Modifications in the structure of the lichen Cladonia thallus in the aftermath of habitat contamination and implications for its heavy-metal accumulation capacity

Phenotypic traits of lichens can be greatly modified by environmental factors. Granulose thalli on soil and podetia, densely covered with granules, referring to common and widespread lichen Cladonia cervicornis subsp. verticillata were found near zinc smelter. The granules are stratified, filled with fungal medulla and heavily encrusted with calcium oxalate weddellite crystals, not observed on regularly developed thalli of the species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that deformed granulose forms belong to this taxon, showing that the phenotypic plasticity of the lichens of Cladonia can lead to the emergence of features that do not coincide with the taxonomic definition of the species. The heavy-metal accumulation capacity of both granulose and regular form of primary and secondary lichen thallus, in relation to the element content in corresponding substrate, was determined. Granulose-modified thalli accumulate greater amounts of heavy metals than regular ones, meaning that the bioaccumulation property of a given species may be greatly affected by morphological modifications. The granulose forms are also characterised by considerably higher ratios of Cd, Pb and As concentrations in lichen samples in relation to the corresponding substrates than regular ones. This means that collection of variously formed thalli should be avoided in biomonitoring sampling procedures. The results indicate that a substantial part of the element load, in particular zinc, in the examined lichen thalli collected near the smelter originates from atmospheric fallout

High intraspecific genetic and morphological variation in the pioneer lichen Cladonia rei colonising slag dumps

This study investigates the genetic and morphological variability of the lichen Cladonia rei inhabiting strongly contaminated postsmelting slag dumps in southern Poland. Altogether, 27 C. rei samples were analysed, including 17 from a single population in one dump. The phylogenetic analysis includes samples of C. rei, outgroup species, and external sequences of Cladonia section representatives from GenBank. Comparative analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences revealed the presence of 19 C. rei haplotypes overall, including several of the most frequent, of which 11 are represented by single individuals only. As many as 12 haplotypes were recorded within a single population. Three strongly supported monophyletic clades comprised of specimens from different geographical regions were recovered. Morphometric analysis showed great phenotypic variability within particular clades. Apart from a full range of previously known morphological forms of the species, an additional specific morphotype was recognised in the dumps; however, its representatives do not create a monophyletic group. High genetic variability within a single population suggests that C. rei has a great potential for colonising anthropogenic habitats. This attribute emphasises the role of this lichen as an essential pioneer in the early stages of natural regeneration of such sites

Intraspecific molecular variation of Allium ursinum (Amaryllidaceae) across the border of two subspecies distribution ranges

The study investigates the genetic differentiation among two subspecies of Allium ursinumL., namely A. ursinumsubsp. ursinumand subsp. ucrainicumas well as their putative hybrid that is represented by individuals withintermediate morphology. Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) were applied to determine the status of inter-mediate morphotypes in terms of their genetic pattern and to assess the level of genetic variability within andbetween various populations of A. ursinum. The study comprises 144 specimens from nine populations alongthe east-west transect in Poland, which includes localities of both subspecies and their putative hybrid. Amongthe examined populations, 48 bands were amplified, of which 45 were found to be polymorphic. The principalcoordinate analysis (PCoA), the neighbour-net analysis and Mantel test showed a strong correlation betweengenetic variability and geographic distance. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that a greater pro-portion of total genetic variation resided within populations rather than among them. The Structure Bayesianclustering analysis revealed the presence of three distinct genetic groups within studied populations, where 'east-ern' genotypes correspond to A. ursinumsubsp. ucrainicum, and 'western' to subsp. ursinum; whereas the thirdgenetic group has the largest share in the individuals occurring at the border of the distribution ranges of bothsubspecies. The emergence of the third genetic group is probably an effect of hybridization events occurring with-in the secondary contact zone. Typical morphologically intermediate populations occur only in a relatively nar-row geographical zone, but the hybrid zone revealed by molecular markers is actually much wider than it is sug-gested by the morphological pattern of individuals. The current distribution pattern of both subspecies of A. ursinumand their hybrid zone is related to the two main directions of postglacial migration of Fagus syl-vaticato the area of Poland. The hybrid zone arose as an effect of the secondary contact of two divergent line-ages of A. ursinum

Kniaziowie, królowie, carowie... : tytuły i nazwy władców słowiańskich we wczesnym średniowieczu

