Understanding spatial distribution of organisms in heterogeneous environment remains one of the chief issues in ecology. Spatial organization of freshwater fish was investigated predominantly on large-scale, neglecting important local conditions and ecological processes. However, small-scale processes are of an essential importance for individual habitat preferences and hence structuring trophic cascades and species coexistence. In this work, we analysed the real-time spatial distribution of pelagic freshwater fish in the Římov Reservoir (Czechia) observed by hydroacoustics in relation to important environmental predictors during 48 hours at 3-h interval. Effect of diurnal cycle was revealed of highest significance in all spatial models with inverse trends between fish distribution and predictors in day and night in general. Our findings highlighted daytime pelagic fish distribution as highly aggregated, with general fish preferences for central, deep and highly illuminated areas, whereas nighttime distribution was more disperse and fish preferred nearshore steep sloped areas with higher depth. This turnover suggests prominent movements of significant part of fish assemblage between pelagic and nearshore areas on a diel basis. In conclusion, hydroacoustics, GIS and spatial modelling proved as valuable tool for predicting local fish distribution and elucidate its drivers, which has far reaching implications for understanding freshwater ecosystem functioning.

• MeSH
• akustika MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• geografické informační systémy MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• populační dynamika MeSH
• prostorová analýza * MeSH
• ryby fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a disseminated protozoan infection caused by Leishmania donovani that affects almost half a million people annually. In Northern Ethiopia, VL is common in migrant agricultural laborers returning from the lowland sesame fields of Metema and Humera. Recent VL foci have emerged in resident rural populations near the town. In the current study, we evaluate multilevel entomological, epidemiological and ecological factors associated with infection and disease through fine-scale eco-epidemiological analyses in three villages. Satellite images showed that villages constructed in or close to vertisols, were likely to become endemic for VL. Vertisols or black-cotton soil, are characterized by high contents of smectitic clay minerals, which swell when hydrated and shrink upon desiccation, causing extensive deep cracking during the dry season. The population densities of Phlebotomus orientalis, the vector, were negatively correlated with distance from vertisols and persons living close to vertisols were more likely to be bitten by sand flies, as evidenced by sero-positivity to Ph. orientalis saliva. Apparent (albeit non-significant) clustering of VL cases and abundant asymptomatic infections close to vertisols, suggest anthroponotic transmission around houses located close to vertisols. Comparable rates of male and female volunteers, mostly under 15 years of age, were infected with L. donovani but a significantly higher proportion of males succumbed to VL indicating a physiological gender-linked male susceptibility. Our data suggest that the abundant infected persons with high parasitemias who remain asymptomatic, may serve as reservoir hosts for anthroponotic transmission inside villages. Only limited insights on the transmission dynamics of L. donovani were gained by the study of environmental factors such as presence of animals, house structure and vegetation cover.

• MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• epidemiologické studie MeSH
• hustota populace MeSH
• Leishmania donovani MeSH
• leishmanióza viscerální epidemiologie   parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• nemoci z povolání epidemiologie   parazitologie   MeSH
• Psychodidae MeSH
• půda MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• rozložení podle pohlaví MeSH
• venkovské obyvatelstvo MeSH
• zemědělství MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Etiopie epidemiologie   MeSH

This paper uses recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) combined with entropy measures and organization indices to characterize arrhythmic patterns and dynamics in computer simulations of cardiac tissue. We performed different simulations of cardiac tissues of sizes comparable to the human heart atrium. In these simulations, we observed four classic arrhythmic patterns: a spiral wave anchored to a highly fibrotic region resulting in sustained re-entry, a meandering spiral wave, fibrillation, and a spiral wave anchored to a scar region that breaks up into wavelets away from the main rotor. A detailed analysis revealed that, within the same simulation, maps of RQA metrics could differentiate regions with regular AP propagation from ones with chaotic activity. In particular, the combination of two RQA metrics, the length of the longest diagonal string of recurrence points and the mean length of diagonal lines, was able to identify the location of rotor tips, which are the active elements that maintain spiral waves and fibrillation. By proposing low-dimensional models based on the mean value and spatial correlation of metrics calculated from membrane potential time series, we identify RQA-based metrics that successfully separate the four different types of cardiac arrhythmia into distinct regions of the feature space, and thus might be used for automatic classification, in particular distinguishing between fibrillation driven by self-sustaining chaos and that created by a persistent rotor and wavebreak. We also discuss the practical applicability of such an approach.

