Artur Sobczyk

This comprehensive study examines fossil remains from Niedźwiedzia Cave in the Eastern Sudetes, offering detailed insights into the palaeobiology and adversities encountered by the Pleistocene cave bear Ursus spelaeus ingressus. Emphasising habitual cave use for hibernation and a primarily herbivorous diet, the findings attribute mortality to resource scarcity during hibernation and habitat fragmentation amid climate shifts. Taphonomic analysis indicates that the cave was extensively used by successive generations of bears, virtually unexposed to the impact of predators. The study also reveals that alkaline conditions developed in the cave during the post-depositional taphonomic processes. Mortality patterns, notably among juveniles, imply dwindling resources, indicative of environmental instability. Skeletal examination reveals a high incidence of forelimb fractures, indicating risks during activities like digging or confrontations. Palaeopathological evidence unveils vulnerabilities to tuberculosis, abscesses, rickets, and injuries, elucidating mobility challenges. The cave’s silts exhibit a high zinc concentration, potentially derived from successive bear generations consuming zinc-rich plants. This study illuminates the lives of late cave bears, elucidating unique environmental hurdles faced near their species’ end.

Knowledge on the Eemian (MIS 5e) fauna of Poland is based on vertebrate remains from 16 open-air localities and 8 cave sites. Considering the short period of time covered by MIS 5e, the amount of data is surprisingly large. There is still an ongoing debate on whether the age of some assemblages is Eemian, latest Saalian or even earliest Weichselian. There are faunal assemblages or stratigraphically isolated finds with some disputable evidence. The full picture of the evolution of the Eemian vertebrate fauna in the present-day territory of Poland is still far from being complete. The finds of various groups of vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) from the Eemian Interglacial of Poland are analysed in terms of their environmental preferences. A number of thermophilic species or forms which preferred temperate climate conditions are known from this period. Among them, Clethrionomys glareolus, Glis glis, Meles meles, Martes martes, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris, Sus scrofa, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis indicate a forest environment. The presence of species that preferred more open environments ( Cricetus cricetus, Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, and Equus ferus) is also recorded for the Eemian Interglacial of Poland. Characteristic was the presence of the large broad-toothed and flat-headed Ursus arctos taubachensis, which additionally often outnumbered remains of Ursus spelaeus sensu lato in the contemporary layers. The Eemian vertebrate fauna of Poland consisted of about 150 species (representing 61 genera and 26 families), most of which were recorded earlier from other localities of this age in central and eastern Europe.

Long-term draining of peatlands results in transformation of vegetation and obliteration of their morphological features. In many areas, efforts are made to restore the original ecosystems and increase their water retention potential. Using combined analyses of a LiDAR-based digital terrain model (DTM), colour-infrared (CIR) imagery data, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data, we tested the applicability of these methods in outlining the extent and subsurface structure of drained mires located in the Stolowe Mountains National Park area, Poland. The LiDAR-DTMs enabled parameterisation of physiographic features of the mires and determination of their extent, runoff directions and potential waterlogging areas. CIR analysis enabled classification of vegetation types. GPR prospecting revealed the bedrock morphology, thickness and internal structure of the peat deposits, showing that this technique can also provide data on variability in the decomposition of phytogenic deposits. The obtained ERT sections indicate both the thickness of peat deposits and variability in the bedrock internal structure. The results show that integrated analyses of data obtained with different methods can be an effective tool in outlining the original extent of peatlands, with potential application in the planning of peatland ecosystem restitution.