Morphological and Molecular Evidence for the Occurrence of Hodophilus variabilipes (Clavariaceae, Agaricales) in Poland

<em>Hodophilus variabilipes</em>, a species hitherto unknown in Poland, has been reported from a single locality in the Pieniny Mts (S Poland). The first studies on <em>H. variabilipes </em>were those of macro- and microscopic features and molecular characteristics (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA sequences). Here, a brief description and illustration of <em>H. variabilipes </em>based on Polish material are given, and the ecology and characteristics distinguishing <em>H. variabilipes </em>from related species of the genus <em>Hodophilus </em>are briefly discussed.

Pleurospermum austriacum (Apiaceae) – nowy górski gatunek we florze Wyżyny Częstochowskiej

In May 2018, Pleurospermum austriacum (L.) Hoffm. was found in the Skały Kroczyckie hills (Wyżyna Częstochowska Upland, S Poland; Fig. 1). The population consisted of 47 plants, including 11 flowering ones, growing in Dentario enneaphyllidis-Fagetum forest. In 2019 only 55 vegetative plants were observed at this locality, probably due to a prolonged spring drought. In Poland, P. austriacum occurs mainly in the Carpathians and Sudetes in tall-herb communities of the class Betulo-Adenostyletea; its occurrence outside mountainous areas consists of relict populations from the Pleistocene glacial (Vistulian). In the last fifty years, more than half of the previously known localities of P. austriacum in the Małopolska Upland and Wyżyna Krakowsko-Częstochowska Upland have disappeared. Climatic changes are considered the main threat to relict lowland populations of P. austriacum in Poland.

Neo- and Paleo-Limnological Studies on Diatom and Cladoceran Communities of Subsidence Ponds Affected by Mine Waters (S. Poland)

Plankton assemblages can be altered to different degrees by mining. Here, we test how diatoms and cladocerans in ponds along a river in southern Poland respond to the cessation of the long-term Pb-Zn mining. There are two groups of subsidence ponds in the river valley. One of them (DOWN) was contaminated over a period of mining, which ceased in 2009, whereas the other (UP) appeared after the mining had stopped. We used diatoms and cladocerans (complete organisms in plankton and their remains in sediments) to reveal the influence of environmental change on the structure and density of organisms. The water of UP pond was more contaminated by major ions (SO42−, Cl−) and nutrients (NO3−, PO43−) than the DOWN ponds. Inversely, concentrations of Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb were significantly higher in sediment cores of DOWN ponds in comparison to those in the UP pond. Ponds during mining had higher diversity of diatoms and cladocerans than the pond formed after the mining had stopped. CCA showed that diatom and cladoceran communities related most significantly to concentrations of Pb in sediment cores. Comparison of diatom and cladoceran communities in plankton and sediment suggests significant recovery of assemblages in recent years and reduction of the harmful effect of mine-originating heavy metals. Some features of ponds such as the rate of water exchange by river flow and the presence of water plants influenced plankton communities more than the content of dissolved heavy metals.

New and interesting records of Diptera on glacial sand deposits in Silesia (NE Czech Republic). Part 1 - Acalyptratae

Records of 18 species of the families Micropezidae (1 species), Lonchaeidae (1 species), Lauxaniidae (1 species), Chamaemyiidae (6 species), Agromyzidae (6 species) and Chloropidae (3 species) from glacial sand deposits in the Czech Silesia (NE Czech Republic) are presented and their association with sandy habitats is discussed. All of them are recorded from the Czech Silesia for the first time, 4 are new additions to the fauna of Moravia and 9 for the whole Czech Republic. None of the recorded species is psammobiont but five of them are classified as psammophilous, viz. Micropeza lateralis Meigen, 1826 (Micropezidae), Calliopum geniculatum (Fabricius, 1805) (Lauxaniidae), Cerodontha (Xenophytomyza) leptophallus L. Papp, 2016, Ophiomyia disordens Pakalniškis, 1998 (both Agromyzidae), Aphanotrigonum parahastatum Dely-Draskovits, 1981 (Chloropidae), and Leucopis celsa Tanasijtshuk, 1979 as probably psammophilous. A new easternmost record of M. lateralis (from S. Poland: Godów) is presented and the association of this species and C. geniculatum with growths of Cytisus scoparius is confirmed. Leucopis monticola Tanasijtshuk, 1961, L. celsa and A. parahastatum are recorded from northernmost known localities. These species, and also C. (X.) leptophallus seem to be thermophilous and/or xerophilous and can be considered southern elements in the Silesian fauna of Diptera.