Publication – Ratkai et al., Myrmecological News

Climate microrefugia promote intraspecific trait variability of the Palaearctic ant species Myrmica ruginodis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Topographic depressions in karst areas (dolines) play an outstanding role in maintaining small-scale environmental heterogeneity in homogeneous landscapes. Such depressions can serve as microrefugia for cool-adapted species, providing cooler and more humid conditions than the…

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Publication – Báthori et al., PLOS ONE

Taxonomy of the Palearctic socially parasitic Temnothorax (Myrmoxenus) ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae The ant genus Temnothorax is one of the most diverse in the Palearctic region, comprising several species with different life histories and uncertain taxonomic backgrounds. Socially parasitic Temnothorax ant species were typically described decades ago, primarily based on traditional morphological traits. In some…

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Publication – Herczeg et al., Scientific Reports

Juvenile agile frogs spatially avoid ranavirus-infected conspecifics Exposure to contagious pathogens can result in behavioural changes, which can alter the spread of infectious diseases. Healthy individuals can express generalized social distancing or avoid the sources of infection, while infected individuals can show passive or active self-isolation. Amphibians are globally threatened…

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Publication- Csősz et al., Zoologica Scripta

Integrative taxonomy reveals inflated biodiversity in the European Temnothorax unifasciatus complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Temnothorax unifasciatus (Latreille, 1798) is a widely distributed pan-European species from the Iberian Peninsula to the Caucasus. This taxon’s relatively high morphological variability prompts the taxonomists of earlier times and today to mention the morphologically different elements at specific or…

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Publication – Biró et al., Ecology and Evolution

From darkness to twilight: Morphological divergence between cave and surface-subterranean ecotone Niphargus species Subterranean and surface habitats are in stark contrast in several environmental factors. Therefore, adaptation to the subterranean environment typically impedes the (re)colonisation of surface habitats. The genus Niphargus includes amphipod crustaceans that primarily occupy subterranean habitats. All its species show typical…

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Publication – Takáts et al., Journal of Insect Conservation

From 20 to 2? Landmark-based geometric morphometrics reveal negligible wing-shape divergence between 20 subspecies of the Apollo butterfly, Parnassius apollo (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae), in the Carpatho-Pannonian region For effective conservation management of endangered taxa, it is important to define operational units for conservation. In the absence of detailed genetic analyses, morphology-based…

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Publication – Růžičková & Elek, Biologia

Academic inbreeding reduces the scientific performance of ecologists Academic inbreeding, defined as recruiting professionals from the same institution where they obtained their doctoral degrees, is characterized by low academic mobility. These inbred researchers can have lower scientific performance than the more mobile ones due to limited exposure to novel approaches…

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