Łukasz Kajtoch

Polish Academy of Sciences | PAN

Riverine predacious beetles (RPB) (Carabidae, Staphylinidae) are highly diverse and numerous elements of riverine ecosystems. Their historical and contemporary distribution and diversity are highly dependent on natural flow regimes and topography of watercourses. Despite broad knowledge of their ecology, data on population genetic diversity and con...

Symbiotic bacteria have played crucial roles in the evolution of sap-feeding insects and can strongly affect host function. However, their diversity and distribution within species are not well understood; we do not know to what extent environmental factors or associations with other species may affect microbial community profiles. We addressed thi...

Aim The biogeography of European forests presents many interesting case studies, as inferred from phylogeography, contemporary population genetics, and distribution modelling of saproxylic species. Here, we pose four main hypotheses: (i) the phylogeographic paradigm known for temperate species in Europe is also applicable for saproxylic taxa; (ii)...

Forests are important habitats that harbor high biodiversity and have great economic value to humans. These ecosystems depend on saproxylic organisms, which play a crucial role in the decomposition of the main substrate of forests – wood. The highly important group of saproxylic organisms are beetles, with numerous species that are either of conser...

Cockchafers Melolontha spp. are polyphagous root pests and outbreak species of considerable economic importance to forestry in Europe. However, knowledge about genetic diversity among and between populations of cockchafers is far from sufficient. In this study, we fill several gaps in the knowledge of genetic population structure and the intensity...

Apex predators, such as raptors, are used as surrogates to attain conservation objectives; however, their presence in a particular area does not necessarily mean long-term occurrence. Here we used data on long-lasting (20–40 years) territories of two generalist raptors: the diurnal Northern goshawk and the nocturnal Ural owl in deciduous and conife...

Symbiotic bacteria have played crucial roles in the evolution of sap-feeding insects and can strongly affect host function. However, their diversity and distribution within species are not well understood; we don't know to what extent environmental factors or associations with other species may affect microbial community profiles. Here, we sequence...

A subject of particular interest concerns the understanding of which biotic and/or abiotic factors shape the insect’s microbiota composition and diversity. In this study, we focus our attention on the microbiota associated with leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) inhabiting a freshwater wetland in Northern Italy for investigating which factors...

Hybridization occurs between numerous bird species, with some of them capable of producing backcrosses. However, little information is available concerning mating between pairs of hybrids. In this case study, a mixed pairing between hybrids of Syrian and Great Spotted Wodpeckers is reported. Mixed phenotypic and genotypic traits were found in the m...

Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are the most abundant endosymbionts infecting many arthropods, with Coleoptera being the most diverse hosts in terms of taxonomy and ecology. There has been great progress in studies on the relations between Wolbachia and beetles, however, only some of the research details the consequences of infection....

Recent progress in the taxonomy of flat bark beetles (Cucujidae), specifically, in the genus Cucujus, has revealed great diversity in subtropical Asia, but the seemingly well-known temperate and boreal taxa need further attention because of their conservation status. Here, we used an integrative approach using morphology, DNA, and species distribut...

Capsule Territories of the nocturnal Ural Owl Strix uralensis and diurnal Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis were spatially associated in fragmented forest but not in extensive forest. Aims To test the hypotheses that (i) the patterns of distribution of Ural Owl and Northern Goshawk territories are different in extensive and fragmented forests an...

Arboreal mammals are a group of special concern. We reviewed the available literature to summarize the overall potential effects of forest habitat disturbances on dormice ecology and population parameters. We took into consideration the influence of forest structure, area size and fragmentation, vegetation biodiversity, forestry treatments, and the...

We use multilocus molecular data and species distribution modelling to investigate the phylogenetics and the phylogeography of the White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), a bird species widely distributed over the entire Palaearctic. Our phylogenetic results reveal three well-supported clades within D. leucotos: the Chinese endemic subspeci...

Liparus glabrirostris is one of the largest European weevils, and it has been recently proposed as the flagship species for threatened riparian habitats in mountains. For effective conservation of its populations (and associated habitats), it is crucial to understand its history, contemporary distribution, genetic diversity and predict changes in t...

The Northern Goshawk is a widespread top predator in Poland, whose numbers declined over the last two decades. This study summarizes the current (2014-2015 and 2019) distribution and numbers of the Goshawk in two neighbouring areas of central Little Poland: the Niepołomice Forest (a compact forest complex of an area of about 106 km 2) and the Weste...

Different populations of two closely related species, Cryptocephalusflavipes and C. bameuli, from western (Alps, Apennines and Pyrenees) and central Europe (Poland, Ukraine and Pannonia) were analysed. On the basis of DNA sequences from two genes, cox1 and ef1-α, distinctiveness of both species was confirmed. Nevertheless, possible hybrids were ide...

Cooperative hunting is a rare strategy in raptors, although it has been widely described in Falconidae and in some species of Accipitridae. Records about synchronous hunting in the member of the genus Accipiter are occasional. Here we describe a case of the cooperative hunting of two northern goshawks, A. gentilis , of a pigeon, Columba sp., observ...

Forest management practices have varying impacts on biodiversity because the treatments and their outcomes do not always reflect the natural processes that maintain biodiversity. These management activities can be assessed using indicator species, among which birds are most frequently used. In 2018 we compared bird assemblages in oak (Quercus spp.)...

Bacterial communities play a crucial role in the biology, ecology, and evolution of multicellular organisms. In this research, the microbiome of 24 selected beetle species representing five families (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Scarabaeidae) and three trophic guilds (carnivorous, herbivorous, detrivorous) was examined us...

The Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) is considered an indicator of the naturalness and heterogeneity of the forest environment. This species occurs in various woods and forages on a variety of plants. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that in Norway spruce-dominated forest stands, the Hazel Grouse compensates for habitat poverty by...

Knowledge of Wolbachia prevalence with respect to its hosts is restricted mainly to taxonomic/phylogenetic context. In contrast, relations between infection and most host’s ecological and biological traits are poorly understood. This study aimed to elaborate on relations between bacteria and its beetle hosts in taxonomic and the ecological contexts...

Wolbachia,Rickettsia,SpiroplasmaandCardiniumare endosymbiotic and intracellularbacteria known to cause numerous disorders in host reproduction, reflected in their commonname “male-killers”. In this study, 297 beetle species from various taxonomicgroups werescreened with the use of molecular markers for the presence of infection by any of theseendos...

Recent high-throughput genotyping technologies allow for comprehensive genomic analyses on an unprecedented scale. However the advantages of the most commonly used tools are strongly limited in non-model organisms, including wild birds. In this study we attempt to test the utility of genotyping by sequencing (GBS) without relying on the reference g...

Despite the many studies on Wolbachia in Coleoptera, data about the prevalence of this bacterium among ground and rove beetles are missing. This study describes Wolbachia distribution and diversity in predatory beetles co-habiting the same environment-submontane river channels. Three species of Paederini (Staphylinidae) and four Bembidiini (Carabid...

In numerous and extensive studies on birds in cities, woodpeckers have usually been neglected. Most research has only considered their suburban populations. Among European woodpeckers, only the Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus is synanthropic, occupying both rural and urban areas. In this study, habitat requirements of sympatric Syrian and Gr...

It has been postulated that parthenogenesis in weevil species is of hybrid origin, but some have speculated that Wolbachia infection plays a role through the modification of host breeding systems. Here we focus on Strophosoma weevils, which are known to be pests in young forest stands. Using molecular data, we investigated the diversity of the two...

Monochamus sartor sartor from Central European mountain ranges and M. s. urussovii from the Eurasian boreal zone are subspecies whose taxonomic statuses have been questioned. This sawyer beetle is a natural element of spruce forests but is considered to be a timber pest in spruce plantations. In this study, different sets of data (morphology, genet...

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 Despite great progress in studies on Wolbachia infection in insects, the knowledge about its relations with beetle species, populations and individuals, and the effects of bacteria on these hosts, is still unsatisfactory. In this review we summarize the current state of knowledge about Wolbachia occurrence and interactions with Coleopter...

Image of characterization of Wolbachia infection across beetle species and populations based on data in the literature

Image of phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on Wolbachia 16S rDNA gene sequences obtained from hosts belonging to various species of Coleoptera Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on Wolbachia 16S rDNA gene sequences obtained from hosts belonging to various species of Coleoptera (data downloaded from NCBI GenBank https://www...

Image of phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on Wolbachia ftsZ gene sequences obtained from hosts belonging to various species of Coleoptera Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on Wolbachia ftsZ gene sequences obtained from hosts belonging to various species of Coleoptera (data downloaded from NCBI GenBank https://www.ncbi.nl...

Background. Despite great progress in studies on Wolbachia infection in insects, the knowledge about its relations with beetle species, populations and individuals, and the effects of bacteria on these hosts is still unsatisfactory. In this review we summarize the current state of knowledge about Wolbachia occurrence and interactions with Coleopter...

Background. Despite great progress in studies on Wolbachia infection in insects, the knowledge about its relations with beetle species, populations and individuals, and the effects of bacteria on these hosts is still unsatisfactory. In this review we summarize the current state of knowledge about Wolbachia occurrence and interactions with Coleopter...

Curculionidae is a hyperdiverse group of beetles, whose taxonomy and phylogenetics is still poorly understood, especially at the genus level. The latest work on the evolution of Apionini showed a noticeable "mess" in the subtribe Oxystomatina, where most of the morphology-based genera were found to be polyphyletic or paraphyletic. These discrepanci...

The aphid genus Eulachnus in Europe is revised to include 12 species, using an integrative taxonomy approach, based on morphometric, molecular and biological traits. Fundatrix, apterous and alate viviparous female of a new species–Eulachnus stekolshchikovi Kanturski sp. nov. are described. Neotypes are designated for E. agilis, E. brevipilosus and...

Background. Despite great progress in studies on Wolbachia infection in insects, the knowledge about its relations with beetle species, populations and individuals, and the effects of bacteria on these hosts is still unsatisfactory. In this review we summarize the current state of knowledge about Wolbachia occurrence and interactions with Coleopter...

The population structures of sympatric Syrian and Great-spotted Woodpeckers (SW and GW, respectively) in urban areas of Poland were investigated with respect to the occurrence of mixed pairs and hybrids. It was estimated that 5.3% of pairs were mixed and that these interspecific pairs mainly comprised SW or hybrid females and GW males. In total, 3....

Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia (α-Proteobacteria) are the most widespread endosymbionts of insects. Host infection is usually associated with alterations in reproduction, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, the induction of parthenogenesis and offspring sex ratio bias: all phenomena that may infl uence host speciation. In the presen...

Species distribution, ecology, and behaviour are shaped, amongst other things, by interspecific, antagonistic interactions, and this phenomenon is particularly noticeable among predators. We studied the spatial co-distribution of two top piscivorous bird species foraging on inland waters outside breeding season. We considered the hypothesis that go...

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...

Species often express some differences in habitat choice which enable their co-occurrence in sympatry and this phenomenon is particularly noticeable for related taxa and during range shifts. Here, co-distribution of two sibling woodpeckers (Syrian woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus and great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major) in different types of...

The Chaitophorinae is a bionomically diverse Holarctic subfamily of Aphididae. The current classification includes two tribes: the Chaitophorini associated with deciduous trees and shrubs, and Siphini that feed on monocotyledonous plants. We present the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subfamily, based on molecular and morphological datasets....

Orchards are parts of agriculture and apart from their economic role they may preserve biodiversity in highly transformed farmlands. An increasing intensity of orchards management is known to be threat for some species, especially pollinators and birds. On the other hand, the biodiversity of abandoned orchards was hardly investigated. Here, I prese...

River channels undergo dynamic and frequent changes of environments due to both natural flow regimes and anthropogenic transformations. Riverine habitats are major hotspots of biodiversity, especially in industrialized countries. Despite the protection of high nature value sites, rivers and riverine species are threatened. Therefore, quality of riv...

The alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica (Gyllenhal): Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an invasive pest of alfalfa (Medicago sativa Linnaeus; Fabaceae) in the Holarctic region. Across the wide geographic distribution of the species different local adaptions have been observed. Further, several distinct mitochondrial lineages have been discovered, which have...

The phylogeography of species associated with European steppes and extrazonal xeric grasslands is poorly understood. This paper summarizes the results of recent studies on the phylogeography and conservation genetics of animals (20 taxa of beetles, butterflies, reptiles and rodents) and flowering plants (18 taxa) of such, "steppic" habitats in East...

Most parthenogenetic weevil species are postulated to have originated via hybridization, but Wolbachia has also been speculated to play a role via the induction of parthenogenesis. Here, we examine the molecular diversity of Wolbachia and parthenogenetic host genomes. The host species studied here, Eusomus ovulum, is known to be exclusively parthen...

In insects, morphological species identification is often challenging. The discrimination of closely related species may be hampered when only subtle differences in phenotypic characters or a continuum in their variability are present. This is exemplified in the Cryptocephalus flavipes species complex (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae) where, until now, t...

Competitive intraguild interactions can modify the spatial and temporal territory use of predators, e.g., this phenomenon was reported among species of owls (Strigidae). This study made use of owl guild present in fragmented forests in southern Poland to investigate how the occurrence of the dominant Ural owl affects the territory distribution of s...

The study describes distribution of territories of the Tawny Owl Strix aluco and Ural Owl S. uralensis in fragmented forests in the southern part of Kraków–Częstochowa Upland and central part of West-Carpathian Foothills in 2014–2015. In total, 114 territories of the Tawny Owl were found (average density 7.0 territories/10 km2 of forest area) and 1...

The biodiversity and naturalness of forests that cover stream valleys in submontane areas have not been investigated as intensively as riparian forests along large lowland rivers. In this study we compared data on total bird assemblages and on selected indicator species detected in forests along submontane stream valleys (‘Vall’) with those detecte...

The genus Philaenus is one of the best investigated among Auchenorrhyncha, and several morphological, ecological, karyological, and molecular data have led to a designation of up to 10 species, distributed mainly in the Mediterranean and south-western Asia. The only widespread Palaearctic species, P. spumarius, is known to be structured phylogeogra...

DNA barcoding facilitates many evolutionary and ecological studies, including the examination of the dietary diversity of herbivores. In this paper, we present a survey of ecological associations between herbivorous beetles and host plants from seriously threatened European steppic grasslands. We determined host plants for the majority (65%) of ste...

Many owl species use the same nesting and food resources, which causes strong interspecific competition and spatio-temporal niche separation. We made use of a recent colonisation of Ural Owls (Strix uralensis) in southern Poland to compare habitat preferences of Tawny Owls (Strix aluco) allopatry and sympatry with Ural Owls. We investigated spatial...

Monitoring of the Hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia) population in Poland (PL).

Recently, several papers were published dealing with host plant identification for selected species of insects, including beetles. These studies took advantage of the DNA barcoding approach and generally showed that it is possible to identify diet composition from plant DNA present in insect guts. However, none of these studies considered how the i...

The DNA barcoding technique developed for species identification has recently been adapted for ecological studies (e.g. host plant identification). Comprehensive barcode databases, covering most species inhabiting areas, habitats or communities of interest are essential for reliable and efficient identification of plants. Here we present a three-ba...

Wolbachia is the most widespread intracellular α-proteobacteria maternally inherited endosymbiont of insects and nematodes. These bacteria are associated with a number of different reproductive phenotypes of their hosts. Relatively few studies have dealt with distribution of infections across populations and with the influence of these bacteria on...

The alteration of flow regimes is the most serious threat to the environment and populations of riverine ecosystems. The aim of this study was to verify how newly recovered assemblages of riverine birds react to recent and intensive water control transformations. Data on habitat transformations, breeding bird species and population abundance within...