Somatic and population adaptations of Polysarcus denticauda (Orthoptera) in extreme altitudes

Altitudinal preferences, somatic and population adaptations in different ecological conditions were analysed in flightless bush-cricket species Polysarcus denticauda (Charpentier, 1825). Altitudinal analysis was performed in GIS software (more than 60 sites in Slovakia, Central Europe). Seasonal occurrence and population density were recorded in selected sites. To compare differences, absolute values of measurements (length of body, hind femur and tibia, cerci and weight) and Body Condition Index were taken from males. Study species prefers mesophilous montane up to alpine meadows in higher elevations (over 600 m a.s.l.). The development started over one month earlier in lowlands and populations reached several fold higher density there. Males from lowlands had body parameters significantly bigger apart from cerci. Cerci were significantly longer in males from mountains. However, males of the same size were significantly heavier in higher altitudes. In conclusion, refuges of montane meadows ecosystem support species survival nowadays

Breeding behaviour and cluster breeding of the Goosander (Mergus merganser) in urban environment

Urbanization leads to the biotic homogenization. Some species adapt, others do not tolerate the changes caused by urbanization and disappear. One of the more tolerant species seems to be the Goosander Mergus merganser. In 2019–2023 (during 755 days/checks in February–May), we analyzed its breeding behaviour, abundance, location of nests, breeding phenology and breeding success in the Spa Park of Piešťany in western Slovakia (n=20 nests on nine trees). Pair behaviour prior to copulation and incubation and adult food were described. Copulations started on February 11 (n=11 pairs), the mean 1st egg date was recalculated on March 11 (n=9 nests), young (average number 10.7/ nest, n=9 nests) left the cavity on average April 24, which is earlier as in the north of the species range. All the nests (n = 20) were located on nine Populus nigra poplars at an average height of 19.5 m, when the mean distance of nest from the nearest operating building was 46 m and its mean distance from the water level 117.5 m. Predation of young by crows and gulls, and tolerance to hetero- and homospecific nesting on the same tree were also described. In the diet of adults, mainly smaller fish (< 10 cm length) were found, e.g. Alburnus alburnus (80%), more rarely bigger fish >20 cm, e.g. Rutilus rutilus (7%), small freshwater mussels <3cm (10%), and the aquatic plants only seldom (3% of observations)

Arthropod communities in fungal fruitbodies are weakly structured by climate and biogeography across European beech forests

Aim The tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius is a pivotal wood decomposer in European beech Fagus sylvatica forests. The fungus, however, has regionally declined due to centuries of logging. To unravel biogeographical drivers of arthropod communities associated with this fungus, we investigated how space, climate and habitat amount structure alpha and beta diversity of arthropod communities in fruitbodies of F. fomentarius. Location Temperate zone of Europe. Taxon Arthropods. Methods We reared arthropods from fruitbodies sampled from 61 sites throughout the range of European beech and identified 13 orders taxonomically or by metabarcoding. We estimated the total number of species occurring in fruitbodies of F. fomentarius in European beech forests using the Chao2 estimator and determined the relative importance of space, climate and habitat amount by hierarchical partitioning for alpha diversity and generalized dissimilarity models for beta diversity. A subset of fungi samples was sequenced for identification of the fungus’ genetic structure. Results The total number of arthropod species occurring in fruitbodies of F. fomentarius across European beech forests was estimated to be 600. Alpha diversity increased with increasing fruitbody biomass; it decreased with increasing longitude, temperature and latitude. Beta diversity was mainly composed by turnover. Patterns of beta diversity were only weakly linked to space and the overall explanatory power was low. We could distinguish two genotypes of F. fomentarius, which showed no spatial structuring. Main conclusion Fomes fomentarius hosts a large number of arthropods in European beech forests. The low biogeographical and climatic structure of the communities suggests that fruitbodies represent a habitat that offers similar conditions across large gradients of climate and space, but are characterized by high local variability in community composition and colonized by species with high dispersal ability. For European beech forests, retention of trees with F. fomentarius and promoting its recolonization where it had declined seems a promising conservation strategy

