Folia Malacol. 27(2): 127–151

https://doi.org/10.12657/folmal.027.011

THE 34TH POLISH MALACOLOGICAL SEMINAR

SEMINAR REPORT

This time nothing prevented me from attending included Elżbieta Żbikowska, Jarosław the Seminar (I only missed two: the one in Wieliczka Kobak, Anna Cichy, Anna Marszewska, Anna and the EuroMal in Kraków). Rather unusually, this Dzierżyńska-Białończyk, Łukasz Jermacz (all one was held in a city (most Seminars were held from Mikołaj Kopernik University) and Tomasz in the countryside or in some nice holiday resort) – K. Maltz (Museum of Natural History, Wrocław Toruń, from September 13th to September 15th 2018. University). The Book of Abstracts was edited by The Seminar was hosted by the Association of Tomasz K. Maltz, Jarosław Kobak and Tomasz Polish Malacologists and the Faculty of Biology Kałuski, and published by our faithful publisher and Environment Conservation, Mikołaj Kopernik Jarek Bogucki (Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe). University in Toruń. The Organising Committee The sponsors were Olympus, Poland Ltd., Noldus

Fig. 1. Participants in front of the hotel

Folia Malacologica is funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Republic of Poland, under agreement no 534/P-DUN/2018 of April 4th, 2018 allocated to the activities for disseminating science: Task 1: Preparation of English versions of publications (sum funded by DUN 12,000 PLN) and Task 2: Digitalisation of publications and scientific monographs to enable their open access in the Internet (sum funded by DUN 11,070 PLN). 128 Seminar Report

Information Technology, Regional Directorate us). I know of two people who preferred to go to of State Forests, Toruń, Forest Inspectorate in another conference which was held more or less at Cierpiszewo and the Eger restaurant in Toruń. Great the same time: Gosia Ożgo and Marysia Urbańska thanks to all of you! (bad girls!). The accompanying persons were one The venue was a very nice hotel called Przystanek non-malacological wife, three children and one dog. Toruń [Stop Toruń], and indeed it looked a bit like The children got on splendidly, so that only one par- an old-fashioned station building of red brick (Fig. ent (three were available) at a time had to supervise 1); it was situated just next to the tracks. We all them. The dog was very well-behaved. Only one stayed there and the sessions were held in the hotel foreign participant was present but, being a faithful conference room. By the way, just next to the hotel member of the Association, he no longer counts as we found a very good population of Cepaea nemoralis foreign. and C. vindobonensis and we scored them. Some (not The programme contained 33 oral presentations Cepaea of course, but participants) complained a bit and 9 posters, making a total of 42 contributions about the noise made by the trains in the night, but (thus the poster:presentation ratio was ca. 1:3, much they were no doubt those few who did not participate smaller than during any of our local seminars: 0.9:1, in the nightly consumption of sleep-inducing liquids. and even more so, compared to the Euromal: 3.7:1). The hotel was not far from the very nice and very I have noticed that the poster to presentation ratio historic Old Town. The Torunians (or the Toruneers, (though I can not support this with any statistical re- I honestly don’t know what to call them) have a very sults) seems roughly positively correlated with the beautiful city square with clean old houses of differ- number of participants, namely the more numerous ent colours, and a multitude of good restaurants and the participants the higher the ratio. The reason is pubs. As the city centre is not very large, everything probably that often the organisers, seeing the num- worth seeing is within walking distance. The weather ber of proposed presentations is too high to fit into was clement, for it rained only during the night. the programme, persuade some participants to con- Despite the moderate cost the attendance was vert their presentation into posters (the methods of not very good. The list of participants included 45 persuasion remain unknown to me). The contribu- malacologists (very few, if any, failed to appear, but, tions were distributed among six sessions (Fig. 2) mind you, usually there are between 50 and 60 of without any particular topical division, plus poster

Fig. 2. One of the sessions from behind Seminar Report 129

session, though one could see that the Organisers snail (design Tomasz K. Maltz) with the shell rep- made an effort to arrange them in some vague or- resenting planets and their orbits – no doubt to re- der. The chair persons (listed in the same order as in mind us that Toruń was the place where the famous the Programme) were: Andrzej Lesicki, Krzysztof astronomer Mikołaj Kopernik lived and worked. Lewandowski, Ewa Stworzewicz, Beata M. In the Table 1 have tried to do what I often do Pokryszko, Anna Sulikowska-Drozd and Joanna when writing a report, namely to compare the pro- Pieńkowska. Three presentations were memori- portion of contributions to various disciplines in als for those recently departed (Maria Jackiewicz, Poland and worldwide, but here I have taken a slight- Andrzej Samek; for obituaries see Folia Malacologica ly different approach. The division into disciplines 2018), or long departed and somehow forgotten is the same as that adopted in the previous seminar (Leszek Berger) malacologists. Two presentations reports. Columns 3–5 show the numbers and per- were surprising: one was by Witek Alexandrowicz centages of contributions to the various disciplines (this is normal, but it was about… the origin of mal- from the 34th Seminar (column 5), compared to the acologists – anthropogenesis), another by Henryk earlier Seminars (column 3) and the general trends Duszyński-Karabasz, a linguist, about vernacular at the Euromal 2017, column 4). The aim of the com- names of molluscs in Polish. The prize for the best parison is to see if the worldwide trends have had student presentation went to Anna Dzierżyńska- any effect on the topical structure of malacology as Białończyk which does not mean that the other stu- practiced in our country. In other words: are there dent presentations (or the old stagers’ presentations some people thinking ‘well, phylogeography is now for that matter) were bad. I especially liked those fashionable, shall I write a phylogeographic paper?’. about phylogeny and evolution, and about life histo- Except for Ecology & Conservation and ries, but my opinion may not be objective. Miscellaneous, there are great differences (no doubt The handouts included various things, the most statistically significant, though not “officially”- sup important of them being The Book of Abstracts and ported by any statistics) within the disciplines be- a very beautiful and ingeniously designed seminar tween all three or two of the categories shown in mug (Fig. 3). The cover of the Book shows a colony columns 3 to 5. The lack of obvious differences in of Dreissena, as well as Lymnaea and its parasites (both Ecology & Conservation is easily explainable (the specialties of the Toruń team). On the mug there is a discipline has been popular for a long time and still

Fig. 3. The Main Organiser (in the middle) and two participants, all apparently satisfied 130 Seminar Report

Table 1. Topical structure of the Polish Malacological Seminars 2007–2016, the EuroMal according to the criteria adopted in the seminar reports, and the 2018 Seminar No. Discipline 2007–2016 Euromal 2018 1 Ecology & Conservation 187 (31.6%) 64 (25.5%) 9 (22%) 2 Applied Malacology & Parasitology 77 (13.0%) 17 (18.1%) 4 (9.8%) 3 Miscellaneous: general, behaviour, archaeology, collections, history, 67 (11.3%) 10 (13.0%) 5 (12.2%) education, methodology 4 Systematics/Phylogeny (including molecular) 39 (6.6%) 33 (45.8%) 9 (22%) 5 Biogeography & Faunistics 53 (9.0%) 18 (25.4%) 2 (4.9%) 6 Life Histories 60 (10.2%) 6 (9.1%) 9 (22%) 7 Fossil Molluscs 45 (7.6%) 15 (25.0%) 5 (12.2%) 8 Structure (histology, cytology, shell) & Variation 33 (5.1%) 6 (15.4%) 5 (12.2%) 9 Physiology 30 (5.1%) 4 (11.8%) 1 (2.4%) is), as is that in Miscellaneous (a collection of topics availability of molecular methods and the activities addressed with varying frequency, but not regular- of the strong team from Jagiellonian University), ly, at malacological conferences). Do the disciplines Biogeography & Faunistics (this is surprising, but with frequencies varying among the categories show maybe less so in view of the fact that nowadays bio- any trend(s)? Applied Malacology & Parasitology geography uses molecular methods, while faunistics (probably as a result of pest and parasite species of usually has conservational aspects), Fossil Molluscs medical and economic importance being rather few (not very many malaco-palaeontologists in Poland, in Poland, this in turn being a consequence of our ge- many presenting their results elsewhere), Structure ography and climate, and despite the large number of & Variation (the proportion of such papers published very active “applied” people in Poznań and Toruń) are by our authors seems to have increased compared more popular worldwide than they are in Poland. The to such proportion in 2007–2016; is it the effect of same is true of Systematics/Phylogeny (though the the EuroMal or the advent of new techniques such proportion of such papers seems to have increased as computer microtomography?), and Physiology in Poland, probably mainly as a result of increasing (only few people in the country deal with mollusc

Fig. 4. In the dungeons of the old fort Seminar Report 131 physiology and those mainly present their results at the numbers of papers/posters presented by girls non-malacological fora). It is obvious from the Table versus boys were: girls 12, boys 5, mixed teams 24. that one discipline is our pride and joy: Life Histories. The social events included a very good barbecue in This is reflected in both the proportion and in the an old fort (instead of the traditional banquet) (Fig. absolute numbers (of the papers and of the authors: 4), a visit to a pub with an enormous variety of beers, now we have more than ten active students of mol- some of them local and impossible to get anywhere lusc life cycles!). On the whole, for a variety of rea- else, and a trip to Dobrzyń-Golub where we visited sons, we follow the trends of our own rather than the the old castle and had coffee in a good restaurant. global ones. The abstracts below include all the abstracts from The snail:bivalve ratio was 2:1 (there was also the Abstract Book, most of them translated and some one cephalopod taxon: squids) (the mean ratio for tweaked a bit by the author of this report. the Seminars since 2010 was 2.7:1, at the EuroMal 1.3:1), the land:water ratio was 0.9:1 (Seminar mean Beata M. Pokryszko 1.5:1, EuroMal 0.5:1). The ratio of one-author contri- Museum of Natural History, Wrocław University butions to contributions with two or more authors Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland was 1:2.5 (Seminar mean 0.9:1, EuroMal 1:4), and (e-mail: [email protected])

ABSTRACTS OF THE 34TH POLISH MALACOLOGICAL SEMINAR

MALACOFAUNA OF LATE HOLOCENE aquatic snails and vestigial slug shells. The number DEPOSITS OF THE FALSZTYŃSKI STREAM IN of taxa per sample ranged from nine to 44, that of EASTERN PODHALE specimens from 100 to 593, the total number of iden- tified specimens being close to 13,000. The species Witold Paweł Alexandrowicz represented all the main ecological groups. Shade- Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza w Krakowie, Wydział loving species (mainly typical of closed-canopy for- Geologii, Geofizyki i Ochrony Środowiska, Katedra ests) were the most abundant. The shade-loving spe- Geologii Ogólnej i Geoturystyki, Kraków cies were the most abundant in the lower parts of the profiles and less so in the top parts. Four species were Alluvial deposits on a low terrace along the characteristic of open habitats and were very abun- Falsztyński Stream in eastern Podhale were analysed dant in the top parts of the profiles where they dom- with respect to their malacofauna. The deposits are inated. Euryoecious (mesophile) species occurred fine- and medium-grained gravels and sandy silts. in all samples but constituted only a minor part of The alluvial series rests on much calcified sandstones. the fauna. Hygrophilous species (group H) appeared Its thickness varies along the stream and the maxi- rarely, while aquatic molluscs formed a negligible mum is 2 m. Field observations revealed five levels of component of the assemblage. The faunal analysis, gravels and five levels of silty-sandy deposits; the lat- lithological data and determination of the deposits’ ter contained a rich malacofauna and plant remains. age made it possible to reconstruct the environmen- The stream was originally a right-bank tributary to tal changes from the end of the middle Holocene till the Dunajec; now, after the dam in Niedzica has been present. The mollusc assemblages indicate a domi- constructed, it falls in Lake Czorsztyńskie. The valley nance of shaded habitats nearly throughout the dep- has a relatively wide, flat floodplain and a V-shaped osition period. Originally, they were mixed forests, cross-section only in its highest part. At the end of and the proportion of conifers increased with dete- the 20th c. its slopes and bottom were deforested and riorating conditions of vegetation in the Subboreal turned into agricultural land. During recent years the phase. The change brought about a decrease in spe- agricultural activity has become much limited, result- cies richness of snail assemblages, especially disap- ing in forest expansion. Nine profiles were examined pearance of stenooecious taxa. The rapid change in (one in the lowest part of the valley, now flooded by habitats during the Middle Ages was associated with the artificial lake), with 100 samples (54 contained the warm period of the Mediaeval Climate Optimum, identifiable mollusc remains). Gravel samples were when large human groups appeared in Podhale. The devoid of mollusc shells or contained only unidenti- necessity to gain arable land and pastures led to ex- fiable fragments. The silts contained a rich and well tensive deforestation, mainly in areas with mild relief preserved malacofauna, with 61 terrestrial taxa, two and wide river valleys, among them the valley of the 132 Seminar Report

