AbstractInsect immune system consists of only innate mechanisms relied on cellular and humoral branches. Many defence proteins and peptides exist or appear in response to infection in insect’s hemolymph. The interaction between the infected host and the entomopathogen occurs in the conditions of external environment. In this work the greater wax moth larvae of Galleria mellonella were subjected to a temperature of 120C for a short period of time, directly before infection with entomopathogenic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. It appeared that the induction of the immune response was higher in cold-shocked animals than in larvae permanently reared at the optimal temperature of 28 0C. This enhanced immune response was manifested as higher antibacterial and lysozyme-type activity detected in full hemolymph, and as a higher level of peptides of molecular weight below 10 kDa having antibacterial activity. Moreover, other changes in the contents of proteins in the hemolymph were observed. These changes concerned inter alia apolipophorin III, the multifunctional protein of immune significance. Its level was higher in the hemolymph of animals pre-exposed to cold shock than in nonshocked, infected ones. Altogether our results indicate that the interdependence mechanisms occur between cold shock and the immune response.
Interest in growing lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is increasing due to its potential returns relative to other legume crops in semi-arid areas. An experiment was conducted to examine the important traits on lentil under application of nano-fertilizer by using eight genotypes with application of the biplot technique in visualizing research data. Nano-iron oxide (2 g L-1) was utilized as foliar spray during vegetative and reproductive stages. The study revealed that genotype by trait (GT) biplot can graphically display the interrelationships among traits and facilitate visual comparison of genotypes. The first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) accounted for 76% of the total variation. The polygon view of GT biplot suggested four sections for the lentil genotypes as well as traits. The vertex genotypes G1 had plant height, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, 100-grains weight and grain yield traits. The most prominent relation were: a strong positive association among biological yield, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, grains yield and plant height as indicated by the small obtuse angles between their vectors. The traits’ relationship in the semi-arid was highly variable, and grain yield improvement can be achieved by selecting for number of pods per plant, 100-grains weight. We suggest that the GT biplot be used jointly to better understand and more fully explore interaction pattern data.
AbstractDuring the field studies on the floodplain forests of the Małopolska Upland carried out in 2009-2013, the author tried to determine which species of alien and invasive plants could be a threat to the stability of these vegetation communities. Efforts were also made to answer the question, which floodplain forests are particularly vulnerable to the penetration of alien species and in which layers of the forest plant community are the best conditions for the development of the individual alien plant species. During the research, a total number of 344 reléves were made, of which 90 recorded the presence of alien species. The most common were: Impatiens parviflora, Acer negundo and Padus serotina. The highest percentage of reléves involving alien species was found in the riverside floodplain forests of Salicetum albo-fragilis and Populetum albae.
AbstractTwenty-five lentil ( Lens culinaris Medik.) genotypes were studied to evaluate the effects of the SiO
The paper presents the results of floristic and phytosociological research conducted during growing season 2011 on a copper mine heap Richtárová, near the village Staré Hory situated in buffer zone of the Low Tatras National Park. In total, we found 147 taxa of vascular plants. The dominant plant species of the mine heap is Agrostis capillaris, which sometimes forms relatively continuous cover, and other species growing in small islands of plants tolerant to specific environmental conditions, especially Silene dioica, Acetosella vulgaris, Arabidopsis arenosa. We sampled 8 phytosociological relevés. Localities of relevés were selected considering variability of plant communities on the all mine heap.
