Occurrence and dynamics of Impatiens parviflora depending on various environmental conditions in the protected areas in Slovakia

Biological invasion as one of the main threats to natural ecosystems has big economic impact on conservation of nature. Studies of the population biology of invasive species may allow more precise focus on specific plant and soil characteristics involved in invasiveness. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between selected biological population characteristics of Impatiens parviflora and a few chosen chemical and physical soil features. Sites were selected because of the poor mapping of invasive plants in the protected natural areas and their interactions with specific soil characteristics. Research on I. parviflora was realised during a vegetation season in three forest nature reserves in Prešov district, Slovakia. Some population biological characteristics of I. parviflora as one of the most invasive plant species in Slovakia and Central Europe were surveyed. The correlation  between the numbers of plants was analysed, as well as select population biological characteristics of I. parviflora (plant height, width of the largest leaf and the number of flowers/fruits) on some select chemical and physical soil  attributes (soil pH, bulk density, porosity and soil moisture) were analysed. The results suggest  that biological characteristics of I. parviflora in three different microhabitats – a meadow (a habitat without tree vegetation), a habitat close to the stumps and a habitat under dense tree vegetation seemed to influence the selected soil parameters. Our results showed that I. parviflora prefers acidic and non-compacted soil conditions. Sunlight and soil moisture do not show statistically significant differences on any biological characteristic of the population. The results also suggest that the autecology of I. parviflora in Western and Central Europe is not very well known and deserves further study

Efficiency of traps in collecting selected Diptera families according to the used bait: Comparison of baits and mixtures in a field experiment

Traps made from PET bottles were used to assess the efficiency of four baits in terms of the number of individuals for selected Diptera families collecting in Eastern Slovak gardens in summer and autumn. Bait used in traps significantly affected the taxonomical composition of the samples obtained. Moreover, significant differences in bait efficiencies and temporal shift in bait efficiencies were confirmed for the Diptera order and for selected dipteran families. The most effective bait for baited-trap Diptera sampling was beer, followed by wine, meat, and syrup from the summer sampling season. In the autumn sampling season, the wine was most effective, followed by beer, syrup, and meat. For the family Scatopsidae wine, and for the family Platystomatidae, meat were the most effective baits. Drosophilidae were most attracted to beer in summer and to wine bait in autumn

Invertebrates in overlooked aquatic ecosystem in the middle of the town

Background and Purpose: Fountains are common, but usually overlooked anthrotelmata to which just only little attention has been paid. This work brings the first, more comprehensive evidence about seasonal urban fountain ecosystems and their biodiversity in Prešov town (Slovakia).Materials and Methods: The biodiversity of aquatic organisms from 6 fountains in Prešov town (Slovakia) were studied and basic environmental characteristics, such as pH, temperature, oxygen saturation and electrical conductivity (25 °C), were measured in 2014. Water depth of studied fountains varied between 10–30 cm and water volume from 1.9 to 51 m3. For statistical evaluation was used Friedman’s Rank Sum test (Friedman 1937), non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test (Kruskal & Wallis 1952) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Cluster analysis of the abundance, based on the Euclidean distance and the paired group algorithm in PAST 2.17c (Hammer et al. 2001) was used to highlight the relationship among the taxa.Results and Conclusion: During initial research was found over 58 taxa of the phyla Rotifera, Nematoda and Arthropoda. The most abundant insect group from these habitats was the Diptera order. The species Zavrelimyia nubila (Diptera: Chrinomidae) is recorded in Slovakia for the first time. The abundance of evaluated insects taxa differed depending on the date, but also was influenced by water characteristics. Water volume and water depth negatively but not significantly correlated with abundance of all evaluated orders. Water pH showed positive significant correlation with abundance of beetles, and negative, but not significant, correlation with abundance of flies and mayflies