Do Queens of Bumblebee Species Differ In Their Choice Of Flower Colour Morphs Of Corydalis Cava (Fumariaceae)?

International audienceAbstractBumblebee queens require a continuous supply of flowering food plants from early spring for the successful development of annual colonies. Early in spring, Corydalis cava provides essential nectar and pollen resources and a choice of flower colour. In this paper, we examine flower colour choice (purple or white) in C. cava and verify the hypothesis that bumblebee queens differ in their choice of flower colour. A total of 10,615 observations of flower visits were made in spring 2011 and spring 2014 near Poznań, western Poland. Our results suggest that Bombus lucorum/cryptarum used purple flowers less, while Bombus terrestris used purple flowers more and Bombus hortorum showed no preference. Therefore, the colour morphs of C. cava are probably co-evolutionary adaptations to the development of another part of the insect community which has different colour preferences

Urban and rural habitats differ in number and type of bird feeders and in bird species consuming supplementary food

Bird feeding is one of the most widespread direct interactions between man and nature, and this has important social and environmental consequences. However, this activity can differ between rural and urban habitats, due to inter alia habitat structure, human behaviour and the composition of wintering bird communities. We counted birds in 156 squares (0.25 km(2) each) in December 2012 and again in January 2013 in locations in and around 26 towns and cities across Poland (in each urban area, we surveyed 3 squares and also 3 squares in nearby rural areas). At each count, we noted the number of bird feeders, the number of bird feeders with food, the type of feeders, additional food supplies potentially available for birds (bread offered by people, bins) and finally the birds themselves. In winter, urban and rural areas differ in the availability of food offered intentionally and unintentionally to birds by humans. Both types of food availability are higher in urban areas. Our findings suggest that different types of bird feeder support only those species specialized for that particular food type and this relationship is similar in urban and rural areas. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-015-4723-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

An assessment of genetic diversity following natural regeneration of Sorbus torminalis in the Forest District of Jamy (northern Poland)

The subject of the study was a population of Sorbus torminalis resulting from spontaneous regeneration from seeds in northern Poland at the north-eastern limit of the species distribution. The population, occupying a fenced plot of 1.72 ha in the Forest District of Jamy, amounted to 579 individuals of variable age classes up to about 19 years old. Six polymorphic gene loci: MDH-B, ME-A, 6PGD-B, ADH-B, PGM-A, PGM-B were studied in 532 individuals recruited post-fencing and 21 potentially parental, adult trees. The analysis showed similarly high levels of genetic diversity within both subsets of individuals but there was also a noticeable change in genetic structure between them. Detailed genetic analysis of the post-fencing recruits revealed lack of significant differences between different age groups based on DBH within the fenced plot