Falsztyński Stream. These processes are reflected in ing both the results of published local surveys and the disappearance of the rich assemblages dominat- inviting the submission of new records following a ed by shade-loving species and their replacement by defined protocol. This programme of submission ran poor communities composed mainly of open-country through 2014 to 2017. Altogether, there are 1,048 taxa. The presence of gravel intercalations and strata populations that are accurately located and contain which maintain their continuity over long stretches more than 20 shells scoreble for the polymorphism. of the valley makes it possible to correlate phases of The total number of shells examined is 118,128 and intensive fluvial activity with humid climate periods the mean number of shells per sample is 113. About in the Polish Carpathians. Five gravel strata could be two thirds of the samples are taken from published distinguished in the Falsztyński Stream valley. Radio- accounts from 1984 onwards; the remainder are un- carbon dating shows that the phases fall on the end published records sent in by contributors who will be of Atlantic phase and the oldest part of Subboreal included as authors in the published outcome, as will phase, middle part of Subboreal phase, boundary of Michal Horsák from Brno, Czechia, who has done Subboreal and Subatlantic phases, younger part of most of the statistical analyses. The samples are not Subatlantic phase and the last 200 years. Their chro- evenly distributed in geographical terms; most come nology correlates well with similar schemes based on from the western or northern parts. Nevertheless, other Carpathian river valleys, phases of increased there are a number of trends that can be detected mass movements, periods of glacier advance in the across the country. While brown shells are uncom- Alps and Scandinavian Peninsula and with phases of mon overall (c. 6% of all shells) they are significantly high water level in lakes of the European Lowland more frequent in the north, and this correlates well and the Alps’ foreland. Some departures from these with lower mean annual temperatures and small sea- patterns can be probably explained by the effect of lo- sonal variation in rainfall. Less evidently, midband- cal factors resulting from the valley’s specificity and ed shells are less frequent in the south-west than particular morphological and climatic conditions of elsewhere, and there is a big change in the direction the whole Podhale basin. of the linkage disequilibrium between colour and banding from north (unbanded commoner in pink than in yellow shells) to south (the reverse). There THE POLISH CEPAEA NEMORALIS SURVEY: are effects of habitat, but these are not found in all PRELIMINARY RESULTS parts of the country. In the north and east, brown shells are significantly higher in frequency in shaded Robert A. D. Cameron1, Małgorzata Ożgo2 habitats than in the open, while the reverse is true 1Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, for yellow shells that appear unbanded from above; University of Sheffield, UK there is no trace of this relationship in the south west 2Department of Evolutionary Biology, Kazimierz (Wrocław). Most populations are very polymorphic. Wielki University, Bydgoszcz There are few large scale geographical patterns, and the regional contribution to overall variance, meas-

The shell colour and banding polymorphism of the ured by Fst is low (c. 18%). Using Moran’s I as an land snail Cepaea nemoralis (L.) has attracted atten- indication of distance decay in genetic similarity tion for more than a century. Local and regional sur- among populations reveals a sharp decline in simi- veys, including the whole of its range, have revealed larity over a distance of about 50 km. Given that C. patterns of habitat- and climate-related variation that nemoralis is an introduced species in most of Poland, reflect the operation of natural selection. They have it would appear that a combination of selection and also, however, revealed patterns associated with ge- both long- and short-distance dispersal events ac- netic drift and founder effects, and the strength of counts for many of the patterns seen. We are carrying these patterns varies with location and the history out further analyses. In the meantime, we are archiv- of the populations concerned. As an easily-studied ing the data, and arranging that they will be publicly example of microevolution, this polymorphism was accessible. It will also be possible to add data from made the subject of a large-scale public participa- more populations. In this way, we hope that it will tion project, the Evolution MegaLab (Silvertown, J. be possible to track changes over time, a robust way et al., 2011. Citizen Science Reveals Unexpected of investigating the factors that account for variation Continental-Scale Evolutionary Change in a Model within and among populations. Organism. PLoS One, 6(4): e18927. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0018927). The MegaLab included in its analyses some data from Poland. However, there have been many later surveys within the country, greatly increasing the volume of data available. Małgorzata Ożgo therefore initiated a survey within Poland, tak- Seminar Report 133

DIFFERENTIATION OF THE MALACOFAUNA SINGLE OR MULTIPLE BROODS? COMPARISON OF EPILITHIC HABITATS IN THE PIENINY MTS OF REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES OF IN RELATION TO SELECTED ECOLOGICAL EUROPEAN UNIONIDS FACTORS Adam M. Ćmiel, Anna M. Lipińska, Katarzyna Agata Chiżyńska, Anna Sulikowska-Drozd Zając, Kamil Najberek, Tadeusz Zając Katedra Zoologii Bezkręgowców i Hydrobiologii, Instytut Ochrony Przyrody, Polska Akademia Nauk, Wydział Biologii i Ochrony Środowiska, Uniwersytet Kraków Łódzki Freshwater bivalves are important components Around 106 species of terrestrial gastropods occur of aquatic ecosystems; they provide ecosystem ser- in the Pieniny; they represent various ecological and vices, food source and materials (shells, pearls) and zoogeographical groups. The communities include are often called ecosystem engineers. At the same gastropods of open and forest habitats, thermophil- time they are among the most endangered animal ous and montane components. Compared to other groups worldwide. The dramatic drop in their abun- Carpathian mountain ranges in Poland, the Pieniny dance may be associated with their complicated life malacofauna is distinct in the presence of calciphil- cycle involving parasitic larvae (glochidia) which ous and thermophilous forms which inhabit rock fac- need fish hosts to metamorphose. Though a single es. Because of the increasing anthropopressure in the female can release hundreds of thousands of glo- Dunajec valley and the climatic changes associated chidia during one reproductive season, the prob- with the construction of the Czorsztyn Reservoir, the ability of their survival till metamorphosis is very epilithic ecosystems and their typical fauna are threat- small, ca. 0.000001%. Unionid species differ in their ened by unfavourable changes. In order to ascertain reproductive strategy. On the whole, members of which ecological factors determined the diversity and Anodonta lay eggs in summer or autumn, their glo- structure of snail communities of rock outcrops we chidia are retained in marsupia till the next spring performed biocoenotic analysis of seven localities in and then released through the exhalant siphon (e.g. the Pieniny National Park. In each site samples were Anodonta anatina, A. cygnea). Species of Unio can pro- taken from eight 50x50 cm quadrats. Besides, larg- duce one to five broods each year, usually in spring er snails were collected by eye in the nearest neigh- and summer months (e.g. Unio crassus). The aim of bourhood. For each sample we measured the slope our study was to compare two unionid reproductive and exposition of the rocks, shadiness, and noted the strategies: single brood strategy (SBS) and multi- presence of crevices and plant cover. The material in- ple brood strategy (MBS) with simulation using a cluded 2,971 specimens (2,783 of them in quantita- mathematical model considering stochastic environ- tive samples), representing 39 species (35 in quanti- mental conditions. The simulation was done for 100 tative samples). The mean number of species per site consecutive reproductive seasons. In each season was 16.9 (maximum 22 in Macelowy), and per 0.25 an event precluding reproduction (e.g. lack of hosts, 2 m 4.93 (maximum 6.5). The density ranged from flood) could occur with probability 1P ; an event fa- 87.5 individuals/m2 in Ociemny E to 368 individu- cilitating reproduction (stocking with host species) 2 als/m in Macelowy. Species of the greatest frequency could occur with probability P2, while P3 was the and abundance were regarded as characteristic of the probability of no events that would affect reproduc- epilithic habitats of the PNP: Truncatellina cylindrica tion. Three scenarios were considered: (A) “good”, and Pyramidula pusilla. The mean density of their pop- where P1P2, P2=P3. The SBS and uals/m2, the maximum values being 177 and 110 in- MBS strategies were compared based on the results dividuals/m2. Multidimentional analysis showed that of 1,000 simulations for each of the scenarios. We the composition and structure of the epilithic fauna compared differences in the mean and median num- was mainly determined by the slope and presence of ber of individuals, variation coefficients and prob- vegetation (CCA: axis I; 43% of variation) as well ability of extinction between SBS and MBS popu- as shadiness (CCA: axis II; 34.7% of variation). The lations. For scenarios (A) and (B) the SBS strategy Pieniny National Park has a protection policy aimed was more profitable. In scenario C the MBS strategy at preserving the diversity of non-forest habitats was better, and the probability of extinction during which increases the chances of preserving the unique 100 simulated reproductive seasons decreased with epilithic habitats with their petrophile malacofauna. the increasing number of broods in the season. 134 Seminar Report

POLISH NAMES OF SNAILS AND BIVALVES remaining species. Mussel-covered individuals of S. woodiana, collected from the muddy substratum, had Henryk Duszyński-Karabasz a smaller biomass than the remaining species. The Instytut Neofilologii i Lingwistyki Stosowanej, field experiment in which unionids were exposed to Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego, Bydgoszcz settling of zebra mussel larvae in plastic baskets sus- pended in the water (no substratum) showed that A. Names of animals, plants and fungi are an inter- anatina and S. woodiana were more overgrown than esting object of studies for linguists. They study the the two species of Unio, thus confirming the above linguistic picture of nature, names of animals and – result. In the laboratory experiment, with multiple less often – plants, names of plant varieties, as well choice and with or without the possibility to bury as vernacular names of components of fauna and in the substratum, the most avoided species was U. flora. My presentation deals with names of selected pictorum and also S. woodiana (the latter only in the mollusc species found in Polish malacological publi- variant with the possibility of burying). No union- cations. Both parts of the animal’s name were subject id was preferred to stone substrata of similar shape to linguistic analysis: generic name and specific name. and size. The zebra mussel preferred some unionid Semantic motivation for snail and bivalve names was species which was associated not only with the de- presented. The analysis was aimed at showing which gree to which their shells were exposed above the of the motives for mollusc names (morphological sediment but also, as shown by the experimental characters, geographical origin, behaviour, scientist’s studies, with active selection of substratum. Besides, name and others) were the most and the least fre- the zebra mussel preferred unionid shells to those of quent. For comparative purposes Latin nomenclature conspecifics, but unionid shells were not preferred to was also used. other available materials, for example stones. Since unionids constitute a significant source of hard sub- stratum for the settling zebra mussel larvae in many HABITAT PREFERENCES OF THE ZEBRA water bodies, their species composition may be im- MUSSEL IN RELATION TO VARIOUS SPECIES OF portant for the success of D. polymorpha in invading UNIONIDS such waters.