Zur Bedeutung von Weberknechten (Opiliones) in der Nestlingsnahrung

Volume: 11Start Page: 43End Page: 4

FIGURE 4 in An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia

FIGURE 4. Distribution of 17 Orthoptera species in Slovakia (marks represent location of mapping sites; in combined maps, an open circle denotes the second species from the map heading).Published as part of Krištín, Anton, Jarčuška, Benjamín & Kaňuch, Peter, 2020, An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia, pp. 207-241 in Zootaxa 4869 (2) on page 216, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4869.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/441855

Habitat-conditioned feeding behaviour in Barbitistes constrictus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

Some insect herbivores can regulate their nourishment intake by different feeding behaviour. This mechanism allows them to persist with utilising different food resources according to the composition of the vegetation within their habitats. Using a two-choice experiment, we analysed foraging behaviour in females of the tree-dwelling bush-cricket Barbitistes constrictus (Orthoptera), which originated from two different forest habitats, spruce and beech forest. We found that individuals from the spruce forest mainly foraged on needle tips, and thus they nibbled more needles per day than individuals from the beech forest (medians 106.0 vs. 42.5; p < 0.0001). However, when the contents of droppings were dissected, the volume of consumed spruce was similar in both groups of bush-crickets (median > 90%), which is explained by the different feeding techniques of bush-crickets from different habitats. We propose possible scenarios for bush-cricket feeding adaptations to the deleterious effects of the host plant chemical compounds serving as a plant defence against herbivores

PLATE 1 in An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia

PLATE 1. Endemics and endangered Ensifera species in Slovakia: a) Isophya beybienkoi, b) Isophya fatrensis, c) Pseudochorthippus tatrae, d) Chorthippus smardai, e) Poecilimon fussii, f) Gampsocleis glabra, g) Pholidoptera frivaldszkyi, h) Pachytrachis gracilis, i). Rhacocleis germanica, j) Saga pedo. (all the photos A. Krištín)Published as part of Krištín, Anton, Jarčuška, Benjamín & Kaňuch, Peter, 2020, An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia, pp. 207-241 in Zootaxa 4869 (2) on page 221, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4869.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/441855

An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia

Krištín, Anton, Jarčuška, Benjamín, Kaňuch, Peter (2020): An annotated checklist of crickets, grasshoppers and their allies (Orthoptera) in Slovakia. Zootaxa 4869 (2): 207-241, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4869.2.

Data from: Null model analyses of temporal patterns of bird assemblages and their foraging guilds revealed the predominance of positive and random associations

Patterns of species associations have been commonly used to infer interactions among species. If species positively co-occur they may form predominantly neutral assemblages and such patterns suggest a relatively weak role for compensatory dynamics. The main objective of this study was to test this prediction on temporal samples of bird assemblages (n = 19, 10−57 years) by presence/absence and quantitative null models on assemblage and guild levels. These null model outcomes were further analysed to evaluate the effects of various dataset characteristics on the outcomes of the null models. The analysis of two binary null models in combination with three association indices revealed 20 % with significant aggregations, 61 % with random associations and only 19 % with significant segregations (n = 95 simulations). The results of the quantitative null model simulations detected more none-random associations: 61 % aggregations, 6 % random associations and 33 % segregations (n = 114 simulations). Similarly, quantitative analyses on guild levels showed 58 % aggregations, 20 % segregations and 22 % random associations (n = 450 simulations). Bayesian GLMs detected that the outcomes of the binary and quantitative null models applied to the assemblage analyses were significantly related to census plot size, whereas the outcomes of the quantitative analyses were also related to the mean population densities of species in the data matrices. In guild level analyses, only 9 % of the GLMs showed a significant influence of matrix properties (plot size, matrix size, species richness, and mean species population densities) on the null model outcomes. The results did not show the prevalence of negative associations that would have supported compensatory dynamics. Instead, we assume that a similar response of the majority of species to climate-driven and stochastic factors may be responsible for the revealed predominance of positive associations