In this article, we explain what mechanisms influence the effective colonisation of plants by parastic mites. The paper is part of Alicja’s PhD thesis. Congratulations! The study was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland, research grant no. 2017/27/N/NZ8/00305 and the Dean Faculty of Biology grant no. GDWB-07/2018. Laska, A., Przychodzka, A., Puchalska, E., Lewandowski, […]
In this study, dispersal strategies of two phytophagous eriophyoid mite species: Aceria tosichella (wheat curl mite, WCM) and Abacarus hystrix (cereal rust mite, CRM) were investigated. We estimated their dispersal success using different dispersal agents: wind and vectors. Results showed that both species dispersed mainly with wind currents whereas phoretic dispersal was rather accidental, as […]
How can species persist when their habitat disappears? Theoretically, in seasonal environments, habitat sinks (where population growth is zero or negative) could serve as temporal stepping-stones (refuges) for specialists, but this possibility has not been demonstrated to date. By combining laboratory experiments and field surveys, we demonstrated the importance of sink habitats for population persistence […]
A recent paper, co-authored by Wiktoria Szydło, reported the full genomes of two European Wheat streak mosaic virus isolates, provided their molecular and biological characteristics and transmissibility by wheat curl mite (lineage MT-8), the only known vector of the virus. Although widely present in Europe, the virus transmissibility was formally checked for the first time […]
A new paper, co-authored by Lechosław Kuczyński from our Lab, was published in Limnology and Oceanography. The authors investigated thermal adaptation of Daphnia from lakes that had been artificially warmed for six decades and served as a whole ecosystem model of future temperature increase. Daphnia from heated lakes evolved larger body size, which is contradictory […]
A new paper on culturing tardigrades summarizes published methods and provides clear protocols for culturing tardigrades to use in taxonomic and experimental studies. The paper, authored by the multidisciplinary team led by Milena Roszkowska and Łukasz Kaczmarek from Department of Bioenergetics and Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, was co-authored by […]
In our recent paper we evaluated temperature-dependent development and survival of an invasive wheat curl mite Aceria tosichella at a wide range of temperatures. The results allow for predicting and monitoring the mite population growth rate. They also provide information promoting more efficient and effective manipulation of mite laboratory colonies and testing a wide array […]
Ania Radwańska has been awarded an individual scholarship of the Minister of Education and Science for the academic year 2020/2021 for outstanding achievements. Congratulations!
Our recent paper presents a protocol for studying passive dispersal of microscopic invertebrates which includes the construction of versatile dispersal tunnels, a theoretical framework quantifying the movement via wind or vectors, and a hierarchical Bayesian approach appropriate to the structure of the dispersal data. Kuczyński, L., Radwańska, A., Karpicka-Ignatowska, K., Laska, A., Lewandowski, M., […]
Our recent paper published in Bird Study describes habitat preferences of the Crested Lark in western Poland. It seems that the Crested Lark is one of a few species that benefit from the intensification of agriculture. More info: Mateusz Lisiecki, Łukasz Dylewski, Barbara E. Kistowska & Marcin Tobółka (2020) The Crested Lark Galerida cristata as […]