• MeSH
• benchmarking * MeSH
• jizva MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nemoci převodního systému srdečního MeSH
• počítačová simulace MeSH
• srdeční síně * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Mountain butterflies have evolved efficient thermoregulation strategies enabling their survival in marginal conditions with short flight season and unstable weather. Understanding the importance of their behavioural thermoregulation by habitat use can provide novel information for predicting the fate of alpine Lepidoptera and other insects under ongoing climate change. We studied the link between microhabitat use and thermoregulation in adults of seven species of a butterfly genus Erebia co-occurring in the Austrian Alps. We captured individuals in the field and measured their body temperature in relation to microhabitat and air temperature. We asked whether closely related species regulate their body temperature differently, and if so, what is the effect of behaviour, species traits and individual traits on body to air and body to microhabitat temperature differences. Co-occurring species differed in mean body temperature. These differences were driven by active microhabitat selection by individuals and also by species-specific habitat preferences. Species inhabiting grasslands and rocks utilised warmer microclimates to maintain higher body temperature than woodland species. Under low air temperatures, species of rocky habitats heated up more effectively than species of grasslands and woodlands which allowed them to stay active in colder weather. Species morphology and individual traits play rather minor roles in the thermoregulatory differences; although large species and young individuals maintained higher body temperature. We conclude that diverse microhabitat conditions at small spatial scales probably contribute to sympatric occurrence of closely related species with different thermal demands and that preserving heterogeneous conditions in alpine landscapes might mitigate detrimental consequences of predicted climate change.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• motýli fyziologie   MeSH
• nadmořská výška MeSH
• teplota MeSH
• termoregulace * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The global extent and temporally asynchronous pattern of COVID-19 spread have repeatedly highlighted the role of international borders in the fight against the pandemic. Additionally, the deluge of high resolution, spatially referenced epidemiological data generated by the pandemic provides new opportunities to study disease transmission at heretofore inaccessible scales. Existing studies of cross-border infection fluxes, for both COVID-19 and other diseases, have largely focused on characterizing overall border effects. Here, we couple fine-scale incidence data with localized regression models to quantify spatial variation in the inhibitory effect of an international border. We take as a case study the border region between the German state of Saxony and the neighboring regions in northwestern Czechia, where municipality-level COVID-19 incidence data are available on both sides of the border. Consistent with past studies, we find an overall inhibitory effect of the border, but with a clear asymmetry, where the inhibitory effect is stronger from Saxony to Czechia than vice versa. Furthermore, we identify marked spatial variation along the border in the degree to which disease spread was inhibited. In particular, the area around Löbau in Saxony appears to have been a hotspot for cross-border disease transmission. The ability to identify infection flux hotspots along international borders may help to tailor monitoring programs and response measures to more effectively limit disease spread.

• MeSH
• COVID-19 * epidemiologie   MeSH
• incidence MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pandemie MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

The bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia has been used to control insect pests owing to its ability to manipulate their life history and suppress infectious diseases. Therefore, knowledge on Wolbachia dynamics in natural populations is fundamental. The European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi, is infected with the Wolbachia strain wCer2, mainly present in southern and central European populations, and is currently spreading into wCer2-uninfected populations driven by high unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility. Here, we describe the distribution of wCer2 along two transition zones where the infection is spreading into wCer2-uninfected R. cerasi populations. Fine-scale sampling of 19 populations in the Czech Republic showed a smooth decrease of wCer2 frequency from south to north within a distance of less than 20 km. Sampling of 12 Hungarian populations, however, showed a sharp decline of wCer2 infection frequency within a few kilometres. We fitted a standard wave equation to our empirical data and estimated a Wolbachia wave speed of 1.9 km yr-1 in the Czech Republic and 1.0 km yr-1 in Hungary. Considering the univoltine life cycle and limited dispersal ability of R. cerasi, our study highlights a rapid Wolbachia spread in natural host populations.

• MeSH
• prostorová analýza * MeSH
• Tephritidae mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Wolbachia fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Maďarsko MeSH

BACKGROUND: Anthropogenic factors can have a major impact on the contemporary distribution of intraspecific genetic diversity. Many freshwater fishes have finely structured and locally adapted populations, but their natural genetic structure can be affected by river engineering schemes across river basins, fish transfers in aquaculture industry and conservation management. The European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus) is a small fish that is a brood parasite of freshwater mussels and is widespread across continental Europe. Its range recently expanded, following sharp declines in the 1970s and 1980s. We investigated its genetic variability and spatial structure at the centre of its distribution at the boundary of three watersheds, testing the role of natural and anthropogenic factors in its genetic structure. RESULTS: Sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome B (CYTB) revealed that bitterling colonised central Europe from two Ponto-Caspian refugia, which partly defines its contemporary genetic structure. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci revealed pronounced interpopulation differentiation, with significant small-scale differentiation within the same river basins. At a large scale, populations from the Baltic Sea watershed (middle Oder and Vistula basins) were distinct from those from the Black Sea watershed (Danube basin), while populations from rivers of the North Sea watershed (Rhine, Elbe) originated from the admixture of both original sources. Notable exceptions demonstrated the potential role of human translocations across watersheds, with the upper River Oder (Baltic watershed) inhabited by fish from the Danube basin (Black Sea watershed) and a population in the southern part of the River Elbe (North Sea watershed) basin possessing a signal of admixture from the Danube basin. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrography and physical barriers to dispersal are only partly reflected in the genetic structure of the European bitterling at the intersection of three major watersheds in central Europe. Drainage boundaries have been obscured by human-mediated translocations, likely related to common carp, Cyprinus carpio, cultivation and game-fish management. Despite these translocations, populations of bitterling are significantly structured by genetic drift, possibly reinforced by its low dispersal ability. Overall, the impact of anthropogenic factors on the genetic structure of the bitterling populations in central Europe is limited.