The work is devoted to titles and names of Slavic rulers used in early Middle Ages. It also discusses ethnically Slavic proper names as well as those taken from other languages, among others from Greek and Latin. The author presents traditions of imperious titles in the area of whole Slavdom — both its east, west and south part. The analysis covers titles used in the whole period of early Middle Ages, i.e. till the end of the 12th century. The first chapter discusses the titles taken from the circle of Bizantic culture, above all the title of archont and the emperor’s title. A fairly general title of archont used by the Greeks to name the rulers was taken by Slavs as the title of ruler and was used by Bulgarian rulers until Simeon became an emperor and by Russian rulers who used it in their own titles on stamps at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. In the second chapter the author deals with the most popular native term designating a ruler, i.e. the title of prince and all its derivative forms. Contrary to many linguists perceiving the very word as a Gottish borrowing from “kuning” there is no evidence proving this. What decided here was the lack of its term in the monuments of the Gottish language. In order to illustrate the mechanism of the appearance of the neutral form of “prince” in the Czech language and “prince” in the Polish language the analogical 16th century language material from Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie was used, where under the influence of the Polish impact the form of “kniaze” in the neutral form was created in Russian. The subsequent chapter was devoted to the title of king — rex. The author presented many situations of the usage of the term for Slavic rulers in early Middle Ages assuming that it was as late as at the beginning of the 11th century that the usage of the very term for crowned and solemn kings. On the basis of the analysis of the context of occurrence of the term rex for Slavic rulers before the 11th century it was assumed the very term did not mean the crowned ruler, but meant just the ruler at that time. The author is against using the term king for Świętopełek from Morawy, and does not see the basis for treating the theory on the coronation of Tomisław from Croatia in 925 as true. The work approves of the linguists’ thesis according to which the Slavic “king” comes from the name of Karol Wielki. The time of introducing the very term is postponed until the beginning of the 11th century and links with the emperor ideology of Otto’s times, especially Otto III. At this time the first coronations and royal solemnity in southern Europe took place and, according to the author, the title of the king spread equally, both in Slavs and Hungarians. The author also analyses the situations when the royal title appears among the rulers of small territories in the area of Połab. Despite many different exclusive theories, the possible coronation and usage of the royal title by Henryk Gotszalkowic, Kanut Laward and Przybysław-Henryk, the ruler of Stodoran are accepted. Chapter four and five are devoted to less common terms defining rulers such as żupan, gospodzin, kagan, władyka, ban and the like. The author also pays attention to certain terminological-stylistic conventions which can be noticed in narrative texts where different terms for Slavic rulers are used. In view of an often worse treatment of Slavic princes the identical terms for the rulers were avoided. It is particularly visible in German texts treating about Slovaks from Połab. The analysis also covered the general term of “princeps” too often used in narrative texts and also belonging to titles. In the whole work, the author makes an attempt to show how the traditions of naming and titling changed with the acceptation of new traditions from the circle of Bizantic and western-European culture. Slavic rulers taking on a new ruling symbolism, also took on new titles most often aiming at showing a new position of the ruler. In order to better show the changes in the ruling titles and a full documentation of the theses included in the work, it was enriched with a comparison of all Slavic rulers appearing in early Middle Ages and titles used for their naming or the ones in their titles

ROLA MUZEÓW WE WSPÓŁPRACY MIĘDZY REGIONAMI EUROPY

Od kilku lat coraz bardziej wyraziste stają się dwa ważne społeczne procesy. Z jednej strony – odbudowa i umacnianie samorządu, i to na wszystkich poziomach, z drugiej – europejska integracja oraz powstanie realnej współpracy międzyregionalnej.Współpraca międzyregionalna staje się bowiem coraz bardziej ścisła, wpisując się we współpracę międzynarodową i politykę zagraniczną państwa. To prawda, że wiele osób nie tylko myli kompetencje marszałka i wojewody, ale i nie ma pojęcia o istnieniu samorządu województwa. To prawda, że na poziomie województwa trudno mówić o regionalnej wspólnocie samorządowej, że poczucie małopolskiej tożsamości jest nikłe. Ale z drugiej strony młody polski samorząd województwa jest aktywnym podmiotem sceny międzynarodowej, nie tylko realizując konkretne projekty, ale i zabierając głos w sprawach ważnych dla całej wspólnoty międzynarodowej. I w tej dziedzinie możemy być dumni z naszej regionu, z Małopolski. To właśnie Małopolska podjęła udaną próbę nadania nowego kierunku współpracy pomiędzy państwami grupy wyszehradzkiej poprzez Forum Regionów Wyszehradzkich. Nie bez powodu jedną z pierwszych inicjatyw podjętych na Forum było zorganizowanie Festiwalu Kultury Regionów Wyszehradzkich. Bo przecież to współpraca kulturalna, choć wcale nie najłatwiejsza, najbardziej zbliża i ludzi, i narody

