30-Year-Long Changes in Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna of Niebieskie ŹródłA (Blue Springs) Nature Reserve in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Central Poland

The article focuses on changes in terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Niebieskie Źródła (Blue Springs) Nature Reserve that occurred between two censuses carried out in the area. The first census was carried out in the period of 1968-1970, and the second census in the period of 1998-1999. In 1998-1999 the occurrence of four species of amphibians, 41 of birds and 15 of mammals was recorded. In comparison with investigations from 1968-1970 two species of amphibians, two species of mammals, and nine species of birds were found to have disappeared from the reserve. In the census carried out in 1998 and 1999 we recorded 22 new species of vertebrates: one new species of amphibian, five species of mammals, and 16 species of birds. The recent observations showed a decline in the abundance of amphibian species in the reserve, especially in the closest vicinity to the urban development around the city of Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The quantitative data on birds showed an increase in the numbers and abundance, which was mainly pronounced in the group of forest species, especially cavity and shrub nesters. We suggest that these changes are directly related to the succession of forest vegetation and its developing vertical structure, as well as to an increase in the forestation of the reserve area

Breeding raptors in Łagiewniki forest in 2009-2010

Three breeding species of raptors were observed in Łagiewnicki Forest in 2009-2010 (number of breeding pairs): Common Buzzard Buleo buteo (5-6 pairs), Goshawk Accipiter gentilis (5 pairs), Sparrowhawk A ccipiter nisus (6 - 8 pairs). In the paper, the changes in raptor’s number during last 50 years are described and possible reasons of the changes are discussed.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

The most important bird areas in the Łódź District

The eight areas of European or/and domestic importance for birds of Central Poland are presented in this paper. Jeziorsko and Sulejów Reservoirs; valleys of Pilica, Bzura, Ner and Grabia rivers; ponds in Walewice and ponds near Łowicz "Okręt” and "Rydwan” as well as Pilicka Forest and Zaięcze Landscape Park are described in the respect of bird communities and their potential risk assessment. Criteria for identification of other areas of local importance are proposed and 10 subsequent areas fulfilling them are listed.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Shortening day length as a previously unrecognized selective pressure for early breeding in a bird with long parental care

Several different selective pressures have been suggested to explain an intense competition for early return to breeding grounds in birds. In this study we hypothesized that shortening day length during summer months may constitute additional selective force acting towards early breeding in avian species with long parental care. To test this hypothesis, we studied time budget and foraging activities of early-nesting and late-nesting white storks Ciconia ciconia from the Central-European population. We found that duration and distance of foraging trips increased significantly over the course of the reproductive season. The relative frequency of foraging trips increased at the expense of other activities, such as resting, plumage maintenance, and nest maintenance. Mean daily foraging duration increased with increasing day length in the early part of the season, with 0.68 h of foraging per individual per 13.16 h of day length in mid-April increasing to 7.42 h of foraging per individual during solstice (16.61 h of day length). Afterwards, mean foraging duration continued increasing in spite of decreasing day length, reaching 11.63 h of foraging per individual per 14.92 h of day length at the end of the season in mid-August, when storks were forced to continue foraging after sunset in order to meet energy requirements of fledglings. The results suggest that shortening day length during summer months may constitute a serious time constraint on food delivery rates to offspring for late-breeding pairs of white storkEuropean Social Fund and the Polish National Budget in the D-RIM project of the Human Capital Programm

The measurement of the adhesion force between ceramic particles and metal matrix in ceramic reinforced-metal matrix composites

This paper presents the method for measurement of the adhesion force and fracture strength of the interface between ceramic particles and metal matrix in ceramic reinforced-metal matrix composites. Three samples with the following Cu to Al2O3 ratio (in vol.%) were prepared: 98.0Cu/2.0Al2O3, 95.0Cu/5.0Al2O3 and 90Cu/10Al2O3. Furthermore, microwires which contain a few ceramic particles were produced by means of electro etching. The microwires with clearly exposed interface were tested with use of the microtensile tester (Fig. 1). The microtensile tester consists of two stages, to which two endings of the microwire are fixed. The first stage is able to measure force with the precision equal to 0.1 mN. The microwires usually break exactly at the interface between the metal matrix and ceramic particle. The force and the interface area were carefully measured and then the fracture strength of the interface was determined. The strength of the interface between ceramic particle and metal matrix was equal to 59±8 MPa and 59±11 MPa in the case of 2% and 5% Al2O3 to Cu ratio, respectively. On the other hand, it was significantly lower (38±5 MPa) for the wires made of composite with 10% Al2O

Environmental evaluation of Łódź basing on breeding avifauna composition

The evaluation was conducted using the bird species richness and occurrence of the key species. The key species were: 1. Species endangered globally according to IU CN/BirdLife International criteria, 2. Species of European Conservation Concern (C ategory 1-3), 3. Species from Annex I of Council Directive on the Convention of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) 4. Species from Polish Red Animal Book, 5. Species which frequency of occurrence in Poland is < 10% according to Atlas of Breeding Birds in Poland data, 6 . Species which number of Polish breeding population is less than 1000 pairs. The key species breed in all kinds of habitats in Łódź. The most valuable habitats are weakly urbanized areas of river valleys and forest habitats with old tree-stands. Among the habitats the most endangered by changes are: river valleys and farmland areas.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Current knowledge of the Łódź Upland avifauna

The authors evaluated the state of the knowledge of the Łódź Upland (about 18 000 km 2) avifauna. The total of 278 bird species was recorded by authors in the study area since the last century. After 1945, the total of 267 species were recorded, including 180 breeding species. According to the authors’ estimates about 11% of the area was investigated more preciously. The best investigated regions are: the Bzura river valley, 219 species were recorded including 165 breeding ones, the Pilica river valley, where the respective values are 211 and 158, region of the Jeziorsko Reservoir - 247 observed species and 152 breeding ones, the vicinities of the locality of Rogów with 118 breeding species and the Łódź city area with 125 breeding species. The Łódź Upland has been the place o f breeding for some rare birds in Poland: Cormorant, Purple Heron, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Hen Harrier, Montague’s Harrier, Curlew, Ruff, Herring Gull, White-winged Tern, Whiskered Tern, Crane, Stonechat, Collared Flycatcher, Aquatic Warbler, Bearded Tit.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Automated measurement of foot deformities : flatfoot, high arch, calcaneal fracture

Radiographic measurements of foot deformities are used to determine, among other things, such conditions as flatfoot, high arch, or calcaneal fracture. Those measurements are achieved by estimating four angles. Manual assessment of those angles is time-consuming not to mention inevitable errors of such approximation. To the best of the authors knowledge, currently there is no research focusing on finding those four angles. In this paper an algorithm for automatic assessment of those angles, based on extremely randomized trees, is being proposed. Moreover this diagnostic assisting system was intended to be as generic as possible and could be applied, to some degree, to other similar problems. To demonstrate usefulness of this method, correlations of automated measurements with manual ones against correlations of manual measurements with manual ones are being compared. The significance level for manual-manual measurements comparison is less than 0.001 in case of all four angles. The significance level for automated-manual measurements comparison is also less than 0.001 in all cases. The results show that the search for the aforementioned angles can be automated. Even with the use of a generic algorithm a high degree of precision can be achieved, allowing for a more efficient diagnosis

Międzynarodowa konferencja „Konstytucje państw europejskich – historia i współczesność”

Międzynarodowa konferencja „Konstytucje państw europejskich – historia i współczesność