BACKGROUND: Behaviour during hibernation contributes to energy conservation in winter. Hibernating bats select roosts with respect to physiological and environmental stressors, available local microclimate and species-specific requirements. RESULTS: We found that, in the period between 1977 and 2018, hibernating Myotis myotis and Rhinolophus hipposideros bats showed exponential population growth. The growth rates, corrected for local winter seasonal severity and winter duration, were equal to 10 and 13%, respectively. While R. hipposideros only utilised the thermally stable and, at survey time, warmer corridors in the hibernaculum, an increasing proportion of M. myotis roosted in the thermally stable corridors as their abundance increased. About 14% of all hibernating M. myotis displayed solitary roosting, irrespective of other covariates. Those bats that clustered together formed progressively larger clusters with increasing abundance, particularly in cold corridors. We found no statistically significant relationship for clustering behaviour or cluster size with winter severity or winter duration. CONCLUSIONS: Abundance of hibernating bats is increasing in Central Europe. As the number of M. myotis bats increases, thermally unstable corridors become saturated with large clusters and the animals begin to roost deeper underground.

• Klíčová slova
• Chiroptera, Clustering behaviour, Hibernation, Population size, Winter activity,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Plants often grow in clusters of various sizes and have a variable number of flowers per inflorescence. This small-scale spatial clustering affects insect foraging strategies and plant reproductive success. In our study, we aimed to determine how visitation rate and foraging behaviour of pollinators depend on the number of flowers per plant and on the size of clusters of multiple plants using Dracocephalum moldavica (Lamiaceae) as a target species. We measured flower visitation rate by observations of insects visiting single plants and clusters of plants with different numbers of flowers. Detailed data on foraging behaviour within clusters of different sizes were gathered for honeybees, Apis mellifera, the most abundant visitor of Dracocephalum in the experiments. We found that the total number of flower visitors increased with the increasing number of flowers on individual plants and in larger clusters, but less then proportionally. Although individual honeybees visited more flowers in larger clusters, they visited a smaller proportion of flowers, as has been previously observed. Consequently, visitation rate per flower and unit time peaked in clusters with an intermediate number of flowers. These patterns do not conform to expectations based on optimal foraging theory and the ideal free distribution model. We attribute this discrepancy to incomplete information about the distribution of resources. Detailed observations and video recordings of individual honeybees also showed that the number of flowers had no effect on handling time of flowers by honeybees. We evaluated the implications of these patterns for insect foraging biology and plant reproduction.

• MeSH
• květy * MeSH
• opylení * MeSH
• stravovací zvyklosti * MeSH
• včely fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Overmarking remains an unstudied topic in juvenile mammals. We have previously documented a very high rate of overmarking by foals in four captive African equid species: mountain zebra (Equus zebra), plains zebra (Equus quagga), Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), and African wild ass (Equus africanus). African equids vary interspecifically in their social organisation. Since differences in social organisation affect many mammalian behaviours, in this study we investigated interspecific differences in overmarking behaviour of foals, analysing only cases where elimination of any other individual was explored by a foal. We hypothesised that the pattern of overmarking by foals should reflect either differences in social organisation of the species or phylogenetic relations among them. We found that in all species very young foals explored mostly maternal eliminations, and this preference declined with increasing age of the foal and reflected the social organisation of the species; the highest overmarking rate was in species with high intragroup aggression (mountain zebra) and lowest in species with low intragroup aggression and which form crèches (African wild ass). Similarly, the rate of overmarking of the mother, as opposed to other herdmates, was associated with social organisation of the respective species. Thus, we found interspecific differences in overmarking by foals, which were associated with variability in social organisation. Since we also revealed differences between African wild ass and zebra behaviour in early stages of ontogeny, we cannot refute the effect of phylogeny on overmarking behaviour. Additionally, our results supported the identity sharing hypothesis as an explanation of overmarking.

• Klíčová slova
• African wild ass, Equus, Interspecific differences, Marking behaviour, Olfactory communication, Social organisation, Zebra,
• MeSH
• agrese MeSH
• Equidae * MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• koně MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• matky * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Grouping behaviour, as fascinating as it is unclear, has lately drawn the attention of numerous researchers. While most of the authors focused their work on a mechanistic approach to the matter of schooling, this study explores the issue from a population point of view. Present camera observation study on the fish community carried out in the epipelagic habitat of a European temperate reservoir in the Czech Republic explored the relationship between density and aggregative features of predominantly cyprinid fish stock. Results demonstrated that schooling behaviour is triggered by the 'critical density' of fish in the habitat. School size as well as counts of schools and proportion of schooling individuals increased with the density of fish. Counts of clusters (observed units in time, including singletons, pairs and schools) and cluster size, on the other hand, showed a slowing tendency to increase. The slower increase implies the tendency of fish for not being frequent but rather to create larger groups. Altogether, our findings suggest that fish density is a triggering factor in the formation of large fish schools. As the tendency of cyprinid species for school formation could be an evolutional advantage responsible for dominance in later succession phases of water bodies, we suggest that more in situ studies should be encouraged for the proper understanding of the ecological interactions that drive the structure of aquatic ecosystems and for ensuring unbiased assessment.

