Zuzana Krumpálová

Soil fauna represent an important component of terrestrial ecosystems and serve as sensitive bioindicators of environmental changes and the intensity of anthropogenic disturbances. Our research was conducted between 2020 and 2023 across 15 habitats differing in management intensity. Soil fauna were sampled using pitfall traps. A total of 88,112 individuals belonging to 18 taxa were recorded. Community variability was assessed using redundancy analysis (RDA), which revealed a clear differentiation between managed and unmanaged habitats. The results indicated that more soil fauna preferred more stable and less disturbed environments, whereas managed sites exhibited greater heterogeneity of soil fauna communities. Statistical analyses confirmed significant differences in individual abundance among study areas (1–15), years (2020–2023), and seasons (Friedman test, p = 0.016; Kruskal–Wallis test, p < 0.001), highlighting the substantial influence of habitat characteristics and seasonal dynamics on the structure of soil fauna. The predictive models suggested the persistence of natural population fluctuations without a pronounced long-term decline in abundance. The findings provide valuable information for optimizing habitat management, evaluating the effectiveness of restoration measures, and supporting biodiversity conservation in ecosystems of European importance.

Among the 24 tick species documented in Slovakia, Ixodes ricinus is the most widespread and abundant. In some sites, 2–5 epidemiologically important tick species co-occur. Such sites represent hotspots for studying the co-circulation of tick-borne pathogens. Sympatric occurrence of five exophilic species (I. ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus, D. marginatus, Haemaphysalis concinna, and H. inermis) was confirmed in the environs of the Žemberovce village (Levice region, south-western Slovakia). Here, the seasonal activity and abundance of questing ticks and the tick infestation of game and sheep were investigated. Questing ticks, spleens of game, and ticks removed from game and sheep were examined for the presence of tick-borne pathogens (Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., and Borrelia miyamotoi) by molecular methods. Among the questing ticks, I. ricinus prevailed. Presence of Babesia crassa, B. microti, Rickettsia helvetica, R. raoultii, A. phagocytophilum, Borrelia afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. miyamotoi was detected. Dermacentor marginatus, I. ricinus and H. concinna were collected from sheep. They were infected with A. phagocytophilum, A. ovis, R. slovaca, and R. raoultii. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in all examined red deer and roe deer and in 55.6% of wild boar. All cervids were positive for Theileria spp. Infestation of game with all five tick species, with a predominance of I. ricinus, was confirmed. In these ticks, A. phagocytophilum, R. helvetica, R. raoultii, Babesia sp. hc-hlj212, B. crassa, B. microti, Babesia spp. and B. miyamotoi were detected. This study confirmed the presence of B. crassa in Slovakia for the first time. The investigated area, with the co-occurrence of five exophilic tick species and a wide spectrum of tick-borne pathogens, represents an epidemiologically important hotspot with the risk of infections of humans and domestic animals.

The aim of this research was to record changes in the population structure of epigeic spider assemblages in the Central European Danube Delta (Slovakia) as a result of habitat management measures and the impact of human intervention. During this research (2020–2023), we assessed the impact of management measures on newly planted forest stands and the effect of grazing in semi-natural conditions, and carried out diversity monitoring in flooded meadows. A total of 6344 individuals belonging to 89 spider species were collected by pitfall traps and identified. Using spatial modelling, we observed the following: (i) there are differences between the structures of managed and unmanaged forest stands (larger number of taxa); (ii) the differences in the number of individuals between study plots and years were statistically significant; (iii) the trend analysis of spider communities showed that study plots that underwent management intervention are expected to see an increase in the number of individuals in the future; and (iv) in the areas that did not undergo management, the number of species was stable. Using spiders as bioindicators could therefore answer the question of whether anthropogenic disturbance disrupts ecological stability. This approach utilizes spiders to assess the sustainability of the landscape.

The coexistence of spiders in the Central European floodplains of the Danube River was assessed at 18 study sites (more than 43,000 individuals identified). Environmental conditions, i.e. groundwater level, flood regime, vegetation and tree shading, were defined as the main factors. The presence or absence of flooding and the depth of the water table had a significant effect on spider community structure. Based on the evaluation of 281 spider species found at sites in the inland Danube Delta, we conclude that the typical species of floodplain forests are the same, and thus the coexistence of these dominant and frequent species is a fundamental element of epigeic spider communities in floodplain forests in Central Europe ( Piratula hygrophila Thorell, Pardosa lugubris Walckenaer as a leaders; and typical spiders − Bathyphantes nigrinus Westring, Diplocephalus picinus Blackwall, Diplostyla concolor Wider, Oedothorax retusus Westring, Pachygnatha clercki Sundevall, Pachygnatha listeri Sundevall, Pardosa amentata Clerck, Pirata piraticus Clerck, Agroeca brunnea Blackwall, Liocranoeca striata Kulczyński, Ozyptila praticola C. L. Koch and Trochosa ruricola De Geer and two euryhygrophilous species Centromerus sylvaticus Blackwall, Palliduphantes pallidus O. Pickard-Cambridge). We divided ground-dwelling spiders into four categories by using a simple dominance and frequency index (DF _flood = ∑ D _hygro · F _hygro · 0.01 / ∑ D _eury · F _eury · 0.01), which also characterize floodplain forest microhabitats and reflect their stability. The assessments of the status of floodplain wetland forest biota based on the DF-index values represents not only spatial but also temporal aspects, as well as the possibility of using it to determine the ecological stability of the landscape.