Anna Dzierżyńska-Białończyk1, Łukasz Jermacz1, Tomasz Maćkiewicz1, Joanna MELANOPSIDAE – ANOTHER CASE OF Gajewska2, Jarosław Kobak1 MORPHOSTATIC EVOLUTION 1Zakład Zoologii Bezkręgowców, Uniwersytet 1 2 Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń Andrzej Falniowski , Sebastian Hofman , 1 2Zakład Hydrobiologii, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Aleksandra Rysiewska Kopernik, Toruń 1Zakład Malakologii, Instytut Zoologii i Badań Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is an in- 2Zakład Anatomii Porównawczej, Instytut Zoologii vasive sedentary bivalve and may pose a considerable i Badań Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, threat to the native fauna, especially to the Unionidae Kraków whose shells are used as a substratum. Our objective was to check, both in the field and in the laboratory, The recent Melanopsidae are estimated to include which unionid species were preferred by the zebra 25–50 species, though more than a thousand species mussel and how its presence affected the weight of have been described. They inhabit freshwaters of the studied individuals. Our field study during which southern and south-eastern Europe, northern Africa we collected Anodonta anatina, A. cygnea, Unio pictorum, and Near East, as well as New Zealand and some U. tumidus and the alien Sinanodonta woodiana from Pacific islands. Their massive, thick-walled shells are sandy and muddy substrata showed that A. anatina smooth or have more or less pronounced ribs and/ and S. woodiana were the most overgrown by the ze- or spiral sculpture. The morphology and anatomy bra mussel while A cygnea and U. tumidus were the of soft parts are simplified, for example there is no least affected. The percentage of mussels attached di- penis since it is spermatophore that is transferred; rectly to the host’s shell (in relation to the attached as a result the melanopsid systematics is based ex- conspecifics) was in negative proportion to the total clusively on shell. Some authors demonstrated and biomass of the mussels on the host. Besides, con- emphasised the continuity of variation in sculpture sidering the differences in the mussel biomass, on and proportions, suggesting that only one species oc- the sandy substratum the index was smaller in Unio curred in the Mediterranean Sea: Melanopsis praemorsa, spp. than in A. anatina and S. woodiana, and on the described by Linnaeus. Other authors distinguished muddy substratum – smaller in A. cygnea than in the a few species, including the widely distributed M. Seminar Report 135 buccinoidea with smooth shell, and a ribbed M. costata; Quaternary deposits of Europe yielded eight species even in fossil material they pointed to narrow hybrid of the genus Lithoglyphus. Six of them are still extant zones, with specimens of poorly developed ribs. We (L. naticoides, L. krasnenkovi, L. prasinus, L. apertus, L. sequenced DNA in four loci (COI, 18S, 24S, H3), in pygmaeus and L. fuscus), and their range is mainly the Melanopsidae from the islands of the Aegean Sea, limited to Central and Eastern Europe. Two species Peloponnesus, Israel, Iraq, Croatia, Romania and which became extinct at the end of the Mazovian Austria. Though the terra typica stated by Linnaeus Interglacial (MIS 11), L. jahni and L. pyramidatus, have for M. praemorsa was southern Europe, we assumed a stratigraphic significance – they delimit the upper that Linnaeus had access to materials from France boundary of the age of the deposits in which their or Spain rather than to the hardly accessible sites in shells are found. Their names are often regarded as the Ottoman Empire, which, combined with the dis- synonyms, while the distinctness of the two spe- junct range (no Melanopsis in Libya and Egypt, as well cies is still debateable and requires further studies. as between the south of France and Peloponnesus) Except L. naticoides, the information on habitat pref- excludes the presence of the species in the east. M. erences of the members of Lithoglyphus, biological buccinoidea was described from “Chios and other and behavioural data, are very limited. Their spread islands of the Aegean Sea, Crete and Levant”. Our is not monitored. Observations of the extant species studies showed species distinctness of individuals would certainly contribute to the interpretation of from Chios and Lesbos, and according to the priority their habitats and those of their fossil counterparts. rule M. buccinoidea occurs only there, while snails re- corded under the same name from the other islands and the Near East and not conspecific with them. INTROGRESSION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA We demonstrated the occurrence of a distinct spe- IN THE GENERA HAUFFENIA AND KERKIA cies in the islands of Naxos and Samos, and another (CAENOGASTROPODA: HYDROBIIDAE) – widely distributed – in the Peloponnesus, Rhodes and a single specimen from Israel. The shells of all Sebastian Hofman1, Aleksandra Rysiewska2, three taxa are similar, not to be distinguished, and Artur Osikowski3, Andrzej Falniowski2 always smooth. In Israel we found two species which, 1Zakład Anatomii Porównawczej, Instytut Zoologii besides smooth shells, included shells with more i Badań Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, or less pronounced ribs. Yet another time the mor- Kraków phology failed to reflect phylogenetic relationships. 2Zakład Malakologii, Instytut Zoologii i Badań We demonstrated the distinctness and relation- Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków ships of Central European Microcolpia, Esperiana and 3Zakład Anatomii Zwierząt, Instytut Nauk Holandriana, excluding the occurrence of Melanopsis in Weterynaryjnych, Uniwersytet Rolniczy, Kraków that area. Dating with molecular clock showed that the main evolutionary lineages separated during the The reconstruction of evolutionary history of or- Miocene as a result of consecutive invasions from the ganisms should be based on the association between sea to freshwaters which was confirmed by the fossil the morphological differentiation and genetic varia- record. The morphological variation in some species tion. It can be difficult for many reasons, for example – while there is no such variation in other species – is occurrence of cryptic species, erroneous taxonomy, not combined with molecular differentiation which often based exclusively on morphological data, or in- has not led to any morphological changes; this is trogression, including introgression of mitochondri- yet another example of morphostatic evolution in al DNA (mtDNA). Snails of the family Hydrobiidae Caenogastropoda. Troschel, 1857 include more than 400 genera, and there are no molecuar data on many of them. Our phylogenetic analysis of the members of the genus SNAILS OF THE GENUS LITHOGLYPHUS IN Kerkia Radoman, 1978, included six populations in QUATERNARY DEPOSITS OF EUROPE Slovenia and Croatia. We sequenced a fragment of mtDNA, and three nuclear markers. The analyses Izabela Gałecka confirmed the genetic distinctness of four species of Wydział Geologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski Kerkia and showed the presence of two more distinct clades. Besides the snails of the genus Kerkia, we an- Snails of the genus Lithoglyphus are fluviatile or alysed three populations of Hauffenia Pollonera, 1899, fluviatile-lacustrine species. These small snails ap- which also proved to be genetically distinct. Genetic peared in Europe in the Neogene. Their extant repre- comparison with the use of reference sequences sentatives prefer muddy and sandy bottom, they also showed that the two genera were not sister groups. attach to rocks or aquatic plants. Shells of fossil spe- Moreover, we discovered introgression of mtDNA of cies are mainly found in silts, gyttias, clay and sands. ”Hauffenia” type from the middle-Slovenian popula- 136 Seminar Report tion to the members of two clades Kerkia from central DAMAGE TO PLANTS OF THE FAMILY POACEAE and southern Croatia. The introduced type of mtD- BY DEROCERAS RETICULATUM (O. F. MÜLLER) NA was the most similar to the DNA of Hauffenia AND ARION VULGARIS MOQUIN-TANDON erythropomatia (0.8% difference). Probably the intro- gression is a relic of the past hybridisation of the two Monika Jaskulska1, Jan Kozłowski1, Maria genera. Study financed by K/ZDZ/007345. Kozłowska2, Magdalena Gawlak1 1Instytut Ochrony Roślin – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Poznań LONG-TERM CHANGES IN THE MALACOFAUNA 2Katedra Metod Matematycznych i Statystycznych, OF A SMALL LOWLAND RIVER IN AN Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy, Poznań AGRICULTURAL AREA IN EASTERN POLAND Grasses (Poaceae Barnh.) are damaged by many Beata Jakubik, Krzysztof Lewandowski species of agrophages, including slugs of the genera Instytut Biologii, Wydział Przyrodniczy, Uniwersytet Deroceras and Arion. They feed on seeds and green Przyrodniczo-Humanistyczny, Siedlce plant matter near the soil surface; they show distinct preferences for particular species, varieties or forms. The Muchawka river is the largest tributary to the To date there was little information on food prefer- Liwiec, the main river of the Siedlce Upland. It flows ences of slugs feeding on grasses. In laboratory exper- through agricultural areas and is not much polluted iments we exposed five species of meadow grasses as with communal or industrial waste. The knowledge well as wheat to feeding by Deroceras reticulatum and of its fauna is limited to inventories and annual as- Arion vulgaris. We observed considerable differences sessments of water quality. This encouraged us to un- in the degree of damage, depending on the species of dertake detailed studies on the mollusc fauna of the plant and slug. Poa pratensis and Festuca rubra showed river. In 1999–2000 we recorded 12 mollusc species: a higher susceptibility to damage. Our studies pro- 7 snails and 5 bivalves in the Muchawka. In the two vide data on the damage to F. rubra, Festulolium sp., years of studies the dominant was Pisidium amnicum Bromus catharticus, Poa pratensis and Lolium multiflorum, (O. F. Müller). Co-dominants were Sphaerium rivicola compared to winter wheat (Poa aestivum) by slugs. (Lamarck), Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus) and Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus). In four sites in the upper and middle section of the river we found Unio pictorum COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MOLLUSC (Linnaeus). Less frequent were Anodonta anatina DIVERSITY IN VARIOUS WATER HABITATS IN (Linnaeus) and the protected A. cygnea (Linnaeus). THE LIWIEC CATCHMENT AREA Studies in the same sites in 2016–17 showed the oc- currence of 19 species: 11 snails and 8 bivalves. The Ewa Jurkiewicz-Karnkowska dominant was Pisidium casertanum (Poli). A large pro- Wydział Przyrodniczy, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczo- portion was formed by two sphaeriids – P. subtruncatum Humanistyczny, Siedlce Malm and Sphaerium corneum (Linnaeus). Sphaeriid bivalves constituted more than 80% of all molluscs. Malacocoenoses of five types of water habitats in Among snails the most abundant were Bithynia ten- the Liwiec catchment area were sampled: the main taculata and Bathyomphalus contortus (Linnaeus). The channel of the Liwiec, side channels of the river, six presence of the protected Unio crassus Philipsson is tributaries, as well as natural water bodies and ditch- noteworthy; it was not recorded in the earlier study. es on the floodplain. Species richness, diversity, den- Only seven species were recorded in both periods of sity, species composition and structure of the mala- studies. The greater species richness of the malaco- cocoenoses of the habitats were compared in order fauna in the last period may indicate good environ- to estimate their significance for the diversity of the mental conditions which is confirmed by the physi- malacofauna. Spatial structure of mollusc diversity co-chemical parameters of the water. was also analysed based on the Jaccard coefficient and the proportion of alpha and beta diversity on various spatial scales. Fifty four mollusc species were recorded during five years, including three from the IUCN red list or Annexes II and IV of the UE Habitats Directive: Unio crassus, Sphaerium rivicola, Anisus vor- ticulus. The number of species, diversity (Shannon index) and density in most cases showed no statis- tically significant differences between the habitats, only the mollusc density in the main channel of the Liwiec was significantly smaller compared to the oth- Seminar Report 137 er habitats. The malacofauna of still water habitats chanical (control) using physiological fluid, and me- was slightly poorer compared to the rivers, but such chanical-chemical (experimental), with physiological habitats proved important for populations of many fluid with addition of cannabinodiol (10 micromole). species inhabiting small water bodies. Ditches, the The experimental design included a series of 60 sec- only anthropogenic habitats, had a rich malacofauna, ond stimulations, with ca. 5 minute interval (con- including the relatively rare Gyraulus laevis and a few trol stimulation – experimental stimulation – control extinction-threatened species of small water bodies. stimulation). The results were statistically analysed The composition of the malacofauna varied widely in using Statistica12. Changes in differences of transe- all kinds of habitats; the similarity in species compo- pithelial electric potential (dPD) and the amplitude sition was the smallest among the small water bodies of the potential during stimulation were subject to and ditches. The similarity among the five kinds of detailed analysis. The experiments showed that can- habitats was rather high, indicating their connected- nabinodiol increased the amplitude of the difference ness. The species richness of molluscs in the Liwiec in transepithelial electric potential during stimu- catchment area to the largest extent depended on the lation (p<0.001), but it had no effect on dPD, i.e. between-habitat diversity which was the greatest in changes in the differences in potential. Control stim- the main channel. The greatest intra-habitat diversity ulations ”before”, and ”after” did not differ, showing (alpha diversity) was observed in the side channels of that cannabinodiol acted only during the stimulation. the Liwiec. The problem requires further research, since the ob- served changes in the amplitude present a new phe- nomenon, previously not observed. ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF CANNABINODIOL ON THE SOLE EPITHELIUM OF ACHATINA FULICA DO AMPHIBIANS RENDER TRANSPORT SERVICES TO SNAILS? Piotr Kaczorowski1, Elżbieta Piskorska1, Rafał Kuziemski2 Krzysztof Kolenda1, Anna Najbar1, Natalia 2 3 1Katedra Patobiochemii i Chemii Klinicznej Kuśmierek , Tomasz K. Maltz 2Katedra i Zakład Farmakognozji; Wydział 1Zakład Biologii Ewolucyjnej i Ochrony Kręgowców, Farmaceutyczny, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Collegium Medicum im. Ludwika Rydygiera, 2Zakład Parazytologii, Instytut Genetyki Bydgoszcz i Mikrobiologii, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, 3Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski Cannabinoids are active substances which are responsible for most of the known properties of Phoresis consists in transporting an organism by marihuana. The most important compounds of this another organism to a new habitat. It is a common group are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannab- phenomenon among animals of limited mobility. Till inodiol (CBD). Two specific cannabinoid receptors now there are no literature data on such interactions are known: CB1 and CB2, of different affinity and between snails and amphibians. During field obser- localisation. The mechanism of their effect consists vations we found for the first time evidence of phoret- most of all in inhibition of adenylate cyclase, calcium ic interactions between snails and amphibians. Five channels, inducing genes of fast transcription. As op- such cases were observed in south-western Poland. posed to THC, cannabinodiol shows no psychoactive Two pertained to tree frogs (Hyla arborea) found in effect, since it does not bind to cannabinoid recep- a disused swimming pool in Wrocław. Each bore a tors in significant quantities. However, it affects oth- juvenile helicid snail on its body. The other obser- er structures, i.e. ionic channels, receptors and en- vations involved toads (Bufo bufo) migrating to their zymes, and has an anti-inflammatory, pain-killer and mating grounds in the village of Domaszczyn near anti-epileptic effect; it inhibits cell proliferaion and Wrocław. On the back of one male we found Arianta prevents disturbances in blood supply. The objective arbustorum, and a couple in amplexus bore a clausiliid of our study was electrophysiological analysis of the each. The fifth case was the observation of snail eggs effect of cannabinodiol on the sole epithelial tissue with developing embryos attached to a toad. All the of Achatina fulica. The material included 8 fragments cases were photographed and described in detail. from 8 individuals of A. fulica (from our own cul- ture). We isolated foot epithelium with the thinnest possible muscular layer. We used modified Ussing’s method. The experiments consisted in rinsing the surface of the tissue, and the delicate flow of liquid was the stimulus. We used two kinds of stimuli: me- 138 Seminar Report

FROM A MALACOLOGIST TO THE FROG KING – Ostrów Wielkopolski. Professor Berger was a very ABOUT PROF. DR HAB. LESZEK BERGER open, outgoing and magnanimous person. In spite of his great achievements he was a very modest man. Krzysztof Kolenda He left us suddenly and unexpectedly, having spent Zakład Biologii Ewolucyjnej i Ochrony Kręgowców, his last moments with his family. His resting place is Uniwersytet Wrocławski on the boundary of the nature reserve ”Żurawiniec” in Poznań, where he started his adventure with am- Prof. dr hab. Leszek Berger passed away on July phibians. 8th 2012 in Jaskółki near Ostrów Wielkopolski. He was a world-famous specialist on green frogs and the pioneer of herpetological studies on south- LIFE STRATEGY OF THE THERMOPHILOUS ern Wielkopolska. Professor Berger was born on BIVALVE RANGIA CUNEATA (MACTRIDAE) February 10th 1925 in Pabianice. He spent his child- WHILE COLONISING SOUTHERN BALTIC – hood and youth in Lewkowiec on the river Ołobok. A DEAD END OR A ROAD TO SUCCESS? In 1947 he finished Boys’ Comprehensive School in Ostrów Wielkopolski. Inspired by the richness Ryszard Kornijów1, Katarzyna Smolarz2, of local nature he continued his education at the Alicja Michnowska2 Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (bio- 1Zakład Oceanografii Rybackiej i Ekologii Morza, logical section), Poznań University. His master’s Morski Instytut Rybacki – Państwowy Instytut and doctoral theses were ”Mięczaki Pojezierza Badawczy, Gdynia Mazurskiego” [Molluscs of the Masurian Lakeland] 2Zakład Funkcjonowania Ekosystemów Morskich, and ”Mięczaki pogranicza Wielkopolski, Śląska Uniwersytet Gdański and Jury Krakowsko-Wieluńskiej” [Molluscs of the boundary of Wielkopolska, Silesia and Cracow- Rangia cuneata comes from subtropical estuar- Wieluń Jura], respectively. While at the university, ies of the Atlantic coast of America. It is a typical he started studies on the origin and agricultural sig- r-strategist, with high reproductive rate (iteropa- nificance of alluvial soils; the studies were -to com rous), small size, wide tolerance to changing envi- prise the whole of Poland; the herpetofauna of the ronmental factors, short life cycle and low sensitiv- Wielkopolski National Park was to be included. Later, ity to stress. These characters facilitate invasion of for reasons beyond his control, Prof. Berger had to unstable ecosystems and potentially – of new ter- resign his malacological studies and focused on am- ritories. In the Polish territorial waters it has been phibians. During 50 years he maintained a culture present since the 2010s and has formed prosperous of green frogs first in Poznań, and then in Jaskółki populations in the delta of Vistula (Wisła Śmiała and near Ostrów Wielkopolski. His studies showed that Wisła Martwa), and in the Gulf of Vistula. It is also the commonest frog in Europe, Pelophylax esculen- sporadically found in the Puck Bay and Pomeranian tus, was not a species but a natural hybrid between Bay, as well as in the Kamieński Reservoir. In the P. lessonae and P. ridibundus, which arose through hy- Vistula delta and in the Gulf of Vistula the species bridogenesis. In 1981 he became extraordinary pro- reaches densities of the order of 1,000 individuals/ fessor and in 1990 ordinary professor. During all his m2, thus exceeding several times the values reported professional life he was employed at the Department from its native range. Its population in the Vistula of Agricultural Environment and Forestry Studies, delta is stable and undergoes no significant year-to- Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznań. In 1989 Prof. year changes. The one in the Gulf of Vistula shows Berger organised a meeting of herpetologists in Turew. very great fluctuations, with declines in 2013, 2015 Thanks to this initiative the Polish Herpetological and 2017. Preliminary data on the sex ratio of the Conferences are regularly held in Kraków till today. populations suggest that males predominate and He was author of more than 120 publications and show a better condition. Non-specific histopatholog- more than 40 contributions to national and inter- ical changes in the alimentary tract were observed national conferences. He was actively involved in which may suggest extensive inflammatory chang- natural history education in southern Wielkopolska. es. Attempts at explaining the phenomena raise the Prof. Berger was the initiator and scientific supervi- following questions: 1. What are the reasons for the sor of the project of the south-Wielkopolska group great abundance fluctuations ofR. cuneata in the Gulf of Bird Protection Society ”Płazy i gady Południowej of Vistula (as opposed to the stable population of the Wielkopolski” [Amphibians and reptiles of southern Vistula delta) and how do they affect the population Wielkopolska]. For his achievements he was award- structure of the species? 2. Do long-lasting winters ed the first degree award of the Polish Academy of deplete the energy reserves of the bivalves, resulting Sciences. His activities in the region were recognised in decreased condition, increased stress level, immu- and he got an award of the President of the City of nosuppression (secondary infections), exhaustion Seminar Report 139 and mass mortality? 3. Is the evolutionary strategy rate was observed at different stages of growth in dif- (energy investment in fast growth and shell building ferent individuals. The difference in growth rate be- in native conditions), associated with anti-predator tween the snails kept singly and in groups was small. defence, too costly for the bivalve’s energy budget? The growth till ultimate size took ca. 20 months. In 4. Do energy expenses for osmoregulation and re- the laboratory the life span was 2–3 years. production affect the growth rate and reproductive success in waters of different salinity: Vistula delta and Gulf of Vistula? 5. Can the evolutionarily fixed GROWTH RATE OF XEROLENTA OBVIA IN life history of a species serve as predictor for coloni- NATURAL CONDITIONS OF DIFFERENT sation of new areas in the present conditions, also in CLIMATE the future, as a result of microevolutionary changes (adaptations) and in view of the progressing global Elżbieta Kuźnik-Kowalska1, Magdalena warming? We have at least partial answers to some Marzec2, Małgorzata Proćków3 of these questions, the others provide a basis to for- 1Instytut Biologii, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy mulate hypotheses to be falsified in future studies. we Wrocławiu 2Suwalski Park Krajobrazowy, Malesowizna Turtul 3Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF XEROLENTA OBVIA IN LABORATORY CONDITIONS Xerolenta obvia (Menke, 1828) is a medium-sized snail (shell 6–8 × 12–17 mm) of Pontic origin. Elżbieta Kuźnik-Kowalska1, Małgorzata Its range extends from Asia Minor through the Baran1, Małgorzata Proćków2 Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Carpathians, along 1Instytut Biologii, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy the Baltic coast, to France. In Poland it inhabits dry we Wrocławiu open habitats, including railway embankments and 2Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski verges. The observations were conducted from May 2015 to May 2017, in parallel in two populations Xerolenta obvia (Menke, 1828) is an expansive, in Poland: south-western in Piotrowiczki (Lower Ponto-Caspian species which is expanding its range Silesia) and north-eastern in Żytkiejmy near Suwałki. in Europe, migrating along rivers and railway em- The two sites differ considerably in their climate con- bankments. It mainly occurs in open, well insolat- ditions. The north-east is one of the coldest regions, ed habitats with short vegetation on calcium-rich with a short vegetation season, the south-west is the substratum. Our aim was to ascertain selected pa- warmest part of Poland. In the sites we selected sam- rameters of biology and growth rate of X. obvia in pling plots of ca. 25 m2; snails were collected month- laboratory conditions. The material (eggs and indi- ly during one hour. Live individuals were marked viduals of various age) was collected in October 2015, with nail varnish (each month a different colour) June 2016, May and October 2017 in a xerothermic in such a way that the increment could be read on habitat in Piotrkowiczki (Lower Silesia). The snails recapture. On each recapture the snail was marked were kept in Petri dishes and in containers in a en- again. The snails were released in the place of cap- vironmental chamber under constant temperature, ture. The two populations of X. obvia differ morpho- humidity and photoperiod, and in a terrarium in a logically. The shells of the south-western population room where the temperature and humidity depended are larger. At the same number of whorls they are on the season. From early juvenile stages the snails by 1–2 mm wider than those from the north-east- were kept singly, in pairs and in groups of a few spec- ern population; the shell height is the same in both imens. The eggs of X. obvia were oval or nearly spher- populations. The maximum observed shell width in ical (1.2–1.6 × 1.2–1.8 mm) milky white, calcified, the Piotrkowiczki population was 16.12 mm, in the mostly laid in batches (15–65) but also singly. They Żytkiejmy population 14.08 mm; the respective max- were deposited in hollows dug in gravel or on damp imum height was 7.85 and 7.91 mm. Three types of tissue paper. The egg-laying lasted from October till shell colouration were distinguished: white, banded April. Juveniles hatched in 11–28 days; their shells with distinct dark bands and banded with very light had 1.5–2.0 whorls; hatching within the batch was and poorly visible bands. Banded shells with distinct asynchronous. The hatching success of individuals dark bands predominated in the south-western pop- kept in groups or pairs was 30.62%. No uniparen- ulation (89%), while the north-eastern population tal reproduction was observed. There were no cases was dominated by white shells (60%). The growth of cannibalistic behaviour. The snails attained sex- rate (in terms of whorl increment) depended on the ual maturity (first egg laid) when their shells had initial size of the shells. The smaller the snail, the 5.0–5.3 whorls. The mean growth rate was 0.01 to larger its monthly increment (r = −0.6; p < 0.0001). 0.59 whorl/month. Minimum and maximum growth The snails from Piotrkowiczki grew faster; their 140 Seminar Report mean monthly increment was 0.6 whorl, compared ASSESSMENT OF INVASIVE CHARACTER OF to 0.3 whorl in Żytkiejmy. The mean cumulative in- ALIEN BIVALVE SPECIES crement during the vegetation season (5–6 months) in the south-western population was 1.3 whorl, in Anna Maria Łabęcka1, Aneta Spyra2, Wojciech the north-eastern population it was 0.9 whorl. Solarz3 1Instytut Nauk o Środowisku, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Kraków SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL CHANGES IN 2Katedra Hydrobiologii, Uniwersytet Śląski, ABUNDANCE AND DISTRIBUTION IN A Katowice POPULATION OF VERTIGO MOULINSIANA 3Instytut Ochrony Przyrody, Polska Akademia Nauk, (DUPUY, 1849) Kraków