• Klíčová slova
• Bleak, Bream, Critical density, Emergent properties, Freshwater fish, Open water, Perch, Roach, Schooling, Shoaling,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Intraspecific cleptoparasitism represents a facultative strategy advantageous for reducing time and energy costs. However, only a few studies about nesting dynamics have described intraspecific cleptoparasitic behaviour in obligate solitary bees. We focused on nesting dynamics with the characterisation of nest owner replacements and frequency of true usurpation in four aggregating species belonging to different phylogenetic lineages--Andrena vaga (Andrenidae), Anthophora plumipes (Apidae), Colletes cunicularius (Colletidae), and Osmia rufa (Megachilidae). Our study, based on the regular observation of individually marked females, shows that nest owner replacement affects 10-45% of nests across all of the studied species and years. However, 39-90% of these nests had been abandoned before owner change and thus true nest usurpations represent only a part of observed nest replacement cases. Females tend to abandon their nests regularly and found new ones when they live long enough, which is in accordance with risk-spreading strategy. We suggest that the original facultative strategy of observed solitary bees during nest founding is not cleptoparasitism per se but rather reuse of any pre-existing nest (similar to "entering" strategy in apoid wasps). This is supported by gradual increase of nests founded by "entering" during the season with an increase in the number of available nests. Although the frequent reuse of conspecific nests results in frequent contact between solitary females, and rarely, in the short-term coexistence of two females in one nest, we detected unexpectedly low level of conflict in these neighbourhood societies. We suggest that nesting dynamics with regular nest switching and reusing reduces long-term and costly intraspecific aggression, a key factor for the origin and evolution of sociality.

• MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• hnízdění fyziologie   MeSH
• sociální chování MeSH
• včely fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (G(H2O)) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell G(H2O) and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in G(H2O) has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a diverse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between G(H2O) and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher G(H2O) than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher G(H2O) than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the G(H2O) are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher G(H2O) to overcome this constraint and still achieve optimal water loss during incubation. We also suggest that eggs laid in cup nests and burrows may require a higher G(H2O) to overcome the increased humidity as a result from the confined nest microclimate lacking air movements through the nest. Taken together, these comparative data imply that species-specific levels of gas exchange across avian eggshells are variable and evolve in response to ecological and physical variation resulting from parental and nesting behaviours.

• Klíčová slova
• Avian eggshells, Life history, Museum specimens, Nest environment, Permeability,
• MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• hnízdění fyziologie   MeSH
• ptáci genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• vaječná skořápka fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Mobilities of investigated boron cluster compounds in 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic and phosphate buffers adjusted to pH 7 either with sodium hydroxide or with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane depend on both buffer ions. The zone width and zone asymmetry, which are usually markedly higher than those of organic or common inorganic ions of comparable size, depend on the type of the borane cluster anion. Unusual shapes of zones of two investigated compounds have been found in tris phosphate buffer. Acetonitrile was superior to methanol as an organic additive to separation systems from the viewpoint of the zone symmetry and separation speed. Narrow trigonal zones, typical of organic ions non-interacting with the capillary wall, have been observed for some bridged sandwich cobalt complexes in run buffers with the addition of acetonitrile. The interaction of borane cluster anions with beta-cyclodextrin cavity is excessively strong in purely aqueous solutions. Methanol and acetonitrile, which generally weaken the interaction, sometimes affect the separation enantioselectivity of various compounds in different ways in addition to the weakening effect. Chiral discrimination was reached for all ten investigated anions, which belong to four different structural types of cluster boranes. Stability constants estimated for some analyte-beta-cyclodextrin complexes range between 100 and 1800 l/mol in acceptable separations. The relative difference of the constants was from 3 to 20%.

