Marcel Ciobanu

Patterns of relative magnitudes of soil energy channels and their relationships with environmental factors in different ecosystems in Romania.

The percentage compositions of soil herbivorous, bacterivorous and fungivorous nematodes in forests, grasslands and scrubs in Romania was analysed. Percentages of nematode abundance, biomass and metabolic footprint methods were used to evaluate the patterns and relative size of herbivory, bacterial- and fungal-mediated channels in organic and mineral soil horizons. Patterns and magnitudes of herbivore, bacterivore and fungivore energy pathways differed for a given ecosystem type and soil depth according to the method used. The relevance of herbivore energy channel increased with soil depth due to higher contribution of root-feeders. Ectoparasites, sedentary parasites and epidermal cell and root hair feeders were the most important contributors to the total biomass and metabolic footprints of herbivores. Metabolic footprint method revealed the general dominance of bacterial-based energy channel in all five types of ecosystems. The influence of altitude and climatic factors on percentages of abundance, biomass and metabolic footprints of herbivores, bacterivores and fungivores decreased with soil depth, whereas the influence of humus content, cation-exchange capacity and base saturation increased. Vegetation, altitude, climate and soil physico-chemical characteristics are important factors that influenced the abundance, biomass and metabolic footprints of herbivores, bacterivores and fungivores.

Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 3. Species with rounded tail and long odontostyle

Three species of the genus Enchodelus, one new and two known, from natural areas in Romania are studied. Enchodelus carpaticus sp. n. is distinguished by its body 1.59-1.87 mm long, lip region offset by a marked depression and 17-20 μm diam., odontostyle 39.5-47 μm long and 2.1-2.5 lip region diam. or 2.3-2.8% of total body length, odontophore 42-51 μm long and with distinct basal flanges, neck 336-388 μm long, pharyngeal expansion 136-167 μm long or 39-45% of total neck length, presence of dorsal cell mass near cardia, female genital system amphidelphic, uterus tripartite and 144-195 μm long or 2.2-2.9 times the corresponding body diam., pars refringens vaginae with two trapezoidal sclerotisations, V = 42-50, and female tail short and rounded (21-29 μm long, c = 55-87, c′ = 0.5-0.7). Additional data, including LM pictures, are presented for E. macrodorus and E. saxifragae.

Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Enchodelus, Thorne, 1939. 1. Species with conical tail.

Six species of the genus Enchodelus, one new and five known, from natural areas in Romania were studied. Enchodelus transsilvanicus sp. n. is distinguished by its 1.28-1.51 mm long body, lip region moderately angular and 12.5-13.5 μm in diam., odontostyle 29-34 μm long or 2.1-2.6 times the lip region diam., odontophore lacking distinct flanges and 41-45 μm long or 1.2-1.6 times the odontostyle, neck length 272-298 μm, pharyngeal expansion 82-113 μm long and occupying 31-39% of total neck length, female genital system amphidelphic, uterus bipartite and 3.1-3.5 times body diam. at its level, pars refringens vaginae with two distinct sclerotisations, vulva a transverse slit (V = 45-48), female tail conical and regularly ventrad curved (42-47 μm, c = 28-36, c′ = 1.3-1.5), spicules 47-50 μm long, and 6-8 spaced, ventromedian supplements. Measurements, illustrations and additional data of the remaining five species are given, namely E. arcuatus, E. brevidentatus, E. geraldi, E. morgensis and E. veletensis. An emended diagnosis of E. arcuatus is provided. Three species, E. brevidentatus, E. morgensis and E. veletensis, are reported from Romania for the first time.

Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Thonus Thorne, 1974. Part II

Five Thonus species from Romania are described. Thonus montanus sp. n. is characterised by its body length of 1.56-1.90 mm, cuticle with coarse transverse striations, lip region 15-18 μ m diam., odontostyle 20-22.5 μ m long, plicate guiding ring, neck 400-553 μ m long, pharyngeal expansion occupying 49-56% of total neck length, uterus 1-1.5 body diam. long, pars refringens vaginae with two separate pieces, gland cells present near vagina-vulva junction, vulva a short post-equatorial (V = 54-59) longitudinal slit, and female tail conoid (25-33 μ m, c = 54-73, c′ = 0.8-1.2) with abundant blister-like structures and distinct hyaline portion. Thonus tenuistylus sp. n. is characterised by its body length of 1.17-1.56 mm, lip region offset by a more or less, usually well, marked constriction and 16-17.5 μ m diam., slender odontostyle 17-20.5 μ m long or 1.1-1.3 times lip region diam., neck 275-397 μ m long, pharyngeal expansion occupying 42-52% of total neck length, female genital system amphidelphic, uterus bipartite and 1.7-2 body diam. long, pars refringens vaginae with two adjacent pieces, vulva a post-equatorial (V = 50-56) transverse slit, tail conoid-rounded (19-24 μ m, c = 48.7-72.9, c′ = 0.8-1.0) and with abundant blister-like structures, spicules 38-43 μ m long, and 3-6 widely spaced ventromedian supplements. Thonus sp. is characterised by its slender (a = 37.5) body 1.41 mm long, lip region practically continuous with adjacent body and 11.5 μ m diam., odontostyle 10.5 μ m long, neck 325 μ m long, pharyngeal expansion 138 μ m long or ca two-fifths of total neck length, a coarse ring-like structure surrounding cardia, female genital system amphidelphic, uterus ca 2.5 body diam. long, pars refringens vaginae with two adjacent trapezoidal pieces, vulva a transverse slit (V = 52), a pseudocoelomocyte present at mid-body, tail convex conoid (26.5 μ m, c = 56, c′ = 1.1) with abundant blister-like structures, and males unknown. Thonus eroshenkoi n. comb. and T. medianus n. comb. are proposed. Thonus kaszabi and T. medianus n. comb. are new records for the Romanian nematode fauna.