The study area was a small lowland river valley (the Łęg river) located in the south-east of Poland. The object of investigation was the macrophytes of 10 river lakes with corresponding active river channel stretches of the same length as the cut-offs. The aim was to check the difference in species diversity between cut-off and active river channels. The second aim was to test the following hypothesis: vegetation of river lake has been shaped under the influence of contiguous river stretch which has left a measurable mark in species abundance and composition. To test this, we checked whether a cut-off channel’s flora is more similar to flora of the contiguous river stretch, than to flora of a farther river stretch. During the course of the study it was found that the average species richness was approximately two times higher in the cut-off channels than in the river stretches. The number of the species exclusive for the river lakes was nine times higher in comparison with the river’s exclusives (not found in the cut-offs). The Shannon diversity index definitely spoke in favor of the river lakes. These results clearly show the significance of river lakes in maintaining biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems in a small river valley. We did not confirm our hypothesis concerning floristic relation between an active channel and its cut-offs. The floristic similarity between a given cut-off channel and the contiguous active river channel stretch is not stronger than the similarity between this lake and more distant river stretches. The cause of such a state of affairs may be high natural dynamics of investigated habitats and anthropogenic transformation of the river valley.
Observations of calcium oxalate crystals of the stem of an energetic plant S. hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby from the Malvaceae family, were performed using LM, DIC, and CLSM microscopes. The transversal and longitudinal sections showed the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in the parenchymal tissue distributed in various layers of the stem. The crystals occurred only in the form of druses. In the innermost part of the stem, i.e. in the pith, the calcium oxalate crystals occurred singly in individual cells. In the parenchyma cells separating sclerenchyma fibres and adjacent to the xylem, the crystals were observed individually in single cells, but the cells containing druses formed rows consisting of even several cells. The cortex contained the different-size druses scattered randomly within the cells. Druses differ in shape and size but they do not protrude beyond the cells although they very often fill them completely. The functions of calcium oxalate crystals are discussed.
Xerothermic grasslands are among the most valuable and, at the same time, the most vulnerable elements of the natural environment of Poland. Their high natural value is reflected in the presence of numerous species of plants originating from warmer, steppe regions of Europe, which increase the biodiversity of local ecosystems. In our climate circumstances, such plant communities have extrazonal character and only occur in places with specific habitat conditions. The grasslands generally occupy small areas, usually in warm and dry habitats, mainly on slopes exposed to strong sunlight and slopes with southern exposures. The aim of the research was to provide a phytosociological characteristics of the thermophilous grasslands PLH 180051 – “Łąki nad Wojkowką”, their distribution and threats as well as the prospects for conservation of the communities. On the study area, a significant share belongs to the communities with species characteristic of the Festuco-Brometea class and Trifolio-Geranietea class. Lack of species characteristic for lower syntaxonomic units does not allow for them to be classified as an association.
Variation of traits is a primary need of any plant breeding effort that involves the natural evolution and causes sustainable crop production under different environments. Fifty six bread wheat genotypes grown during the growing season of 2012/2013 were evaluated for variability characteristics for eighteen traits i.e., stem diameter, plant height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, tiller number, internode length, peduncle length, spike length, floret number, spikelet number, grain number, awn length, grain diameter, grain length, number of days to flowering, thousand seed weight and grain yield. Significant differences were observed for all the traits studied, indicating a considerable amount of variation among wheat genotypes for each trait. The estimates of the coefficient of variation (CV) were high for grain yield and number of tillers per plant. Spike length varied from 8.95 in G28 to 4.74 in G40, while genotype G20 had the maximum floret number (19). According to thousand seed weight, genotype G55 had the maximum thousand seed weight (45.57 g) and genotype G4 had the maximum grain yield performance (6936.3 kg ha-1). The information on diversity among the agro-morphological traits of the studied wheat genotypes will be helpful to plant breeders in constructing their breeding materials and implementing selection strategies.