• MeSH
• Bayesova věta MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• frekvence genu genetika   MeSH
• genetická variace MeSH
• kapři genetika   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mikrosatelitní repetice genetika   MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA genetika   MeSH
• mitochondrie genetika   MeSH
• populační genetika MeSH
• řeky * MeSH
• sladká voda MeSH
• zeměpis MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH
• Severní moře MeSH

Although the Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum) is an ectomycorrhizal fungus of important economic value, its subterranean life cycle and population biology are still poorly understood. Here, we determine mating type and simple sequence repeat (SSR) maternal genotypes of mapped fruiting bodies to assess their genetic structure within two naturally colonized forest sites in southern Germany. Forty-one genotypes were identified from 112 fruiting bodies. According to their mating types, the maternal genotypes were aggregated only in one population. Genotypic diversity of individuals that mostly were small and occurred in 1 out of 2 years of sampling was high. Although these results suggested a ruderal colonization strategy, some genets spread several hundred meters. This result indicates that, besides sexual spore dispersal, vegetative growth or spreading by mycelial propagules contributes to dissemination. In one site, fewer individuals with a tendency to expand genets belonging to only one genetic group were observed. In the second site, numerous small individuals were found and were grouped into two clearly differentiated genetic groups that were spatially intermingled. Forest characteristics and disturbances are possible reasons for the observed genetic patterns. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the biology of one of the most widespread and commercially important truffle species. This knowledge is critical for establishing and maintaining sustainable long-term truffle cultivations.

• MeSH
• Ascomycota genetika   MeSH
• DNA fungální genetika   MeSH
• fungální geny pro párovací typ genetika   MeSH
• genetická variace MeSH
• genetické markery MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• mykorhiza genetika   MeSH
• plodnice hub MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Německo MeSH

Global biodiversity is affected by numerous environmental drivers. Yet, the extent to which global environmental changes contribute to changes in local diversity is poorly understood. We investigated biodiversity changes in a meta-analysis of 39 resurvey studies in European temperate forests (3988 vegetation records in total, 17-75 years between the two surveys) by assessing the importance of (i) coarse-resolution (i.e., among sites) vs. fine-resolution (i.e., within sites) environmental differences and (ii) changing environmental conditions between surveys. Our results clarify the mechanisms underlying the direction and magnitude of local-scale biodiversity changes. While not detecting any net local diversity loss, we observed considerable among-site variation, partly explained by temporal changes in light availability (a local driver) and density of large herbivores (a regional driver). Furthermore, strong evidence was found that presurvey levels of nitrogen deposition determined subsequent diversity changes. We conclude that models forecasting future biodiversity changes should consider coarse-resolution environmental changes, account for differences in baseline environmental conditions and for local changes in fine-resolution environmental conditions.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• býložravci * MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• lesnictví * MeSH
• lesy * MeSH
• podnebí * MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• metaanalýza MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

Retrieval of stored network activity pattern has been shown as a competitive transition from one attractor state to another, orchestrated by local theta oscillation. However, the fine nature of this process that is considered as substrate of memory recall is not clear. We found that hippocampal network recall is characterized by hyperactivity in the CA3 place cell population, associated with an "overexpression" of the retrieved network pattern. The overexpression was based on recruitment of cells from the same (recalled) spatial representation with low expected firing probability at the given position. We propose that increased place cell activation during state transitions might facilitate pattern completion towards the retrieved network state and stabilize its expression in the network. Furthermore, we observed frequent mixing of both activity patterns at the temporal level of a single theta cycle. On a sub-theta cycle scale, we found signs of segregation that might correspond to a gamma oscillation patterning, as well as occasional mixing at intervals of less than 5 milliseconds. Such short timescale coactivity might induce plasticity mechanisms, leading to associations across the two originally decorrelated network activity states.

• MeSH
• akční potenciály fyziologie   MeSH
• hipokampální oblast CA3 patofyziologie   MeSH
• modely neurologické * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH