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Map of the studied Formica exsecta population in the western Carpathian Mountains of Central Europe, Slovakia (48°45′N, 19°49′E, near the village of Pohronská Polhora) consisting of five polydomous clusters (outlines). Orthophotograph: © Geodis Slovakia, Eurosense, TU Zvolen, 2010. Locations of individual nests are indicated by dots, white dots represent nests with mound volume estimations. Note that the individual fields tend to be shaped as elongated narrow strips
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Semi-natural linear habitats such as field and meadow margins are often crucial in maintaining insect diversity and species distributions in agricultural landscapes. While many ant species are capable of forming large colonies (supercolonies) that can have considerable effects on the ecosystem within which they are embedded, it is not known how col...
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Over last century in Europe a tendency of change in species ranges has occurred for insects of different taxonomic groups. We analyzed the changes that have taken place in the distribution of some soft-winged beetles (Malachiinae, Melyridae) species in the Carpathian region. The obtained data are based on a study of museum beetles’ collections and...
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... While many large supercolonies typically exhibit near zero relatedness and show aggression to members of neighbouring supercolonies (e.g., Elias et al. 2005;Pamilo et al. 2005;Pedersen et al. 2006;Thomas et al. 2006), F. paralugubris is tolerant of non-nestmates and does not show behavioural supercolony boundaries (Holzer et al. 2006). Despite numerous studies on supercolonies in both invasive (e.g., Giraud et al. 2002;Lenoir et al. 2016;Sorger et al. 2017;Sunamura et al. 2009;Van Wilgenburg et al. 2010) and native contexts (e.g., Elias et al. 2005;Hakala et al. 2020;Holzer et al. 2009;Wiezik et al. 2017), the genetic mechanism by which supercoloniality is determined remains elusive (Helanterä 2022). ...
Ants exhibit many complex social organization strategies. One particularly elaborate strategy is supercoloniality, in which a colony consists of many interconnected nests (= polydomy) with many queens (= polygyny). In many species of Formica ants, an ancient queen number supergene determines whether a colony is monogyne (= headed by single queen) or polygyne. The presence of the rearranged P haplotype typically leads colonies to be polygyne. However, the presence and function of this supergene polymorphism have not been examined in supercolonial populations. Here, we use genomic data from species in the Formica rufa group to determine whether the P haplotype leads to supercoloniality. In a Formica paralugubris population, we find that nests are polygyne despite the absence of the P haplotype in workers. We find spatial genetic ancestry patterns in nests consistent with supercolonial organization. Additionally, we find that the P haplotype is also absent in workers from supercolonial Formica aquilonia and Formica aquilonia × polyctena hybrid populations but is present in some Formica polyctena workers. We conclude that the P haplotype is not necessary for supercoloniality in the Formica rufa group, despite its long-standing association with non-supercolonial polygyny across the Formica genus.
... Populations of this species declined across its distributional range during the past decades due to intensified land use (SIEFERT 2018). The second known largest polydomous supercolony in the Europe was found in the Slovak Republic (WIEZIK et al. 2017 Discovered nests had always above-ground mounds consisting of soil particles and dry pieces of herbs. The mounds had diameters of its bases from 25 to 40 cm and heights from 10 to 25 cm. ...
The fauna of ants was studied at 73 sites distributed within the easternmost part of Biele Karpaty Mts and adjacent area (north-west Slovak Republic). All discovered areas with xerothermophilous grasslands, which were scarce in the investigated area, were included. The sites also comprised other natural habitats, e.g., wetlands, as well as ruderal ones disturbed by human activities. In total, 75 ant species were discovered there, including numerous rarely found ones inhabiting xerothermous forest-steppes, e.g., Lasius myops Forel, 1894, Lasius reginae Faber, 1967, Proceratium melinum (Roger, 1860), and Strumigenys argiola (Emery, 1869). Some other poorly recorded species within the Slovak Republic were also discovered, i.e., Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918), Leptothorax gredleri Mayr, 1855, and Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, 1927. Noteworthy records are represented also by arboricolous species known to nest in dead tree parts too, i.e., Lasius bicornis (Förster, 1850), and Lasius citrinus Emery, 1922. Faunistic data are listed by species, containing all confirmed study sites. A summary of available past records is provided for some of the discovered species. This study is enriched by data on the biology of ant species, which were obtained during this study, e.g., swarming dates, nest construction, and colony demography.