A study of ticks on wildlife was carried out in the area of Levice, Bratislava, Stupava, and Vrbovce (south-western Slovakia) during 2021 and 2022. Overall, 512 ticks were collected from 51 individuals of six wild mammalian species. Eight tick species were identified, namely Dermacentor reticulatus, D. marginatus, Haemaphysalis inermis, H. concinna, Ixodes ricinus, I. hexagonus, and two Ixodes spp. Ixodes hexagonus were collected from northern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus roumanicus), females belonging to Ixodes spp. were collected from red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and nymphs from European badger (Meles meles). Ixodes hexagonus and the Ixodes spp. were identified morphologically and molecularly based on sequences of fragments of two mitochondrial genes, COI and 16S rRNA. Molecular analysis of Ixodes spp. confirmed the identity of Ixodes kaiseri Arthur, 1957 and I. canisuga (Johnston, 1849). Sequence analyses show that the I. kaiseri isolate from Slovakia is identical to I. kaiseri isolates from Romania, Poland, Germany, Turkey, and Croatia. We demonstrate for the first time the presence of I. kaiseri in Slovakia using both morphological and molecular methods.

A study of ticks on wildlife was carried out in the area of Levice, Bratislava, Stupava and Vrbovce (south-western Slovakia) during the years 2021-2022. Overall, 512 ticks were collected from 51 wild mammalian individuals of six species. In total, eight tick species were identified, namely Dermacentor reticulatus, D. marginatus, Haemaphysalis inermis, H. concinna, Ixodes ricinus, I. hexagonus and two Ixodes spp. Ixodes hexagonus were collected from Northern white-breasted hedgehogs (Erinaceus roumanicus), females belonging to Ixodes spp. were collected from a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and nymphs from a Eurasian badger (Meles meles). Ixodes hexagonus and the Ixodes spp. were identified morphologically and molecularly based on sequences of fragments of two mitochondrial genes, COI and 16S rRNA. Molecular analysis of Ixodes spp. confirmed the identity of Ixodes kaiseri Arthur, 1957 and I. canisuga (Johnston, 1849). Sequence analyses show that the I. kaiseri isolate from Slovakia is identical to I. kaiseri isolates from Romania, Poland, Germany, Turkey, and Croatia. We demonstrate for the first time the presence of I. kaiseri in Slovakia using both morphological and molecular methods.

Astacus astacus (Linnaeus, 1758) is a vulnerable species. Through comprehensive monitoring, we have determined the current spatial distribution of the populations in two streams of the Western Carpathian Massif. In the investigated part of the streams, we did not detect the presence of a source of chemical contamination with hazardous substances causing aquatic animal mortality or significant deterioration of the environmental quality. We sampled at 30 study sites and examined 223 individuals, more than a third of which showed abnormalities, physical damage, body deformation, or the presence of ectosymbionts. External abnormalities were related to the carapace and abdomen; in both sexes, the most frequent were on the claws (amputation, stunting, and mechanical damage); in males, we frequently observed amputation of antennae, carapace damage, or commissural damage; in females, we also found very low egg counts or stunted antennae, deformities of the pleopods, or telson deformities. On the bodies of crayfish, we confirmed the presence of ectosymbionts from the genus Branchiobdella as well.

Changes in the structure of small mammals’ communities (Eulipotyphla, Rodentia) along urban–rural gradient indicate the environmental state of stability or instability. Since small mammals are important with regard to the transmission of diseases to man and domestic animals, therefore knowledge of their association with the landscape structure is needed in land use planning. In course of the period from 2015 to 2017, there were recorded 109 individuals belonging to 15 species at 9 study sites (3 rural, 3 suburban, and 3 urban). We recorded a decrease in the average number of species in the direction of the suburban–urban–rural gradient. The number of individuals decreased in the rural–urban–suburban gradient. Eudominant species Clethrionomys glareolus (D = 20.2%), Microtus arvalis (13.8%), and Sorex araneus (19.3%) preferred the close links between the terms of the rural landscape, while Apodemus agrarius (D = 11.9%) and Sorex minutus (D = 11.0%) preferred the close links between the terms of the urban landscape.

Tegenaria hasperi Chyzer, 1897 (Agelenidae) and Zoropsis spinimana (Dufour, 1820) (Zoropsidae) are recorded in Slovakia for the first time. Both species were collected in synanthropic habitats in Western Slovakia. Two males of T. hasperi were collected in the garden of a family house, and both sexes of Z. spinimana were recorded from the interiors and exteriors of buildings in four separate cities, representing the first record of the family Zoropsidae in Slovakia. This contribution provides additional information on the morphological characteristics of these species. Digital images of their habitus and copulatory organs, as well as their distribution and habitat preferences are included.