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Vocalization of two nightingale species in their hybrid zone
Vokurková, Jana ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Osiejuk, Tomasz S. (referee)
6 ABSTRACT Bird song is a sexually selected trait that is crucial for mate choice and for maintenance of pre-mating reproductive barriers. Secondary contact of closely related and partially reproductively isolated song bird species may result in changes in their songs; these can either diverge and strengthen the reproductive barrier between the two species, or converge and contribute to mixing of their gene pools. The Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) and its congener Common Nightingale (L. megarhynchos) may serve as model species suitable for studying these phenomena. In their secondary contact zone, an interspecific hybridization has been documented, as well as convergence of songs of Thrush Nightingales caused by copying of heterospecific songs. Such copying may be a result of erroneous learning of species- specific songs or by genetic introgression. We tested these hypotheses by simultaneous analyses of DNA and song recordings of both species from allopatry (Czech Republic and northeastern Poland) and sympatry (central Poland). Comparisons between our recordings and a catalogue of songs recorded in a Common Nightingale population from allopatry (Germany) confirmed that most of Thrush Nightingale males from the sympatric region were 'mixed singers' that use Common Nightingale phrases in their...
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Phenotypic plasticity and functions of morphological antipredator structures in genus Daphnia
Brož, Vojtěch ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Šorf, Michal (referee)
Predator-induced defence mechanisms are widespread among animals, plants and other organisms. One of the model taxa for research of this phenomenon is the cladoceran genus Daphnia, as its species of this genus possess many morphological, behavioural and other defence mechanisms. Among the most conspicuous examples are specialized antipredatory structures. In many species, the presence of a helmet, i.e. a head expansion that serves as a protection from various invertebrate predators, can be found. A specific case is represented by two species in which the helmet is involved in protection from planktivorous fish. Another, rather widespread defence is the formation of neckteeth, a specialized structure against predatory larvae of phantom midge (Chaoborus spp.). There are also other less frequent antipredatory structures such as a crest or a "crown of thorns". This thesis summarizes the available information on the distribution, evolution, function and mechanisms of induction of these inducible morphological defence structures.
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Detection and variation of the crayfish plague pathogen in selected crayfish populations
Mojžišová, Michaela ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Buřič, Miloš (referee)
Crayfish plague is an emerging disease caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci, a pathogen listed among the 100 World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. It was introduced into Europe in the second half of 19th century from North America and caused collapses of European native crayfish populations. Nowadays, A. astaci is widespread in Europe and has spread also to other parts of the world, threatening all susceptible crayfish of non-North American origin. The aims of this MSc thesis were 1) to provide information about crayfish plague outbreaks from recent years, and by using microsatellite and mtDNA markers reveal A. astaci genotypes involved; 2) to test healthy-looking indigenous crayfish for potential occurrence of chronic infections by A. astaci in Czechia. Six new crayfish plague outbreaks were confirmed from 2016 to 2018, involving at least five distinct pathogen strains. My results provide first evidence of the A. astaci genotype group D causing Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius torrentium mass mortalities in Czechia. MtDNA sequencing revealed two haplotypes of the D haplogroup, indicating two independent sources of infection presumably either from ornamental crayfish or spreading from neighbouring countries. The genotype group A was recorded in two A. astacus mortalities and genotype group...
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Biogeography, phylogeny, ecology and systematics of epigean freshwater Amphipoda in the Carpathian arc and beyond
Copilas-Ciocianu, Denis ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Väinölä, Risto (referee) ; Trontejl, Peter (referee)
3 ABSTRACT Freshwateramphipodsarepoordispersersduetothefragmentarynatureoftheir habitat,benthiclife-styleandlackofresistantpropagules.Consequently,mostspeciesare narrowlyendemic,andwidespreadmorphospeciesconsistofnumerousdivergentlineages. Assuch,thesepatternsareconsideredrelict, mainlyreflectinghistoricalratherthan contemporaryfactors.TheCarpathian Mountainsunderwentadramaticgeomorphological evolutionduringthelast20millionyears,risingfromtheParatethysSeathroughaseriesof islandsthateventuallycoalescedintooneofthelongest mountainchainsinEurope. Moreover,these mountainsandsurroundingbasinsareinhabitedbyaubiquitousand diverseamphipodfauna,providinganidealsettingfortestinghistoricalbiogeographical hypotheses.OurresultshaveshownthatinthesouthernhalfoftheCarpathians,montane Gammarus taxadisplayfragmentedandallopatricdistributionpatterns whilelowland speciesbelongingtothegeneraNiphargus andSynurella are mostlysympatricand widespreadoverlargedistances.Subsequent molecularinvestigationsrevealedthatthe patchydistributionofG.fossaruminthewesternandsouthwesternCarpathianshaslikely resultedfromthebreakupofaformerlycontiguouslandmass16 millionyearsago, suggestingthatgeologicalsubsidencecanplayanimportantroleinshapingbiogeographical patterns. Moreover,the WesternCarpathianlineagesineasternCzechiaandSlovakiaare...
