Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61 (4), pp. 305–327, 2015

Title: New enchytraeid species (Oligochaeta: Enchytraeidae) from the Danube–Dráva National Park

Authors: Klára Dózsa-Farkas1, Adrienne Ortmann-Ajkai2 and Ferenc Horváth3

Authors' addresses: 1Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Hungary; E-mail: kdozsafarkas@gmail.com
2University of Pécs, Department of Hidrobiology, H-7624 Pécs, Ifjúság u. 6. Hungary; E-mail: aadrienn@gamma.ttk.pte.hu
3Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany H-2163 Vácrátót, Alkotmány u. 2–4; E-mail: horvath.ferenc@okologia.mta.hu

Abstract: The enchytraeid fauna of the Dráva Floodplain (Bükkhát Forest Reserve, alder swamp and meadows at Kisszentmárton, and Barcs Nature Conservation Area belonging to the Danube–Dráva National Park, Hungary) was investigated for the first time. A total of 14 enchytraeid genera, including 49 species and two other annelid worms (Hrabeiella periglandulata and Rhyacodrilus falciformis) were identified. Four species: Fridericia connatiformis sp. n., F. phaeostriata sp. n., F. longiducta sp. n. and Cernosvitoviella buekkhati sp. n. are new to science and described in this paper.

Key words: Fridericia, Cernosvitoviella, new species, Enchytraeidae, Clitellata, Annelida, fauna, Danube–Dráva National Park.

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Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61 (4), pp. 329–339, 2015

Title: First coloured species of the genus Thabena Stål (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea, Issidae) from Vietnam with general notes on the genus

Author: Vladimir M. Gnezdilov

Author's address: Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 1, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia; E-mails: vmgnezdilov@mail.ru, vgnezdilov@zin.ru

Abstract: A new species of the genus Thabena Stål, 1866 is described from Dalat in Vietnam. Checklist of Thabena species is given. This is the first species of the genus with multicoloured metope which may be treated as a kind of mimicry to salticid spiders. Taxonomic position of the genus Thabena within the family Issidae and its close relationships to the tribe Parahiraciini is briefly discussed.

Key words: Issini, Parahiraciini, Caliscelidae, Chlamydopteryx, Lasonia, Redarator, Thabena, morphology, evolution, mimicry, taxonomy, new species.

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Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61 (4), pp. 341–359, 2015

Title: Phylogeography of Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Iran inferred from mitochondrial DNA

Authors: Mehdi Esfandiari1, Neda Mehravar2, Hossein Motamedi2, Hamid Rajabi Memari3 and Hossein Rajaei4

Authors' addresses: 1Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz Ahvaz, Iran; E-mail: apameini@yahoo.com
2Departments of Biology, College of Science, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran; E-mail: mehravar86@yahoo.com; hhmotamedi@yahoo.com
3Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran; E-mail: hamidmemary@gmail.com
4State Museum of Natural History, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany E-mail: hossein.rajaei@smns-bw.de

Abstract: Although the stem borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefèbvre, 1827) is one of the most destructive agricultural pests in South and Southwest Iran, the structure of these populations is not yet well understood. In this study, we sequenced two mitochondrial genes (CO1 and Cyt-b) of populations collected in cultivated sugarcane and rice in South and Southwest Iran. These genetic data of Iranian populations were compared with those of already published data from West Palaearctic (Africa and Europe). To testing the intra- and inter-population variations, different population analyses (e.g. haplotype network, haplotype and nucleotide diversity) were executed. Our results indicate a considerable genetic variation in Iranian populations of S. nonagrioides, which supports the long-term establishment of S. nonagrioides populations in Iran versus a recent invasion. Close genetic relationship of Iranian population of S. nonagrioides with a population of Central Ethiopia supports the scenario of the origin of this species from Africa to western Asia through the Trans-Arabian bridge. Our results help to explain the variation in pest status of S. nonagrioides observed across its distribution range in Iran.

Key words: CO1, Cyt-b, gene flow, haplotype, population genetics.

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Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61 (4), pp. 361–372, 2015

Title: A study on genetic divergence of the Red squirrel Sciurus vulgaris (Rodentia: Mammalia) from six regions in Eurasia: based on cytochrome b complete sequences

Authors: Hung Sun Koh1*, Damdingiin Bayarkhagva2, Alexey Kryukov3, Minghai Zhang4, Bae Kun Lee1, Dava Bazarsad2 and Sin Wan Ho1

Authors' addresses: 1Research Institute for Biological Resources, Sejong 339-941, Korea; *E-mail: syskoss@chungbuk.ac.kr
2Department of Molecular Biology, National University of Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 210646, Mongolia; E-mail: dambayar@yahoo.com
3Laboratory of Evolutionary Zoology and Genetics, Far East Division Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; E-mail: kryukov@ibss.dro.ru
4College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China E-mail: Zhangminghai2004@126.com

Abstract: Cytochrome b complete sequences (1140 bp) of Sciurus vulgaris from four regions in continental Asia (Korea, northeastern China, far-eastern Russia, and Mongolia) were obtained and analysed with corresponding complete and partial (359 bp) haplotypes of S. vulgaris, obtained from GenBank. These sequences were used to compare our and previous results from partial sequences and to examine population differentiation of S. vulgaris in Eurasia by using complete sequences and by using more numerous specimens. Based on partial sequences from ten Eurasian regions (the four regions in Asia, Japan, Portugal, western China, Russia, and northern and southern Italy), we found that S. vulgaris is composed of two clades (a minor one from southern Italy and a major one from other Eurasian regions). We considered that our results are more conclusive than previous results by other researchers, performed without using haplotypes from Korea, Mongolia, and far-eastern Russia and detected three clades (southern Italy, Russia, and other Eurasia) or two clades with one distinguishable haplotype. Moreover, we found that our results from partial sequences are less informative than those from complete sequences, indicating that cytochrome b complete sequences from Eurasia are needed in order to examine population structure of S. vulgaris. Finally, in this study on population differentiation from cytochrome b complete sequence analyses, we found that genetic divergence of six Eurasian populations, including the four Asian populations, is low, and that our results do not support the current subspecies classification, recognizing 23 subspecies.

Key words: Cytochrome b, Sciurus vulgaris, Eurasia, phylogeography, DNA systematics.

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Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61 (4), pp. 373–408, 2015

Title: Habitat urbanization and its effects on birds

Authors: Gábor Seress and András Liker

Authors' address: Department of Limnology, University of Pannonia, H-8200 Veszprém, Pf. 158, Hungary; E-mails: seressg@almos.uni-pannon.hu, andras.liker@gmail.com

Abstract: By transforming landscapes, human activity creates new types of habitats with altered environmental characteristics that never existed before. As the process of habitat urbanization bears impact on more and more natural habitats, it is essential for us to understand the changes we bring forth in the ecological forces shaping urban animal communities. Birds are perhaps the most frequently studied model organisms by urban ecologists. It is a well known general pattern that urban avian communities have typically reduced species richness, while the density of a few successful species is often higher in cities than in adjacent more natural habitats. But it is less understood which mechanisms generate and uphold these community-level changes. In this review we discuss the most important components of the urban environment influencing birds’ physiology, behaviour or morphology, and compile several recent studies to illustrate their effects. To understand urban food webs we also review the results of bottom-up and top-down approach which suggest that altered food availability and predation may play key roles in forming recent urban bird communities. We encourage future research to focus more on experimental, manipulative studies, that would help us not just to realize general patterns but shed more light on the mechanisms, the underlying processes prompting changes in urban bird communities.

Key words: urban ecology, species richness, resources, predation, bottom-up effect, top-down effect.

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