... Despite numerous studies on supercolonies in both invasive (e.g., Giraud et al. 2002, Sunamura et al. 2009, Van Wilgenburg et al. 2010, Lenoir et al. 2016, Sorger et al. 2017) and native contexts (e.g. Elias et al. 2005, Holzer et al. 2009, Wiezik et al. 2017, Hakala et al. 2020, the genetic mechanism by which supercoloniality is determined remains elusive (Helanterä 2022). ...
Ants exhibit many complex social organization strategies. One particularly elaborate strategy is supercoloniality, in which a colony consists of many interconnected nests (=polydomy) with many queens (=polygyny). In many species of Formica ants, an ancient queen number supergene determines whether a colony is monogyne (=headed by single queen) or polygyne. The presence of the rearranged P haplotype typically leads colonies to be polygyne. However, the presence and function of this supergene polymorphism have not been examined in supercolonial populations. Here, we use genomic data from species in the Formica rufa group to determine whether the P haplotype leads to supercoloniality. In a Formica paralugubris population, we find that nests are polygyne, despite the absence of the P haplotype in workers. We find spatial genetic ancestry patterns in nests consistent with supercolonial organization. Additionally, we find that the P haplotype is also absent in workers from supercolonial Formica aquilonia , and Formica aquilonia x polyctena hybrid populations, but is present in some Formica polyctena workers. We conclude that the P haplotype is not necessary for supercoloniality in the Formica rufa group, despite its longstanding association with non-supercolonial polygyny across the Formica genus.
... Calculation of QBS index does not require estimates of the number of specimens for every group or the single species present in the sample. Compared with methods that use a single taxon as biological indicators, such as ants (Wiezik et al., 2017;Purkart et al., 2019), isopods (Paoletti & Hassall, 1999) and mites (Maraun & Scheu, 2000), the QBS index does not require a species level diagnosis, and is therefore considered an appropriate tool for large-scale monitoring, where a large number of samples may be gathered. ...
Soil arthropods respond sensitively to land management practices and correlate with beneficial soil functions. The aim of this research was to determine soil quality using the QBS index in different types of crops and influence of soil variables (pH soil, soil moisture, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen) on soil arthropods. Between the years 2018 and 2020, we studied different types of crops (Brassica napus, Pisum sativum, Triticum aestivum, T. spelta, Zea mays, Grass mixture and Hordeum vulgare) and recorded 14 taxa. Our results suggest a higher QBS index value in crops grass mixture, Pisum sativum, Triticum aestivum, T. spelta. The EMI value grew with increasing values of soil moisture, soil pH, phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen; indicating the presence of soil arthropods occurring in higher quality soil. Our results suggest that agricultural intensification affects soil arthropods, which are important for the production of biomass, which also affects crop yields.
... Protože jsou všechny výše jmenované krajiny místně specifické, jejich názvy se v anglické literatuře zpravidla nepřekládají a používají se v originální jazykové verzi (např. Lieskovský et al. 2014;Wiezik et al. 2017). ...
Plužina, historický pojem a v přeneseném slova smyslu výrazný krajinný prvek nejen v České republice, ale i v celé střední Evropě, byla do nedávna z pohledu archeologie opomíjenou součástí historické kulturní krajiny. Zájem archeologů se upínal především na intravilán zaniklých vsí. Až díky pronikání metod environmentální archeologie do terénního výzkumu sledujeme v posledním desetiletí soustředění na hospodářské zázemí vesnic reprezentované plužinou. Jde nejen o soudobé metody dálkového průzkumu Země, ale především o kombinované metody datování dosud opomíjených polních systémů. Dalším novým prvkem je detailní rekonstrukce přírodního prostředí středověké a novověké vsi pomocí archeobotanických metod. Projekt "Identifikace a ochrana dochovaných pozůstatků historických plužin" si tak klade za cíl poskytnout informace a vyvinout nástroje směřující k jejich ochraně. Výsledky poskytují podklad pro kvalifikovanou ochranu historických polních systémů, ale i jejich pochopení v kontextu vývoje historické krajiny. Text je přehledem problematiky v rámci současných znalostí o plužině a agrárních terasách a je zaměřen především na poznatky krajinné archeologie a krajinné ekologie.
Archaeological research into field systems and agrarian terraces as the phenomena of the historical landscape in the Czech Republic Abstract: Field systems, a historical term as well as distinct landscape elements both in the Czech Republic and the whole central Europe, have until recently been a somewhat neglected part of the historical cultural landscape in terms of archaeology. The interest of archaeologists centred, in particular, on the inner areas of deserted villages. Thanks to the introduction of the methods of environmental archaeology into field survey, the last decade has seen the concentration on the economic hinterland of villages represented by field systems. These methods involve not only the modern ones of long-distance land survey but especially the combined methods of dating the hitherto marginalized field systems. Another new element is the detail reconstruction of the natural environment of medieval and modern-age villages by means of archaeobotanical methods. A project entitled "Identification and preservation of the historic field patterns" seeks to bring information and to develop tools aimed at their protection. The results provide groundwork for the specialist protection of historical field systems, as well as for their understanding in the context of the development of historical landscape. The article offers an overview of these issues within the framework of the current state of knowledge about field systems and agrarian terraces, and predominantly involves information supplied by landscape archaeology and landscape ecology.
... Hedgerows and other linear formations of unmanaged non-forest woody vegetation are conspicuous landscape elements and important habitats for native plants and animals in open agricultural landscapes (Dover, Sparks, Clarke, Gobbett, & Glossop 2000;Hannon & Sisk 2009;Critchley, Wilson, Mole, Norton, & Smart 2013;Wiezik, Gallay, Wieziková, Čiliak, & Dovciak 2017) where they act as habitat refugia and conduits or barriers for species movement (e.g., Dmowski & Koziakiewicz, 1990;Baudry, Bunce, & Burel 2000). ...
Hedgerows play important roles in agricultural landscapes and they increase biodiversity by providing habitat refugia for species sensitive to agricultural disturbance. We have studied the characteristics of the communities of harvestmen (Opiliones) inhabiting hedgerows. Harvestmen are terrestrial arachnids associated with soil surface and subsurface and sensitive to land-use and disturbance. We were specifically interested in quantifying how hedgerow characteristics (e.g., elevation, length, width, connectivity, and plant diversity) affect harvestman diversity and community composition. We expected harvestman diversity and community composition to be positively related to both hedgerow size (area, length, width) and biological attributes of hedgerows (e.g., connectivity, plant community diversity). We surveyed hedgerow characteristics and harvestman communities of 20 hedgerows in an upland agricultural landscape in the Western Carpathians. Hedgerow characteristics were measured in the field or derived from GIS layers and we used correlation and ordination methods to relate them to harvestman community metrics. We found surprisingly high taxonomic richness of harvestmen within the studied hedgerows (15 species). Importantly, the Shannon index of harvestman communities was positively related to hedgerow length and hedgerow tree layer species richness and diversity. Harvestman community composition varied with hedgerow area and width. Despite their small total area, hedgerows represented an important habitat for diverse harvestman communities and hedgerow attributes such as size and tree diversity significantly affected the composition and the Shannon index of harvestman communities. Thus, greater lengths and widths of hedgerows can provide habitats for a higher Shannon index of harvestman communities, within surrounding agricultural landscapes.
... Territoriality in ants sometimes involves the development of multi-nest polydomous systems, consisting of interrelated nests formed by nest fissions, so-called 'budding', with intense worker and information exchange. The extreme form of such systems, where several hundred or thousands of nests form the cooperative network is called supercolony (Debout et al. 2007;Erős et al. 2009;Csata et al. 2012;Ellis and Robinson 2014;Adams 2016;Schultner et al. 2016;Wiezik et al. 2017). Such polydomous species efficiently exploit the available food supplies (Debout et al. 2007;Erős et al. 2009;Csata et al. 2012), and because of high worker density, they have a strong negative effect on other ant species (e.g. ...
... F. exsecta inhabits open areas in mixed and deciduous forests, mostly forest edges, forest clearings or mountain pastures (Seifert 2000). Large polydomous colonies are known from the Alps, Central Europe, and European Russia which consist of several hundreds of nests (see for a review; Wiezik et al. 2017). Usually, nests of F. exsecta are smaller than those of F. pratensis. ...