Anna M. Lipińska, Adam M. Ćmiel, Paweł The list of alien bivalve species in Poland is con- Adamski, Wojciech Bielański, Dorota Kwaśna, tinually increasing. Since the mid 1980s consecutive Katarzyna Zając, Tadeusz Zając localities of Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) have Instytut Ochrony Przyrody Polskiej Akademii Nauk, been recorded, and since 2003 and 2004 – Corbicula Kraków fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774) and C. fluminalis (O. F. Müller, 1774), respectively. Next to the well estab- Life history parameters may explain intra-season- lished Dreissena polymorpha Pallas, 1771, in 2014 D. al patterns of snail population dynamics, but there rostriformis bugensis Andrusov, 1897 was first -ob are still no satisfactory answers to the questions of served in the Gulf of Szczecin. Since 2010 Rangia stability of populations between seasons, depend- cuneata (G. B. Sowerby I, 1832) has been known to ence between spatio-temporal population intra-sea- occur in the Gulf of Vistula, and Mytilopsis leucophaea- sonal dynamics and implications of such patterns for ta (Conrad, 1831) in the Gulf of Gdańsk; both orig- nature conservation. We studied Vertigo moulinsiana inate from the Gulf of Mexico. The species spread (Dupuy, 1849), a rare species (IUCN Red List; Annex mainly due to human activities. The “List of alien II to Habitats Directive), in the inland delta of the plant and animal species which, when released into Nida, from May to October in 2008–2010. On each natural habitats, may threaten native species or hab- monthly control we noted the number of individuals itats” of the 9th September 2011 includes S. woodiana, with precise mapping of each snail on the vegetation C. fluminea, C. fluminalis, and – though not recorded map. The results showed a non-uniform distribution: from Poland to date – Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, there was a distinct gradient of abundance correlat- 1793). In 2017, on commission from the General ed with the habitat gradient: a much higher abun- Directorate of Environment Protection (GDOŚ) a dance was observed in a place with increased level group of experts devised a procedure to assess the of groundwater, mainly covered with Glyceria maxima. risk of negative effect of invasive or potentially in- The abundance dropped with the decrease in ground- vasive alien species whose introduction or presence water level. We observed this phenomenon on a sea- may actually or potentially endanger native species, sonal scale during the three years. During the sea- cause economic losses and affect human health. S. son the population abundance increased which was woodiana, C. fluminea, C. fluminalis and C. gigas were reflected in the population’s spatial expansion. The subject to such assessment. S. woodiana and C. flu- greatest abundance was recorded in August and minea are widespread in Poland, with a small degree from then it decreased, along with the spatial range. of invasiveness and low risk (S. woodiana) or medium Furthermore, in the first part of the season the pop- invasiveness and high risk (C. fluminea). C. flumina- ulation spread from the places covered with G. maxi- lis has a limited distribution and was assessed as a ma to drier areas, overgrown by Carex elata, and from non-invasive alien species of low risk. The eastern August it was distinctly limited to wetter areas with distribution boundary of C. gigas in Europe is at pres- G. maxima. Considering the species’ distribution in ent the Danish straits. The species’ invasiveness in the whole study area and the distribution of the veg- Poland was estimated as small, and the species is low etation patches, there is a metapopulation with two risk for Poland and the Baltic. distinct centres in two big patches with G. maxima, which are separated by an area with C. elata. Local floods which occur after massive rainfall provide fa- vourable microclimate conditions for the snails; re- sulting in a greatly increased abundance. The barrier of unfavourable habitat disappears temporarily and migration of individuals between the metapopula- tion centres is possible. Seminar Report 141

REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY OF SINANODONTA POLISH BOOK OF ANIMALS. PROTECTED WOODIANA (BIVALVIA: UNIONIDAE) SPECIES. IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO PREPARE AND PUBLISH POPULAR-SCIENTIFIC BOOKS IN Anna Maria Łabęcka1, Józef Domagała2 THE FORM OF PART PLAGIARISM AND PARTLY 1Instytut Nauk o Środowisku, Uniwersytet INFORMATION FROM UNCERTAIN SOURCES? Jagielloński, Kraków 1 2 2Katedra Zoologii Ogólnej, Uniwersytet Szczeciński Tomasz K. Maltz , Anna Sulikowska-Drozd 1Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) is an Asian spe- 2Katedra Zoologii Bezkręgowców i Hydrobiologii, cies whose natural main means of dispersal is its Uniwersytet Łódzki larva (glochidium) which parasitises fishes. Human activity contributes to its inter-continental spread. In The ”Polish Book of Animals. Endangered spe- Poland the first area of its occurrence included the cies” appeared in the spring of 2018. Its authors system of the heated Konin lakes. At present there were four entomologists from Silesian University: A. are numerous records of the species in more than 50 Taszakowski, D. Chłond, M. Kanturski and Ł. Depa water bodies; they include inland waters of natural (scientific editor). The book was published by Dragon thermal regime. In the canal of cooling waters of the from Bielsko-Biała. The scientific consultation was Dolna Odra Power Plant (W. Pomerania) S. woodiana done by Prof. A. Herczek. It is intended as a popu- has been recorded since 2002. In 2004–2006 each lar-scientific publication addressed to a wide range month we caught S. woodiana in the canal in order to of readers: pupils, students and people not associat- study its reproductive cycle. Using histological and ed with biology but interested in nature, who could stereological methods we examined the gonad struc- thus get familiar with the problem of endangered an- ture, and traced the changes in the gonads during imal species in our country. We analysed thoroughly oogenesis and spermatogenesis; we also ascertained the parts devoted to molluscs (29 species: 23 snails incubation periods of the larvae. The water in the and 6 bivalves). We decided to share our impressions canal of the Dolna Odra Power Plant does not freeze with the Seminar participants since in our opinion in winter, and its mean annual temperature is 18.4°C. the published data are partly plagiarised (including The sex ratio in the reservoir was: 34.66% males to our own data, as well as those of others, apparently 63% females, with 2.34% of hermaphroditic individ- reported as results obtained by the book’s authors, uals. The sex ratio differed significantly from the ex- since no references are given) or are, colloquially pected value of 1:1 (χ2 = 25.70, df = 1, P < 0.0001). speaking, ”taken from the ceiling”. The question is: Previtellogenic and vitellogenic oocytes were con- do the authors have a right to such behaviour and nected with the wall of ovarian follicle, and mature, to what extent the book is popular and/or scientific? ovulated oocytes were present in the lumen of the follicles. The females incubated glochidia in their ctenidia and presented multiple tachytictic incuba- SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE tion periods. Two spermatogenesis pathways were STRUCTURE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM observed in males. Individuals with mature gonads OF REPRESENTATIVES OF DIFFERENT were present during all the study months. The gam- SUBFAMILIES OF THE CLAUSILIIDAE ete production was continuous, but the highest re- (GASTROPODA: PULMONATA) productive activity was observed in spring and sum- mer. Because of the connection of the canal of the Tomasz K. Maltz1, Anna Sulikowska-Drozd2, Dolna Odra Power Plant with the Eastern Odra there Izabela Jędrzejowska3 is a real danger of S. woodiana spreading outside the 1Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski cooling waters, including the Landscape Park of the 2Katedra Zoologii Bezkręgowców i Hydrobiologii, Lower Odra Valley in Poland and the National Park Uniwersytet Łódzki Unteres Odertal in Germany. Study financed by the 3Zakład Biologii Rozwoju Zwierząt, Uniwersytet Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grant Wrocławski NN303 068 32/2367 to Anna Maria Łabęcka). Previous histological studies on the clausiliid re- productive system showed that the system was semi- triaulic. The spermoviduct is composed of three part- ly open ducts: oviduct, spermiduct (autospermiduct) and allospermiduct. After separation of the free vas deferens, the oviduct and allospermiduct, also part- ly connected, form the free oviduct. The allosper- miduct disappears just before the outlet of bursa 142 Seminar Report copulatrix into the oviduct. The analysed clausil- ulations. The objectives were not only to recognise iid species represent three subfamilies: Alopiinae the distribution, seasonal fluctuations or host pref- (Cochlodina laminata), Clausiliinae (Macrogastra ven- erences of the parasites, but also to compare those tricosa and Ruthenica filograna) and Baleinae (Alinda parameters with invasions of Digenea which occur in biplicata, Laciniaria plicata, Vestia gulo and V. turgida). the Lymnaeidae. Samples were taken monthly from Irrespective of the reproductive strategy (oviparity, May to September in selected water bodies of the egg retention, lecitotrophic viviparity) the repro- Polish Lowland in 2016–2017. The material includ- ductive systems were morphologically and histolog- ed 2,325 specimens of Lymnaea stagnalis, 890 Radix ically very similar. However, the serous cells of the sp. and 240 Stagnicola palustris. Bird schistosomes allospermiduct in the free oviduct differed in their were recorded in 1.24% of L. stagnalis and 0.44% of ultrastructure and secretion in the egg-retaining/vi- Radix sp. The prevalence of infection with various viparous and oviparous snails. Oviparous snails re- fluke species was the greatest among L. stagnalis. In tained their embryos mainly in the free oviduct (egg the summer, during intensive water recreation, the channel). In egg-retainers/viviparous species the ovi- prevalence of bird shistosomes and other flukes in duct was much longer compared to oviparous snails. the populations of L. stagnalis was the highest. The Histological studies on other clausiliid species pro- parasites were most often found in the largest snails vided further information on the reproductive sys- which probably serves their intensive propagation tem structure. We analysed histological structure of due to greater energy reserves and greater space for the spermoviduct and free oviduct in eight species larval development. It is likely that the high inva- of Phaedusinae: Reinia variegata, Oospira vanbuensis, sion intensity combined with increased resistance of Phaedusa paviei, Stereophaedusa horikawai, S. japonica, larger-sized hosts, as well as the highest prevalence Formosana swinhoei, F. formosensis and Neniophaedusa in summer, are the main reasons for the increasing nesiothauma, of different reproductive strategy (ovi- number of the swimmer’s itch cases. Study financed parity, egg retention, viviparity) and in the viviparous from individual grant WBiOŚ UMK in Toruń no. Idyla bicristata (Mentissoideinae). We observed differ- 2832-B, 2572-B. ences in the allospermiduct structure – from its typ- ical form (partly open duct with a layer of epithelial cells and a layer of subepithelial secretory cells) to BIVALVES AS SUBSTRATUM FOR DREISSENA the autospermiduct fragment with distinct presence POLYMORPHA (PALLAS, 1771) IN THERMALLY of subepithelial cells, i.e. a much reduced form or the POLLUTED LAKES lack of the described organ. We found that the free oviduct was much shortened, often devoid of allo- Anna Marszewska, Kamila Kopczyńska, Anna spermiduct, and the eggs were retained in the sper- Cichy moviduct. At present we are studying the ultrastruc- Zakład Zoologii Bezkręgowców, Uniwersytet ture of spermoviduct and free oviduct. Study within Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń NCN project no. 2016/21/B/NZ8/03086. Unionid bivalves are among the most endangered invertebrate groups worldwide. The native species TRICHOBILHARZIA SPP. – A DANGEROUS are especially threatened by invasions of other fil- MINORITY OF DIGENEA TRANSMITTED BY THE ter-feeding molluscs. An especially disturbing sit- LYMNAEIDAE uation of native unionids is observed in thermally polluted aquatic ecosystems in Poland. Such water Anna Marszewska, Anna Cichy, Elżbieta bodies provide favourable conditions for invasions Żbikowska of alien mollusc species, including Sinanodonta woo- Zakład Zoologii Bezkręgowców, Uniwersytet diana (I. Lea, 1834) or Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 1774). Their shells, like those of native species, are potentially favourable for settling of Dreissena pol- Bird schistosomes of the genus Trichobilharzia are ymorpha (Pallas, 1771) – a species which threatens the ethiological factor of the swimmer’s itch. Their the native unionids. The aim of our study was to main sources are lymnaeid snails. In an infected snail check if D. polymorpha could affect the spread of al- a single miracidium forms sporocysts which produce ien species in thermally polluted waters. Samples thousands of invasive furcocercariae. Attacking hu- were taken monthly from May till August 2016, in man skin results probably from disturbed chemore- three lakes within the cooling system of the power ception of the cercariae, but may also indicate an plants Konin and Pątnów. The material included 458 adaptive tendency of the bird parasites. In view of the specimens of native Unionidae, 164 of S. woodiana, increasing incidence of swimmer’s itch we studied and 347 of C. fluminea. In total, 1,468 specimens of the prevalence of bird shistosomes in lymnaeid pop- D. polymorpha were obtained from the shells of all Seminar Report 143 those bivalves. Significant differences were observed also a new discovery. The identified endosymbiotic in the frequency of forming zebra mussel colonies, bacteria are vertically and horizontally transmitted depending on the bivalve species. Anodonta anatina to the offspring by infected females. The effects in- (Linnaeus, 1758) and Unio tumidus (Philipsson, 1788) clude among other things disturbance of sex ratio, were the most often overgrown by the zebra mussel, hitchhiking genes, disturbance of DNA barcoding and while S. woodiana and C. fluminea were the least fre- decrease in the level of genetic variation in the pop- quently used as substrata. Besides, the results show ulation. The bacteria may cause cytoplasmic incom- that with increasing mean water temperature the patibility (CI) or trigger speciation (in the case of frequency of settling on the shells by D. polymorpha allopatric populations infected with different strains significantly decreased. It can be supposed that D. causing CI). One of the effects of infection with en- polymorpha does not pose a significant threat to the dosymbionts Wolbachia and Candidatus cardinium is invasive bivalves in the heated Konin lakes. affecting, through CI, the possibility of crossing be- tween the specimens. Thus the observed unbalanced sex ratio and the small genetic diversity of U. cras- THE FIRST REPORT ON THE OCCURRENCE sus may result from the presence of various strains OF ENDOSYMBIOTIC BACTERIA WHICH of endosymbionts or bacterial infection of some of CAUSE CYTOPLASMIC INCOMPATIBILITY the evolutionary lineages. We also detected an array IN THE ENDANGERED FRESHWATER UNIO of other bacteria, for example protecting cells from CRASSUS (PHILIPSSON, 1788): MICROBIOME oxidation stress (Desulfobacterales – 2,218 sequences). METAGENOMICS Further studies should provide the knowledge of the hitherto unknown mechanisms of symbiotic interac- Monika Mioduchowska1, Katarzyna Zając2, tions between bivalves and their endosymbiotic bac- Tadeusz Zając2, Jerzy Sell1 teria. It should be possible to analyse host-endosym- 1Katedra Genetyki i Biosystematyki, Wydział biont coevolution, effect of various endosymbionts Biologii, Uniwersytet Gdański on the host’s biology and genetic variation, and on 2Instytut Ochrony Przyrody, Polska Akademia Nauk, the disturbance of sex ratio and population dynamics. Kraków

