Highest Number Of Taxa Research Articles

Trophic links of the song thrush (Turdus philomelos) in transformed forest ecosystems of North-Eastern Ukraine

The diet spectrum of the song thrush (Turdus philomelos Brehm, 1831; Passeriformes, Turdidae) was studied with the aim of supporting the population of the species in transformed forests of North-Eastern Ukraine. Four forest ecosystems were surveyed: three model sites in oak woodlands with different stages of recreational digression, and the fourth model site in a pine-oak forest. A total of 45 invertebrate taxa with the dominance of Insecta (64.6%, n = 1321), Oligochaеta (16.7%), and Gastropoda (12.0%) were revealed in the diet of the song thrush. At the level of orders, Lepidoptera (66.2%) was dominant. In the qualitative structure of the song thrush nestling diet, the highest number of taxa (40.5–59.1%) was represented by phytophages. Phytophagous species also comprised the majority of the consumed prey items (44.7–80.3%). Environmental conditions are an important factor, affecting the diet composition of birds. The most favourable foraging conditions for the thrushes were revealed in natural protected areas. The analysis has shown a fairly even foraging efficiency of the thrushes in all the studied sites. The highest biodiversity indices were found in a protected area of the National Nature Park “Homilshanski Forests”. The results of the research indicate an important role of T. philomelos in the population management of potentially dangerous agricultural pests.

Ecological Characteristics of Species of the Genus Micrasterias C. Agardh ex Ralfs (Family Desmidiaceae) in West Siberia (Russia)

Data on the species diversity of the genus Micrasterias C. Agardh ex Ralfs representatives from water bodies of West Siberia and their occurrence in zones and subzones are generalized. Twenty-three specific and intraspecific taxa from the order Desmidiales are now known. The representatives of the family occur in mosaic order in the entire area of West Siberia. The highest number of taxa (15) was revealed in the middle taiga; significantly fewer were determined in southern and northern taiga, 9 and 8 taxa, respectively; and 3’5 taxa were in other zones. No such species were discovered in the steppe zone. Thirteen species (18 taxa) of the genus were found in lakes of different types, 5 species (7 taxa) in watercourses, 4 (5 taxa) were found in swamps, and 4 species were detected in temporal water bodies. The analysis performed on the adaptation of the species to environmental conditions demonstrated that representatives of this genus might serve as indicators of acid and brackish water. In relation to mineralization, halophobes are predominant (11 taxa) and acidophilus plants (15 taxa) predominate as pH indicators.

La familia Bromeliaceae en México

Antecedentes: Las Bromeliaceae mexicanas han despertado el interés de los botánicos desde 1789; su estudio sistemático inició a partir de la década de los setenta del siglo pasado, contando actualmente con avances significativos en su conocimiento taxonómico-florístico.Pregunta: ¿Cuántas y cuáles especies de Bromeliaceae se presentan en México? ¿Cómo están distribuidas y cuántas son endémicas?Sitio de estudio: México, 1887-2017.Métodos: Con base en el estudio de las Bromeliaceae de México, incluyendo recolecciones botánicas, revisión de literatura y consulta, cotejo y determinación de ejemplares en 50 herbarios nacionales y extranjeros, se obtuvieron datos sobre riqueza, endemismo y distribución de sus representantes en el país.Resultados: En México están representadas cuatro de las ocho subfamilias de Bromeliaceae, 19 géneros, 422 especies y 8 taxones infraespecíficos. Los géneros más ricos en especies son Tillandsia (230/54.5 %), Hechtia (71/16.8 %) y Pitcairnia (50/11.8 %). Trescientas dieciocho especies, así como los géneros Ursulaea y Viridantha, son endémicos de México; 172 especies son microendémicas. La entidad con más taxones es Oaxaca, seguida por Chiapas, Veracruz y Guerrero y las que cuentan con menor representación son Tlaxcala y Baja California Sur. Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Ciudad de México, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tabasco y Tlaxcala no tienen taxones endémicos estrictos.Conclusión: Aunque el avance del conocimiento de las Bromeliaceae mexicanas ha sido constante, todavía se requiere de trabajo de exploración y recolección en algunas regiones del país, antes de concluir la flora Bromeliológica Mexicana. También es necesario abordar aspectos de conservación y aprovechamiento sustentable.

