Food and light availability induce plastic responses in fire salamander larvae from contrasting environments.

Phenotypic plasticity has been proposed as a mechanism facilitating the colonisation and adaptation to novel environments, such as caves. However, phenotypic plasticity in subterranean environments remains largely unexplored. Here, we test for plasticity in growth and development of fire salamander larvae () from subterranean and surface habitats, in response to contrasting food availability and light conditions.

Effect of Grazing Management on Predator Soil Mite Communities (Acari: Mesotigmata) in Some Subalpine Grasslands from the Făgăraş Mountains-Romania.

For the first time in Romania, a complex study was conducted on soil mite communities from two types of managed grasslands: ungrazed and intensively grazed. The study was accomplished in August 2018, in the Făgăraş Mountains. Within the soil mite communities (Mesostigmata), 30 species were identified, from 80 soil samples.

A Multi-Community Approach in Biodiversity Assessment of a Peat Bog in the Southern Carpathians (Romania) and Implications for Conservation.

Although natural peatlands have been recognized as an important type of wetlands because they support high biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services, the value of peatlands both in biodiversity research and conservation is still largely underestimated. Our study characterizes the biodiversity and conservation value of Peşteana peat bog, an upland mesotrophic peat bog, located in the Southern Carpathians, Romania. More specifically, we: (1) characterized the invertebrate (i.

Standing genetic variation as a potential mechanism of novel cave phenotype evolution in the freshwater isopod, Asellus aquaticus.

Novel phenotypes can come about through a variety of mechanisms including standing genetic variation from a founding population. Cave animals are an excellent system in which to study the evolution of novel phenotypes such as loss of pigmentation and eyes. Asellus aquaticus is a freshwater isopod crustacean found in Europe and has both a surface and a cave ecomorph which vary in multiple phenotypic traits.

Soil Mite (Acari: Mesostigmata) Communities and Their Relationships with Some Environmental Variables in Experimental Grasslands from Bucegi Mountains in Romania.

The main objective of the study was to analyse, for the first time in Romania, the relationships between five experimental grasslands and Mesostigmata fauna, considering: (1) the structural differences between mite communities; (2) the variations in some important abiotic factors (vegetation cover, soil temperature, soil moisture content, pH, soil resistance at penetration); and (3) the influence of these abiotic factors on the structures of Mesostigmata mite communities and the dispersal rates of these communities between the investigated plots. In total, 250 soil samples were analysed in July 2017, revealing the presence of 30 species, with 1163 individuals. Using the multivariate analysis, we observed that each experimental plot was defined by characteristic environmental conditions, i.

Soil mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) as bioindicators for environmental conditions from polluted soils.

An anthropic ecosystem from Romania was investigated from acarological, vegetation and chemical point of view. The community structures of two groups of mites were studied (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) from a tailing pond, using transect method, in correlation with concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cu, Pb, Ni, Mn and Zn), with abiotic factors (altitude, aspect, soil temperature, soil humidity, soil pH) and biotic factor (vegetation coverage). Taking into account the mite communities, in total, 30 mite species were identified, with 1009 individuals and 18 immatures (10 species with 59 individuals, 5 immatures of Mesostigmata and 20 species with 950 individuals, 13 immatures of Oribatida).

Environmental determinants of the old oaks in wood-pastures from a changing traditional social-ecological system of Romania.

Large, old trees are keystone ecological structures, their decline having disproportional ecological consequences. There is virtually no information available regarding the status and occurrence of old trees in traditional cultural landscapes from Eastern Europe. In this study, we explore the environmental determinants of the old oaks found in wood-pastures from a changing traditional rural landscape from Central Romania.