A long-standing problem with the taxonomic status and synonymy of the names Taraxacum nigricans (Kit.) Reichenb. and T. alpestre (Tausch) DC. is resolved. These two names, the oldest ones referable to high mountain dandelions in Central Europe, are typified, and a detailed comparison of these species’ morphology, genotype make-up, karyotypes and distribution is provided, together with a discussion of other cases of similar and probably closely related agamospermous taxa of Taraxacum and Hieracium. Taraxacum nigricans (2n = 32) and T. alpestre (2n = 32) are endemic to the Nízke Tatry Mts, Slovakia, and the Krkonoše/Karkonosze Mts, Czech Republic/ Poland, respectively. These are shown to differ in a series of minor but constant morphological, allozyme and karyotype features, and their treatment as separate agamospermous species is supported. A detailed analysis of cultivated and wild material from the Carpathians revealed the existence of a sexual taxon very close to the above two species and endemic to the region of the Bucegi Mts, Romania. It is described as a new species, T. carpaticum Štěpánek et Kirschner. Two new agamospermous species, apparently allied to T. nigricans, are described: T. rupicaprae Štěpánek et Kirschner, a species characterized by orange-ochraceous achenes and confined to the High Tatra Mts, and T. elegantissimum Štěpánek et Kirschner (2n = 24), which has substantially broader outer bracts and is known from the Rodna, Retezat and Fagaras Mts, Romania. Another three species are described that are morphological similar to T. carpaticum: T. pastorum (the Fagaras Mts, Romania), T. iucundum (the Retezat Mts, Romania) and T. pseudoalpestre (the Fagaras Mts, Romania).
A taxonomic concept for the Hieracium nigrescens agg. (H. alpinum ≥ H. murorum) in the Western Carpathians is proposed. Three taxa at the species level are recognized, i.e. Hieracium jarzabczynum, H. mlinicae and H. vapenicanum. One new combination, Hieracium mlinicae (Hruby et Zahn) Chrtek f. et Mráz (H. nigrescens subsp. mlinicae Hruby et Zahn) is published. All taxa should be considered as endemic to the Western Carpathians (both the Polish and Slovakian parts). Detailed descriptions, drawings, lists of localities, distribution maps and determination key are provided along with a comparison with the last comprehensive account of the group (by Zahn 1936). Several lectotypes were chosen for the taxa recognized by Zahn within H. nigrescens s.l.
A taxonomic study of the Pilosella alpicola group growing in the Carpathians revealed the presence of two morphologically distinguishable taxa: P. ullepitschii (Błocki) Szeląg and P. rhodopea (Griseb.) Szeląg. While P. ullepitschii is endemic to the Carpathians, P. rhodopea is a Balkan subendemic with two isolated localities in the Southern Carpathians (Mt Cozia and Mt Zmeuretu). The core area of distribution of P. ullepitchii is the natural subalpine and alpine meadows of the Western Carpathians (the Vysoké and Západné Tatry Mts in Slovakia and Poland). In addition, only three isolated localities are known from the Nemira Mts (Romanian Eastern Carpathians) and one from the Bucegi Mts (Romanian Southern Carpathians). Interestingly, the Romanian populations occur in man-made habitats (secondary pastures). Karyological and flow cytometric analyses of 305 plants from 13 populations of P. ullepitschii revealed only diploid plants (2n = 2x = 18). One Carpathian population of P. rhodopea from Mt Cozia is also diploid. This is the first report of diploidy in this species. However, the populations from the main part of the distribution of this taxon in the Balkan mountains include other cytotypes. Detailed morphological descriptions and distributions for both taxa are given.
As a result of inconsistencies in morphological characters, Cerastium pumilum and C. glutinosum have been misunderstood or confused in many European floras since the 1960s. In the second volume of the Flora Nordica, a revised treatment of C. pumilum s.l. is provided and this concept is tested here for eastern Central European populations. The cytometric and morphological part of the study is based on living plants from 85 populations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Hungary. Flow cytometric analyses of the samples revealed two groups differing in ploidy level and corresponding to two cytotypes (a known octoploid, 2n ≈ 72, for C. glutinosum and yet unknown dodecaploid, 2n ≈ 108, for C. pumilum). Eleven morphological characters were scored or measured in plants of known ploidy level and the data set analysed using multivariate statistics (principal component analysis and canonical discriminant analysis); the two morphologically well-separated groups were identical with the two cytotype groups detected by flow cytometry. Based on these results, we suggest treating the detected cyto-morphotypes as the species C. pumilum and C. glutinosum. Our analysis further revealed that the traditionally used characters (glabrous vs. hairy adaxial surface and presence vs. absence of a scarious margin to the tip of the lowermost bracts) are not taxonomically informative. The characters best differentiating the species include indument on the lowermost vernal internodium, length of mature stylodia, length of glandular hairs on sepals and maximum diameter of mature seed. A key for identification of both species is also provided. A revision of almost 1600 specimens deposited in 16 Central European herbaria revealed that the species show different distribution patterns in Central Europe and partial habitat segregation. Specimens from the Czech Republic previously assigned to C. litigiosum were identified as C. pumilum; consequently, C. litigiosum must be removed from the Czech flora.
Studie se zabývá částečným objevem hudebního rukopisu Thannenwald z polského přístavního města Elblag nedaleko Gdaňsku, který vznikl kolem roku 1600., Agnieszka Leszczyńska., Rubrika: Studie, and České resumé na s. 114, anglický abstrakt na s. 105
Toxoplasma gondii Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908 is an apicomplexan parasite with a worldwide distribution. It is of great medical and veterinary importance because it may cause abortion or congenital disease in its intermediate hosts, including man. The European bison, the largest herbivorous animal in Europe, is a species that has been saved from extinction. Twenty-four of 95 examined sera of the European bison (Bison bonasus bonasus) from the Białowieża Forest, Poland collected from 2008 to 2011 were found to be positive for the presence of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies using a direct agglutination test, with the antibody titre in positive animals ranging from 40 to 18000. Statistically significant differences were observed only between years of sample collection. This is the first report on T. gondii in lowland European bison living in the natural environment.
The level of satisfaction that households have with their housing is important for people to function properly, as it largely determines their life satisfaction. Housing satisfaction is a multidimensional concept that can be defined, measured, and analysed in various ways. The aim of the article is to identify the housing satisfaction of Polish households in terms of living space, housing standard, and housing expenses, and to identify the main determinants of housing satisfaction. Factors that have a major impact on housing satisfaction are classified based on a literature review. The sources of Poles’ housing satisfaction are identified using ordered logistic regression. This article is one of the first attempts to analyse housing satisfaction in a post-socialist Central and Eastern European economy.
More than half of the insects collected on snow in Central Poland were flies (Diptera). Altogether 83 species of Diptera from 27 families were identified, of which 9 families were recorded for the first time. Two thirds of the Diptera belonged to the Mycetophilidae and Trichoceridae, which were also very species-rich. Other families with many species were the Heleomyzidae, Sphaeroceridae and Phoridae.
The peak activity was in the first part of December. Flies were most active on snow when the humidity ranged from 80 to 100%, temperatures between -1 to 5°C and the snow was from 20 to 40 cm deep. The occurrence of Trichoceridae was strictly associated with high humidities, in contrast to Drosophilidae and Heleomyzidae, which were most active at lower humidities. The activity of the flies of the most frequently recorded families was displaced towards either lower (Heleomyzidae and Limoniidae) or higher temperatures (Trichoceridae, Mycetophilidae). In contrast to other families, the supranivean activity of Phoridae was strictly associated with thin snow cover.
Specific associations between species frequently occur in ecological interactions. The aim of this study was to determine the preferences of anthomyiid flies of the genus Botanophila for particular species of fungi as sites for laying eggs and as food for both larvae and adults. The associations of their eggs, larvae and flies with the stromata of different species of Epichloë fungi infecting 7 species of grass in Poland were analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy of the surface of their eggs and an analysis of the genetic sequences of their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (COII) were used to identify the taxa of the flies studied. Three types of eggs were distinguished based on their shape, colour and the presence of dorsal folds and sculpturing on the shells. Tentatively, these eggs were assigned to the following species: B. laterella, B. phrenione, B. dissecta and B. lobata. COII sequences obtained from larvae that hatched from two of the types of eggs formed three distinct clades associated with the reference sequences for Botanophila phrenione, B. lobata (new to the fauna of Poland) and a putative species, “Taxon 1”. Only one of these flies (B. lobata) was restricted to a single species of Epichloë (E. bromicola on Elymus repens); B. phrenione was recorded mainly from E. typhina infecting three different species of grass. The results of this study confirm that there is not a close species specific association between this fungus and this insect., Marlena Lembicz ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
In 1422-1423 a trial between the Teutonic Order and the Polish Kingdom took place in the presence of the pope´s envoy Zeno. Around 120 witnesses brought by the Polish side confirmed Poland´s rights to the disputed lands (including Pomerania). The author studies witnesses´ claims regarding the early history of Poland, namely its origins and the first decades of the existence of the kingdom. Witnesses recounted the establishment of the kingdom in AD 1000, during the meeting between the Emperor Otto III and Bolesław I Chrobry. They talked about the introduction of a special payment for the pope, the so-called denarius sancti Petri, usually associated with the activity of Kazimierz I, but also about the loss of the royal crown by Polish rulers, usually explained as a punishment for the murder of the bishop of Cracow Stanislaus by the King Bolesław II. According to the author, the witnesses´ knowledge about the beginnings of Poland was rather extensive, although it was very inaccurate. It was superficial, vague, imprecise, or simply false. It seems that the majority of the inhabitants of the Polish Kingdom, including its political and intellectual elites, were only familiar with a few historical characters and events. and Piotr Węcowski.