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New paper: Hitchhiking or hang gliding? Dispersal strategies of two cereal‑feeding eriophyoid mite species

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 […]

6 October 2021 by

New paper: source-sink dynamics as a strategy to cope with temporally fluctuating environment

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 […]

1 September 2021 by

New paper: Two new Wheat streak mosaic virus isolates and their transmission

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 […]

4 June 2021 by

New paper: adaptive responses to temperature increase in Daphnia

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 […]

7 May 2021 by

Tips and tricks on culturing water bears

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 […]

10 April 2021 by

New paper: temperature-dependent development and survival of an invasive mite

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 […]

31 March 2021 by

Scholarship for Ania

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!

4 March 2021 by

New paper: a comprehensive approach for investigating passive dispersal

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., […]

15 September 2020 by

New paper in Bird Study

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 […]

8 September 2020 by

National Science Centre PRELUDIUM grants

Agnieszka Majer and Kamila Karpicka-Ignatowska received PRELUDIUM grants financed by the National Science Centre in Poland. Agnieszka will study competition-dispersal trade-off in phytophagous mites. Kamila will find out whether passively dispersed herbivores rely on semiochemical cues when undertaking dispersal and how the ability to detect kairomones depends on the level of host specialization and environmental […]

21 May 2020 by