On the identity of Labronema plica Ciobanu, Popovici & Decraemer, 2004 and proposal for its transfer to the genus Thonus Thorne, 1974 (Nematoda: Dorylaimoidea)

Nematology , 2008, Vol. 10(4), 599-602 Short communication On the identity of Labronema plica Ciobanu, Popovici & Decraemer, 2004 and proposal for its transfer to the genus Thonus Thorne, 1974 (Nematoda: Dorylaimoidea) Marcel C IOBANU 1 , 2 , ∗ , Iuliana P O P OVI C I 1 , Wilfrida D ECRAEMER 3 , 4 and Reyes P ENA -S ANTIAGO 2 During a revision of a number of species belonging to the genus Thonus Thorne, 1974 and analysis of the rela- tionships of this genus with its relatives, including Cras- solabium Yeates, 1967, Labronema Thorne, 1939 and Takamangai Yeates, 1967 (see Pena-Santiago & Ciobanu, 2007a, b), several species with problematical identity or taxonomy were re-examined to try to establish more ro- bust diagnostic features to separate the taxa concerned. Labronema plica Ciobanu, Popovici & Decraemer, 2004, described from a salt-affected area in Romania, is an in- teresting species as its general morphology also fits the Thonus pattern. Type material (female holotype, one fe- male paratype and the only male paratype) were available to study, as well as one new specimen (a young female), also from the type locality. Their study provided addi- tional data to clarify its identity. Re-examination of Labronema plica type material (Fig. 1) showed that the female had the following mor- phology: lip region offset by marked depression, rela- tively high and cap-like, i.e. , with its inner portion dis- tinctly elevated. Lips largely amalgamated. Cheilostom distinctly widened in posterior half. Guiding ring simple, plicate. One of two anterior ventrosublateral pharyngeal gland nuclei lacking or obscure. Junction between pha- ryngeal base and cardia enveloped by a very shallow, ring- like, structure. Genital tract poorly differentiated: oviduct 110-115 µ m long or 2.4-2.5 corresponding body diam. 1 Institute of Biological Research, Department of Plant and Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, 48 Republicii Str., RO-400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2 Departamento de Biologia Animal, Vegetal y Ecologia, Universidad de Jaen, Campus ‘Las Lagunillas’ s/n, Edificio B3, 23071-Jaen, Spain 3 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium 4 University of Ghent (UGent) Department of Biology, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium ∗ Corresponding author, e-mail: icb@cluj.astral.ro Received: 4 December 2007; revised: 16 January 2008 Accepted for publication: 16 January 2008 Keywords: diagnosis, new combination, Romania, taxonomy, Thonus plica n. comb. long, with small, more or less spheroid, pars dilatata ; dis- tinct sphincter marking oviduct-uterus junction; uterus a simple tube 100-115 µ m long or 2.2-2.5 corresponding body diam. Pars proximalis vaginae longer than wide, with slightly sigmoid walls, surrounded by weak mus- culature. Pars refringens vaginae with two separated, tri- angular sclerotised pieces in longitudinal optical section. Pars distalis vaginae short, lacking any differentiation. Vulva pore-like. Two developed gland cells, one anterior, other posterior, present near vagina-vulva junction. Cau- dal pores comprising two subterminal pairs, one lateral, one subdorsal. Male tail straighter ventrally than that of female. This species is characterised by its medium size (L = 1.31-1.38 mm), lip region cap-like and 13.0-13.5 µ m diam., odontostyle 11-12 µ m long with aperture occupy- ing ca two-fifths of total length, guiding ring simple (but plicate), neck 287-312 µ m long, expanded part of pha- rynx 110-127 µ m long or 38-40% of total neck length, pars refringens vaginae with two separated pieces in op- tical section, vulva pore-like and almost equatorial (V = 50-53), presence of pre- and post-advulvar cuticular wrin- kles, presence of gland cells near vagina-vulva junction, tail conoid-rounded (25-26 µ m; c = 52-53; c ′ = 0.7), and male with 16 contiguous precloacal mid-ventral supple- ments and spicules 53 µ m long.