Anna Tereba

Swarming of bats at different elevations in the Carpathian Mountains

Swarming bat activity was monitored at three caves at elevations ranging from 880 m to 1,907 m above sea level in the Carpathian Mountains, using an infrared light barrier with data-logger, a video camera with a night-scope system, and subsequently by mist netting. A total of 6,175 bats of 19 species was captured, and over 70,000 passes through cave openings were registered. Caves differed in bat species richness, sex ratio, abundance of particular species and species composition. Peak species richness was observed in the mid-elevation cave. Bat activity was high in all caves, but declined with increasing altitude. Swarming activity occurred earlier at high elevation than at lower elevations. Activity of boreal-alpine species, such as Eptesicus nilssonii, peaked at the start of the swarming period, that of species typical of lower elevations, such as Myotis emarginatus, peaked in the middle of the swarming season. In a few species, males showed a significant preference for higher altitude caves, in contrast to females. A similar pattern was observed in the proportion of adults to juveniles, which increased with increasing elevation. Our results also suggest that M. brandtii and M. alcathoe were more often encountered at lower elevations, M. mystacinus (sensu stricto) at higher ones.

Hybridization Hotspots at Bat Swarming Sites

During late summer and early autumn in temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, thousands of bats gather at caves, mainly for the purpose of mating. We demonstrated that this swarming behavior most probably leads not only to breeding among bats of the same species but also interbreeding between different species. Using 14 nuclear microsatellites and three different methods (the Bayesian assignment approaches of STRUCTURE and NEWHYBRIDS and a principal coordinate analysis of pairwise genetic distances), we analyzed 375 individuals belonging to three species of whiskered bats (genus Myotis) at swarming sites across their sympatric range in southern Poland. The overall hybridization rate varied from 3.2 to 7.2%. At the species level, depending on the method used, these values ranged from 2.1–4.6% in M. mystacinus and 3.0–3.7% in M. brandtii to 6.5–30.4% in M. alcathoe. Hybrids occurred in about half of the caves we studied. In all three species, the sex ratio of hybrids was biased towards males but the observed differences did not differ statistically from those noted at the population level. In our opinion, factors leading to the formation of these admixed individuals and their relatively high frequency are: i) swarming behaviour at swarming sites, where high numbers of bats belonging to several species meet; ii) male-biased sex ratio during the swarming period; iii) the fact that all these bats are generally polygynous. The highly different population sizes of different species at swarming sites may also play some role. Swarming sites may represent unique hybrid hotspots, which, as there are at least 2,000 caves in the Polish Carpathians alone, may occur on a massive scale not previously observed for any group of mammal species in the wild. Evidently, these sites should be treated as focal points for the conservation of biodiversity and evolutionary processes.

Genetic structure in three species of whiskered bats (genus Myotis) during swarming

Abstract We studied the population structure of 3 species in the Myotis mystacinus complex (M. mystacinus, M. brandtii, and M. alcathoe) during the swarming period by sampling bats at 27 caves in the Carpathian Mountains and adjacent areas in southern Poland using 14 or 15 nuclear microsatellite loci. None of the examined species were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium following the global test for heterozygote deficiency. Inbreeding coefficient (FIS) values at the species level also were statistically greater than zero. This may indicate some level of inbreeding in all examined taxa although it seems to be relatively low because significant FIS values were recorded in only 2 swarming sites of M. mystacinus, 2 sites of M. brandtii, and 3 sites of M. alcathoe. However, almost 10% of related individuals sharing 1 parent (i.e., half siblings) were found in the same swarming sites for M. mystacinus and M. brandtii, with fewer observed in M. alcathoe. At the population level, 4.1%, 5.9%, and 8.7% of individuals of M. mystacinus, M. brandtii, and M. alcathoe, respectively, were assigned as full siblings. These figures suggest the possibility of females mating selectively with the same male in more than 1 year.

Biogeography of the recently described Myotis alcathoe von Helversen and Heller, 2001

ABSTRACT Since its description in 2001 Alcathoes myotis (Myotis alcathoe) was recorded from several locations across Europe. Here we describe the first records of this species from Germany, Poland, Albania, and from the European part of Turkey, including the northernmost locality in central Germany (51°23′N, 11°01′E). Compilation of all up-to-date records shows that M. alcathoe has a wide European distribution although it seems to be rare at most places. The habitats where the bat was recorded are natural, moist and deciduous forests with old trees and water streams as can be found, for example, in canyons or forests of alluvial origin. Such habitats suggest that the species probably has a more continuous and wider distribution than currently known and might be expected to occur even further to the North.

MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR FEATURES OF PUNCTODERA STONEI BRZESKI, 1998 (NEMATODA: HETERODERIDAE) - SPECIES ASSOCIATED WITH ROOTS OF GRASSES

Abstract. This article provides morphological and molecular characteristics of Punctodera stonei Brzeski, 1998. Comparison of partial sequences of 18S and 28S rDNA genes from P. stonei sampled in Poland and Punctodera sp. from Canada showed their 100% similarity. This is the first report on the occurrence of P. stonei outside of Europe. We provide data on morphology of males and 2nd stage juveniles of this species and an identification key to males of the genus Punctodera Mulvey et Stone, 1976. Moreover, the paper presents evolutionary relationships of P. stonei within the family Heteroderidae.

Morphological and molecular analysis of Paratrichodorus teres (Hooper 1962) (Nematoda: Trichodoridae): a groundwork for discussion on the phylogeny and pathogenicity of Paratrichodorus species

Due to its ability to transmit plant viruses, Paratrichodorus teres (Hooper in Nematologica, 7, 273–280, 1962) is recognized as an economically important trichodorid species. Morphological and molecular analyses (18S and 28S rDNA) were performed, and 10 new plant hosts are reported for Polish P. teres populations. Major morphological features and the measurements obtained for the investigated specimens were within the wide ranges indicated for this species. However, a more detailed comparative analysis of Polish and Iranian P. teres showed significant morphological differences, particularly, in the shape and the structure of the walls of pars proximalis vaginae and the shape of the rectum.Phylogenetic study based on the 18S rDNA data suggests positioning of the Polish P. teres sequences within a cluster of sequences originating from the Netherlands. A comparison of the 28S rDNA fragment from Polish populations with the only P. teres 28S rDNA sequence available (from Iran) in GenBank revealed a sequence variability of 9.3%. The variation across these two representatives was higher than in the case of many other pairs of Trichodoridae species. The results obtained on the Polish P. teres specimens are discussed in the framework of the species taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships.

Genetic variability and health of Norway spruce stands in the Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Krosno

Abstract The study was conducted in 2015 in six spruce stands situated in different forest districts administratively belonging to the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Krosno. Each spruce population was represented by 30 trees and assessed in terms of their current health status. Genetic analyses were performed on shoot samples from each tree using nine nuclear DNA markers and one mitochondrial DNA marker (nad1). The health status of the trees was described according to the classification developed by Szczepkowski and Tarasiuk (2005) and the correlation between health classes and the level of genetic variability was computed with STATISTICA (α = 0.05). Nuclear DNA analyses revealed a low level of genetic variability among spruce populations (only 3% of the total genetic variation (FST = 0.028) and a high variability within populations (97%). The total heterozygosity in all stands (HT) was calculated as 0.646. Based on UPGMA analysis, the most genetically similar populations are spruce stands in the Bieszczady National Park and the Ustrzyki Dolne Forest District, which have the smallest genetic divergence of all populations (DN = 0.0165). Our analysis of the mitochondrial gene nad1 revealed the presence of six different haplotypes ‘a’, ‘a1’, ‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’ and ‘d1’. Comprising 56% of all haplotypes, ‘a’ was the most common showing a predominant impact on spruce migration from the Carpathian area. The analysis based on mitochondrial markers (by Nei) revealed a heterozygosity of 0.525. Based on the observations of disease symptoms, 29% of the trees belong to health class 1, 30% to class 2, 28% to class 3 and class 4 contains 13% of trees. The comparison between health status and the level of genetic variation in the analysed stands showed a positive correlation. Spruce stands with better health were also characterised by a greater degree of genetic variability. Since most of the investigated spruce populations shared the mitochondrial haplotype ‘a’, we have ascertained their Hercynian–Carpathian origin. Only one stand (Cisna) had a high frequency (43.3%) of the Nordic haplotype ‘c’ suggesting that this provenance is derived from the Baltic post-glacial refugium of P. abies in europe.

Application of selected molecular markers in studies on forest trees

Abstract The paper describes a number of molecular methods used in the past and now to analyze forest tree species. Taking into account the economic importance of forest trees and in view of the timber economy, wood properties and characteristics are essential factors subjected to control, observation and research. Molecular techniques that support traditional selection methods allow for genetic diversity analyses considering a range of research aspects. The development of these techniques at the turn of the last two decades has enabled wide-ranging use of molecular data in studies on forest tree populations. On the example of pine (Pinus L.), the paper presents data based on molecular studies as well as a variety of possibilities to apply the obtained results.