scholarly journals A Unique Population in a Unique Area: The Alcon Blue Butterfly and Its Specific Parasitoid in the Białowieża Forest

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 687
Author(s):  
Izabela Dziekańska ◽  
Piotr Nowicki ◽  
Ewa Pirożnikow ◽  
Marcin Sielezniew
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Social Parasites ◽  
Białowieża Forest ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Ne Poland ◽  
Myrmica Ants ◽  
Alcon Blue ◽  
Myrmica Scabrinodis ◽  
Blue Butterfly

Caterpillars of the Alcon blue butterfly Phengaris alcon are initially endophytic and feed inside the flowerheads of Gentiana plants, but complete their development as social parasites in the nests of Myrmica ants, where they are fed by workers. Its specific and complicated ecological requirements make P. alcon a very local, threatened species, sensitive to environmental changes. We investigated an isolated and previously unknown population in an area of high nature value—the Białowieża Forest (NE Poland). Using the mark–release–recapture method we estimated the seasonal number of adults at 1460 individuals, and their density (850/ha) was the highest among all populations using G. pneumonanthe studied so far. The site is also unique due to the presence of the specific parasitoid Ichneumon cf. eumerus, and parasitoids are considered the ultimate indicators of the biodiversity of Phengaris systems. Since 75.5% of P. alcon pupae were infested we could estimate the seasonal population of adult wasps at about 4500 individuals. The high abundance of both P. alcon and its parasitoid may be explained by favorable habitat characteristics, i.e., the strong presence of host plants and the high density of nests of Myrmica scabrinodis, which is the only local host ant of the butterfly.

scholarly journals Habitat features of settlement areas used by floaters of Bonelli’s and Golden Eagles

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
JESÚS CARO ◽  
DIEGO ONTIVEROS ◽  
MANUEL PIZARRO ◽  
JUAN M. PLEGUEZUELOS
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Bonelli’S Eagle ◽  
Declining Species ◽  
Dispersal Period ◽  
Settlement Areas

SummaryBonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus and Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos are two declining species, in which floaters tend to be located outside of breeding territories during the dispersal period, in so-called settlement areas. We studied settlement areas for both these long-lived raptors in the southern Iberian Peninsula, to gain a better understanding of the ecological requirements of the eagles during their long pre-adult stage, a period accounting for around 80% of the species’ mortality. Eagle abundance was calculated by road censuses, and habitat characteristics of settlement and non-settlement areas compared by General Discriminant Analysis (GDA) and Logistic Regression (LR). The best model of GDA and LR incorporated the abundance of main prey for eagles (rabbits, partridges) and orchard surface area, and explained 100% of eagle presence; the best model selected by GDA also included habitat heterogeneity. Both eagles tended to share settlement areas in the southern Iberian Peninsula and, when they did not, the mean annual temperature and slope appeared to explain the segregation between the two species. Management measures for the conservation of both threatened species during the dispersal period should be focused on identifying settlement areas, maintaining high prey densities and maximum habitat heterogeneity.

Dietary composition of endangered seahorses determined by stable isotope analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 831 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Valladares ◽  
D. X. Soto ◽  
M. Planas
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Isotope Mixing Models ◽  
North Western

The lack of integrated measures for assessing the feeding ecology of seahorses may restrict the effectiveness of conservation actions on wild populations of worldwide threatened seahorse species. Identifying dietary sources will allow researchers to determine their degree of vulnerability to environmental changes, redefine their conservation status and apply appropriate management strategies. The resource use of the seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus inhabiting coastal waters of Galicia (north-western Iberian Peninsula) was assessed for three populations and 2 years using stable isotope mixing models. The Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) estimated the relative contributions of the dietary sources to the seahorse diet and revealed that Caprellidea were the primary source, followed by Gammaridea and Caridea. Mysidae and Annelida represented the less dominant prey. This prey preference can be explained by the foraging behaviour of seahorses. Different contributions of Gammaridea and Caridea to the diet were found among sites, indicating different habitat characteristics and hence different habitat use by seahorses within each site. In addition, differences were encountered among sexes. Caprellidea was the dominant prey for females, whereas Gammaridea was the dominant prey for males. The findings of the present study will contribute to the knowledge of feeding patterns of H. guttulatus, providing relevant data for conservation of this endangered species.

scholarly journals Habitat selection by booming bitterns Botaurus stellaris in French Mediterranean reed-beds

Oryx ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Poulin ◽  
Gaëtan Lefebvre ◽  
Raphaël Mathevet
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Site Management ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Percentage Cover ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Reed Beds ◽  
Ecological Requirements

Data on habitat requirements of the threatened Eurasian bittern Botaurus stellaris are largely qualitative and limited to countries holding small populations. We assessed the habitat spectrum exploited by male bitterns during the breeding season, based on the analysis of 40 booming sites and 33 non-booming sites in 2,500 ha of heterogeneous reed-beds in the Camargue, France. Environmental variables contributing to booming site selection were, in decreasing order of importance, determined by their contribution to multivariate statistical models: water level in April, proportion of open water, density of dry and green reeds, percentage cover of non-reed species, salinity and turbidity of surface water, and reed height and diameter. Overall, booming sites were characterized by a homogeneous cover of relatively sparse green and dry reeds growing with other plant species in shallow (10–15 cm), clear water. Because these findings are contrary to the traditional perception of bittern habitat in Europe, a reassessment of the species' ecological requirements throughout its distributional range is warranted. In the Camargue the main factors involved in habitat selection (water level and dry reed density) are directly associated with site management, and bitterns respond rapidly to slight environmental changes.

scholarly journals Entomopathogenic Rickia wasmannii fungal infection generated colony-level stress effects cause size decline in Myrmica ants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Csősz ◽  
Zoltán Rádai ◽  
András Tartally ◽  
Lilla Erika Ballai ◽  
Ferenc Báthori
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Infection Level ◽  
Stress Effects ◽  
Myrmica Ants ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Myrmica Scabrinodis ◽  
Rickia Wasmannii ◽  
Colony Level

Abstract Parasitism-generated negative effects on ant societies are multifaceted, implying individual and colony-level responses. Though laboratory based evidence shows that the sublethal fungus Rickia wasmannii is responsible for physiological and behavioral responses that may negatively affect individual workers’ resilience and life expectancy in Myrmica ant workers, colony-level stress response to this parasite is largely unknown. Here, we focus on understanding of a long-term, colony-level effect of Rickia infection on Myrmica scabrinodis ant populations by tracking trait size-based changes. We collected worker specimens from infected and uninfected colonies from the same population in order to: (i) compare body size in response to parasitism, (ii) assess the extent to which possible changes in size are associated with the severity of infection, and (iii) investigate shifts in body size in response to infection over time by testing correlation of workers’ ages and sizes. We found that workers from infected colonies were significantly smaller than their healthy congeners, but neither infection level nor the age of the workers showed significant correlation with the size in infected colonies. Decreasing body sizes in infected colonies can be ascribed to workers’ mediated stress toward developing larvae, which are unable to attain the average body size before they pupate.

scholarly journals Fungus moths (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) of the Białowieża Forest

2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Jaworski ◽  
Jacek Hilszczański ◽  
Radosław Plewa ◽  
Andrzej Szczepkowski
Keyword(s):  
Current Distribution ◽  
New Records ◽  
Białowieża Forest ◽  
Ne Poland ◽  
First Time ◽  
Laboratory Breeding

AbstractNew records for twenty species of saproxylic tineid moths (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) from the Białowieża Forest (NE Poland) are presented. Most species were recorded on the basis of laboratory breeding of the adult moths from the sporocarps of wood-decaying fungi inhabited by the larvae. Some species were captured using barrier traps or were collected at light. One species, Dryadaula irinae (Savenkov, 1989), is recorded for the first time from Poland and three others, Nemaxera betulinella (Paykull, 1785), Nemapogon fungivorella (Benander, 1939) and Elatobia fuliginosella Lienig & Zeller, 1846, are recognized as new for the fauna of the Białowieża Forest. The current distribution in Poland of each species is briefly discussed, and some remarks on its biology are given

scholarly journals Behavioural and socially parasitic relations between Polyergus rufescens (Latr.) and Formica polyctena Först. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Czechowski
Keyword(s):  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Formica Polyctena ◽  
Chemical Camouflage ◽  
Białowieża Forest ◽  
Ne Poland ◽  
Formica Fusca ◽  
Wood Ants ◽  
Polyergus Rufescens ◽  
Mutual Relations ◽  
Competition Hierarchy

Polyergus rufescens (Latr.), an obligate slave-maker, and Formica polyctena Först., an aggressive, territorial wood ant species, rarely co-occur in the field, and there are almost no data on their mutual relations under natural conditions. These interactions were studied in the Bialowieza Forest (NE Poland), based on two P. rufescens colonies (with Formica fusca L. slaves) nesting within the territories of F. polyctena. The wood ants routinely searched the immediate vicinity of P. rufescens nests, whereas P. rufescens ants raided F. fusca colonies very close to F. polyctena nests or their columns passed right next to them, they eventually crossed wood ants’ foraging and removal routes, and even directly attacked F. polyctena colonies and robbed their brood. Interspeciflc relations in these particular situations are described and discussed in the contexts of supposed chemical camouflage/mimicry of P. rufescens and interspecific competition hierarchy in ants.

scholarly journals Movements of European bison (Bison bonasus) beyond the Białowieża Forest (NE Poland): range expansion or partial migrations?

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Kowalczyk ◽  
Małgorzata Krasińska ◽  
Tomasz Kamiński ◽  
Marcin Górny ◽  
Paweł Struś ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Range Expansion ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
European Bison ◽  
Bison Bonasus ◽  
Białowieża Forest ◽  
Ne Poland

scholarly journals Ecological assessment of a southeastern Brazil reservoir

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabela Martins ◽  
Barbara Sanches ◽  
Philip Robert Kaufmann ◽  
Robert M. Hughes ◽  
Gilmar Bastos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Littoral Zone ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Aquatic Biota

Reservoirs are artificial ecosystems with multiple functions having direct and indirect benefits to humans; however, they also cause ecological changes and influence the composition and structure of aquatic biota. Our objectives were to: (1) assess the environmental condition of Nova Ponte Reservoir, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil; and (2) determine how the aquatic biota respond to disturbances. A total of 40 sites in the littoral zone of the reservoir were sampled to characterize physical and chemical habitat, land use, and benthic macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages. The predominant type of land cover near the reservoir was natural vegetation. A total of 29 fish species and 39 macroinvertebrate taxa were collected, including eight alien species. Most sites had intermediate levels of human disturbance, however, high levels of degradation were associated with high proportions of alien species. Disturbances at multiple scales may alter natural patterns and processes, leading to environmental changes and damaging biological communities. Our results reinforce the importance of assessing reservoir ecological conditions at several scales. The study of land use, littoral zone physical habitat characteristics, water quality, and assemblage structure set the ground for proposing actions to rehabilitate and conserve aquatic ecosystems.

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