Local populations of endangered Maculinea (Phengaris) butterflies are flood resistant

Semi-natural wet meadows are threatened by drainage, the abandonment of traditional management and climate change. The large blue butterflies Maculinea teleius and M. nausithous are flagship species associated with wet meadows and are the targets of many conservation programmes. However, there is little knowledge on the impact of natural catastrophes, such as floods, on the persistence of these butterflies. In our study we tested how a flood that resulted in the temporary inundation of meadows affected populations of M. teleius and M. nausithous. Studies were conducted in two consecutive seasons of 2009 (with ‘normal’ weather) and 2010 (with extreme rainfall and a consequent flood in May) in a wet meadow complex located in the Vistula River valley in southern Poland. In both years the abundance of adults was estimated for each local habitat patch (n = 55) within sympatric metapopulations of both species. Additionally, in June 2010, i.e. directly after the flood and shortly before the flight period, a total of 754 Myrmica ant nests in 10 habitat patches (6 inundated vs. 4 not inundated) were checked for the presence of Maculinea larvae and pupae. We found no impact of inundation on year-to-year changes in adult population sizes. The probability of occurrence of Maculinea larvae and pupae in ant nests was higher in temporarily inundated meadows. Our results indicate that temporary inundation occurring after long-term downpours does not negatively affect the investigated species even during the larval period in ant nests at ground level. This provides an argument against drainage works in wet meadows with Maculinea butterflies

First record and DNA barcodes of the invasive blue-coloured spiny-cheek crayfish Faxonius limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) (Decapoda: Cambaridae)

This contribution presents first record of a blue colour morph of spiny-cheek crayfish, Faxonius limosus (Rafinesque, 1817). Two unusually coloured individuals were caught in Poland, in two different locations, separated from each other by approximately 500 km and belonging to different river catchments (Oder and Vistula), within the range of the species occurrence in Europe. Taxonomic identification of collected crayfish has been confirmed by the standard DNA barcoding procedure. Although blue coloured forms of crayfish have been previously described within the Cambaridae family, collected individuals are the first records of blue colouration within F. limosus. It is recommended to supplement identification keys with a new colour form of the species, which, while characteristic dark red bands are not clear, may cause mistakes in recognition of exotic, aquarium as well as native species

Corrosion behaviour of FE and NI-based alloys in solar salt and corrosion mitigation strategies via protective coatings

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the corrosion behaviour of commercial and model Fe- and Ni-based alloys in solar salt at 600°C. The thermal decomposition of nitrate salts led to an increasing concentration of oxidizing agents in the salt melt and thus to a higher corrosion rate. For Fe-based alloys, the oxide scales contained a Na- and Fe-rich outer layer, followed by an inner Cr-rich layer and nitridation as well as Cr-depletion was observed at the scale/metal interface. Furthermore, higher extent of chloride impurities in solar salt, led to a significantly higher corrosion rate for ferritic-martensitic alloys. For Ni-based alloys, the formation of a duplex scale consisting of a NiO outer and Ni-Cr spinel layer showed protective character during isothermal exposure; however even for Ni-based alloys, Cr was detected in the salt melt, which showed evidence for its dissolution in the melt as toxic hexavalent Cr. Diffusion aluminide and electroless Ni-P coatings deposited on cost-efficient ferriticmartensitic alloys led to formation of protective oxide scales and hindered the Cr-dissolution into the salt melt.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio