Radovan Coufal

Masaryk University | MUNI · Department of Botany and Zoology

Metastrongyloid nematodes typically reside as adults in the cardiopulmonary systems of their mammalian definitive hosts, potentially causing severe diseases. Of particular concern are Angiostrongylus cantonensis and A. costaricensis, which can cause eosinophilic meningitis and abdominal angiostrongyliasis, respectively, in their accidental human ho...

This paper presents important faunistic records conducted in the Czech and Slovak Republics during 2023. We also include records generated before 2023, which have yet to be published, mainly because their correct identification was unavailable earlier. In a separate section we present records of unintentionally introduced species, reported for the...

The invasive species Melanoides tuberculata (O. F. Müller, 1774) is reported from the open environment from the Czech Republic for the first time. An abundant population was found in the artificially heated Skryjský potok, a stream which flows from the cooling reservoir below the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The species is unlikely to occur outsid...

The V Krátkých Nature Monument (NM) comprises of landscape mosaic of meadows, groves, spring fen and wetland while the Lom Rasová NM is a former sandstone quarry with open and forested areas. Both are situated near Vápenice village in the White Carpathians. In total, 44 species (40 terrestrial gastropods, 3 aquatic snails and 1 bivalve) were found...

The Jazevčí National Nature Reserve is located in the southern part of the White Carpathians PLA near the Javorník nad Veličkou village. The reserve protects a heterogeneous landscape with meadows, groves, springs, and creeks. This diversity is reflected in the mollusc assemblages, which contain nine out of ten ecological groups. In total, 58 mollu...

This paper presents important faunistic records obtained from the territory of the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2022. Two new non-native species, Lauria cylindracea and Mieniplotia scabra, were recorded indoors, and also two new non-native species Cochlicella acuta and Testacella haliotidea were found outdoors in the Czech Republic. New occurrence...

The Špraněk NNR, as a prominent part of the Javoříčko Karst, has long been a focus of malacological research. In this study, we have assembled all the information on the mollusc fauna regarding this area by compiling literature data, records from the Natural History Museum in Prague, and data from our own field research. Since the end of the 19th c...

Aims and background Groundwater-dependent minerotrophic fens are globally threatened biodiversity hotspots. The supply of groundwater keeps their soil thermally stable and mitigates climatic extremes by thermal buffering. This stability has been shown to influence species composition variation at the between-site scale but has not been studied at...

In 2022, four small-scale protected areas (SPA) within Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area were surveyed for terrestrial molluscs. All localities are floodplain forest fragments with oxbow lakes, pools and marshes in the Morava river catchment. The most species-rich SPA was Hvězda Natural Monument (NM), with 38 species recorded. The threat...

Pyramidula saxatilis and P. pusilla are two Central European rock-dwelling snail species that frequently co-occur and show substantial overlap in overall shell morphology. The two species can be separated from each other by differences in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (mtDNA and nDNA) sequences. Recent studies have not shown consistent differences...

This paper presents important faunistic records conducted in the Czech and Slovak Republics during 2021. In the Šumava Mts, South Bohemia, a hydrobiid snail of the genus Alzoniella was found. Monacha cantiana s. lato was genetically confirmed for the first time in the city of Bratislava, Slovakia. New sites of Cornu aspersum (Prague) and Tandonia k...

The Kalábová (K1) and Kalábová 2 (K2) Nature Monuments are located in the central part of the White Carpathians PLA near the village of Březová. Both monuments protect treeless wet grasslands and tufa forming spring fens, which were originally part of a larger wetland complex. A total of 51 species were recorded in K1 (47 terrestrial and two aquati...

Increasing evidence for the effects of Holocene history on modern biotic communities suggests that current explanations of community patterns and conservation strategies require revisiting. Here we focused on Central European rich fens that are at high risk among mire habitats because of their relatively low environmental stability, and hence sensi...

The Hutě Nature Reserve is located in the central eastern part of the White Carpathians PLA, near the Žítková village. The reserve protects a preserved and topographically heterogeneous area composed of forest groves, meadows, pastures, and spring fens with a high diversity of submontane and thermophilic plant and animal assemblages. The species co...

The Poledňana Nature Reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Beskydy PLA, close to Staré Hamry town. The subject of protection are old growth forests with natural-like tree composition. During the survey in 2021, 43 species (42 terrestrial and one aquatic) of gastropods were recorded. The species composition consists predominantly of woo...

This paper presents important faunistic records including location data with all details conducted in the Czech and Slovak Republics during 2020. Four new non-native species, Arion intermedius, Ambigolimax valentianus, Clathrocaspia knipowitschii and Krynickillus melanocephalus, were recorded outdoors in Slovakia. Radix lagotis was genetically conf...

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems represent globally rare edaphic islands of scattered distribution, often forming areas of regionally unique environmental conditions. A stable groundwater supply is a key parameter defining their ecological specificity, promoting also soil thermal buffering. Still, a limited number of studies dealt with the importan...

Human activities have enormous impact on current biodiversity distribution across all spatial scales. Despite the numerous studies showing the difference between preserved and impaired sites, only little is known about the regional scale. Therefore, we selected four European regions differing in habitat conservation status (HCS) to explore if the v...

A faunistic survey of terrestrial and aquatic molluscs was conducted in the period 2018-2021. Altogether, 47 sites were surveyed (35 for terrestrial gastropods and 12 for aquatic molluscs). In total, 91 species were recorded (75 terrestrial and 11 aquatic gastropods and 5 bivalves) of which 11 species are included in the IUCN Red List and one speci...

The U Výpustku Nature Reserve is located in the central part of the Moravian Karst PLA near the Křtiny Town. The reserve is predominantly forested area with multitude of karst features, such as caves and sinkholes. The valley was shaped in devonian limestones by the Křtinský potok Brook during the Quaternary. In total, 73 species of terrestrial gas...

The U Výpustku Nature Reserve is located in the central part of the Moravian Karst PLA near the Křtiny Town. The reserve is predominantly forested area with multitude of karst features, such as caves and sinkholes. The valley was shaped in devonian limestones by the Křtinský potok Brook during the Quaternary. In total, 73 species of terrestrial gas...

The Draplavý Nature Reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Beskydy PLA, near the Staré Hamry Town. The subject of protection is a gulch eroded in mostly calcium-rich flysch bedrock by the Draplavý Brook, where the tree composition is rather natural, while in the surroundings a spruce monoculture is present. During the survey in 2020, 32...

The Draplavý Nature Reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Beskydy PLA, near the Staré Hamry Town. The subject of protection is a gulch eroded in mostly calcium-rich flysch bedrock by the Draplavý Brook, where the tree composition is rather natural, while in the surroundings a spruce monoculture is present. During the survey in 2020, 32...

Since the last comprehensive overview of the Czech and Slovak mollusc fauna, released in 2013, several records of species new for the countries or particular regions have appeared. In this paper, we summarize all such records and news collected in 2015-2019, including those affecting nomenclature and the national Check-lists made in 2013 and 2014....

Calcareous fens represent an endangered type of peatlands, acting as refugia for stress-tolerant species in the currently changing landscapes. The resurveys across many regions have reported their recent disappearance or deterioration despite both the extreme habitat conditions (carbonate richness, presence of calcareous tufa, nutrient limitation,...