The authors discuss the material collected in the Suwalski Landscape Park in the years 2009 and 2011-2013, almost exclusively obtained from standing waters. At 29 study sites, 1 204 individuals representing 109 species from 12 families were caught, of which 55 species have been recorded for the first time in the examined area. The most valuable were: Gyrinus distinctus, Haliplus fulvicollis, H. variegatus, Ilybius erichsoni, Graphoderus austriacus, Hydroporus glabriusculus, H. incognitus, Hydrochus ignicollis, H. megaphallus, Spercheus emarginatus, Anacaena globulus, Berosus frontifoveatus, Enochrus melanocephalus, Hydrophilus aterrimus, Cercyon quisquilius, C. unipunctatus, Limnebius aluta, Dryops anglicanus, Heterocerus fenestratus and Cyphon pubescens. The most species were found in small water bodies and lakes. The collected material was ecologically diversified; dominating groups were eurytopes as well as tyrphobionts and tyrphophiles, rheophilous species were also numerous. Taking into consideration data discussed in this paper and literature as well as the lack of complex studies, in waters of the Suwalski Landscape Park 139 beetle species have been recorded so far, of which 136 species represent true aquatic beetles (the authors provide the list of them). This number is similar or even higher than the one recorded in well studied, the most valuable and diversified habitats in protected areas of Poland. The Suwalski Landscape Park is also the place of occurrence of many species under protection, from the Red List of Animals in Poland or regarded as rarely occurring in Poland. It is also a refuge of many seriously threatened species in neighbouring countries. This confirms a great, overregional role of this area in the protection of aquatic beetles and their habitats.
Although aquatic beetles are one of the most diverse groups significantly contributing to species diversity in freshwaters, their occurrence and distribution has been studied very poorly in mid-western Poland. Consequently, our knowledge about the current aquatic beetle species richness and habitat preferences is still scarce in large parts of this region. To close this knowledge gap, we investigated a selected area of approximately 500 km2 in the south-western part of the Lubuskie Province, part of the Wielkopolsko-Kujawska Lowland, to obtain the richness of total, protected, endangered and rare species of aquatic beetles, as well as to analyse their diversity and ecological groups in representative habitats. For the study, 70 sampling sites representing ditches (5 localities), streams (4), rivers (13), small water bodies in open landscapes (7) and in forests (6), temporary (8) and permanent (7) fish ponds, lakes (4), fens (1), peat bogs (13) and marshes (2) were investigated from April to September 2011. In total, 115 species, including 10 protected by law or/and listed on the Polish Red List, as well as 11 rare and local in Poland species were found in the study area. Among them special attention should be paid to Macroplea appendiculata – a recently-discovered for the Wielkopolsko-Kujawska Lowland and critically endangered in Poland species as well as Rhantus incognitus – an endangered and rare species in Poland. The most frequent species was Hyphydrus ovatus (34.3% of sites), whereas 29 species, mostly stenotopic specialists, were recorded in only one site. Eurytopes and tyrphophiles were both present in each habitat type. Further, the most diverse habitats were temporary ponds containing 7 groups of stenotopes, whereas in streams only 2 groups were found. On average, the most species rich habitats were permanent ponds (median = 11 species) and bogs (11), but the highest species numbers were found in a temporary pond (44 species) and in a small water body in open landscape (42). The lowest species richness was found in streams (maximum 4 species per site). According to an evaluation of habitat types based on protected, threatened and rare species, the most important were permanent and temporary ponds in the forested, water-rich parts of the study area. In agriculturally dominated parts, however, small rivers and occasionally small water bodies were of high importance for rare species. We conclude that the species richness and abundance of protected, endangered and rare species are high in the study area in comparison to other parts of Poland. The most important habitats in terms of high diversity of aquatic beetles are predominantly permanent fish ponds and bogs, whereas permanent and temporary fish ponds play a key role for the high content of rare and protected species in the area.
The Wdzydzki Landscape Park lies in the Tuchola Forests which are among the areas of key importance for conservation of dragonflies in Poland. In the years 2002–2009, 55 dragonfly species were recorded in the park and its buffer zone. Lakes and Sphagnum bogs housed the highest species richness. Among the recorded species, one is included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, two in the European Red List, two in the Polish Red List, ten species legally protected in Poland and ten “umbrella species”. Peatbog lakes and Sphagnum bogs were most important for conservational issues. Dragonfly fauna of the studied area is among the species-richest in Poland. Its conservation value is high due to occurrence of stenotopic species, its importance for the conservation of rare and endangered species as well as for maintenance of odonatocoenoses typical of a range of natural waters. It results mostly from the forest coverage and high richness, variety and good ecological state of the surface waters. Interesting from the zoogeographical point of view was development of some thermophilic species in the lake littoral. It may be an indication of changes in thermal regime of surface waters, related to climate warming.
