Gábor Sramkó

University of Debrecen · Department of Botany

Introgressive hybridisation can pose a serious threat to endangered species which have an overlapping distribution such as in the case of two polecat species, Mustela eversmanii, and M. putorius, in Europe. The population size of steppe polecat is known to continuously shrink, whereas its sister species, the European polecat, is still somehow wides...

The Hepatica section Angulosa consists of mainly tetraploid (2n = 28) species that are distributed disjunctly throughout Eurasia. Karyological evidence proves the hybrid origin of the polyploid species of this section. Hepatica transsilvanica is a member of this species group with a conspicuous distribution restricted to the Eastern Carpathians. Ba...

Background and aims: The terrestrial orchid genus Epipactis has become a model system for the study of speciation via transitions from allogamy to autogamy, but close phylogenetic relationships have proven difficult to resolve through Sanger sequencing. Methods: We analysed with RAD-seq 108 plants representing 29 named taxa that together span th...

In this study we analysed for the first time the phylogenetic relationships among the European Lethrus species based on mitochondrial (COI, 16S) and nuclear (H3, wingless) markers. The phylogenetic inference based on these genes indicated that the European Lethrus species form a monophyletic group with two main lineages. One of them is distributed...

Pulsatilla (Anemoneae, Ranunculaceae) is sister to Anemone s.s. and contains ca 40 perennial species of considerable horticultural and medical importance. We sequenced 31 of those species, plus nine subspecies, two cultivars and six outgroups, for two nuclear regions (high-copy nrITS and low-copy MLH1) and three plastid regions (rbcL, accD–psaI, tr...

Introduction Quaternary glaciations, in particular the last glacial maximum (LGM), have shaped the contemporary distribution of many species. In Europe, survival of temperate species during range contractions was mainly associated with refugia in Mediterranean peninsulas, allowing south to north recolonization. Additionally, the Ponto-Caspian refug...

Our aim was to identify nucleotide polymorphisms, assess their distribution in haplotype diversity, and construct a phylogenetic tree by analyzing mtDNA markers of the Mongolian Tree Pipits(Anthus trivialis). We conducted this study using partial gene sequencesof mitochondrial marker genes, such as COI, Cyt-b, D-loop, andND2,to determine the geneti...

Spiraea crenata L. is a deciduous shrub distributed across the Eurasian steppe zone. The species is of cultural and horticultural importance and occurs in scattered populations throughout its westernmost range. Currently, there is no genomic information on the tribe of Spiraeeae. Therefore we sequenced and assembled the whole genome of S. crenata u...

The Altai falcon from Central Asia always attracted the attention of humans. Long considered a totemic bird in its native area, modern falconers still much appreciated this large-bodied and mighty bird of prey due to its rarity and unique look. The peculiar body characteristics halfway between the saker falcon (Falco cherrug) and the gyrfalcon (F....

Species delimitation is a powerful approach to assist taxonomic decisions in challenging taxa where species boundaries are hard to establish. European taxa of the blind mole rats (genus Nannospalax) display small morphological differences and complex chromosomal evolution at a shallow evolutionary divergence level. Previous analyses led to the reco...

The colour of the butterfly wing serves as an important sexual and species-specific signal. Some species produce structural colouration by developing wing scales with photonic nanoarchitectures. These nanostructures are highly conservative, allowing only a ±10 nm peak wavelength deviation in the reflectance spectra of the blue structural colour in...

The paper of Brullo et al. (2022) aimed to lectotypify _Elatine macropoda_ Guss. and _E. gussonei_ (Sommier) Brullo et al., two enigmatic members of the genus. They gave an overview of the taxonomic issue of these species, identified the type specimens, and gave a comprehensive description of both species, as well as aimed to clarify open questions...

Temporal activity differences facilitate species' coexistence by reducing interspecific competition. Such patterns can be studied via diel activity analysis, but obtaining data in cryptic mammals is difficult. We investigated the annual and diel activity pattern of such a small mammal, the endangered Hungarian birch mouse (Sicista trizona trizona),...

Salvia is the most species-rich genus of the family Lamiaceae, currently numbering almost 1000 species. The diagnostic feature of the genus is the unique staminal lever mechanism that allows for specific pollination modes. We encountered an unusual Salvia form in the field, in SE Romania, which resembles S. austriaca but features a radically differ...

The wings of butterflies exhibit a richness of colors and patterns unrivalled in the living world. Many of these colors are efficiently used and optimized in sexual communication. These colors may be generated by selective light absorption on pigments, by selective light reflection on photonic nanoarchitectures, or by a combination of the two. The...

Facultative sexual organisms combine sexual and asexual reproduction within a single life cycle, often switching between reproductive modes depending on environmental conditions. These organisms frequently inhabit variable seasonal environments, where favorable periods alternate with unfavorable periods, generating temporally varying selection pres...

Different versions of Restriction‐site‐Associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) have become powerful and popular tools in molecular ecology. Although RADseq datasets are generally regarded as representative of the nuclear genome, reduced representation genomic libraries may also sample the organellar (i.e. the mitochondrial and, in the case of plants, th...

The Eurasian Steppe belt is one of the largest biomes in the Northern Hemisphere. We provide here a range-wide phylogeography of the flightless steppe beetle Lethrus apterus that inhabits the western part of the Steppe belt through the study of population-level variance of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences and nuclear microsatellites. We...

Anthropogenic environmental changes are affecting biodiversity and microevolution worldwide. Ectothermic vertebrates are especially vulnerable, since environmental changes can disrupt their sexual development and cause sex reversal, a mismatch between genetic and phenotypic sex. This can potentially lead to sex‐ratio distortion and population decli...

One of the main goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is to avoid further loss of biodiversity and to restore ecosystems. These efforts can be facilitated by compiling the main research topics related to conservation biology to provide new evidence for the most urgent knowledge gaps, and publicise it to researchers, research funders and po...

Anthropogenic environmental changes are affecting biodiversity and microevolution worldwide. Ectothermic vertebrates are especially vulnerable, since their sexual development can be disrupted by environmental changes, which can cause sex reversal, a mismatch between genetic and phenotypic sex, potentially leading to sex-ratio distortion and populat...

Facultative sexual organisms combine sexual and asexual reproduction within a single life cycle, often switching between reproductive modes depending on environmental conditions. These organisms frequently inhabit variable seasonal environments, where favourable periods alternate with unfavourable periods, generating temporally varying selection pr...

The males of more than 80% of the Lycaenidae species belonging to the tribe Polyommatini exhibit structural coloration on their dorsal wing surfaces. These colors have a role in reinforcement in prezygotic reproductive isolation. The species-specific colors are produced by the cellular self-assembly of chitin/air nanocomposites. The spectral positi...

The floristic composition of communities of apple and hawthorn forests with the participation of the rare species Gymnospermium altaicum (Pall.) Spach was studied in the Trans-Ili (Zailiyskiy) Alatau . The list of higher plants includes 156 species from 121 genera and 48 families. Most of them (84%) are herbaceous plants; there are 25 tree and shru...

Facultative clonality is associated with complex life cycles where sexual and asexual forms can be exposed to contrasting selection pressures. Facultatively clonal animals often have distinct developmental capabilities that depend on reproductive mode (e.g. negligible senescence and exceptional regeneration ability in asexual individuals, which are...

At the westernmost distribution of the steppe herbaceous plant, Galatella villosa, in Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine, we recently observed intermediate specimens between this species and its close relative, G. linosyris.We were able to demonstrate the hybrid origin of these individuals by sequencing the biparentally inherited nuclear ribosomal interna...

In the cold periods of Quaternary climatic fluctuations, many temperate species underwent severe range contractions, and their survival during these periods was associated with climatically more favorable regions, so-called glacial refugia, from which subsequent range expansions took place. In this regard, the relative roles of the Southern (“main”...

European mustelids include the European polecat, Mustela putorius, and the steppe polecat, M. eversmanii. Both occur sympatrically in the Pannonian Basin, where M. eversmanii hungarica represents the westernmost part of the latter species and they allegedly hybridize. We investigated the morphological relationships in sympatric and allopatric popul...

The Pannonian endemic species Vincetoxicum pannonicum was described from specimens collected in Hungary and occurs at only few locations. It is considered “vulnerable” according to the International Red List. The chromosome set was reported to be tetraploid, and the species was hypothesized to be an allotetraploid hybrid of the Balkan species V. fu...

Multi-locus genetic identification of a newly discovered population reveals a deep genetic divergence in European blind mole rats (Rodentia : Spalacidae : Nannospalax).-Ann. Zool. Fen-nici 57: 89-98. A new population of blind mole rat (genus Nannospalax) was discovered near the town of Albertirsa in north-central Hungary. We used newly designed pri...

Premise: Ferula sadleriana (Apiaceae) is a polycarpic, perennial herb with a very limited range and small populations. It is listed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Microsatellite markers can contribute to conservation efforts by allowing the study of the genetic structure of its shrinking populations. Methods and resul...

Field studies have shown that waterbirds, especially members of the Anatidae family, are major vectors of dispersal by endozoochory for a broad range of plants lacking a fleshy fruit, yet whose propagules can survive gut passage. Widely adopted dispersal syndromes ignore this dispersal mechanism, and we currently have little understanding of what t...

Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann is a long-lived perennial orchid with an adriato-mediterranean distribution. The species-level separation of this species from the more geographically widespread H. hircinum has only recently been confirmed via a combination of molecular and morphometric techniques, which are further developed here. To provide a...

The paper presents new records of 24 vascular plant species from 11 Eurasian countries. One taxon (Orobanche laxissima) is reported from Armenia; one (Epipactis condensata) from Azerbaijan; two (Phragmites americanus, Polygala multicaulis) from Belarus; one (Stipa cauca-sica) from Egypt; one (Puccinellia hauptiana) from Kyrgyzstan; three (Aquilegia...

Premise: Gladiolus palustris (Iridaceae) is an endangered European perennial tetraploid herb with special conservation interest in the European Union. Microsatellite markers can serve as effective tools for the conservation genetics of this species. Methods and results: We utilized a 454 pyrosequencing approach to identify simple sequence repeat...

Facultative clonality is associated with complex life cycles where sexual and asexual forms are exposed to contrasting selection pressures. Facultatively clonal animals often have divergent life histories that depend on reproductive mode (such as negligible senescence and exceptional regeneration ability in asexual individuals, and a lack of these...

Birch mice (genus Sicista) represent an early diverging lineage of dipodid rodents with a wide geographic distribution and a cryptic lifestyle that makes the genus difficult to study. As a result, reconstructing the evolutionary phylogeny of the group remains incomplete. Here, we report the molecular phylogeny of the genus based on mitochondrial an...

In the face of worldwide habitat loss, the role of human-shaped habitats in conserving biodiversity is becoming increasingly important. Due to their special cultural role, cemeteries can preserve parts of the native vegetation when the surrounding landscape becomes degraded. However, these special refuges are threatened by human encroachment and ch...

Saker Falcons (Falco cherrug) with an unstriped tail are very unusual in the Pannonian region; the first author of this note is only aware of a single instance in his practice which includes the ringing of ca. 1700 birds here. One individual, which has a known pedigree of Hungarian parents where the female is without a striped tail, was included as...

Nymphaea lotus L. is a tropical and subtropical species of waterlilies with an African distribution. A conspicuous satellite occurrence can be found in Europe in a thermal spring in NW Romania. This population (treated as var. thermalis (DC.) Tuzson) received much attention as a potential Tertiary relict in the flora of Europe, although its relict...

Cemeteries are mostly perceived as undisturbed places where we can remember the deceased loved ones. From another perspective, they also represent historical and cultural values throughout the world. It has only recently been demonstrated that cemeteries are home to signifcant natural values, of which we have very little knowledge in general, and t...

Abstract The central Asian narrow endemic species Oxytropis almaatensis is a highly endangered plant with a very restricted distribution in the Tian Shan Mountains. In this study, we present the basic conservation genetic characteristics of this species based on a DNA fingerprinting approach in order to provide yardsticks for official conservation...

Erysimum croceum M. Pop. (Brassicaceae) is an endemic species, growing only in Trans-Ili Alatau. It is included into Kazakhstan Red Data Book. The aim of this study is to compare two populations of Erysimum croceum M.Pop identified in Trans-Ili Alatau region, for which morphological and ecologicalanalysis was undertaken. Plant communities of the 1s...

One of the author’s name of this article was incorrectly published as “Chris Wade”. This is now presented correctly in this article as “Christopher M. Wade”.

Background and aims: Bee orchids (Ophrys) have become the most popular model system for studying reproduction via insect-mediated pseudo-copulation and for exploring the consequent, putatively adaptive, evolutionary radiations. However, despite intensive past research, both the phylogenetic structure and species diversity within the genus remain h...

This report focuses on the faunal results of a mammalogical expedition, aimed to survey distribution, habitat preference, current density, threatening factors of birch mouse (Sicista) species inhabiting the Great Caucasus, as well as to assess their conservation status and to collect genetic samples for phylogenetic analyses. Sicista strandi was tr...

Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree reconstructed on haplotypes found in Caucasotachea vindobonensis populations. Values indicate branch supports

Mismatch distribution calculated for four regional groups of Caucasotachea vindobonensis populations

The potential distribution of Caucasotachea vindobonensis. Warmer colors indicate more suitable climatic conditions, while crosses indicate the subsample of presence points used for modeling (for more detail see material and methods)

Existing data on the phylogeography of European taxa of steppic provenance suggests that species were widely distributed during glacial periods but underwent range contraction and fragmentation during interglacials into “warm-stage refugia.” Among the steppe-related invertebrates that have been examined, the majority has been insects, but data on t...

Cikkünkben összesen 207 taxon 2005 és 2015 között gyűjtött adatát összegezzük, amelyeket a Tiszántúli flórajárás (Crisicum) középső részén gyűjtöttünk. Az adatsorban a flórajárásra nézve számos ritka és veszélyeztetett faj is szerepel (pl. Asplenium trichomanes, Marsilea quadrifolia, Sisymbrium polymorphum, Viola stagnina, Gentiana pneumonanthe, El...

Elatine L. contains ca. 25 small, herbaceous, annual species distributed in ephemeral waters in both hemispheres. All species are amphibious and characterized by a high degree of morphological variability. The importance of seed morphology in Elatine taxonomy has been emphasized by many authors. The degree of seed curvature and seed coat reticulati...

Source data

Elatine gussonei (Sommier) Brullo et al. is a rare freshwater plant previously assumed to be endemic to Lampedusa and the Maltase archipelago. Taxonomic uncertainties within the Elatine genus may have caused E. gussonei populations to be overlooked in the Mediterranean region. To clarify the distribution of E. gussonei, we reviewed Elatine specimen...

Spiraea crenata was categorised as a species extinct from Hungary at the end of the 20 th century. This steppe-relic species was rediscovered in 2000 in a rural graveyard (Pusztamonostor). As a result of our recent survey of 294 Pannonian graveyards, we found further 12 localities of S. crenata. We also found 27 populations of further protected pla...