Travinné ekosystémy jsou významnou součástí středoevropské krajiny. Polopřirozená travinná společenstva dnes tvoří v Evropě místa s vysokou biodiverzitou, jsou velmi náchylná k degradaci a k jejich efektivní ochraně je nutné znát vlivy různých typů managementu. Neodmyslitelnými obyvateli těchto ekosystémů jsou také zástupci rovnokřídlého hmyzu (Orthoptera), kteří zde hrají důležitou roli v potravní síti. Zároveň jsou vhodným indikátorem změn stanovištních podmínek, a to zejména struktury vegetace, čehož lze využít při zjišťování dopadů různých managementových opatření. Jedním z nejběžnějších a zároveň pro hmyz nejméně vhodných typů péče je dnes mechanizovaná seč. Nevhodná péče o travinné ekosystémy může ovlivňovat druhovou bohatost jak v měřítku lokálním tak i v měřítku krajiny. Snížení negativního dopadu seče ve prospěch biodiverzity lze docílit několika způsoby - např. zmírněnou intenzitou zásahu, a to posunutím nebo vynecháním první seče, nebo ponecháním neposečených ploch., Grasslands are an important part of the Central European landscape. Seminatural grasslands are considered to be biodiversity hotspots in Europe, with high conservation value. However, they are very unstable, and for their effective conservation it is necessary to know how different management systems affect the progression of the ecosystem. Orthopterans play an important role in the food web and they are also a good indicator of changes in habitat conditions, particularly in the vegetation structure, which can be used in determining the impact of different types of conservation management. Nowadays, one of the most common and least insect-friendly type of care is mechanized hay harvesting. Improper care can affect the species richness (both, on the local and landscape scale). The negative impact of mowing can be reduced in favour of biodiversity in several ways, as described (e.g., mitigating the intensity of the process by delaying or omitting the first mowing, or leaving uncut refuges)., and Oto Kaláb.
Insect herbivores were collected from Castanopsis acuminatissima (Fagaceae) at Wau, Papua New Guinea, by beating the foliage of 15 trees during four one-month sampling periods, each representing different leaf-flush events. The association of leaf-chewing beetles with C. acuminatissima was verified with feeding trials. Of 59 species of leaf-chewing beetles that were collected, 36 species could be used in feeding trials. Only 9 of these species fed on C. acuminatissima. A further 27 beetle species were tested in feeding trials but did not feed. Of these, 7 were specialists feeding on other tree species within the surrounding vegetation. Most beetle species collected from C. acuminatissima foliage were probably transient species, dispersing from other tree species. Path analyses showed that herbivore abundance during a particular sampling period was significantly influenced by rainfall, leaf flush of other conspecific trees and air temperature, but not so by the species richness of surrounding vegetation, number of surrounding conspecific trees and size (DBH) of trees sampled. The species richness of leaf-chewing beetles collected on particular study trees depended on that of the surrounding vegetation, thus supporting the hypothesis that most beetle species collected were transient. The abundance of insect herbivores on particular C. acuminatissima trees probably depends on a balance between the leaf flush of conspecific trees and that of the particular tree sampled. The results also emphasize the need to remove transient species in analyses of insect faunas of tropical trees, at the risk of analyzing species richness patterns derived from loosely defined "assemblages" of species., Yves Basset, and Lit
Předkládaný článek přináší stručný průřez problematiky studia taxonomie štírů rodu Euscorpius. Evropským štírům byla věnována pozornost již od poloviny 18. století. Po bezmála 250 letech zkoumání se tento rod stále nedočkal vyřešení otázky své komplikované taxonomie. Zdá se ovšem, že současné studie kombinující morfologické, genetické a cytogenetické znaky mohou být klíčem pro odhalení skutečné druhové diverzity., This article briefly summarizes the last two and a half centuries of taxonomic research into the European genus of scorpions commonly known as small wood scorpions (Euscorpius). Despite the fact that taxonomists have been focusing on this genus since the mid-18th century, their taxonomy is not yet sufficiently resolved. However, present studies seem to be on the right track, and looking into a combination of morphological, genetic and cytogenetic features may hold the key to revealing the true diversity of the species., and Jana Plíšková.
This paper summarises the results of parasitological examinations of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus) in the Czech Republic, carried out at the Institute of Parasitology, Czech Academy of Sciences (previously the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences) within the period of 50 years (1958-2008). Even though this survey is limited to the Czech Republic, it provides extensive data probably incomparable with any other study anywhere regarding the number of eels examined and parasites found. A total of 723 eels was examined from 42 localities that belong to all of the three main river drainage systems in the country, i.e. the Elbe, Danube and Oder river basins. Of the 31 species of adult and larval macroparasites including Monogenea (4 species), Trematoda (3), Cestoda (3), Nematoda (11), Acanthocephala (5), Hirudinea (1), Bivalvia (1), Copepoda (1), Branchiura (1) and Acariformes (1), most of them (30) were recorded from the Elbe River basin. These parasites can be divided into three main groups regarding their host specificity: parasites specific for eels (26%), non-specific adult parasites occurring also in other fishes (61%) and non-specific larvae (13%). The highest number (19) of parasite species was recorded in the Mácha Lake fishpond system in northern Bohemia. The parasite communities in eels from the individual localities exhibited large differences in their species composition and diversity depending on local ecological conditions. The parasite fauna of A. anguilla in the Czech Republic is compared with that in other European countries. The nematode Cucullanus egyptae Abdel-Ghaffar, Bashtar, Abdel-Gaber, Morsy, Mehlhorn, Al Quraishy et Mohammed, 2014 is designated as a species inquirenda., František Moravec, Tomáš Scholz., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Působení člověka a jeho zemědělské činnosti ovlivnilo přirozený vývoj měkkýších společenstev v průběhu holocénu. Nicméně, prehistorické a historické vlivy na přírodu vedly k vytvoření mozaiky rozmanitých stanovišť s vysokou druhovou diverzitou. Ve smutném kontrastu k tomu stojí moderní snahy o vylepšení přírody, jakými jsou různé rekultivace krajiny., Human influence and agriculture affected the natural development of mollusc communities during the Holocene. Nevertheless, prehistorical and historical impacts on nature have created a mosaic of different habitats with high species diversity, in sad contrast to modern attempts to improve nature, such as various landscape reclamations., and Vojen Ložek, Lucie Juřičková.