In lakes Rogóźno and Zagłębocze located in the Łęczna-Włodawa Plain (E Poland), monthly and daily changes in the vertical distribution of phytoplankton biomass were investigated. In both lakes, phytoplankton biomass in metalimnion were two or three times higher than in epilimnion. In Rogóźno Lake, Planktothrix rubescens dominated in phytoplankton (> 80% of biomass), whereas in Zagłębocze Lake − Ceratium hirundinella prevailed (> 90% of biomass). The biomass maxima of Pl. rubescens (at 6 m depth – 43.5 mg dm-3 and at 7 m depth - 24.4 mg dm-3) were always below the lower limit of the euphotic zone, i.e. at the depth where the light was < 1%, and the water temperature was < 10 °C. Large biomass of C. hirundinella was observed always in metalimnion (up to 43.6 mg dm-3 in July) at the lower limit of the euphotic zone (transparency of Sd = 3.0 m). In August, when transparency of Sd = 2.5 m, biomass of C. hirundinella varied significantly during the day in the two thermal layers. In epilimnion, the largest increase of biomass was observed in daylight hours and the decrease at night. The reverse situation was observed in metalimnion − the decline in the daytime and the increase at night. The studies revealed that despite different mechanisms of motility (buoyancy or flagellar movement), vertical migrations of these species corresponded mainly to the changing light.
Authors discuss the collection of larvae and imagines of Odonata which was collected during hydrobiological and acarological studies conducted in Montenegro in 2010 and 2012. The material encompasses 28 dragonfly species of which Ophiogomphus cecilia has been recorded in this country for the first time. The updated checklist of the dragonflies of Montenegro was also provided.
The information about the distribution of caddisflies (Trichoptera) in mid-western Poland beinga part of the Wielkopolsko-Kujawska Lowland (WKL) faunistic region is still scarce compared to other regions. To close the knowledge gap, we investigated caddisflies larvae and occasionally imagines in a selected area in mid-western Poland in 2011. The aim was the preliminary estimation of species richness and abundance of protected, rare and endangered species in this part of WKL. For the study 63 sampling sites representing broad spectrum of habitat types were chosen and analysed with various ecological indices. In total, 75 species: 46 as larvae and 51 as imagines were found in the area. Among them, one protected species (Crunoecia irrorata), 5 listed in the Polish Red List (Erotesis baltica, Hydropsyche bulgaromanorum, Ylodes simulans, Limnephulus borealis and L. fuscinervis), and 11 species not reported for WKL yet were found in the area. In the whole material, the most frequent and dominant species was Limnephilus flavicornis. In contrast, 50 species were recorded in less than 5% of sites. The highest species richness was found in rivers and fish ponds with total number of 33 and 32 species, respectively, whereas the lowest one in springs (5 species) and bogs (6 species). The highest species diversity obtained with probability of intraspecific encounter (PIE) Index was found in fish ponds (0.90) and rivers (0.85) as well. In contrast, streams had the lowest PIE value (0.60) in the area. The most valuable habitat types with regard to protected, endangered and rare species were rivers and fish ponds, as well as lakes and streams of lower importance. To conclude, our investigation indicated a high species richness and diversity in the area, which was related to high habitat heterogeneity, thus having significant importance for biodiversity preservation in mid-western Poland. Moreover, fish ponds and rivers were the most valuable habitat types significantly contributing to species richness, diversity and preservation of rare and endangered species in this area.
