, tropical temperature regime and show higher tolerance limits, but lower tolerance breadths.Due to the lack of local temperature adaptation within the European subpopulation, P. caudatum genotypes at the most southern edge of their geographic range seem to suffer from the predicted increase in magnitude and frequency of summer heat waves caused by climate change

Nova fala Ukraińskiej migracji do Polski w kontekście powodów do migracji i postrzeganie Ukraińców

Ukraina jest krajem o dużej migracji, miliony Ukraińców podróżuje do innych krajów, aby znaleźć ‘lepsze życie’. Niewiele ponad połowy tych migrantów podróżuje dla pracy i edukacji do Unii Europejskiej. Pierwszym krajem, który widzą ukraińscy migranci, jest Polska. Kraj-sąsiad, który ułatwił system dla ukraińskich pracowników sezonowych, różnych programów dla ukraińskich studentów i wiele innych świadczeń, które ludzie z Ukrainy uważają za bardzo atrakcyjne. Tak więc napływ Ukraińców do Polski rośnie każdego roku, stając się problemem społecznym dla obu krajów. Ze względu na to, że w ramach pracy magisterskiej zostanie zbadana współczesna migracja ukraińskich pracowników i studentów do Polski, ich motywy, poczucie pobytu w takim kraju przyjmującym jak Polska, a także ich postrzeganie przez Polaków i plany na przyszłość w granicach tego kraju. Dwie grupy osób będą badane metodą wywiadu, żeby zapewnić szerszy obraz migracji osób w różnym wieku. Pomoże to również głębiej zrozumieć, dlaczego Ukraińcy kontynuują migrację dokładnie do Polski, niezależnie od tego, czy ten kraj jest tylko pierwszym krokiem na drodze do Europy Zachodniej.Ukraine is a migration-intensive country, millions of Ukrainians travel to other countries in order to find ‘a better life’. Slightly over a half of these migrants travel for work and education to the European Union. The first country, which is saw by Ukrainian migrants is Poland. The country-neighbor, which have facilitated system for Ukrainian seasonal workers, different programmes for Ukrainian students and many other benefits, which people from Ukraine consider very attractive. Thus, flows of Ukrainians to Poland are rising each year, becoming a social problem for both countries. Due to the fact, in that Master Thesis will be examined contemporary migration of Ukrainian workers and students to Poland, their motives, feeling of living in such a host country as a Poland, as well as, their perception by Poles and plans for future within this country. Two different groups of people will be researched by interviewing, that is why it could provide broader picture of migration of people of different ages. Also, will help to understand deeper why Ukrainians proceed migrating exactly to Poland, whether that country is just the first step on the road to Western Europe

Complexity of river ciliate communities at a National Park highlights the need for microbial conservation

Microorganisms play pivotal roles in aquatic ecosystems. Free‐living protists are the main components of the eukaryotic microbial communities at the base of freshwater ecosystems. Ciliate grazing channels a large proportion of organic matter into multicellular organisms. Surprisingly, ciliates and other microorganisms are neglected in global conservation schemes. Interstitial ciliates were sampled in three sites of varying human pressure on the River Manzanares (La Pedriza National Park, Spain). Abundances of trophic groups and species were adjusted to a generalized linear model (GLM Poisson regression). Ciliate communities were rich in species (74 morphotypes) and although traditional microscopy retrieved a high number of species that appeared only once or in low numbers, rarefaction analyses estimated much larger species richness. These results illustrate that rarefaction assays are a useful first step for exploring the extent of the ciliate cryptic diversity in freshwater ecosystems. Benthic ciliate communities changed significantly, both spatially and at a short temporal scale. The fluctuating nature of the community was manifested by the presence of many ephemeral species at the same river site, revealing a complex and transient community structure. No significant short‐term changes were observed in the physical–chemical properties. Therefore, even slight differences in the abiotic variables may cause rapid shifts of ciliate species. Overall, human pressure had an effect on the interstitial (or benthic) ciliates that resulted in a reduction of species richness and their abundance.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO‐ Spain), Project MICROEPICS (Ref: CGL2013‐40851‐P/BOS 2014‐2018; PI. M. Martín Cereceda)