Taxonomic revision of the Mediterranean Temnothorax rottenbergii species group via integrated morphological and molecular approaches The Temnothorax rottenbergii species group of myrmicine ants is characterized and revised in the current revisionary work. Twenty species belonging to this group—ranging across Anatolia and Levant, the European Mediterranean region, the Maghreb, and the…
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Publication – Varga-Szilay et al., Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Improving biodiversity in Central and Eastern European gardens needs regionally scaled strategies Amid ongoing urbanisation, gardens are expected to play an increasing role in enhancing urban biodiversity by supplementing green areas and improving landscape connectivity. Biodiversity-friendly gardens also improve human well-being and foster connections between nature and people. To study…
Continue Reading....Publication – Balogh et al., Aquatic Toxicology
Effects of pyrethroid insecticides on sex ratios in agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) Environmental pollutants have the potential to alter sex ratios in wildlife through sex-biased mortality. Furthermore, endocrine disruptors may cause sex reversal during early ontogeny in ectothermic vertebrates, resulting in a phenotypic sex that is not concordant with the…
Continue Reading....Publication – Herczeg et al., Amphibia-Reptilia
Fluctuating asymmetry in Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) populations compared with three closely related subspecies Vipera ursinii rakosiensis is the most endangered venomous snake in Europe. Our information on the state of natural populations is somewhat limited apart from recent results indicating high genetic diversity in all of its three major…
Continue Reading....Publication – Mátics et al., Scientific Reports
Artificial light at night (ALAN) negatively affects a broad range of animal species, with severe implications for conservation policy development and strategic planning globally. Birds are one of the most widely used ecological indicator groups in monitoring environmental changes. However, most studies examining the effects of ALAN are focused on…
Continue Reading....Publication – Schneider et al., IBIS
The potential for climate change to intensify nest-site competition between two sympatric owl species Interspecific competition profoundly influences the ecology of species, and climate change is expected to alter the strength of interspecific interactions. Using long-term data from sympatric breeding populations of the Western Barn Owl Tyto alba (hereafter Barn Owl) and…
Continue Reading....Publication – Szabó et al., Ecology and Evoution
Sex-Dependent Carry-Over Effects Between Physiological State and Reproduction in a Passerine Species Carry-over effects (COEs) occur when an event in a life stage of an individual is affected by the experience, physiological state or reproduction of a previous life stage. COEs are insufficiently explored with regard to the connections between…
Continue Reading....Publication- Scifani et al., Zootaxa
Inflated taxonomy in the West Mediterranean Temnothorax algiricus complex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) revealed by quantitative morphology Temnothorax is one of the largest ant genera, with most taxa described from the Mediterranean. The western Mediterranean Temnothorax algiricus complex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is a well-defined lineage of dark-reddish arboreal species, whose taxonomy has never been comprehensively addressed. We conducted…
Continue Reading....Publication- Oberski et al., Insect Systematics and Dievrsity
Ant systematics: past, present, and future The classification of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has progressed in waves since the first 17 species were described by Linnaeus in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae. Since then, over 18,000 species-rank names have accumulated for the global myrmecofauna, of which ~14,260 living and ~810 fossil…
Continue Reading....Publication – Lukács et al., Frontiers in Microbiology
Effects of dark septate endophytic fungi on the performance of non-mycorrhizal cabbage plants under normal and low water conditions Drought, a major consequence of global environmental change, poses a serious threat to both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Root-associated fungi, particularly the widely distributed dark septate endophytes (DSE), are key components…
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