• MeSH
• borany chemie   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• elektroforéza kapilární metody   MeSH
• spektrofotometrie ultrafialová MeSH
• stereoizomerie MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• borany MeSH

The breathing behaviour of 17O-enriched (Al,Ga)-MIL-53, a terephthalate-based metal-organic framework, has been investigated using a combination of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and first-principles calculations. These reveal that the behaviour observed for as-made, calcined, hydrated and subsequently dehydrated mixed-metal MIL-53 materials differs with composition, but cannot be described as the compositionally weighted average of the breathing behaviour seen for the two end members. Although the form of MIL-53 adopted by the as-made material is independent of metal composition, upon calcination, materials with higher levels of Al adopt an open pore (OP) form, as found for the Al end member, but substitution of Ga results in mixed pore materials, with OP and narrow pore (NP) forms co-existing. Although the Ga end member is prone to decomposition under the calcination conditions used, a low level of Al in the starting synthesis (5%) leads to an OP mixed-metal MOF that is stable to calcination. Upon hydration, all materials almost exclusively adopt a closed pore (CP) structure, with strong hydrogen bonding interactions with water leading to two distinct resonances from the carboxylate oxygens in 17O NMR spectra. When dehydrated, different framework structures are found for the two end members, OP for Al-MIL-53 and NP for Ga-MIL-53, with the proportion of NP MOF seen to increase systematically with the Ga content in mixed-metal materials, in contrast to the forms seen upon initial calcination. 17O NMR spectra of mixed-metal MIL-53 materials show an increased preference for clustering of like cations as the Ga content increases. This is not a result of the small-scale dry gel conversion reactions used for enrichment, as a similar cation distribution and clustering is also observed for (Al0.5,Ga0.5)-MIL-53 synthesised hydrothermally and enriched with 17O via post-synthetic steaming.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

AIMS: As the most abundant cell population in the blood, erythrocytes represent an attractive source of nutrients and a protective niche to a number of pathogens. Previously, we observed the attachment of the myxozoan parasite Sphaerospora molnari to erythrocytes of its host, common carp (Cyprinus carpio), raising a number of questions about the nature of this interaction. METHODS AND RESULTS: We elucidated the impact of S molnari on the number of erythrocytes in healthy and immunocompromised fish, over a period of 6 weeks. While we observed only a mild decrease in RBC numbers in healthy individuals, we witnessed gradual and finally severe haemolytic anaemia in immunosuppressed fish. Accompanying this overt loss was increased erythropoiesis as represented by an increase of erythroblasts in the blood. In vitro, we demonstrated the uptake of host proteins from CFSE-labelled erythrocytes, ultimately inducing death of host RBCs, likely for nutrient gain of the parasite. Nevertheless, the results do not exclude a possible role of erythrocyte-derived proteins in immune evasion. CONCLUSION: Overall, the obtained data provide first evidence for the previously unknown appetite of myxozoan parasites for host erythrocytes and create an important framework for future investigations into the molecular mechanisms underlining this interaction.

• Klíčová slova
• Myxozoa, common carp, erythrocytes, flow cytometry, haemolytic anaemia, hematophagy,
• MeSH
• erytrocyty parazitologie   MeSH
• erytropoéza fyziologie   MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• hemolytické anemie parazitologie   MeSH
• kapři parazitologie   MeSH
• Myxozoa fyziologie   MeSH
• nemoci ryb parazitologie   MeSH
• stravovací zvyklosti fyziologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

In early spring, red wood ants Formica polyctena are often observed clustering on the nest surface in large numbers basking in the sun. It has been hypothesized that sun-basking behaviour may contribute to nest heating because of both heat carriage into the nest by sun-basking workers, and catabolic heat production from the mobilization of the workers' lipid reserves. We investigated sun-basking behaviour in laboratory colonies of F. polyctena exposed to an artificial heat source. Observations on identified individuals revealed that not all ants bask in the sun. Sun-basking and non-sun-basking workers did not differ in body size nor in respiration rates. The number of sun-basking ants and the number of their visits to the hot spot depended on the temperature of both the air and the hot spot. To investigate whether sun basking leads to a physiological activation linked with increased lipolysis, we measured respiration rates of individual workers as a function of temperature, and compared respiration rates of sun-basking workers before and two days after they were allowed to expose themselves to a heat source over 10 days, at self-determined intervals. As expected for ectothermic animals, respiration rates increased with increasing temperatures in the range 5 to 35°C. However, the respiration rates of sun-basking workers measured two days after a long-term exposure to the heat source were similar to those before sun basking, providing no evidence for a sustained increase of the basal metabolic rates after prolonged sun basking. Based on our measurements, we argue that self-heating of the nest mound in early spring has therefore to rely on alternative heat sources, and speculate that physical transport of heat in the ant bodies may have a significant effect.

• MeSH
• dechová frekvence * MeSH
• Formicidae fyziologie   MeSH
• lipolýza MeSH
• sluneční záření * MeSH
• teplota MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH