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Eastern Poland (eastern + poland)
Selected AbstractsInfluence of Emergent and Submerged Macrophytes on the Structure of Planktonic Ciliate Communities in Shallow Freshwater Lakes (Eastern Poland)INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF HYDROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Tomasz Mieczan Abstract Data from two shallow macrophyte-dominated lakes (Eastern Poland) sampled with standardized methods, were evaluated in order to examine the effects of various stands of macrophytes in predicting protozooplankton community structure. Differences in macrophyte structure led to two distinct groups of habitats having different patterns of ciliate distribution. The first group consists of two vegetated habitats of sparse stem density and of the open water zone, and the second of submerged macrophyte species, which were more dense and complex. The number of significant correlations was different in the studied habitats. In central zones of macrophyte habitats the number of ciliates had the strongest correlation with concentrations of total organic carbon and Ptot. On the other side in the border zone a significant correlation between the number of ciliates and the chlorophyll a concentration was found. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Is there a cost of reproduction for Marsh Tits Parus palustris in a primeval forest?IBIS, Issue 1 2006OWSKI TOMASZ We looked for evidence of a cost of reproduction in the Marsh Tit Parus palustris living in the last fragments of primeval temperate forest (Bia,owie,a National Park, eastern Poland). Potential nest-holes were superabundant but the birds had to cope with a diverse set of predators, dangerous both to broods and to parents. Taking advantage of the natural variation in realized reproductive investment that this caused in terms of the loss of nests or mates, we expected to find differences in survival and future fecundity between birds which had lost broods (reduced effort), had reared young (controls) or were either provisioning young single-handed or had laid replacement clutches (increased effort). Despite 13 years of observation, even during seasons with very strenuous conditions, we have failed to demonstrate that the observed range of variation in parental investment caused any demographic cost of reproduction. Incubating females were regularly killed on the nest, which could indicate the existence of a cost operating in the earlier stages of the breeding cycle. Overall, these results suggest that the reproductive rate in Marsh Tits is not controlled proximately by reproductive cost. [source] The distribution of mountain hares Lepus timidus in Europe: a challenge from brown hares L. europaeus?MAMMAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2003CARL-GUSTAF THULIN ABSTRACT 1.,Throughout the most recent glacial period (Weichsel), the mountain hare Lepus timidus had a continuous distribution in the tundra habitat south of the ice-rim. When the ice retreated, mountain hares colonized deglaciated land, and spread over northern Europe. 2.,Since the Weichsel, the mountain hare's distribution in Europe has been gradually reduced and at present comprises Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, high altitudes in the Alps, isolated forests in eastern Poland, most of Fennoscandia and from the Baltic countries eastwards through Russia. Declines during the last century have been observed in Sweden and Russia. 3.,This review defines and evaluates causes for this gradual reduction and fragmentation of the mountain hare's distribution, with special focus on interactions with brown hares Lepus europaeus. The relative importance of diseases, predation, cultivation and interactions with other herbivores than brown hares are discussed. 4.,A plausible cause of the possible permanent disappearance of mountain hares in Europe appears to be exclusion by interspecific competition and hybridization with, and/or epidemic diseases mediated by, the congeneric brown hare. [source] |