... Usually, nests of F. exsecta are smaller than those of F. pratensis. Nest mound diameter ranges from 10 cm in incipient to above 1 m in mature nests (Seifert 2000;Erős et al. 2009;Csata et al. 2012;Wiezik et al. 2017), and nests contain several hundred to several hundred thousand individuals (Sorvari 2009;Wiezik et al. 2017). Territories of monodomous colonies are also smaller, than those of F. pratensis, covering from a few square meters to 60 m 2 (Pisarski 1982;Sorvari 2009;Erős et al. 2009;Csata et al. 2012). ...
Territorial strategy in animals is characterized by the monopoly of resources inside a protected area, the territory. The presence of territorial species considerably alters the behavior of co-occurring submissives, as it is known in several submissive ant species living on the territories of red wood ants in temperate regions. On the other hand, as a rule, territorial species cannot share the same territory and usually exclude each other. However, this ‘rule’ is inferred from the almost complete lack of data on the coexistence of rival territorials, and not from observations regarding the effective exclusion or behavioral inhibition of one territorial species by other. In the frame of this study, we investigated the foraging strategy of the territorial red wood ant Formica pratensis that occurred inside a large polydomous system of another territorial ant species, F. exsecta. Formica pratensis colonies outside the supercolony served as control. Within the F. exsecta supercolony, F. pratensis showed the characteristics of a subordinate species characterized by low discovery and exploitation success of artificial food sources. On the contrary, control colonies outside the polydomous system clearly behaved like typical territorials as they successfully monopolized the majority of the baits. In addition, submissive species were more successful around the F. pratensis nests within the supercolony, than outside of it. As suggested by our results, territorial species could co-occur with other territorials given certain plasticity in their behavior and small colony size. Nevertheless, exclusion also happens as proven by our field observations.
... Thus, analyses of historical maps could also include linear and point information. Persistent linear elements, served as islands of biodiversity in agricultural landscape (Špulerová et al. 2014;Leibundgut and Kohn 2014;Wiezik et al. 2017), contain information about the Bpast landscapes^ (Antrop 2005;Sklenicka et al. 2009;Slamova et al. 2014), or determine the landscape character. From the case studies presented, analyzing linear information would have been especially fruitful in the case of Modbury, where hedgerows determine the landscape character and landscape identity. ...
Persistence in landscapes is determined by land cover types that remain unchanged over a certain period of time. Mapping and analyzing landscape persistence brings a new view to landscape-ecological research. Insights on processes, factors, or driving forces stabilizing landscapes can contribute to protect and manage valuable landscapes in a rapidly changing world. We analyzed and compared landscape persistence in Europe (EU27 plus Switzerland), as well as in six case studies using historical maps which were harmonized regarding their thematic, spatial, and temporal resolution. The spatial resolution was adjusted to the resolution of the least detailed case study map. To get a thematically harmonized map set, the legend classes were assigned to a common map legend. For enabling a thorough comparison, a persistence index has been developed, taking onto account differences in size of the study regions and in timing of the available historical maps. The persistence index is expressed in number of years that would be needed for the complete transformation of the land cover in a considered area if the transformation would occur at the same rate as it occurred in the considered time period. For the whole area of Europe, the persistence index is 198 years. However, change is not happening uniformly across Europe: the persistence hotspots are located in the Alps, north and south Italy, north Ireland, Sweden, south Finland, Romania, and UK where the persistence index is higher than 500 years. There is a variation between the persistence of different land cover types as well. Natural rocks, quarries, and beaches are fully persistent. Settlements and forests are highly persistent. Least persistent are grasslands and croplands, except olive groves.
In 2001 18 formicaries of Formica foreli had been found on the inland dunes near Altwarp. 14 of these formicaries remained in 2017. The greatest area with once 1237 formicaries currently comprises only 878 formicaries. The formicaries coalesced to big clusters as large parts of the area became overgrown by crinkled hair grass (Deschampsia flexuosa).Furthermore surrounding forest with Calamagrostis epigejos in the understorey pushes into the area. The felting by crinkled hair grass is a natural process due to the activity of Formica foreli who use the seeds of this grass to mulch their nests and thereby distribute the grass. For the survival of this species on the inland dune, gentle grass cutting and removal are important as similar areas of succession into which Formica foreli could move are locally not available, the species has to survive on site.
