Szymon Konwerski

Glacier mice are spherical‐to‐ovoidal bryophyte structures forming and growing on ice surfaces, making them a peculiar type of glacial habitat. They may host different assemblages of specialist invertebrates compared with habitats further downstream. In this study, we investigated the diversity and composition of invertebrate communities inhabiting glacier mice, as well as comparing the latter to fauna found in other glacial and non‐glacial habitats. We collected samples of bryophytes from glacial (the glacier ice surface and a medial moraine) and proglacial environments (the glacial forefield), as well as from glacier sediments (cryoconite) at Austerdalsbreen, Norway. The fauna was identified by applying a classical (microscopic) approach combining the knowledge of various taxonomic experts and a molecular (metabarcoding) approach. Glacier mice consisted of the two bryophyte species Racomitrium fasciculare and R. ericoides . The invertebrate diversity of the glacier mice comprised Tardigrada, Rotifera, Acari, Collembola, Coleoptera, Diptera, and unidentified Nematoda and Psocoptera. In total, we found 94 species, of which 39 were found in glacier mice from the glacier ice surface. Although the diversity of invertebrates in glacier mice was lower than in the proglacial environment, we identified specialists in glacier mice on ice such as the tardigrade Fontourion glaciale , the beetle Helophorus glacialis , and the springtail Agrenia bidenticulata . The composition of Rotifera overlapped between the glacial and proglacial environments, while it differed for other groups. Joint species distribution analyses revealed that Rotifera, Tardigrada, and Collembola commonly occurred in glacier mice on ice surface habitats, whereas the probability of Acari occurrence was highest in the proglacial environment. No major differences were observed in higher taxonomic group‐based community compositions of invertebrates (alpha and beta‐diversity indices) across ecosystems. Our results show that glacier mice in Norway can be inhabited by both opportunistic and specialist fauna. Thus, glacier mice may act as refugia, depending on climate fluctuations.

Among biological museum specimens, many relatively small organisms are difficult to observe macroscopically. Therefore, their attractiveness to visitors is limited. To present such small objects, various magnifying techniques can be used in combination with the digital presentation of the specimens. In this conference report, we describe how we use amalgamating techniques, along with their advantages and limitations. Our strategy uses light and electron microscopy to present small biological specimens. Light microscopy enables the observation of organisms in their natural colors but does not allow precise observation of very small microstructures, such as setae, ommatidia, and cuticle sculpture. In turn, scanning electron microscopy, thanks to its very good resolution and the possibility of obtaining higher magnifications, allows the observation of fine details of structure, but the objects are presented in grayscale. We present the scheme we use to prepare arthropods that are stored as museum specimens for digitization and subsequent presentation to visitors. Our strategy enables the comprehensive use of the specimens, as well as limiting the number of museum specimens used to prepare digital collections and reducing the number of individuals captured in the wild.

In April 2019, 25.4 ha of woodland in the Płaska Forest District in the SE part of the Augustów Forest were damaged by fire. Between 2020-2022 a survey of beetles in the burnt and unburnt (control) parts of the forest was carried out. The insects were collected in IBL-2bis window (= flight interception) traps. 781 species classified in 67 families were identified. Among these species, Acrotrichis strandi (Ptiliidae) was found in Poland for the first time, and 41 species were new records for the Masurian Lake District. During the studies, two species protected in Poland (Boros schneideri, Cucujus cinnaberinus), and several more from the Polish Red List of Animals, the Polish Red Book of Animals and the European Red List of Saproxylic Beetles, were recorded. Fifteen of the beetles recorded are relicts of primeval forests in Central Europe: Boros schneideri (Boridae); Stephanopachys linearis (Bostrichidae); Ampedus tristis (Elateridae); Leiestes seminiger (Endomychidae); Platylomalus complanatus, Platysoma deplanatum (Histeridae); Corticaria longicornis, Latridius brevicollis (Latridiidae); Peltis grossa (Peltidae); Stagetus borealis (Ptinidae); Tachyusida gracilis (Staphylinidae); Corticeus fasciatus, C. suturalis, Prionychus melanarius (Tenebrionidae); Colydium filiforme (Zopheridae). The present paper lists the beetles recorded and gives brief characteristics of rare species, primeval forest relicts and a selection of species from the Polish Red List of Animals.

This study summarises information on the occurrence of Myrmecophilus acervorum in Poland in the years 1851–2022. We collected information about 143 localities: 40 from literature and 103 unpublished. Myrmecophilus acervorum is reported from seven new regions: the Baltic Coast, Białowieża Primeval Forest, Eastern Sudety Mts, Kraków-Wieluń Upland, Podlasie Lowland, Sandomierska Lowland and Trzebnickie Hills. While until 2010 observations were rare (35 localities), in the years 2011–2022 the species was found in 108 new localities. A total of 443 individuals of M. acervorum were observed in Poland, but the sex was identified only for 138, of which 135 were mature females or female nymphs. Males were recorded only historically in the Pomeranian Lakeland. At present, these records should be treated with caution, as they are uncertain.

The origins of scientific nature collections in Wielkopolska (Western Poland) date back to the seventeenth century. Their development was repeatedly disrupted by major events, including two world wars fought in Poland in the twentieth century. The rescued historical collections as well as specimens of algae, plants, fungi and animals systematically collected after 1945 are now stored under optimal conditions at the Faculty of Biology of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (FBAMU). The current collections include approximately 2.2 million pre-catalogued objects that document not only the biodiversity of Wielkopolska and Poland but also that of many regions of the world on all continents. Specimens included in the FBAMU are used extensively in taxonomic, biogeographic, phylogenetic, ecological and genetic studies. The collections also have significant educational value and help disseminate knowledge about biodiversity.

The importance of dead wood in forest ecosystems for the existence of invertebrates has been widely discussed in the literature. The major aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that the presence of dead wood in forests considerably increases the species diversity of Uropodina (Acari: Parasitiformes) communities in a given area. The areas selected for the study are unique from a natural point of view. They are the Białowieża Primeval Forest, Cisy Staropolskie im. Leona Wyczółkowskiego Nature Reserve, and five oak-hornbeam nature reserves in western Poland. The study is based on materials collected since the 1960s of the last century. The highest number of species (37) both in soil and dead wood microhabitats was recorded in the Białowieża Primeval Forest and Cisy Staropolskie Nature Reserve, though the dead wood material from the second area contained the highest number of species (33). The results of the analysis show that the presence of dead wood increases species diversity of Uropodina communities in all locations under scrutiny. Moreover, dead wood increases the species diversity of Uropodina communities by attracting rare and stenotopic species, and therefore leaving dead trees in forests is extremely important for the habitat protection of these species.

We studied the distributional patterns of phoretic deutonymphs of the genera Oodinychus and Trichouropoda (Uropodina) on the longhorn beetles Monochamus sartor urussovii, Plagionotus detritus, Tetropium castaneum, and Te. fuscum, based on large samples of specimens (992 beetles and 25,587 mites) collected in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Central Europe in the years 2008 and 2012–2016. All the studied phoretic phoront-host associations are characterized by different patterns of the attachment sites of mites on beetle’s body. In the case of O. ovalis and M. sartor urussovii association, the deutonymphs were found mostly on the pronotum and dorsal surface of the elytra. This is the only instance in which phoronts were absent on the legs. Deutonymphs of T. sociata on P. detritus preferred the abdomnen (both tergites and ventrites) and the hindlegs. Only in this case the phoronts were attached inside the subelytral space. The highest number of deutonymphs of T. shcherbakae on both Tetropium species occured on the legs. In the case of Te. castaneum, similar proportions of mites were recorded on all pairs of legs, while the preferred location of mites phoretic on Te. fuscum were the forelegs. Both the preferences of phoretic deutonymphs for specific parts of the host’s body and the participation of carriers transporting deutonymphs on particular parts of their bodies were very consistent.

We studied the phoretic relationships between the mites of the genus Trichouropoda Berlese, 1916 (Uropodina) and the longhorn beetle Plagionotus detritus (Linnaeus, 1758) based on large samples of specimens (2050 beetles and 19,216 mites) collected in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Central Europe. Phoresy was studied over the years 2014, 2015, and 2016, with the emphasis on multi-annual trends in host–phoront associations, seasonal changes in intensity of phoresy, proportion of carriers of mites in the beetle population, and preferences of phoretic deutonymphs for specific parts of the host’s body. The high repeatability in all the variables we studied indicates high stability of the phoretic relationships, probably resulting from the synchronization of life cycles of beetle dispersants and phoretic mites. The long-term coevolution of phoronts and carriers in a natural forest ecosystem, as well as the expected close association of mites with specific beetle-generated microhabitats in larval galleries, may be important factors affecting the strength of the phoretic relationship.