Ploštice, křísi a mery (Hemiptera: Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Psylloidea) okolí Přebuzi v Krušných horách

Článek se věnuje faunistice polokřídlého hmyzu v okolí města Přebuz v západních Krušných horách. V letech 2010-2014 jsme tam potvrdili výskyt 118 druhů ploštic, 107 druhů křísů a 21 druhů mer. Oblast je pozoruhodná zachovalými vrchovišti, přechodovými rašeliništi, vřesovišti a horskými loukami, na kterých se vyskytuje řada specializovaných druhů řádu Hemiptera (46 z nalezených druhů je zahrnuto do Červeného seznamu ohrožených bezobratlých ČR). Nejvýznamnější jsou nálezy klešťanky Sigara scotti (Douglas et Scott, 1868) (Heteroptera: Corixidae), ostruhovníka Javesella bottnica Huldén, 1974 (Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacidae) a kříska Macrosteles fieberi (Edwards, 1889) (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) – tyto tři druhy jsou v současnosti v České republice známé pouze z okolí Přebuzi (pro M. fieberi se zároveň jedná o první potvrzené nálezy v ČR). U 61 druhů uvádíme stručné informace o jejich rozšíření a ekologii, včetně některých dosud nepublikovaných nálezů z jiných oblastí České republiky.Článek se věnuje faunistice polokřídlého hmyzu v okolí města Přebuz v západních Krušných horách. V letech 2010-2014 jsme tam potvrdili výskyt 118 druhů ploštic, 107 druhů křísů a 21 druhů mer. Oblast je pozoruhodná zachovalými vrchovišti, přechodovými rašeliništi, vřesovišti a horskými loukami, na kterých se vyskytuje řada specializovaných druhů řádu Hemiptera (46 z nalezených druhů je zahrnuto do Červeného seznamu ohrožených bezobratlých ČR). Nejvýznamnější jsou nálezy klešťanky Sigara scotti (Douglas et Scott, 1868) (Heteroptera: Corixidae), ostruhovníka Javesella bottnica Huldén, 1974 (Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacidae) a kříska Macrosteles fieberi (Edwards, 1889) (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) – tyto tři druhy jsou v současnosti v České republice známé pouze z okolí Přebuzi (pro M. fieberi se zároveň jedná o první potvrzený nález v ČR). U 61 druhů uvádíme stručné informace o jejich rozšíření a ekologii, včetně některých dosud nepublikovaných nálezů z jiných oblastí České republiky.Based on a faunistic survey in 2010–2014 and a few previously published records, we report 118 species of Heteroptera, 107 species of Auchenorrhyncha and 21 species of Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea from the environs of the town of Přebuz in the western part of the Krušné hory Mts. (= Erzgebirge) in western Czech Republic. The area is remarkable for well-preserved peat bogs, transitional mires, heaths and montane meadows and the occurrence of many habitat specialists among the Hemiptera. Forty-six of the species recorded are listed on the Red List of threatened invertebrates of the Czech Republic. The most noteworthy are the records of Sigara scotti (Douglas et Scott, 1868) (Heteroptera: Corixidae), Javesella bottnica Huldén, 1974 (Auchenorrhyncha: Delphacidae), and Macrosteles fieberi (Edwards, 1889) (Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) – these three species are currently known in the Czech Republic only from the Přebuz environs (for M. fieberi, we provide here first the confirmed records from the Czech Republic). The distribution and ecology of 61 species are briefly discussed in the paper and additional, hitherto unpublished records from other regions of the Czech Republic are supplied for some of them

Potvrzení výskytu kříska leknínového (Erotettix cyane, Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) v České republice

V článku je uveden jeden recentní a jeden historický nález kříska leknínového Erotettix (= Macrosteles) cyane z České republiky. Populace tohoto druhu je vázána na plovoucí vegetaci stojatých vod a druh je vzácný a ohrožený ve většině evropských zemí. Nově byl druh nalezen v porostu rdestu P. natans na rybníku Dubák v PR Meandry Smědé blízko obce Višňová na Frýdlantsku v S Čechách v blízkosti hrancie s Polskem a Německem. Jde o druhý nález u nás po více než 60 letech - předtím byl nalezen pouze u Čelákovic v Polabí ve středních Čechách v roce 1953 J. Dlabolou. Shrnujeme dostupné informace o taxonomii, biologii a rozšíření kříska leknínového a vyzdvihujeme význam plovoucí vehetace pro ochranu a monitoring vzácného hmyzu.We provide one recent and one historical record of the leafhopper Erotettix (= Macrosteles) cyane (Boheman, 1845) from the Czech Republic. A population of this species, confined to floating leaves of macrophyte vegetation of still waters and considered rare and threatened in most European countries, has recently been found on Potamogeton natans in the Dubák Pond, situated in the Meandry Smědé Nature Reserve near the village of Višňová in the Frýdlant region in northernmost Bohemia close to the Polish and German borders. This is only a second record of E. cyane from the Czech Republic after more than sixty years – previously, it was found only at Čelákovice in the Elbe Lowland in central Bohemia in 1953 by J. Dlabola. We summarize available information on the taxonomy, biology and general distribution of E. cyane and point out the importance of floating macrophyte vegetation for insect biodiversity conservation and monitorin

Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback

Elections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another. They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections. Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is inconceivable. Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant (Blockmans, 2020). Recent developments in certain EU member states have again shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write: “Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018)

Direct Democracy in the EU –The Myth of a Citizens’ Union. CEPS Paperback, November 2018

The European Union has a democracy problem. The polycrisis that has plagued the EU for years has led to a cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets caused by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to address the perennial democratic deficit. This book looks at how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed in a multi-layered Union. As such, it focuses more on polity than on populism, and does not engage deeply with policy or output legitimacy. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this book asks whether a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by empowering citizens to ‘take back control’ of their Union. Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens’ Union is part of the 'Towards a Citizens’ Union' project and is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). It is the first of three publications that will also cover the state of representative democracy in the EU and the accountability of democratic institutions

Nová metoda vzorkování fytofilních bezobratlých ve vynořené litorální vegetaci

The aim of the study was to design the sampling method for collection of phytophilous macroinvertebrates associated with submersed parts of hard emergent littoral vegetation in still waters, which will join technical sampler unpretentiousness, sampling simplicity and maximal quantitative accuracy. For these purposes, we developed a modified Gerking´s frame box sampler with movable cutter for sampling of animals in the littoral macrophyte beds and a new type of core sampler for collection of animals inhabiting the root zone of emergent plant beds. Both sampling devices are suitable for studies targeted on macroinvertebrates monitoring. The comparative sampling using frame box sampler and benthos handnet was performed in the littoral of three carp ponds. The sampling procedure utilizing the frame sampler was more labour demanding however it enabled significantly (P < 0.05) more efficient collection of slowly moving or sedentary animals

The impact of sediment removal on the aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblage in a fishpond littoral zone

Bottom sediment removal, a widely used technique in restoration management of standing water bodies, has a strong influence on communities of aquatic organisms. As most information on the impact of sediment removal on the aquatic environment comes from studies on lakes, the aim of this study was to describe macroinvertebrate assemblage succession in a fishpond (Štěpánek fishpond, Bohemian-Moravian highlands, Czech Republic) littoral zone following restoration by sediment removal during the winter of 2003/2004. Semi-quantitative hand net sampling was undertaken one year before (2003) and in each of the following five years (2004–2008) after sediment removal. A significant decrease in both abundance (approx. 90% of individuals) and diversity (approx. 30% of taxa) of macroinvertebrates was detected immediately after pond restoration. The values gradually increased over subsequent years, reaching comparable abundance and diversity three years after sediment removal. A significant shift was recorded in the taxonomic and functional composition of the macroinvertebrate assemblage after sediment removal. Mayfly larvae were the dominant invertebrates before restoration, while chironomid larvae and oligochaetes dominated after sediment removal. Phytophilous taxa, grazers and scrapers, and swimming or diving invertebrates were common in 2003, whilst open-water taxa preferring mud and other mostly inorganic microhabitats, gatherers/collectors, and burrowing/boring invertebrates were relatively common after sediment removal. In 2008, the assemblage reverted towards the situation before sediment removal, probably connected with a lower water level and accelerated macrophyte bed succession. Principal Component Analysis on the species data confirmed the differences in invertebrate taxonomic structure among sampling years. Succession of the fishpond invertebrate assemblage in the years following sediment removal was mainly influenced by fish farming practice and local conditions, i.e. the presence of macrophyte beds, mesohabitat changes following restoration, and the presence of other water bodies in the surroundings

Distribution and diversity of littoral macroinvertebrates within extensive reed beds of a lowland pond

Although habitats of hard emergent macrophyte beds, including reed beds (Phragmites australis), are very common in the littoral zones of stagnant waters in central Europe, research investigating their macroinvertebrate communities is still lacking. In this study, the spatial distribution of macroinvertebrates was studied within large reed beds in the littoral zone of a lowland fishpond (Nesyt, SE Moravia, Czech Republic). Using a hand net, horizontal line transects in the reed bed leading from the marginal area with the open water towards the shore were sampled. The results of NMDS ordination and PERMANOVA test proved that the taxonomic composition of the macroinvertebrate assemblage changed significantly along the investigated horizontal transect from the open water towards the shore, together with gradual changes in some environmental factors. The taxa diversity was found to be the highest in the areas closest to the shore. In the reed bed areas near open water, corixids, aquatic insects larvae, leeches, water mites, some naidids and tubificids, which represented free-swimming invertebrates with tracheal gill breathing, ectoparasites, gatherers/collectors and taxa preferring pelal and inorganic substrates, were more abundant compared with the interiors of reed beds. On the other side, in the shallow dense interior of reed beds close to the shore, gastropods, water slaters, some naidids and enchytraeids, aquatic beetles and dipteran larvae were characteristic taxa, which belonged especially to grazers and scrapers, shredders and invertebrates preferring phytal and POM (particulate organic matter) microhabitats. Different predators were recorded in areas near open water and near the shore. This invertebrate spatial distribution probably reflects changes in microhabitat and environmental conditions along the investigated horizontal transect. The results of this study proved that extensive reed beds serve as refuges for many groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates within lowland fishpond ecosystems