Richness, geographic distribution patterns, and areas of endemism of selected angiosperm groups in Mexico

AbstractMexico is a megadiverse country. Presently, 22 126 species of angiosperms have been registered within its territory and 11 001 are considered to be endemic. However, their geographical distributions are far from homogeneous. In addition, Mexico is the center of diversification of several groups. Our analysis focused on such groups. The aims were to identify areas of species richness and endemism. A data matrix with 766 species and 25 579 geographical records was analyzed. It included Calochortus (Liliaceae); Bletia (Orchidaceae); Tigridieae (Iridaceae); Amaryllidaceae; Poliantheae, Echeandia (Asparagaceae); Crassulaceae; Hylocereus (Cactaceae); Solanum, Lycianthes and Physalinae (Solanaceae); Salvia section Membranaceae (Lamiaceae); and Cosmos and Dahlia (Asteraceae). Using Geographic Information Systems, we determined richness and distribution based on: (i) Mexican political divisions, (ii) biogeographical regions and provinces, (iii) a grid of 0.5 × 0.5° cells, and (iv) elevation. The areas of endemism were estimated using the endemicity analysis. The highest number of taxa and endemic plants were concentrated within the Transmexican Volcanic Belt in the Mexican Transition Zone. This mountain range has been recognized as a province on the basis of geologic, tectonic, geomorphologic, physiographic and biogeographic criteria. It is a 1000 km long volcanic arc that extends east to west through Central Mexico and is variably from 80 to 230 km wide, between 17°30′ to 20°25′N and 96°20′ to 105°20′W. Our results represent a local deviation from the global richness latitudinal gradient of angiosperm species.

Monitoring and assessment of water quality in the Haraz River of Iran, using benthic macroinvertebrates indices

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between river water quality and the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the Haraz River in Iran. Using a surber net sampler, benthic macroinvertebrate communities along the stream was sampled in wet and dry seasons of 2015 at nine stations with three replications. The physicochemical water quality parameters were measured in the field by water checker. Hilsenhoff biotic Indices, Shannon Wiener Diversity Indices, Average Score per Taxon (ASPT) Index and Pielou Evenness Index were applied to carry out a biological assessment of water quality. A total of 3781 (spring 769, summer 1092, autumn 1095 and winter 825) benthic macroinvertebrate specimens belonging to 4 orders, 11 classes and 16 families were identified. The lowest number of taxa was recorded in spring while the highest was recorded in autumn. Station 9 had the lowest number of taxa while the highest number of taxa was recorded at station 3. The average values (±SD) of the water quality parameters were temperature 14.75 ± 4.38 °C, pH 7.93 ± 0.62, water flow 14.11 ± 9.04 m3 s−1, electric conductivity 532.75 ± 161.35 μmohs cm−1, total dissolved solids 296.61 ± 76.21 mg L−1, salinity 0.28 ± 0.07 mg L−1, turbidity 580.77 ± 149.92 NTU and dissolved oxygen 8.08 ± 0.75 mg L−1. The assessment of stations 1 to 6 indicated that water quality conditions were suitable. In addition, substantial level of organic pollution was observed in stations 7 and 8. In station 9 water quality was fairly poor, requiring a more favourable management based on the capacity of the self-purification of the Haraz River.

Octopus maya parasites off the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. I. Faunal assemblages.

The red octopus Octopus maya Voss et Solís-Ramírez, 1966 is an endemic species found exclusively off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico; its fishery is one of the most important along the Atlantic coast of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. To date, the parasite fauna of Octopus spp. in southern Mexico remains unknown. In this study, we present the parasite fauna of O. maya from 8 localities along the Yucatán Peninsula. From August 2009 to June 2010, a total of 1202 specimens of O. maya were caught by artisanal fisheries and examined. Twenty parasite taxa were recorded from all octopus examined: 7 cestodes, 8 digeneans, 3 nematodes, 1 copepod and 1 coccidian. All taxa are new records for this host species, and the sampled locations represent new records of the geographic distribution of these parasite taxa. The gills and the intestine were the micro-habitats in which the highest number of taxa were found. More than half of the parasites (13 taxa) that we found infected O. maya via its feeding habits, although a high number of taxa (n = 9) colonized via active transmission. Cestoda and Digenea were the taxonomic groups with the highest number of taxa. Prochristianella sp. showed the highest prevalence and mean abundance values in the localities where it was present. This work represents the first study on the parasite fauna of any cephalopod species in Mexico.

Alpine home gardens in the Western Italian Alps: the role of gender on the local agro-biodiversity and its management

ABSTRACT Home gardens are reservoirs of biodiversity, promoting food security and maintaining farm ecosystem processes. A study on alpine home gardens was conducted in two valleys in Piedmont, north-western Italy. Forty semi-structured interviews with garden managers were gathered. We analysed if gender roles affect the agro-biodiversity and the management of home gardens in the Western Italian Alps. The results show that mixed couples (consisting of men and women) present higher diversity of management practices and a higher number of taxa detected: 138 taxa were detected and out of that 138 taxa were found among mixed couples, 82 among male gardeners and 69 among female gardeners. Indeed, when vegetable gardens are managed by men only, more than half of the taxa are represented by horticultural species. On the other hand, when vegetable gardens are managed by women only, flowering species, wild and semi-wild species representing a relevant percentage of the total number of mentioned taxa. Despite most of the literature emphasising the role of women in biodiversity conservation and traditional ecological knowledge keeping, this study seeks to demonstrate that the joint presence of men and women appears to increase the levels of biodiversity and diversity in management practices within alpine home gardens.

PALEOBATHYMETRIC EVOLUTION OF THE EARLY LATE MIOCENE DEPOSITS OF THE PRE-APULIAN ZONE, LEVKAS ISLAND, IONIAN SEA

The Manassi section in Levkas Island belongs to the Pre-Apulian (Paxos) zone, the most external domain of the Hellenic realm. Its Early Tortonian sediments contain a rich foraminiferal fauna dominated, in numbers of individuals, by planktic species. Its benthic foraminiferal assemblage is characterized by a high number of taxa, with low numbers of individuals. Their study provides a basis for interpreting the paleobathymetry of the basin.The Manassi section represents deposition in upper to lower bathyal depths, during a period of intense tectonic activity. Downslope transport of fauna by turbidity currents partly overprints the signal of paleobathymetrically-diagnostic foraminifera distribution. The recognition of allochthonous taxa is used, together with %P, to identify turbidite beds intercalated with in-situ marly sediments. The micropaleontological and paleobathymetrical analyses of the studied sediments indicate that these correspond to distal atypical flysch deposited in the foredeep depozone of the most external domain (Pre-Apulian zone) of the Hellenide foreland basin.

Species Diversity of Lichens in the Sacred Groves of Epirus (Greece)

Muggia, L., Kati, V., Rohrer, A., Halley, J. & Mayrhofer, H. 2018. Species diversity of lichens in the sacred groves of Epirus (Greece). – Herzogia 31: 231–244.The sacred groves in the mountains of Epirus in NW Greece have been established during the Ottoman period and consist of locally adapted systems set apart from the surrounding intensively managed, anthropogenic landscape. We inventoried eight sacred groves and compared them with nearby control (managed) forests. In total, 166 taxa of lichens and five of lichenicolous fungi were recorded. The most common lichen species were Anaptychia ciliaris, Phlyctis argena and Lecidella elaeochroma. Seven species are new for Greece: Calicium quercinum, Chaenotheca ferruginea, Chaenotheca trichialis, Chaenothecopsis nana, Leptogium hibernicum, Parvoplaca nigroblastidiata and Rinodina orculata. The sacred groves appeared not very different from the control forests; more pronounced differences were observed between deciduous oak evergreen oak and pine forests. Localities characterized by deciduous oak forest hosted the highest number of taxa belonging to the order Peltigerales, the most frequent were: Nephroma laevigatum, Collema subflaccidum, Leptogium lichenoides and Lobaria pulmonaria, but also rare species such as Polychidium muscicola, Koerberia biformis and Degelia atlantica were recorded.

Underwater video offers new insights into community structure in the Grande Vasière (Bay of Biscay)

Summary Based on towed underwater videos, diversity patterns and their main environmental and anthropogenic drivers were assessed in the “Grande Vasiere” (northeast Bay of Biscay), one of the main French fishing grounds. The density of bentho-demersal megafauna was recorded along 152 transects in this area in 2014. The highest number of taxa and densities were observed on the external margin of the Grande Vasiere, in deep areas with low fishing intensity. The highest levels of taxa evenness were located on the central and coastal parts that are shallower and exposed to medium to high trawling intensity. Multivariate analysis identified four different communities driven by fishing intensity, depth, sediment type and bottom current speed. We distinguished three communities in the centre of the Grande Vasiere covered by medium to highly trawled soft sediments and characterized by Hydrozoa, Crustacea such as Munida rugosa, Nephrops norvegicus and Goneplax rhomboides and Actinopterygii unidentified. A fourth community was identified on the external margin, deeper, undergoing lower trawling intensity than the other communities and dominated by sessile filter feeders. The fragile taxa observed in this study had almost always been unobserved by from previous studies using scientific trawl sampling. Underwater video thus allowed collecting unprecedented data by direct visualization of the seabed and the observation of fragile taxa that cannot be effectively sampled by traditional scientific sampling methods used in previous studies.

Exploring spatio-temporal patterns of plankton diversity and community structure as correlates of water quality in a tropical stream

Ecology of plankton in the downstream reaches of Kaduna River, Zungeru, Niger state, Nigeria was investigated between April and August 2015. Plankton and surface water samples were collected monthly from three stations for analysis of plankton diversity and physico-chemical parameters respectively. Station 1 is relatively unperturbed station located at the outskirts of Zungeru town, station 2 with moderate human activity located in Zungeru town while station 3 with minimal level of anthropogenic activities was located in Wushishi town about 7km from station 2. The result revealed that the minimum and maximum values for pH water temperature, air temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO) biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), phosphate, Nitrate, and secchi disc transparency were 5.38–6.79, 25–31°C, 26–31°C, 32–72μs/cm, 3.50–8.20mg/l, 1.00–5.00mg/l, 0.06–1.13mg/l 0.44–1.31mg/l, 39.140cm respectively. A total of 26 species of zooplankton and 24 species of phytoplankton were encountered in the study. The highest number of plankton (20 taxa) was recorded at station 2 while station 1 with 18 taxa and station 3 with 13 representative taxa. For zooplankton, the highest number of taxa was recorded at station 1 (20 taxa), followed by station 3 (14 taxa) and 10 taxa in station 2 were identified. Copepoda of the order cyclopidae dominated all the three stations while Bacillariophyta dominated the three stations for phytoplankton diversity. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) ordination was used to determine phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance in relation to the physico-chemical parameters. Nitrate, phosphate and dissolved oxygen had over riding influence on the distribution of the plankton in the water body which indicate that the river is still very productive in terms of providing starter food organisms for higher aquatic life. However, care should be taken to protect the river from further deterioration due to various degrees of human activities.

