Grzegorz Tończyk

• University of Łódź

Molecular traces are increasingly being applied to assess the presence of species and communities. Studies on environmental DNA (eDNA) have, to a large extent, become common practice in species detection, but less studies have compared biodiversity estimations with the more temporary environmental RNA (eRNA). This study compares metabarcoding resul...

The study focuses on the pristine rivers of the Biebrza National Park (BNP), an extensive area of wetlands, which holds significant biodiversity importance on a European scale. The aim of this work was to identify the taxonomic resources of the river network of this area and to compare the biodiversity of various aquatic organisms, and moreover, ev...

The mitochondrial genome of Metazoa is predominantly maternally inherited, providing a valuable genetic marker in various fields such as phylogenetics and phylogeography. However, mitochondrial heteroplasmy, where multiple copies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coexist within an individual or even cell, presents a challenge to the use of mtDNA markers...

This paper provides new data on the occurrence of robber flies (Asilidae) and hoverflies (Syrphidae) in the Wdzydze Landscape Park (partly in the Tuchola Forest) in northern Poland. The fieldwork was carried out in dragonfly-rich habitats. A total of 43 species of hoverflies and 8 species of robber flies were recorded at eight sites. The presence o...

From May 30th to 2nd June 2024, the participants of the 20th Symposium of the Odonatological Section of the Polish Entomological Society conducted field observations on dragonflies and damselflies in the Wdzydze Landscape Park (WPK) (N Poland). A total of 15 sites were visited and 35 species were recorded, 34 of them being autochthonous or probably...

Pollination biology in the widespread species Impatiens capensis Meerb. has only been studied in America, specifically in zones of the U.S.A. and Canada. In this study, we investigated the pollination biology of I. capensis using an integrative identification approach using morphological and molecular tools in four populations of Northwest Poland....

The River Habitat Survey (RHS) is a method for assessing the conditions of a river channel and valley, taking into account hydromorphological factors, and assessing the degree of naturalness or the degree of anthropogenic alteration within the channel and valley based on physical and landscape data. The hypothesis tested in this study was that the...

Lake Ohrid is the oldest lake in Europe and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for endemism of its biota. Its biodiversity is still not fully known and some taxa are particularly challenging to identify. DNA barcoding became a common method for the identification of such taxa and has become a crucial tool in biomonitoring and biodi...

From 6-9 July 2023, the participants of the 19th Symposium of the Odonatological Sec-tion of the Polish Entomological Society carried out fieldwork on the dragonflies in and around the Suwałki Landscape Park (SPK) (NE Poland). The symposium was preceded by a field recon-naissance (8-10 June). The results of this fieldwork, which yielded 45 species...

This paper provides new data on the occurrence of robber flies (Asili-dae) and hoverflies (Syrphidae) in the Wdzydze Landscape Park (partly in the Tu-chola Forest) in northern Poland. The fieldwork was carried out in dragonfly-rich habitats. A total of 43 species of hoverflies and 8 species of robber flies were recorded at eight sites. The presence...

The study focuses on the pristine rivers of the Biebrza National Park (BNP), an extensive area of wetlands, which holds significant biodiversity importance on a European scale. The aim of this work was to identify the taxonomic resources of the river network of this area and to compare the biodiversity of various aquatic organisms, and moreover, ev...

Lake Skadar with its surrounding springs, wetlands and larger affluents is among the most diverse freshwater ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and a key biodiversity/ende-mism hotspot in Europe. It is also highly endangered due to climate change and rapid tourism development in the area. Being abundant, diverse and mostly predatory, true aquat...

Lake Skadar with its surrounding springs, wetlands and larger affluents is among the most diverse freshwater ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and a key biodiversity/endemism hotspot in Europe. It is also highly endangered due to climate change and rapid tourism development in the area. Being abundant, diverse and mostly predatory, true aquati...

This paper presents the results of a preliminary survey on macroinvertebrate communities of a pristine lowland river Rawka in central Poland. The whole river is protected by a nature reserve but its invertebrates haven't yet been investigated extensively. This research has three main objectives: 1) to recognise preliminarily Rawka's macrofauna, 2)...

The group “Ważki (Odonata) w Polsce” is an excellent example of citizen science, understood as a cooperation between society and professionals in scientific activity. The goal of the present paper is to show the data concerning the very late appearances of dragonflies and damselflies in the years 2013 – 2020, to enrich the knowledge about the pheno...

From 16th to 19th June 2022, the participants of the 18th Symposium of the Odonatological Section of the Polish Entomological Society carried out fieldwork on the dragonflies of the Przemków Landscape Park (SW Poland). Although this is an area rich in aquatic and wetland habitats, its odonate fauna has hitherto been very little studied. Along with...

As a result of studies carried out in 2007-2020-39 species belonging to four orders of insects were found near Pleszew: Mecoptera (4 species), Raphidioptera (5 species), Megaloptera (1 species) and Neuroptera (29 species). Eight of them were recorded for the first time in the Wielkopolska-Kujawy Lowland: Panorpa vulgarus, Subilla confinis, Chrysope...

Przedstawiono wybrane kolekcje przyrodnicze Wydziału Biologii i Ochrony Środowiska Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Kolekcja grzybów zdeponowana w Katedrze Algologii i Mykologii, licząca ok. 60000 kopert, należy do największych i najbardziej wartościowych w Polsce. Zawiera grzyby wielkoowocnikowe, grzyby pasożytnicze roślin, porosty (grzyby zlichenizowane),...

In Pleszew poviat area in the years 2009-2020 on 34 sites the occurrence of: 15 species of mayflies (Ephemeroptera), 5 species of stoneflies (Plecoptera) and 20 species of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) was recorded. Most of the found species belong to common taxa and are widely distributed in Poland. There were 6 species from the Red list of t...

Background. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are important components in biomonitoring due to their amphibiotic lifecycle and specific habitat requirements. They are charismatic and popular insects, but can be challenging to identify despite large size and often distinct coloration, especially the immature stages. DNA-based assessment tools re...

Pond ecosystems are hotspots of freshwater biodiversity, often containing many rare and protected species that are not commonly found elsewhere (Harper et al. 2018;Harper et al. 2019). However, even if they constitute c.a. 30% of freshwaters by area, still not enough effort has been put into pond monitoring and management and pond ecosystems are he...

We present the results of the first-ever DNA barcoding study of odonates from the Maltese Islands. In total, ten morphologically identified species were collected during a two-week long expedition in 2018. Eighty cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcodes were obtained from the collected specimens. Intra- and interspecific distances ranged from...

The Tatra Mountains are small range of mountains of alpine character which belong to the Carpathian chain. All components of Tatra nature have a unique character. Tatra lakes are valuable and special environments for hydrobionts. The geological and hydrological attributes as well as water chemistry determining the specificity of those lakes have be...

The paper provides a new record of the North-American invasive amphipod Gammarus tigrinus from the Bornholm island (Denmark), accompanied by DNA barcodes. We found this species in two locations 9 km apart: 1. Baltic Sea in Svaneke, 2. Østersøen stream, Nexø. Our finding shows further range expansion of this species in the. However, taking into acco...

The Niepołomice Forest is the largest forest complex in the vicinity of Kraków. However, knowledge of its fauna is very incomplete and very out of date. This area was visited in late June 2019 during field sessions of the 16th National Odonatological Symposium of the Polish Entomological Society. 39 odonate spp. were recorded, including Leucorrhini...

In the temperate zone, the beginning of emergence of adult dragonflies and damselflies depends largely on the weather conditions, principally air temperature. High temperatures are conducive to the earlier appearance of adults, while low ones can delay it. In spring 2018, Poland was constantly under the influence of hot, dry air masses arriving fro...

The observations were conducted in the lakes, canals, rivers in north-eastern Poland (14 sites) in 2016. In total, 17 dragonfly species were recorded. Among them, one partially protected species: Gomphus flavipes (CHARPENTIER, 1825).

During the field sessions of the 14th National Odonatological Symposium of the Polish Entomological Society, the Pieniński National Park (PPN) and its vicinity were faunistically investigated. The main purpose of the study was to prove the current status of Somatochlora alpestris, which was observed in the Pieniny Mts. in 2016. Further, other aquat...

Fauna and flora of the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains is quite well investigated. In the last decades, many high mountain, mainly oligotrophic, lakes have been studied there. Detailed studies of aquatic macroinvertebrates of many other habitats were conducted in that region in the 1970s. In 2012-2015, the macrozoobenthos of the Tatra National P...

Sigara assimilis (Fieber, 1848) is an aquatic true bug from the family Corixidae. Our paper is the first report on this species from Poland. Numerous males and females of the species were found in a hypohaline coal mine settling pond in southern Poland.

Badania odontologiczne w województwie łódzkim (Polska Środkowa) prowadzone są intensywnie od 1990 roku. Wykazano występowanie 62 gatunków ważek. Na podstawie obecności gatunków w kwadratach UTM oraz stwierdzonego statusu gatunków (rozwój, prawdopodobny rozwój) przedstawiono Czerwona listę ważek (Odonata) województwa łódzkiego opierając się o kryter...

Background. Epipactis helleborine is an Eurasian orchid species which prefers woodland environments but it may also spontaneously and successfully colonise human-made artificial and disturbed habitats such as roadsides, town parks and gardens. It is suggested that orchids colonising anthropogenic habitats are characterised by a specific set of feat...

Raw data—vascular flora (A) In anthropogenic habitats (A1–A4), (B) Vascular flora in natural habitats (N1–N4).

Raw data—average of live and dead seeds (%) in autogamy and natural pollinations of E. helleborine in the studied populations, calculated from 10 shoots from each population

Raw data—biometric traits of E. helleborine in the studied populations Abbreviations: population code (Pop), height of plants (HP), number of flowers (NF), number of fruit (capsules) (NFR).

Raw data—average of biometric traits of E. helleborine in the studied populations Explanations: population (Pop), density (D), number of flowers (NF), number of fruit (capsules) (NFR), reproductive success (RS).

The status of a West European endemic species, namely Gomphus pulchellus, is unclear on the Balkan Peninsula. The authors report G. pulchellus from Lake Skadar (one site in Montenegro and one in Albania), among others based on exuviae, definitely evidencing the autochthonic occurrence of the species in the western part of the Peninsula. A strongly...

The regulation of rivers and their valleys has had a strong, negative influence on the maintenance of their original biota. Nevertheless, some hydro-engineering works conducted along already regulated rivers may be beneficial, creating habitats for endangered species and assemblages. Such works include the construction of groynes. We analysed this...

The aim of this article is to characterize the odonatofauna in the mountainous areas and to examine variations in the diversity of Odonata species in different regions of the world. Dragonflies are widespread on all continents except of Antarctica. However, the fossils found in Antarctica suggest that dragonflies were there present 150-200 million...

During the field session of the 12th National Odonatological Symposium of the Polish Entomological Society the poorly studied Gryżyński Landscape Park (GPK) and its vicinities (district lubuskie) were faunistically investigated. In total, 35 dragonfly species were recorded, including 26 species found at 7 sites in GPK and 22 species recorded at one...

We compared the gregarine parasitisation in imagines of Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1780) and C. virgo (Linnaeus, 1758) collected at two sites with sympatric populations in the Spała Landscape Park, Łódź Province, Poland, in July 2012. Gregarine prevalence, intensity, wing load, and aggregation were compared between host species, sexes and sites....

Trithemis arteriosa is one of the most widespread and abundant dragonfly species in Africa, which dominatesin open and temporary freshwater habitats. This species is known for its migratory abilities and has expanded its range to Madagascar and Eurasia, reaching to southern Anatolia. Since the first record of T. arteriosa in Turkey in 1988, the spe...

During the field session of the 10th National Odonatological Symposium of the Polish Entomological Society the Biosphere Reserve “Kampinoski Forest” was faunistically investigated. The biosphere reserve lies in Central Poland encompassing the Kampinoski National Park and its buffering zone. At 16 sites 34 dragonfly species were discovered, the most...

Occurrence and breeding of Hirudo medicinalis were recorded in birds’ nests in the fishing ponds and water bodies used extensively by anglers in south-eastern Poland, in 4 of 11 studied bird species (Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Cygnus olor, Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Factors important for the distribution and density of this leech were: nest...

Authors discuss the occurrence of dragonflies in the Kampinos National Park and its buffering zone which are also protected as Biosphere Reserve “Kampinos Forest”. The center of the reserve is the Kampinos Forest, the largest compact forest complex in Central Poland. The data on dragonflies of the biosphere reserve is in 21 papers which encompass i...

The Wdzydzki Landscape Park lies in the Tuchola Forests which are among the areas of key importance for conservation of dragonflies in Poland. In the years 2002-2009, 55 dragonfly species were recorded in the park and its buffer zone. Lakes and Sphagnum bogs housed the highest species richness. Among the recorded species, one is included in the IUC...

Researchers have been attempting to elucidate mechanisms controlling the formation of assemblages of various species in the light of classical niche theories and, more recently, a newer and very controversial approach known as the neutral theory. It remains a difficult task to resolve the question whether the organization of biocenotic communities...

The Wdzydzki Landscape Park lies in the Tuchola Forests which are among the areas of key importance for conservation of dragonflies in Poland. In the years 2002-2009, 55 dragonfly species were recorded in the park and its buffer zone. Lakes and Sphagnum bogs housed the highest species richness. Among the recorded species, one is included in the IUC...

The authors analyse three sites of occurrence of Cordulegaster boltonii in the western part of the Lithuanian Lake District (Suwałki Region, north-east Poland). The area is situated within a distance of over 300 km between large agglomerations of the species’ sites in the Tuchola Forest (north Poland) and in south-east Lithuania. Only one historica...

The Gorce Mountains and the Gorczański National Park are still poorly known with respect to the occurrence of invertebrates: data is incomplete, partly out of date and insufficient to plan protection activities. Therefore, in the spring of the year 2006, we made a faunistic reconnais-sance of the eastern part of the area, collecting the selected gr...

New localities of Elmidae (Coleoptera: Byrrhoidea), with a revised checklist of species occurring in Poland Seventeen species of elmid beetles have been unequivocally recorded from Poland. The paper presents new data on the distribution of 13 species of this family, among which Esolus parallelepipedus and Riolus cupreus have been proved to occur in...

Coenagrion armatum is a Siberian species whose south-western boundary of its distribution area goes through Poland. Formerly, it passed through the western part of the country. In the last 30–40 years it moped back ca. 300 km due to climatic and anthropogenic environmental changes. Currently, it runs through eastern regions – its putative form is s...

Monografia faunistyczna podsumowująca stan wiedzy o różnorodności owadów Parku Krajobrazowego Wzniesień Łódzki (woj. łódzkie)

ABSTRACT. Aquarius najas (DE GEER, 1773) has a univoltine life cycle above the latitude of 53º47’ N, (BRINKHURST 1966) but may be bivoltine in warmer climates. On the Grabia River (51º34’ N; 19°15’ E) in central Poland its life cycle is probable partially bivoltine. The peak abundance of overwintering adults occurs in late April. The first early su...

Monografia faunistyczna podsumowująca wiedzę o różnorodności owadów Spalskiego Parku Krajobrazowego (woj. łódzkie).

This fully bilingual publication (in Polish and English) includes: 146 distribution maps (a UTM map and interpretation map for each species) of all dragonfly species occurring in Poland, summarizing data from the beginning of 19th c. till year 2009; 10 other maps; diagnoses of the species distribution and an analysis of fauna, including species in...

The new data on the distribution of the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis L.) in Poland, collected in the years 1999–2007 during several hydrobiological and batrachological studies in many regions of Poland, are presented. In total, 87 new records were found, which doubled the number of contemporary known localities. Habitat preferences and prote...

A central feature of the European Water Framework Directive are the reference conditions. The ecological quality status is determined by calculating the distance between the present situation and the reference conditions. To describe reference conditions the natural variation of biota in pristine water bodies should be measured. Because pristine wa...

Grabia, a small still close to natural conditions lowland river, has been an object of special interest for Łódź hydrobiologists for more than 50 years. Over 100 scientific papers and over 100 master theses were produced in the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection University of Łódź. The initiator was Prof.L.K. Pawłowski who spent many y...

The paper presents the summary of data on dragonfly fauna of Polish national parks. It is based on the literature data for 21 parks as well as on original data from 12 parks (Biebrzański, Bieszczadzki, Drawieński, Gorczański, Gór Stołowych, Kampinoski, Roztoczański, Słowiński, Świętokrzyski, Tatrzański, Wielkopolski, Wigierski NP). Information abou...

It is a very rare and vanishing species in Poland, connected primarily with Sphagnum bogs in forests. In Poland it is known from several regions, mostly in the east, where small scattered populations Sstoilml apteorcshilsotr.a Parrocttieccated by law. Some localities of are protected in nature reserves, some of them are in the area of national park...

Four new localities of Macronychus quadrimaculatus [sic!] Mull. in Poland are presented. The distribution in Central and Eastern Europe is discussed.

In the first ever Red List of dragonflies of Poland, 16 species out of the 72 recorded in Poland (22%) are included: 2 CR, 3 EN, 2 VU, 2 NT, 5 LC, 2 DD. Coenagrion scitulum is excluded because it has been recorded only once (1 individual). Also a few migratory (invading) southern species are not considered as they create only short-living populatio...

72 species of dragonflies have been recorded in Poland so far. The present state of knowledge of Odonata is generally moderate and unequal with reference to the particular regions. The main current topics in Polish odonatological studies are briefly presented. The current picture of dragonfly fauna has been drawn, with special attention to: a) the...