Słowiańskie wiece plemienne

Przedstawienie znaczenia i miejsca zgromadzenia ludowego w strukturze plemiennej wczesnośredniowiecznej Słowiańszczyzny nie jest zadaniem prostym. Szczególną trudność sprawia nikła i dość wyrywkowa baza źró­dłowa. Z okresu co najmniej pół tysiąca lat trwania Słowian w ustroju może nie tyle plemiennym, ile z pewnością przedpaństwowym pochodzi dosłownie kilka wzmianek źródłowych, ilustrujących funkcjonowanie zgromadzeń wiecowych. Z tego powodu wielokrotnie w tej pracy nie można było jasno przedstawić ani mechanizmów rządzących procesem podejmowania decyzji na wiecach, ani ich miejsca w społeczności plemiennej. Brak możliwości potwierdzenia jednego źródła wymową innego sprawia, że nie wiadomo, czy określone zjawiska uznać należy za typowe, czy też potraktować je jako wyjątki. Pewne nowe możliwości, jak się wydaje, otwierają się przy zmianie punktu widzenia na kwestię samego plemienia. Dotychczasowe traktowanie plemienia jako czegoś w rodzaju organizacji społeczno-politycznej ma duże znaczenie w wyjaśnieniu podstaw formowania się państwowości słowiańskich, lecz nie pozwala rozwiązać problemów dotyczących samych plemion. [fragm. tekstu

"Universa populi multido" : problem uczestnictwa w słowiańskich wiecach plemiennych

Przechodzenie od ustroju plemiennego do państwowego trwało u Słowian wyjątkowo długo. Za szczególnie trafną i odnoszącą się nie tylko do czasów sobie współczesnych należy uznać konstatację Pseudo-Maurycego: „[...] że ponieważ mają wielu królów, wśród których panuje niezgoda, bardzo dobrze byłoby niektórych z nich pozyskać, czy to umową, czy też darami, szczególnie tych blisko granic, przeciwko innym zaś wyprawiać się zbrojnie, aby wrogość [Bizantyjczyków] wobec wszystkich nie doprowadziła wśród nich do jednomyślności i jedynowładztwa.” 1 Kiedy stawiamy pytanie o powstawanie państwowości słowiańskich, nie należy rozważać, czy nastąpiło to później niż u innych ludów. Należy natomiast bacznie przyjrzeć się przedpaństwowemu podłożu — warunkującemu zarówno czas, jak i charakter organizacji państwowej. Dokładne określenie przedpaństwowych form życia społecznego ludów słowiańskich staje się koniecznością, bez której rozpatrywanie procesów państwowotwórczych będzie pozbawione istotnego elementu, jakim z punktu widzenia najnowszych dociekań wydaje się struktura społeczna i jej potrzeby. Proces powstawania państwa nie przebiegał szybko. Przechodzenie od społeczeństwa plemiennego do organizmu wczesnopaństwowego odbywało się w ciągu życia wielu pokoleń i z pewnością nie było przez nie zauważane. Stąd płynie konieczność przyjrzenia się wszystkim czynnikom społecznym — tym tkwiącym w modelu życia plemiennego i państwowego

Zgromadzenie ludowe w Pyrzycach w 1124 roku : relikt plemienny czy wiec grodowo-miejski

Piotr Boroń made an attempt of analysing the nature of the popular assembly that gathered in 1124 in Pyrzyce. The basic which the author wanted to address was whether we have here to do with a municipal assembly, or with a remnant of ancient tribal customs having considered all circumstances in which the assembly in question took place, the author has concluded that in this specific case we do not have so much to do here with a specific political model, but rather with a natural way of resolving conflicts in a specific community