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Habitat selection by dragonflies - effect of littoral and riparian vegetation
Bonková, Anita ; Černý, Martin (advisor) ; Waldhauser, Martin (referee)
Dragonflies form one of the important pillars of most aquatic ecosystems and play an important role in maintaining their balance. The main goal of this bachelor's thesis is to summarize current knowledge about the habitat preferences of members of the order Odonata, with a focus on the effect of littoral and riparian vegetation, which are critical components of aquatic biotopes and significantly influence the distribution, abundance and reproductive success of dragonflies. In my work, I focus on all developmental stages, from larvae to adults. These findings are important for the maintenance and revitalization of freshwater ecosystems, in which it is necessary to pay attention to the composition of littoral and riparian vegetation to support the diverse needs of this unique insect order. Key words: habitat preference, dragonflies, Odonata, riparian vegetation, littoral vegetation
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Habitat and pairing preferences among coexisting lineages of the Gammarus fossarum species complex in the Western Carpathians
Bystřický, Pavel Karel ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Čiampor, Fedor (referee)
In recent years, due to the development of molecular methods, a great level of cryptic diversity across multiple taxa was discovered. One of these groups are freshwater amphipods. Amphipods due to lower dispersal and recolonization abilities present a suitable model system for studying potential ecological interactions among genetically distant lineages during their secondary contact. In this thesis, I studied the cryptic species complex Gammarus fossarum in a contact zone of several genetically divergent lineages known from the previous research in the Vsetin region. I focused on two main questions: Firstly, whether there are preferences among individuals from different lineages for sexual partners from the same lineage rather than from the different one (i.e., I test for the potential existence of prezygotic reproduction barrier between the lineages). I tested this hypothesis by collecting pairs from natural contact zone and also (in a limited extent) by an aquarium experiment. Secondly, I tested whether these lineages differ in mesohabitat (pool versus riffle) distribution in syntopy, which may indicate competition among lineages and potential diversification of their ecological niches. Animals from nine localities (with expected contact of two lineages per locality) were examined. In more than...
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Effect of vegetation structure on abundance of lowland forest birds in Czechia and Slovakia
Tyčová, Barbora ; Hořák, David (advisor) ; Chmel, Kryštof (referee)
The vegetation provides an ecological space for birds and its structure reflects the availability of this place and resources. What specific influence does the vegetation structure have on bird abundance and which vegetation parameters are the most essential for bird species are classic, but still topical questions. The aim of this work was to find an answer using a study focused on birds in floodplain forests and to determine whether microhabitat characteristics affect the distribution of bird species within a single habitat. The data of this work were collected by the point counting method in six floodplain forests of the Czech Republic and Slovakia and statistically evaluated using regression, correlation and redundancy analysis. The birds were observed on a larger and smaller spatial scale. It was also used the study of the saturation of the environment by bird species over time and for the first time the analysis of habitat photo documentation as an alternative way for describing the vegetation structure. Results show that the analysis of vegetation photographs can be used to explain and predict avian abundance and thus create a new suitable method for birds' studies. Some bird species such as the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) and the Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) have...
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Potravní ekologie koní v kontextu ochranářského managementu krajiny
HÁJKOVÁ, Pavlína
This thesis provides a review of knowledge available on wild and feral horse feeding ecology, habitat preferences, competition overlap with other herbivores and their impact on vegetation. In summary, horses appear valuable for management of grasslands, but less suitable for regulation of shrubs and trees, especially when they are compared to cattle and cervids, which are more able to eliminate woody plants. Together with a tabular overview of literature on feeding ecology and plant taxa eaten by horses in the Holarctic realm, an optimalized protocol is provided to facilitate proper field collection of data about the feeding ecology and behavioral repertoire in large ungulates.
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Associations of fish with various types of littoral habitats in reservoirs
ŠMEJKAL, Marek
The study investigated fish habitat association within littoral habitat of four Czech reservoirs. Three most common habitats within reservoir: beaches (former meadows), stump fields (former forest) and rubble slopes were chosen for the study. The patterns of fish biomass, abundance and species structure were analysed based on robust data obtained from gillnet sampling. Adult bream Abramis brama, white bream Blicca bjoerkna and roach Rutilus rutilus were associated with beaches and stump fields with gentle slope of the bank, whereas perch Perca fluviatilis, ruffe Gymnocephalus cernuus, asp Leuciscus aspius and pike Esox lucius were associated with rubble slopes. We demonstrated fish species are not distributed homogeneously in the littoral and that that most common species are associated with distinct habitats.
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Habitatové preference skorce vodního (\kur{Cinclus cinclus}) na tocích okresu Tachov.
LIŠKA, Martin
In the first part of the thesis, the number of breeding pairs of the White-throated Dipper on the watercourses of Tachov district in western Bohemia was monitored and their distribution was examined. In the second part, characteristics (chemical, physical, geographical, quantity and quality of prey) of occupied territories and reference plots were examined and the preferences of the Dipper were examined. In the third part, correlations between body characteristics of birds and quantity of prey in the territory were examined.
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The effect of ecotones on the overwintering of Winter damselflies (Odonata: Lestidae)
Dolejšová, Lucie ; Harabiš, Filip (advisor) ; Michal, Michal (referee)
Sympecma fusca is a species of winter damselflies with unique life history. The uniqueness of life history is coupled with overwintering in adult life stage in terrestrial environment, which is associated with high mortality rate. Such risk can be reduced by preference for specific habitats. Since terrestrial environment is frequently affected by anthropogenic disturbances, winter damselflies must respond to interventions into their habitat. This thesis focuses mainly on anthropogenic interventions into the habitat of winter damselflies and the impact of such disturbances on the distribution of individuals of species Sympecma fusca. Capture-Mark-Recapture Method was chosen for modelling of population dynamics in selected transects. Data collection took place during the pre-reproductive period within two years. Year-on-year comparison showed a decrease in abundance as well as changes in distribution of individuals in the studied transects. Individuals responded to habitat disturbances by searching for alternative micro-habitats, preferring places unaffected by anthropogenic disturbances. The acquired data indicate that winter damselflies are able to respond actively to environmental changes, nevertheless number of suitable habitats decreased significantly in the given site. This thesis is only a pilot study. Therefore, other reference sites are suggested for further study of anthropogenic influence on the life history of winter damselflies.
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Habitat preference of red deer and sika deer in the Doupov Mts.
Silovský, Václav ; Ježek, Miloš (advisor) ; Zdeněk, Zdeněk (referee)
The bachelor thesis is focused on habitat preferences of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon). The objective of study was to determine, which types of landscape the red deer (Cervus elaphus) and sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon) prefer during the year. Study area is located in northwest Bohemia in Doupov mountains. Data were collected by GPS telemetry from 13 stags and 13 hinds of red deer, and 6 stags and 2 hinds of sika deer during the days between 19th September 2010 and 8th February 2015. From GPS telemetry we received a total of 176982 red deer pozitions and other 38932 sika deer pozitions. Analyzed home ranges have shown main preferences of male and female red deer to shrubbery and natural grasses. Males of sika had main preferences to shrubbery and mixed forest during the year. Sika females have preferred shrubbery and natural grasses. The bachelor thesis results provided very interesting information of red and sika deer ecology and could be used in future game management or when creating a new emerging legislation, especially in the area of minimum hunting grounds quantities.
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The importance of various types of littoral habitats for fish in reservoirs
ŠMEJKAL, Marek
The aim of this study was to evaluate fish habitat preferences in three various types of littoral habitats (beaches, rubble slopes and stumps). Data originated from four Czech canyon-shaped reservoirs. This study showed that habitats differed in biomass and abundance of fish as well as in species compositions. Patterns in biomass, abundance and species preferences were the same even under different community structures of sampled reservoirs.
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