Vertical distribution of mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton communities in the South-western Atlantic Ocean (23°14′1″S 40°42′19″W)

A study was conducted over eight consecutive days in February 2010 in which daily variations in the vertical distributions of heterotrophic bacteria, mesozooplankton and ichthyoplankton at 1–1200 m in the South-western Atlantic Ocean were investigated. Diurnal and nocturnal samples were collected at an oceanographic station at four regional depths: Tropical Water (TW) (1 m), South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) (250 m), Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) (800 m) and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW) (1200 m). Bacterial, mesozooplankton and larval fish densities significantly differed between sample depths but not between sampling tow times. In total, 154 zooplankton species and 18 larval fish species were identified. The highest number of taxa was obtained from the night-time TW trawls. This depth zone had the highest densities of mesozooplankton, larval fish and bacterioplankton (auto and heterotrophic), associated with the highest temperature and salinity and the lowest inorganic nutrient concentrations. Two sample groups were identified based on their mesozooplankton and larval fish compositions: night-time TW and other water masses (daytime TW, SACW, AAIW and UCDW). Thirty-two indicator species were detected in night-time TW. The copepodNullosetigera imparwas, to the best of our knowledge, identified for the first time on the Brazilian coast. Our results showed significant variability in the abundance and vertical distribution of mesozooplankton, bacterioplankton and larval fish along the water column in an oceanic area. We have provided new data and insights on the composition and vertical distribution of mesozooplankton, larval fish and bacterioplankton in deep waters in the South-western Atlantic Ocean.

Shaping of macroinvertebrate structures in a small fishless lowland stream exposed to anthropopressure, including the environmental conditions

In studies of abiotic and biotic factors influencing macroinvertebrate assemblages, there is always the problem of which factor – fish predation or environmental conditions – has the strongest impact on the invertebrates and whether the impact is positive or negative. The aim of our study was to determine the impact on the structures of macrozoobenthos in a small field watercourse exerted by abiotic conditions, with the concurrent lack of predators and varied intensity of anthropopressure. During the entire study period, the presence of 49 taxa of macroinvertebrates was recorded. The highest number of taxa and value of biodiversity was observed in the upper part of the watercourse, and subsequently decreased down the stream, reaching the lowest value at the sites located near the outlet. The tributaries significantly differed between each other in the number of taxa. In the tributary carrying water from wetland, a much higher number of taxa was noted than in the tributary carrying municipal water where the density achieved a significantly higher value of individuals than the remaining sites. The most limiting factors for the abundance of the investigated taxa were the oxygen concentration, nutrients and ammonia.

Water residence time in the Włocławek dam reservoir (the Vistula river, Poland) affects its macrozoobenthos structure

The aim of our study was to compare the macrozoobenthos structure as well as water and organic matter content of the bottom sediments of two hydrologically different zones of a strongly fluvial the Włocławek Dam Reservoir. Samples were collected from the Włocławek Dam Resevoir at six sites. Three of them were located in the upper, rheolimnic part (URP) of the reservoir and three others in its lower, limnetic part (LLP). Water transparency, sediment water content and organic matter content in the sediments were higher in the LLP. The higher number of taxa and diversity of macrozoobenthos were found in the URP of the reservoir. The density of bottom fauna was slightly higher in the LLP (90,990 ind. m−2) than in the UPR (73,486 ind. m−2), while the significantly higher biomass of macrozoobenthos was found in the URP of the reservoir (2314 g · m−2) than in the LLP (336 g · m−2). The dominant taxa of Oligochaeta and Chironomidae larvae did not show significant differences in the density between both zones. Some taxa were found only in the URP. In this zone, significantly higher densities of other taxa were observed. The only species with greater abundance in the LLP wasPotamothrix hammoniensis(Oligochaeta). Due to the very short water residence time, the differences in the parameters under study between the URP and the LLP of the reservoir were smaller as well as the abundance of the macrozoobenthos was distinctly higher than in other reservoirs.

The Flora of Trakya University Balkan Campus

This study was performed to determine the flora of Trakya University Balkan Campus. The study material included plant specimens collected during field studies carried out between 2013 and 2014 and herbarium specimens collected from 1986 to 2013 and deposited in EDTU Herbarium. 428 taxa belonging to 77 families and 250 genera were determined in the study area. Amont the 428 taxa, Onopordum acanthium L. is a new record for flora of Thrace Region and 53 taxa are new records for flora of Edirne. The families with the highest number of taxa are Asteraceae (15.88%), Fabaceae (10.51%) and Rosaceae (7%). Among the determined taxa, 298 plants were unknown phytogeographical region data, 59 plants as Euro-Siberian elements, 50 as Mediterranean elements, 14 as East Mediterranean elements, 4 as cosmopolitans, 2 as Irano-Turanian elements and 1 plant as element Mediterranean-Irano-Turanian element. The number of endemic plant species is 4.

