First records of Opilio saxatilis C. L. Koch, 1839 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from Serbia

We report the first record of Opilio saxatilis C. L. Koch, 1839 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from Serbia. The species was observed in the alluvium of the Tisa River in the Special Nature Reserve Ritovi donjeg Potisja

The associations between ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities and environmental condition in floodplain forests in the Pannonian Basin

We studied assemblages of carabids in eight similar habitats, five in Slovakia and three in Serbia. The ground beetles were caught by pitfall traps from February 2015 until November 2016. We compared the incidence of Carabidae in floodplain forests and ecotones alongside the River Danube in Slovakia and the Rivers Tisza and Begej in Serbia. We determined their association with anthropogenic effects,diversity of plants in the different vegetation layers, cover of vegetation layers (herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees), area of forest stands, circumference of forest stands, distance to forest edge, age of forest stands, depth of leaf litter and physico-chemical properties of soil and leaf litter (conductivity, pH, relative content of H, C, P and N). In total, 2,495 adult individuals of 110 species of carabids were collected. The total epigeic activity of the carabids was significantly and positively associated with the number of species of plants in E3 vegetation layer and the relative content of N, and negatively with the cover of the E1 layer. Species richness was significantly positively associated with the number of species of plants in the E3 layer and the pH of leaf litter, but an opposite trend in evenness

Changes in Diversity and Structure of Thrips (Thysanoptera) Assemblages in the Spruce Forest Stands of High Tatra Mts. after a Windthrow Calamity

Strong winds, fire, and subsequent forest management impact arthropod communities. We monitored the diversity and changes in the community structure of forest thrips assemblages in the context of secondary succession and anthropogenic impact. There were eight study plots that were affected to varying degrees by the mentioned disturbances that were selected in the Central European spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests in Slovakia. The soil photoeclectors were used to obtain thrips in the study plots during two vegetation seasons. The thrips assemblages and their attributes were analyzed by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). The significant changes in community structure, composition, stratification, species richness, and diversity of thrips assemblages that were caused by natural- (wind) and human-induced disturbance (forestry and fire) were observed in our research. Our analyses revealed a clear relationship between different thrips assemblages and impacted environment. Moreover, our results indicate that silvicolous thrips species may be useful for indicating changes and disturbances in forest ecological systems