Zorana Sedlar

Terrestrial isopod community as indicator of succession in a peat bog

Abstract Terrestrial isopods were studied in the Dubravica peat bog and surrounding forest in the northwestern Croatia. Sampling was conducted using pitfall traps over a two year period. Studied peat bog has a history of drastically decrease in area during the last five decades mainly due to the process of natural succession and changes in the water level. A total of 389 isopod individuals belonging to 8 species were captured. Species richness did not significantly differ between bog, edge and surrounding forest. High species richness at the bog is most likely the result of progressive vegetation succession, small size of the bog and interspecific relationships, such as predation. With spreading of Molinia grass on the peat bog, upper layers of Sphagnum mosses become less humid and probably more suitable for forest species that slowly colonise bog area. The highest diversity was found at the edge mainly due to the edge effect and seasonal immigration, but also possibly due to high abundance and predator pressure of the Myrmica ants and lycosid spiders at the bog site. The most abundant species were Trachelipus rathkii and Protracheoniscus politus, in the bog area and in the forest, respectively. Bog specific species were not recorded and the majority of the species collected belong to the group of tyrphoneutral species. However, Hyloniscus adonis could be considered as a tyrphoxenous species regarding its habitat preferences. Most of collected isopod species are widespread eurytopic species that usually inhabit various habitats and therefore indicate negative successive changes or degradation processes in the peat bog.

Morphometric and molecular (RAPD) analysis of six Serapias taxa from Croatia

The morphometric analyses and genetic variability assessed by RAPD markers have been used to analyse relations among six Serapias taxa from Croatia (S. istriaca, S. pulae originally described as hybrid, S. ionica, S. vomeracea, S. lingua and S. cordigera). S. istriaca distributed in southern Istria and the island of Lošinj and S. pulae stenoendemic taxon distributed only in southern Istria S. ionica is endemic to the Ionian and Dalmatian islands, while the remaining taxa are more widely distributed. The obtained results shows that the endemic S. istriaca is a well characterised taxon, that S. pulae is a hybrid between S. istriaca and S. lingua and that the hybrid is morphologically and genetically more similar to S. lingua than the second parental species S. istriaca. The division into the subsections Steno-, Medio- and Platypetalae is founded based on the floral morphology while the division into the sections Serapias and Bilamellaria is not evident in the quantitative morphological and genetic analyses. Furthermore, considerable genetic resemblance between S. vomeracea and S. ionica was established.

Rasprostranjenost kopnenog jednakonošca Hyloniscus adonis (Verhoeff, 1927) (Isopoda: Oniscidea) u Hrvatskoj

This paper presents the distribution of the terrestrial isopod Hyloniscus adonis (Verhoeff, 1927) in croatia. It was recorded for the first time at the edge of Dubravica peat bog and the adjacent forest. Additionally, it was collected at the edges of Đon močvar peat bog. Revision of the terrestrial isopod collection of the Croatian Biospeleological Society revealed that this species also occurs in central and eastern part of Croatia. Our results reveal that H. adonis is a hygrophilic species inhabiting various types of forests in the colline and montane belts. It prefers humid soils with thick litter and humus layers and most probably seldom leaves its shelter. H. adonis is extremely rare in open bog habitats, most likely due to the harsh environmental conditions (e.g. high soil humidity, low pH values) and can be considered as a tyrphoxenous species. Additionally, it was also found in the entrance zones of caves, most likely due to the favourable microclimatic conditions. It seems to be a temporary cave dweller and can be classified as a trogloxenous species.

Agonum scitulum Dejean, 1828 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) – new data on a rare carabid beetle species in Croatia

1Division of Zoology, Department of biology, Faculty of science, University of Zagreb, rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia (*andreja.brigic@biol.pmf.hr) 2Division of botany, Department of biology, Faculty of science, University of Zagreb, Marulićev trg 20/II, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 3National Museum Zadar, Natural History Department, Medulićeva 1, 23000 Zadar, Croatia (prirodoslovni.odjel@nmz.hr)

SPONTANEOUS AND ORNAMENTAL FLORA OF THE PARK OF LUŽNICA MANOR NEAR ZAPREŠIĆ (NORTHWESTERN CROATIA)

century and laid out after the construction of the manor. The estate also comprises farm buildings, vegetable garden and orchards, which all make a func tional whole together with the main manor house. This research has established the presence of 342 plant species belonging to 233 genera and 80 families, 80 taxa of which belong to ornamental flora (a.s. planted) while 262 are spontaneous species. The flora has been analysed according to taxonomy, chorology, life forms and protected species status. It was also compared to some similar areas in the conti nental part of Croatia. According to the chorological composition and life forms, the Lužnica park flora is not significantly different from that in the compared areas. Nevertheless it is important to note that the park, although the smallest of the compared areas, abounds in a relatively large number of species, 6 of which are strictly protected by law. Therefore, we recommend that Lužnica park to be officially recognised as a protected area.

Progressive vegetation succession of fen habitats promotes the lack of habitat specialist ants

Vegetation succession, drainage, and climate change are causes of peatland habitat loss in the Western Balkans. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are one of the most ecologically important invertebrate taxa in terrestrial ecosystems. To explore whether, and to what extent, fen ant communities are specialized, we sampled an alkaline fen, adjacent habitats undergoing vegetation succession, and the surrounding beech forest in west-central Croatia. Here, we show how a fen and its surrounding habitats differ in ant community structure, and which of the environmental variables (soil temperature, moisture, and pH) have the strongest impact in shaping those communities. In the two growing seasons of sampling we recorded 16 ant species, none of which were peatland specialists. While species richness did not differ between the sites, species diversity was the highest at a succession site. Specific environmental conditions of the fen limit colony establishment and allow survival of a small subset of ant species from the surrounding habitats. Consequently, only two ant species (Myrmica rubra and Lasius platythorax) were abundant at the fen site. Their presence at other study sites indicates that the fen fauna is composed of generalist species. The fen and forest community composition differed from the successional sites, and it was most strongly affected by soil pH. The fauna of these habitat islands completely lacks peatland-specific ant species. Knowing more about communities of these disappearing habitats will help us predict future biodiversity losses in similar habitats threatened by vegetation succession.