In Central Europe, as well as in Poland many introduced spider species have been recorded in the past decades. Most of them are from areas with warm climate, and spreading mainly in synanthropic environment, rarely colonizing natural habitats. Results of research, presented in this paper extend the list of Polish synanthropic araneofauna by four species: Latrodectus mactans, Cheiracanthium mildei, Heteropoda venatoria and Heliophanus cf. apiatus. In addition, new findings of rare or rarely collected synanthropic spider species (Nesticella mogera, Scytodes thoracica, Psilochorus simoni, Uloborus plumipes, Parasteatoda tabulata, Steatoda triangulosa, Mermessus trilobatus, Ostearius melanopygius, Hasarius adansoni, Leptorchestes berolinensis, Pseudeuophrys lanigera) are discussed. Presented data enrich our knowledge about distribution of these species in Poland and show new pathways of potential expansion. For Uloborus plumipes and Hasarius adansoni presence of stable, permanent populations is shown. Findings of Mermessus trilobatus and Ostearius melanopygius in open country suggest that these alien species are gradually colonizing natural biotopes.
The course of pollination processes, pollen morphology and the degree of stigma pollination both in self-compatible (four lines) and in self-incompatible (two cultivars) plants of Secale cereale were examined. It was ascertained that either the self-compatible or the self-incompatible plants produced in anthers large amounts of the vital pollen, which during pollination was deposited in different manner on the stigma surface. It is worth noting that the presence of the leftovers of tapetum between mature pollen grains only in the anther of two self-incompatible cultivars was observed.
The collections of water mites (Hydrachnidia) from the years 1973 and 1974 of two upland rivers – the Biała and Czarna Łada (south-eastern Poland) were elaborated. Among 1,178 individuals, 43 species were distinguished: 34 species in the River Biała Łada and 27 in the River Czarna Łada. Rheophiles and rheobionts were dominating. Some mountain species, rare in the upland areas also occurred. Seasonal changes of numbers and clear negative impact of water pollution and hydrotechnical works on water mites were found in the studied rivers, too.
The structure of the anther and pollen grain was investigated in an Antarctic plant Deschampsia antarctica Desv. under a confocal microscope (CLSM). The Antarctic hair grass is one of the two native vascular plants growing in Antarctica. The structure of D. antarctica stamens with their short filaments and elongated anthers is typical of the family Poaceae. Microsporogenesis and development of D. antarctica pollen grains proceeds in a way typical of angiosperms from the family Poaceae. Beside the pistil, the hermaphroditic flower has three stamens with numerous pollen grains in pollen loculi. The monoporate and heteropolar pollen grains have a porus located at the distal pole. When observed under the confocal microscope (CLSM), D. antarctica microspores and pollen grains packed tightly inside the microsporangium exhibit strong fluorescence after eosin staining (green fluorescence). The use of calcofluor yielded blue fluorescence of anther endothecial cell walls. The D. antarctica anther endothecium is formed of a single layer of cells, although more than one layer of cells were observed at some sites.
During meiosis in microsporogenesis in spermatophytes and in sporogenesis in bryophytes and ferns, regular rearrangement of cytoplasmic organelles (chondriokinesis) occurs. In the present paper, the course of chondriokinesis has been analysed in several representatives of the family Malvaceae (Gossypium arboreum, Alcea rosea and Lavatera thuringiaca). It was revealed that cell organelles in all the species analysed aggregated around the nucleus at the end of prophase I, and next they surrounded two nuclei in telophase I. This position persisted not only until the end of meiosis, but also in post-meiotic cells after formation of microspore sporoderm on mononuclear pollen grains. Currently, this type of cell organelle aggregation has not been reported from other plant groups, and it seems to be characteristic of the representatives of the family Malvaceae only. The role of this type of cell organelle rearrangement still requires elucidation. The current theories are concerned with dividing cells, whereas the cell organelle aggregation described in the present work was observed in post-meiotic cells as well, i.e. in mononuclear pollen grains.