Effects of soil fauna on leaf litter decomposition under different land uses in eastern coast of China

Soil fauna decompose litter, whereas land use changes may significantly alter the composition and structure of soil fauna assemblages. However, little is known of the effects of land-use on the contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposition. We studied the impacts of soil fauna on the decomposition of litter from poplar trees under three different land uses (i.e. poplar-crop integrated system, poplar plantation, and cropland), from December 2013 to December 2014, in a coastal area of Northern Jiangsu Province. We collected litter samples in litterbags with three mesh sizes (5, 1 and 0. 01 mm, respectively) to quantify the contribution of various soil fauna to the decomposition of poplar leaf litter. Litter decomposition rates differed significantly by land use and were highest in the cropland, intermediate in the poplar-crop integrated system, and lowest in the poplar plantation. Soil fauna in the poplar-crop integrated system was characterized by the highest numbers of taxa and individuals, and highest Margalef’s diversity, which suggested that agro-forestry ecosystems may support a greater quantity, distribution, and biodiversity of soil fauna than can single-species agriculture or plantation forestry. The individuals and groups of soil fauna in the macro-mesh litterbags were higher than in the meso-mesh litterbags under the same land use types. The average contribution rate of meso- and micro-fauna to litter decomposition was 18.46%, which was higher than the contribution rate of macro-fauna (3.31%). The percentage of remaining litter mass was inversely related to the density of the soil fauna (P < 0.05) in poplar plantations; however, was unrelated in the poplar-crop integrated system and cropland. This may have been the result of anthropogenic interference in poplar-crop integrated systems and croplands. Our study suggested that when land-use change alters vegetation types, it can affect species composition and the structure of soil fauna assemblages, which, in turn, affects litter decomposition.

Analysing taxonomic structures and local ecological processes in temperate forests in North Eastern China

BackgroundOne of the core issues of forest community ecology is the exploration of how ecological processes affect community structure. The relative importance of different processes is still under debate. This study addresses four questions: (1) how is the taxonomic structure of a forest community affected by spatial scale? (2) does the taxonomic structure reveal effects of local processes such as environmental filtering, dispersal limitation or interspecific competition at a local scale? (3) does the effect of local processes on the taxonomic structure vary with the spatial scale? (4) does the analysis based on taxonomic structures provide similar insights when compared with the use of phylogenetic information? Based on the data collected in two large forest observational field studies, the taxonomic structures of the plant communities were analyzed at different sampling scales using taxonomic ratios (number of genera/number of species, number of families/number of species), and the relationship between the number of higher taxa and the number of species. Two random null models were used and the “standardized effect size” (SES) of taxonomic ratios was calculated, to assess possible differences between the observed and simulated taxonomic structures, which may be caused by specific ecological processes. We further applied a phylogeny-based method to compare results with those of the taxonomic approach.ResultsAs expected, the taxonomic ratios decline with increasing grain size. The quantitative relationship between genera/families and species, described by a linearized power function, showed a good fit. With the exception of the family-species relationship in the Jiaohe study area, the exponents of the genus/family-species relationships did not show any scale dependent effects. The taxonomic ratios of the observed communities had significantly lower values than those of the simulated random community under the test of two null models at almost all scales. Null Model 2 which considered the spatial dispersion of species generated a taxonomic structure which proved to be more consistent with that in the observed community. As sampling sizes increased from 20 m × 20 m to 50 m × 50 m, the magnitudes of SESs of taxonomic ratios increased. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, we found that the Jiaohe plot was phylogenetically clustered at almost all scales. We detected significant phylogenetically overdispersion at the 20 m × 20 m and 30 m × 30 m scales in the Liangshui plot.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the effect of abiotic filtering is greater than the effects of interspecific competition in shaping the local community at almost all scales. Local processes influence the taxonomic structures, but their combined effects vary with the spatial scale. The taxonomic approach provides similar insights as the phylogenetic approach, especially when we applied a more conservative null model. Analysing taxonomic structure may be a useful tool for communities where well-resolved phylogenetic data are not available.

CURRENT VIEWS ON THE DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF DEEP-WATER MEIOBENTHOS AT THE TURKISH SHELF (BLACK SEA)

Deep-water meiobenthos of Turkish shelf has been evaluated at the Black Sea exit of İstanbul Strait (Bosphorus) and off Sinop peninsula as a result of three scientific cruises. Taxonomic diversity of meiobenthos communities was studied at the Black Sea exit of Bosphorus on a transect with a depth range of 75-300 m. The bottom sediments were collected at the area during two cruises, on board RV "Arar'' (of Turkey) and ''Maria S. Merian" (of Germany) in November 2009 and April 2010, respectively. Data on meiobenthos inhabiting both normoxic and extreme conditions was collected in the studied area and meiobenthos composition included 26 high level taxa. In addition, 2-3 morphotypes of benthic fauna were recorded as incertae sedis, which require further study. The number of higher taxa decreased from 22 to 14-8 when switching from oxygenic conditions (50-125 m) to the anoxic hydrogen sulphide environment (226-300 m). The constant components of meiobenthos included protists (Ciliophora, Gromiidea and soft-shelled Foraminifera), and metazoans were constantly represented by Nematoda and Harpacticoida. In 2011, a quantitative study on meiobenthic composition of the oxic/anoxic interface at the western part off Sinop Peninsula (Southern Black Sea) has also been investigated. The material was collected by ROVs during the expedition (Black Sea Leg) of the exploration vessel (E/V) Nautilus. Results showed that the taxa composition of meiobenthos ranged from 4 to 10 major groups. Free-living marine nematodes were numerically the dominant taxon at each station. Total abundances decreased in parallel to increasing water depth, hence decreasing oxygen levels.

Distribution and diversity patterns of soil fauna in different salinization habitats of Songnen Grasslands, China

The soil fauna communities were studied in the Songnen Grassland, which is located at the easternmost Eurasian steppe of northeast China. We sampled sites from May to October with different alkaline contents to investigate the salinization process on soil fauna. We found that the dominant groups were Prostigmata, Oribatida, and Gamasina mites and the collembolan families Isotomidae and Entomobryidae. Results showed that the composition of the soil fauna communities differed significantly among the habitats with different salinity. Number and density of taxa were lower in communities with high salinity. The highest number of taxa (66) was found on the Artemisia anethifolia sites, the lowest number (47) on the Alkali patches. The Shannon-Wiener index was the lowest on the Alkali patches, whereas the Simpson-dominance index was the highest in these habitats. The number and density of taxa changed during the seasons. The soil fauna tended to gather on soil’s surface. According to the Redundancy analysis, the soil organic matter positively affected the density of the soil fauna and soil fauna decreased with increasing degree of salinization in Songnen Grasslands.

Macromycetes of Central European lichen Scots pine forests of the Cladonio-Pinetum Juraszek 1927 type in the “Bory Tucholskie” National Park (NW Poland)

Between 2014 and 2016, research was carried out in the “Bory Tucholskie” National Park, with the aim to investigate the diversity of species of macrofungi in &lt;em&gt;Cladonio-Pinetum&lt;/em&gt;. The studies recorded 140 taxa of macromycetes, of which the majority was basidiomycete (136). The highest number of taxa of fungi (98) was found in 2016, while the lowest (76) was found in the first year of the study (2014). A total of 90 taxa were found in 2015. Among the identified species of macromycetes, &lt;em&gt;Inonotus obliquus&lt;/em&gt; is on the list of protected fungi covered by partial legal protection and 23 reported species are on the “Red list of the macrofungi in Poland”, which is concerned with the protection of the habitat of &lt;em&gt;Cladonio-Pinetum&lt;/em&gt;.