The knowledge of the occurrence of bacterial en- GENETIC VARIATION IN THE GENUS dosymbionts in various taxa is increasing. Such intra- BRADYBAENA IN CENTRAL EUROPE cellular endosymbiosis has been shown to be more common than previously believed. Previous fail- Artur Osikowski1, Sebastian Hofman2, ures to identify bacterial endosymbionts in Bivalvia Aleksandra Rysiewska3, Andrzej Falniowski3 are explained by non-specific primers which were 1Zakład Anatomii Zwierząt, Instytut Nauk devised to identify endosymbionts in arthropods. Weterynaryjnych, Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. H. However, there are still hypotheses on the possibili- Kołłątaja, Kraków ty of occurrence of various bacterial endosymbionts 2Zakład Anatomii Porównawczej, Instytut Zoologii i in freshwater bivalves (there are abundant data on Badań Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński the occurrence of chemoautotrophic endosymbionts 3Zakład Malakologii, Instytut Zoologii i Badań in marine bivalves and single records of Wolbachia Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński in that group of animals). We performed metagen- omic sequencing (including V3–V4 fragment of 16S The development of modern molecular tech- rRNA) of the microbiome of U. crassus, which ren- niques and methods of phylogenetic analysis makes dered possible identification of bacterial endosym- it possible to verify traditional taxonomies based bionts. The analysis of sample composition for par- mainly on variation of morphological characters, and ticular taxa, based on homology with the data bases, to study relationships between phenotypic variation made it possible to classify the 344,815 obtained and genetic structure of populations. This is espe- sequences. We made a pioneer discovery of the en- cially useful in the case of terrestrial snails which, dosymbiotic bacterium Candidatus cardinium (1,082 because of their small mobility, are often character- sequences). An additional confirmation of its -pres ised by great interpopulation differences. Bradybaena ence in the new host was the positive amplification (Beck, 1937) is a group of terrestrial pulmonates in- of its fragment of 16S rRNA, using specific primers. habiting eastern and southern Asia and Europe. The We also found numerous bacterial sequences classi- objective of our studies was to estimate the genet- fied in the order Rickettsiales (2,553 sequences). For ic variation between the populations of the genus specific identification of the bacteria we tested the from Central Europe. For this purpose we acquired presence of Wolbachia using an array of primers – we specimens from more than 30 localities in Poland, obtained sequences of the endosymbiont which is Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. 144 Seminar Report

In phylogenetic analyses we used sequences of six regions associated with the main evolutionary line- genetic markers, from both mitochondrial (COI and ages of the genus. Except three species, most mem- 16S rRNA) and nuclear (ITS-1, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA bers of Monacha have rather small distribution rang- and H3) DNA. Financed by DS-3253/ZAZ. es. The three more widely distributed are Monacha cartusiana (O. F. Müller, 1774), M. cantiana (Montagu, 1803) and M. claustralis (Rossmässler, 1834). M. MONACHA FITZINGER, 1833 (EUPULMONATA: cartusiana, the type species of the genus, occurs in HYGROMIIDAE) IN EUROPE nearly all of Europe (except Scandinavia, Russia, Baltic countries, Belarus and northern Ukraine). It Joanna Pieńkowska1, Giuseppe Manganelli2, is also known to occur in Poland, though in few lo- Folco Giusti2, Alessandro Hallgass2, Roy calities. Our studies with the use of nucleotide se- Anderson3, Katerina Vardinoyannis4, quences of fragments of mitochondrial genes (COI Małgorzata Proćków5, Marcin Górka6, Atanas and 16SrDNA) and nuclear genes (histone H3 and Irikov7, Ewa Kosicka1, Andrzej Lesicki1 ITS2 fragment of the gene of ribosomal RNA) con- 1Zakład Biologii Komórki, Uniwersytet im. Adama firmed the close relationship of specimens from Mickiewicza, Poznań Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the Czech 2Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia- e dell’Ambiente, Universitá di Siena, Italy Herzegovina, Kosovo and Greece. M. cantiana occurs 3Belfast, N. Ireland, UK on the one hand in southern and central Britain (to 4Natural History Museum of Crete, University of southern Scotland), northern France, Germany and Crete, Herakleion, Greece Benelux, on the other in northern Spain, southern 5Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski France, Italy and several islands of the Tyrrhenian 6Wydział Geologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski Sea (Corsica, Sardinia, Elba) with a distinct gap in 7Department of Ecology, University of Plovdiv, central France, Germany and farther west. Our mo- Bulgaria lecular studies showed a close relationship of the British and Spanish populations with those from Monacha is the most speciose genus among the the region of Latium around Rome (thus confirm- Hygromiidae. Conchologically, it is very uniform, ing the hypothesis of Roman introduction to Britain and species are mainly distinguished based on the and Spain), and a taxonomic distinctness between a structure of their reproductive system. It is included few populations from the Apuan Alps, northern Italy in the Monachinae, and is distinct in that the dart and Austria and M. cantiana s. str. We demonstrated sac has been transformed into a single, hollow ap- the species distinctness of M. cemenelea Risso, 1826 pendiculum of the vagina, and in that the right om- which was earlier regarded as a form or subspecies matophore retractor is usually located to the left of of M. cantiana. vagina and penis. The genus is traditionally divided in three subgenera: Monacha s. str. (single appendic- ulum and no penial retractor), Paratheba Hesse, 1914 MOLLUSC ASSEMBLAGES FROM DEPOSITS (appendiculum and retractor present) and Metatheba OF THE MILL POND IN THE VALLEY OF Hesse, 1914 (retractor present, appendiculum ab- JAROSŁAWIANKA (SŁAWA PLAIN) AND THEIR sent). Besides the debate on the status of some other PALAEOCLIMATOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION subgenera (i.e. Platytheba Pilsbry, 1894 and Eutheba Nordsieck, 1993), recently the use of molecular Joanna Pietruczuk, Adam Wojciechowski characters (nucleotide sequences of several mito- Instytut Geografii i Studiów Regionalnych, chondrial and nuclear genes) has made it possible to Akademia Pomorska, Słupsk distinguish four new subgenera: Pontotheba Neiber et Hausdorf, 2016, Aegaeotheba Neiber et Hausdorf, We analysed mollusc assemblages of the mill 2016, Trichotheba Neiber et Hausdorf, 2016 and pond deposits in the valley of Jarosławianka (Sława Rhytidotheba Neiber et Hausdorf, 2016. It is as- Plain, NW. Poland). Our aim was to reconstruct the sumed that the region of differentiation of Monacha history of changes in the pond’s environment from is Anatolia, especially the Pontic region along the its origin in 1351 till the end of its functioning in Black Sea coast. From there the expansion routes 1960. Thirty seven taxa occurred in the pond during led on the one hand through the Mediterranean to its existence: 22 taxa of aquatic snails, 11 bivalves Central and Western Europe, on the other to the and 4 terrestrial snails. The fauna includes four as- Balkan Peninsula. Other routes of spread ran east- semblages of different ecological structure and di- ward and southward, to the Arab Peninsula, the versity: species-rich and abundant planorbid assem- Caucasus and Iran, and to northern Africa. Neiber blage (Pla), characteristic of the initial stage of the & Hausdorf (2016) have recently distinguished 9 pond’s existence, assemblage with Pisidium nitidum Seminar Report 145

(Pni), indicating changes in the pond’s hydrodynam- supervision. Since 1960 she started to cooperate ics and increased flow in the river, an oligomictic as- with Prof. Jan Rafalski in his Department of Animal semblage with opercula of Bithynia tentaculata (Bto) Morphology, and habilitated in 1967 to be nomi- and an assemblage with Lymnaeidae (Lym), from the nated senior lecturer in 1987. She became head of final stage of the pond’s functioning. The spatial and the newly created Department of Animal Taxonomy stratigraphic variation of the mollusc fauna in the and Ecology, and was nominated professor in 1990. profiles indicates variable hydrodynamic conditions Maria Jackiewicz retired in 1991 but for a long time and facial differentiation of bathymetric zones of the continued her research and teaching. She was much former mill pond. The variation made it possible to appreciated as an excellent academic teacher. Prof. distinguish four phases of the pond’s development: Jackiewicz published 58 papers, mainly on freshwater phase I (1351 till ca. 1640 AD) with very favoura- and terrestrial snails. Her main achievements were ble habitat conditions, high species richness and the cycle of publications on the Lymnaeidae, with a abundance, as well as uniform ecological structure penetrative analysis of anatomical features, and on of the malacocoenosis, phase II (ca. 1640–1720 AD), the Aciculidae. She described a few new species of with deterioration of living conditions, decrease in lymnaeids and Acicula. Initially (communist times!) richness and abundance as a result of hydrologi- she published in Polish journals. As soon as the com- cal changes in the pond and increased flow of the munism broke down, she became recognised and Jarosławianka, phase III (1720 till ca. 1850 AD), with sought after as the most experienced lymnaeid ex- another improvement of habitat conditions and ap- pert and she started publishing papers in co-author- pearance of species which had inhabited the pond in ship with foreign malacologists. Prof. Jackiewicz was its initial stage and phase IV (ca. 1850–1960 AD), an active participant of our Seminars, as well as in- associated with cessation of the pond’s functioning ternational conferences and congresses, and member as a result of another increase in the river’s flow of Unitas Malacologica and the Association of Polish and accumulation of sandy series of extra-channel Malacologicsts. For scientific and teaching work she and slope deposits. The phases are associated with was awarded numerous distinctions. In 1997 she be- hydrological factors resulting from climate changes. came honorary member of the Association of Polish The unfavourable conditions during phase II may re- Malacologists. One of the authors (BMP) met Prof. flect the Little Ice Age, whose culmination fell onto Jackiewicz early on. Thanks to this it was also pos- the Maunder minimum (1645–1715 AD). In such a sible to tell some nice and sometimes funny stories situation phase I, preceding the Little Ice Age, and about her. phase III following it would correspond to warmer periods, in 1350–1630 and 1720–1800 AD. PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF TROCHULUS HISPIDUS (LINNAEUS, 1758) AND ITS MARIA JACKIEWICZ (1920–2018) EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE

Beata M. Pokryszko1, Andrzej Lesicki2 Małgorzata Proćków1, Elżbieta Kuźnik- 2 3 4 1Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Kowalska , Jarosław Proćków , Paweł Błażej , 4 Wrocław Paweł Mackiewicz 2Zakład Biologii Komórki, Uniwersytet im. Adama 1Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Mickiewicza, Poznań 2Zakład Systematyki i Ekologii Bezkręgowców, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy we Wrocławiu Professor Maria Jackiewicz passed away on 3Zakład Biologii Roślin, Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy February 21st 2018. She was born in 1920 in we Wrocławiu Włocławek, went to elementary school in Sokółka 4Zakład Genomiki, Uniwersytet Wrocławski near Białystok, and then to a grammar school in Kalisz till 1939. The Second World War interrupted her In short-lived organisms, the limited duration schooling. After the War she passed her school-leav- of vegetation period should have a strong effect ing exams in 1946 in Kalisz. Maria Jackiewicz studied on the general growth strategy and ultimate body biology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural size. Trochulus hispidus may undergo such rules. It is Sciences, Poznań University, and got her master’s widespread in Europe and within its populations the degree in 1950. During the studies, she became stu- shells vary in size and shape. It is euryoecious, with dent-assistant at the Department of Zoology, Adam usually annual life cycle. These characters make it Mickiewicz University in Poznań; in 1951–1955 she a good model of studies on short-term phenotypic was promoted to assistant (1951), senior assistant variation. Morphometric analysis showed a wide in- (1952) and lecturer (1955); Maria Jackiewicz got her tra-population variation in shell size; the phenotyp- doctoral degree in 1959, under Prof. J. Urbański’s ic variation depended on habitat conditions which 146 Seminar Report changed through time. The shell shape did not un- or overlooked species, and in other cases to syn- dergo significant changes. A transplantation exper- onymise an array of “endemic” species. The objective iment showed a great plasticity of T. hispidus. The of the project was the analysis of genetic structure offspring of snails, which in the laboratory changed of metapopulations of Bythinella. Using selected mo- their shell size and shape (to larger and more ele- lecular markers, such as ITS1, ITS2, Histone H3 as vated, with narrow umbilicus), when transferred to well as COI, yielded sequences of fragments of mi- natural habitat, returned to smaller size and “typical” tochondrial and nuclear DNA. Furthermore, shell shell shape (flatter, with wider umbilicus). On the morphometrics was analysed (principle component whole, seasonal weather changes cause a seasonal analysis) as well as soft part morphology and anat- phenotypic variation. The high plasticity may in- omy. Molecular studies combined with analysis of crease the likelihood of population’s survival. Our morphological variation provided better criteria for studies provide further evidence for plasticity being distinguishing species. The studies included the favoured when the habitat is temporally heterogene- Balkans – the diversity centre of these snails, as well ous. Besides, we have shown that two morphologi- as Poland and Slovakia which are on the northern dis- cal forms: T. hispidus and T. sericeus, do not represent tribution border of Bythinella, thus making it possible distinct species, since they hybridise producing fer- to compare populations from the distribution centre tile offspring, and their morphological variation has with the marginal ones. The material came from 49 no genetic background. Their habitat selection is de- localities in the Balkans and in Central Europe: 22 in termined by light, forest cover, rainfall and temper- Slovakia, 8 in Slovenia and 8 in Poland, 6 in Bosnia- ature. T. sericeus prefers damp, shaded places, mainly Herzegovina, 2 in the Czech Republic, and one in forests, while T. hispidus selects drier, more insolated, Romania, Albania and Serbia each. open areas. The durability of hairs is also associated with the habitat preferences. Most often T. hispidus is devoid of them, while they are mostly present in T. MALACOFAUNA OF SMALL KARST FORMS IN sericeus. In the light of our results these forms should CISOWA SKAŁA (EASTERN PODHALE) be regarded as ecophenotypes. The observed pheno- typic plasticity corresponds to the plasticity of food Sylwia Skoczylas preferences and the life history which has become Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza w Krakowie, Wydział adjusted to variable habitat conditions (bet-hedg- Geologii, Geofizyki i Ochrony Środowiska, Katedra ing strategy). It was probably the large variation in Geologii Ogólnej i Geoturystyki, Kraków the ecophenotypic and genetic structure between populations that made it possible for T. hispidus to Small karst forms hold deposits with faunal re- survive the difficult climate of glacial steppe. The mains, usually mollusc shells and vertebrate bones. analyses were done within NCN grant 2016/21/B/ The composition and structure of such subfossil NZ8/03022. assemblages make it possible to reconstruct palae- oenvironment on both regional and (what is espe- cially interesting) local scale. The study included late DISTINGUISHING SPECIES OF THE GENUS Glacial and Holocene deposits of small karst forms BYTHINELLA IN THE BALKANS AND CENTRAL within an isolated limestone outcrop. Cisowa Skała EUROPE is located in the eastern part of the Podhale basin in the Carpathians. The basin is bisected by a series Aleksandra Rysiewska of Mesosoic limestones. The rock forms an isolated, Zakład Malakologii, Instytut Zoologii i Badań partly rocky hill of relative altitude of 55 m. Its north- Biomedycznych, Uniwersytet Jagielloński ern slope is covered by coniferous forest with a high proportion of Picea, while the southern, eastern and In spite of the decades of studies, first morpholog- western slopes are devoid of forest and covered with ical (shell and soft parts), then allozymes and later swards, often xerothermic, and shrubs. The mala- DNA sequences, criteria for distinguishing species cological analysis was based on 35 samples from 10 within Bythinella remain uncertain. For years the profiles. Fifty seven species of terrestrial snails were studies were limited to morphology which was often identified; they were represented by 14,000- speci insufficient even to identify the genus; moreover, the mens. Besides, there were some bones and teeth of morphology was usually described and illustrated small vertebrates representing seven taxa. The snails in a cursory way, and mainly shell characters were were classified into nine ecological groups. Five fau- considered at the species level. Detailed studies of nal assemblages were distinguished which repre- morphological characters, combined with the use of sented different habitat types and were associated molecular markers, in some cases make it possible to with different climatic phases of the late Glacial and demonstrate the distinctness of earlier synonymised Holocene. Based on the assemblages it was possible Seminar Report 147 to characterise the environmental changes within it seems that marine molluscs were his greatest pas- the last 12,000 years, and to point to the specificity sion. It was to them that he devoted as many as six of Cisowa Skała. The assemblages representing the books; the last of them, still unfinished, is a challenge late Glacial and Early and Middle Holocene indicate to us, Polish malacologists, because we need to bring that Cisowa Skała was then forest-covered; the forest it to publication. Regretfully, the planned eight chap- was initially coniferous and then – with progressing ter of the book, “Głowonogi jako wzorce techniczne” climate warming – mixed and deciduous. Climate [Cephalopods as technical templates] will remain changes in the Late Holocene led to a strong differ- in the Author’s thoughts only. Not all the books entiation of conditions within the rock. Forests were were illustrated with shell photographs – the “Atlas preserved on its relatively damp northern slopes. On muszli ślimaków morskich” [Atlas of marine snail slopes of other exposition forests disappeared to be shells] is a collection of nearly 500 excellent shell replaced by dry-loving sward and shrub formations. pictures painted by the Author with gouashe with The evolution of environment of Cisowa Skała dif- such precision that not only species but specimens fered from that in the adjacent areas. The differ- are recognisable. Those shell portraits were even ex- ences were the most distinct in the late Glacial and hibited on two occasions in art galleries in Kraków Late Holocene. In the former period the region of and Zakopane. Professor Samek was a shell collector, Podhale was dominated by tundra or steppe-tundra mainly collecting marine shells which, kept in sever- while Cisowa Skała was forest-covered. The second al cabinets, occupied a considerable part of his home. period witnessed development of forests in Podhale He said that he had got his first shell from his moth- and their disappearance in Cisowa Skała. The main er, bought not on the seaside but in the Kraków city reason for such differences is the specific geological square. According to his motto ”you should always structure and relief of Cisowa Skała. have something to do” Prof. Samek was interested not only in molluscs. In the 1950s and 1960s he was fascinated with model making, resulting in co- “YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING operation with the journal “Mały Modelarz” [Small TO DO. THEN YOU REALLY LIVE” – Modeller], for which he prepared designs of more ABOUT PROFESSOR ANDRZEJ SAMEK than 100 models, mainly ships, but also airplanes and vehicles. He used his knowledge to write his- Ewa Stworzewicz1, Andrzej Lesicki2 toric books about the fleet of the Hapsburg Empire, 1Instytut Systematyki i Ewolucji Zwierząt, Polska or the origin and development of Austro-Hungarian Akademia Nauk, Kraków aviation. He shared his extensive knowledge also 2Zakład Biologii Komórki, Instytut Biologii with readers of such journals as Morze [Sea], Eksperymentalnej, Uniwersytet Adama Wszechświat [Universe], Przekrój [Cross-section] Mickiewicza, Poznań and others in which he published several dozen ar- ticles. He is even author of a kids’ book “Przygody The title is a quotation which concluded a 2014 jeżyka” [Little Hedgehog’s Adventures] published interview for “Dziennik Polski” on the 90th birth- in 2015; the stories in the book were written in the day of Prof. Andrzej Samek. He stayed true to these 1970s, upon request of his daughter who was then words till the end of his days, when he was work- small. Professor Andrzej Samek attended many of ing on his last book, this time about cephalopods; the Polish Malacological Seminars since 1985; there sadly he failed to produce the last chapter. Prof. dr he presented results of his current malacological ac- hab. Andrzej Samek passed away on January 14th tivities, often associated with bionics. He was mem- 2018. By education he was a specialist in machine ber of the Association of Polish Malacologists and technology and automatics, but later bionics became since 2007 its Honorary Member. the focus of his interest. He is regarded as the found- er of the Kraków school of bionics. Since 1956 he was employed at Kraków Polytechnics; having re- OVIPAROUS CLAUSILIIDS OF THE SUBFAMILY tired in 1994 for a long time he remained associat- PHAEDUSINAE – WHAT DETERMINES THE EGG ed with it. In 2003–2014 Prof. Samek worked at the SIZE AND SHAPE? Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics of the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy. His scientific Anna Sulikowska-Drozd1, Tomasz K. Maltz2 production includes 240 publications in national and 1Katedra Zoologii Bezkręgowców i Hydrobiologii, international journals, 23 books and 8 monographs. Uniwersytet Łódzki He supervised 9 doctoral theses, refereed 12 such 2Muzeum Przyrodnicze, Uniwersytet Wrocławski theses and 3 applications for professorship. Many of his 23 books reflect Prof. Samek’s non-professional Phaedusinae are a speciose subfamily of the interests. These interests were wide-ranging, though Clausiliidae; they occur in Asia. Its members repre- 148 Seminar Report sent a variety of reproductive strategies: oviparity, egg Częstochowa Jura made it possible to reconstruct the retention and viviparity. Based on data from laboratory environment in which man lived in the younger part culture of 17 species from Georgia, Vietnam, Taiwan of the last glacial and the Holocene: it varied from and Japan we compared the egg size with the parents’ dry and cool open habitats of the end of Pleistocene, shell size. The adult shell height ranged from 9.8 to through taiga of the Early Holocene, deciduous and 42.4 mm (in Zaptyx kikaiensis and Megalophaedusa mar- mixed forests, and effects of oceanic climate during tensi, respectively), the number of whorls from 9.0 to the climatic optimum, to decreasing density of for- 17.5 (in Pravispira semilamellata and Tyrannophaedusa mi- ests in the Late Holocene and historic times. The kado, respectively). The egg size (major × minor diam- studies confirmed the long-postulated methodolog- eter) varied from 1.4 × 1.1 mm to 7.4 × 4.3 mm (in ical discrepancies in the archaeological and malaco- Zaptyx kikaiensis and Megalophaedusa martensi, respec- logical analysis. Samples processed on sieves with tively). The egg shape ranged from nearly spherical too great mesh size (2 mm), which are standard in to much elongated; the shape index (major to minor archaeological studies, were distinctly impoverished diameter ratio) reached extreme values in Formosana in small snail species which are sometimes crucial for swinhoei (1.1), Tyrannophaedusa mikado (1.8) and palaeoenvironmental interpretation. Besides, the risk Pontophaedusa funiculum (2.0). Three groups of ovipa- of redeposition in cave environment also affects ar- rous Phaedusinae could be distinguished based on the chaeological conclusions. These phenomena became distribution of calcium crystals in the egg envelope. apparent during correlation of loess strata of caves The results indicate that the egg size is correlated with and rock shelters of the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura, the parent size, but the correlation differs among the where (probably as a result of activities of burrowing phylogenetic lineages within the subfamily. Studies animals) typically loess species were accompanied by financed within NCN grant 2016/21/B/NZ8/03086. those characteristic of deciduous forests. Freshwater molluscs are also used in geoarchaeological research. Malacological, geological and palynological analyses MALACOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AS APPLIED IN of lacustrine-fluviatile sediments uncovered in the GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES courtyard of the Archaeological-Historic Museum in Elbląg made it possible to reconstruct sedimentation Marcin Szymanek conditions and palaeoenvironmental changes consid- Wydział Geologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski ering human activity in the area, especially construc- tion of the wooden fortress, dendrochronoligally dat- The use of malacological analysis in geoarchaeo- ed as 1245–1302 AD; its remains were found above logical studies is important in research of Quaternary the lake deposits. Three phases of lake development deposits; subfossil mollusc assemblages are among were distinguished based on malacological analysis the principal (besides vertebrates and palynological correlated with historic data. The lake evolved from analysis) sources of information on climate-environ- a deeper water body (probably ca. 2.1 thousand years mental conditions of deposition in archaeological ago, in the “Roman period”), through a shallowing strata. Malacological analysis also helps to ascertain flow lake, to a shallow, overgrowing lake dated as stratigraphy of cultural levels. These problems are Early Middle Ages. Uncovering of the lake’s shore presented based on a few sites of middle and upper zone made it possible to build an oak-wood structure Palaeolithic age as well as historic times. The oldest and then the stone castle in Elbląg. At that time open localities include an archaeological complex in the en- landscape with predominance of fields and pastures virons of Katta Sai (western Tian-Shan) in Uzbekistan. occupied most of the area, as indicated by the high The mollusc fauna accompanying archaeological proportion of herbaceous plants, cultivated plants finds (the same as the present-day fauna of mountain and weeds in the pollen spectra. chains of Central Asia) indicates that the climate-en- vironmental conditions during the Palaeolithic were close to the recent ones. The presence of species char- SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATION OF acteristic of dry, cold climate, such as Vallonia asiatica BIVALVE DISTRIBUTION IN THE POLISH BALTIC (Nevill, 1878) or Laevozebrinus eremita (Reeve, 1849) IN RELATION TO THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL above the cultural level may indicate development of FACTORS glacial conditions which, based on the thermolumi- nescence dating (TL) correlate with the Last Glacial Jan Warzocha Maximum (~26 thousand years; MIS 2). However, Morski Instytut Rybacki – Państwowy Instytut the position of the cultural levels and uranium-tho- Badawczy, Gdynia rium dates from snail shells suggest an older age (> 38 thousand years; MIS 3?). Analysis of terrestrial Because of the relative stability of their commu- snail assemblages from cave deposits in the Kraków- nities, long-lived bivalves are regarded as good in- Seminar Report 149 dicators of the changes of environmental conditions ic substance). The large density of filtrators A. anati- in the Baltic. At the same time they are important na and D. polymorpha combined with increased probi- components of the diet of bottom-dwelling and dem- otic concentration brought about mainly an increase ersal fishes as well as wintering aquatic birds. Polish in conductivity, decrease in oxygen content and pH. studies of the Baltic bivalves have been conducted The changes in these parameters were greater in the since the 1920s. Initially they were only qualitative case of A. anatina. When using probiotic substance and limited to the Gulf of Gdańsk. The first quantita- for recultivation purposes it is necessary to deter- tive studies in the area corresponding to the present mine the maximum dose which is safe for the eco- Territorial Waters of Poland fell on 1948–1952. Later system. At high density of bivalves on the bottom an research, which is still continued, revealed chang- excessive concentration of probiotic substance may es in species composition and structure of bivalve lead to oxygen deficit and thus to the bivalves’ death, communities, as well as in distribution, abundance resulting in an excess of dead biomass instead of the and biomass. The deep-water Macoma calcarea has expected reduction in biogenic substances. Based on become completely extinct; the same is true of the the reaction of young D. polymorpha and L. stagnalis shallow-water Parvicardium hauniense. A new dreiss- (growth rate and survivorship) we devised a test to enid has appeared – Mytilopsis leucophaeata. Genetic optimise the concentration of probiotic substance analyses have shown the occurrence of Mytilus tros- in the planned recultivation work. The test should sulus. The greatest long-term changes in the bivalve be based on water from the water body which is to distribution, abundance and biomass have been ob- be recultivated. The biotest makes it possible to ad- served in the Bornholm, Gdańsk and Gotland deeps, just the dose to a level which prevents unfavourable where below the depth of 60–80 m there was an al- changes in the ecosystem. The test was registered at most complete disappearance of bivalves. The chang- Patent Office in 2017. Study within project NCBiR es are associated with oxygen deficits caused by the „GEKON” no. 267948. lack of inflow from the North Sea, and eutrophica- tion. A considerable reduction in the abundance and biomass, as well as size structure changes in Limecola SQUID FEEDING IN THE FALKLAND- balthica were noted in the early 20th c., also in the PATAGONIAN SHELF shallow zone, on the muddy bottom of the outer Puck Bay. Because of the observed deterioration of Norbert Wolnomiejski fish condition and decrease in fish biomass, there is Stacja Badawcza Morskiego Instytutu Rybackiego, discussion on the potential effect of changes in the Świnoujście bivalve communities on the availability of food to fishes and wintering water birds. The squids (Theutida) are an order of Cephalopoda with slightly over 300 species; they reach the size of 1 cm to ca. 20 m. Most of them are much valued as sea FRESHWATER MOLLUSCS D. POLYMORPHA, A. food and are caught worldwide. Some squid species ANATINA AND L. STAGNALIS AS INDICATORS OF occur in such numbers and densities that they are DOSAGE OF PROBIOTIC SUBSTANCE objects of industrial catches. One of the most pro- ductive regions of such catches is the south-western Barbara Wojtasik1, Małgorzata Zbawicka2 part of the Atlantic: Falkland and Patagonian shelf. 1HydroBiolLab, Firma Naukowo-Badawcza i The distinct dominant in the catches, especially Laboratorium Hydrobiologiczne, Gdynia near the Falklands, is Illex argentinus. It is followed 2Instytut Oceanologii, Polska Akademia Nauk, by Loligo gahi and, periodically, Martialia hyadesi. The Zakład Genetyki i Biotechnologii Morskiej, Sopot Polish fishing fleet, after an adequate modification of its fishing equipment, started exploiting squids We tested the effect of a liquid probiotic sub- in those areas in the late 1970s; in 1982–1984 the stance in various concentrations on common mol- catches were ca. 110 thousand tonnes per year. In lusc species: bivalves Anodonta anatina (Unionidae) 1984–1992, in south-western Atlantic, the fleets of and Dreissena polymorpha, (Dreissenidae), and a snail all countries caught on average 500 thousand tonnes Lymnaea stagnalis. The tests were run on sediments and per year. Assuming that it could constitute ca. 50% water from ecologically different lakes: oligotrophic, of the total biological production of the cephalopods, eutrophic and degraded. In each experiment, at con- such huge masses of fast-growing squids required a stant intervals, we measured temperature (T), pH, huge food basis. Contrary to the then common view electric conductivity (C), percent content of oxygen on squid food, it could not be fish since at high lat- and dissolved oxygen. No acute toxicity of the probi- itudes of the Southern Hemisphere there are few otic was observed in any experiment (no lethal effect small-sized fishes, especially clupeids. All the shelf after transfer of molluscs to the culture with probiot- bottom off the south coast of South America and the 150 Seminar Report extensive shelf around the Falklands are inhabited by A COMPREHENSIVE PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC great numbers of decapods of the family Galatheidae STUDY OF ARION VULGARIS MOQUIN- (Munida gregaria and M. subrugosa). Munida species TANDON, 1855 (GASTROPODA: PULMONATA: form more than 50% of the bottom macrofauna ARIONIDAE) IN EUROPE within their distribution range. Their larvae hatch in August. After metamorphosis in December great Kamila S. Zając1, Bjørn A. Hatteland2,3, masses of their postlarval stages remain plankton- Barbara Feldmeyer4, Markus Pfenninger4, ic till the end of autumn (June) forming extensive Anna Filipiak5, Leslie R. Noble6, Dorota dense schools, coming to the surface, especially at Lachowska-Cierlik7 night, as red “clouds”. This is the so called lobster 1Instytut Nauk o Środowisku, Uniwersytet krill. Already preliminary observations showed that Jagielloński, they formed the main component of the squid diet. 2Department of Biological Sciences, University of In 1985 I started a study on the feeding habits of Bergen, Norway, the local squids. I analysed their stomach contents. 3Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Fresh food was distinguished from digested food and Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), NIBIO undigested remains. The food of Illex and Martialia, Ullensvang, Norway, during their intensive growth and maturation (II–V), 4Biodiversity und Climate Research Centre by was clearly dominated by postlarval forms of Munida, Senckenberg Naturforschende Gesellschaft, which constituted 80–95% of their stomach contents. Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany, Other species of crustacean macroplankton, as well 5Instytut Ochrony Roślin – Państwowy Instytut as fish and squid, were accessory food items. The Badawczy, main inhabitants of the region, Illex squid, displayed 6Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord a feeding peak during the day. In the second half of University, Norway, night most individuals had empty stomachs, or con- 7Instytut Zoologii i Badań Biomedycznych, taining only undigested remains. Invasive, deep-wa- Uniwersytet Jagielloński ter squid Martialia, which temporarily appeared on the Falkland shelf, fed intensively during the 24 hrs. Arion vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855 is regarded as There was a definite change in the kind of food and one of the 100 most invasive species in Europe. Its intensity of feeding by Illex argentinus at the end of native distribution range is uncertain, but for many May and in June; having reached maturity the squid years the Iberian Peninsula has been considered as migrated northward, even to the region of middle the area of origin. However, recent studies indicate Argentina and there they gathered near the bot- that A. vulgaris probably originated from France. We tom on the shelf’s slope, at the depths of 500–1000 investigated the genetic structure of 33 newly found- m, to spawn. At the decreased intensity of feeding ed European populations (Poland, Norway, Germany, which is characteristic of the reproductive season, France, Denmark, Switzerland) of this pest slug, their main prey was bathypelagic fishes of the family based on two molecular markers, mitochondrial cy- Myctophidae. Squid and deep-water shrimps supple- tochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI, mtDNA) and nu- mented the diet. In such areas and at such depths clear zinc finger (ZF, nDNA). Our research included the lobster krill did not occur. According to other au- published data from two contradictory studies, giv- thors Loligo gahi, commercially caught on the south- ing a total of 95 populations of A. vulgaris from 26 ern fringe of the Falkland shelf near the island of countries. The results of this analysis suggest that Beauchene, were outside the southern boundary of there is no clear geographic structure within A. vul- the lobster krill. They mainly fed on other species garis. Haplotypes were largely mixed and only a lim- of large planktonic crustaceans (Euphausidae and ited pattern of haplotype distribution could be found Amphipoda). Loligo gahi fed three times more inten- in most parts of Europe. This situation might be ex- sively in the day than in the night. plained by high dispersal abilities, high adaptability to new habitat conditions, as well as by rapid passive dispersal caused mostly by human activity. The hap- lotype patterns in our results confirm thatA. vulgaris probably originated in France. Seminar Report 151

THERMAL PREFERENCES OF SNAILS INFECTED all its energy reserves into the parasite’s needs. The WITH BIRD SCHISTOSOMES AND THE RISK OF ambient temperature can thus be expected to have SWIMMER’S ITCH a significant effect on the biology of both -ectother mic partners of the interaction. We studied ther- Elżbieta Żbikowska mal preferences of Lymnaea stagnalis infected with Zakład Zoologii Bezkręgowców, Wydział Biologii Trichobilharzia szidati and Planorbarius corneus infected i Ochrony Środowiska, Uniwersytet Mikołaja with Bilharziella polonica, using an experimental set Kopernika, Toruń with longitudinal thermal gradient. The infected hosts of the larvae of both the schistosome species Cercariae of bird schistosomes worldwide are preferred significantly lower temperatures compared known to cause swimmer’s itch. Host snails are the to the temperature selected by non-infected snails. source of cercariae; for months they release thou- The host’s survivorship and the number of released sands of invasive larvae. The crucial role of snails cercariae depended on the temperature. The results – intermediate hosts of the schitosomes – in the indicate that the thermal preferences of the infected transmission of swimmer’s itch results from a good intermediate hosts increased their chance of surviv- adjustment of partners which is manifest in the fact al, and thus affected the period of cercariae release, that the host’s reproduction is completely inhibited increasing the swimmer’s itch threat in the environ- during the patency period while the host channels ment.