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Distribution and genetic variation of invasive crayfish of the genus Orconectes
Filipová, Lenka ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Kozák, Pavel (referee)
Crayfish are an important part of European fauna, but since the 19th century native crayfish species have been largely influenced by biological invasions, when large number of their populations was dramatically reduced due to the introduction of the pathogen of the crayfish plague (oomycete Aphanomyces astaci) to Europe. Several North American crayfish species were then brought to the European continent to substitute lost populations of native crayfish, the most widespread being the spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus), the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). However, these crayfish can carry pathogen of the crayfish plague and therefore represent a serious threat to the native species. My work focused mostly on the spiny-cheek crayfish (O. limosus). Available literature data suggest that the species was brought to Europe only once, and all European individuals may be descendants of the founder population. However, other cases of introduction may not have been documented, and cannot be ruled out. The first aim of my thesis was to evaluate the haplotype variation of the spiny-cheek crayfish populations from Europe and North America. Mitochondrial gene for cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of selected O. limosus individuals from several...
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Environmental gradients in canyon-shaped reservoirs
Stodola, Jakub ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Seďa, Jaromír (referee)
The occurrence of environmental gradients in canyon-shaped reservoirs is influenced mainly by the size of reservoir and water retention time. The reservoir must be large and deep enough for environmental gradients to occur there. In such reservoirs vertical and horizontal gradients can be found. Presence of vertical gradients in lakes is relatively common, whereas horizontal gradients abound in deep canyon reservoirs. An example is the gradient of nutrients, the quantity of which decreases in the direction from the inflow towards the dam. Vertical abiotic gradients are the same for reservoirs and lakes. These are mainly gradients of light, heat, dissolved and oxygen. Some abiotic horizontal gradients may be present in both to reservoirs and lakes. The abiotic gradients also often affect the biotic ones. For example the gradient of nutrients affects the gradient of all organisms in the reservoir. Each species living in the reservoir prefers different type of environmental conditions, which may be given by a combination of these gradients. The areas preferred by particular cladoceran species can overlap quite extensively. In the Daphnia longispina species complex, co-occurrence of parental species may result in interspecific hybridization, and possibly formation of hybrid zones. The hybrids can often...
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Phylogeography and genetic variation of benthic crustaceans in European inland waters
Pešek, Pavel ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Sacherová, Veronika (referee)
This thesis summarises published information about geographic distribution of genealogical lineages and genetic variability of benthic crustaceans of European continental waters, and evaluates the historical factors that affected their distribution. it is focused mainly on species for which multiple or in-depth studies have been published. A particular attention is given to crayfish of the genus Austropotamobius. Present distribution of genealogical lineages has been affected by changes in connectedness and availability of aquatic habitats. Species lineages often split in consequence to geological and climatic processes during the Tertiary, as exemplified on species complexes of Austropotamobius crayfish, species lineages of the amphipod Gammarus fossarum species complex, and the isopod Asellus aquaticus. The distribution of intraspecific lineages has been strongly affected by Quaternary cycles of glaciation, which not only destroyed many habitats by moving glaciers but also created new colonisation routes. Such routes were peri-glacial lakes, which had been used by Gammarus lacustris, or retreat of sea level, which enabled white-clawed crayfish to colonise England, and a freshwater crab to colonise Italy. Changes in sea levels are also the likely reasons for colonisation of continental waters by the...
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Host-parazite coevolution in aquatic environments
Hubová, Jana ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Votýpka, Jan (referee)
Antagonistic coevolution is a major driving force in the evolution of host and parasite. Parasites create on their host a time delay, negative frequency-dependent selection, which leads to oscillations in both genotypes of antagonists, as suggested by the Red Queen hypothesis derived for coevolution of host and parasite. The most commonly used systems for the study of host-parasite coevolution in an aquatic environment are (thanks to their features): diatom Asterionella and chytrid Zygorhizidium, aquatic snail Potamopyrgus and trematods Microphallus, water fleas Daphnia and their microparasites. Coevolution between host and parasite causes a number of phenomena, such as maintenance of genetic polymorphism, temporal oscillations of genotype frequencies, the persistence of sexual reproduction, parasite local and host adaptations. This thesis summarizes the current knowledge on the coevolution of the above-mentioned three host-parasite systems in the aquatic environment. Key words: Red Queen hypothesis, host-parasite coevolution, negative frequency-dependent selection, aquatic environments, Asterionella formosa, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Daphnia.
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Transmission and detection of the crayfish plague pathogen under experimental conditions
Svoboda, Jiří ; Petrusek, Adam (advisor) ; Fiala, Ivan (referee)
The crayfish plague pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci, is one of the most serious threats to European indigenous crayfish species, e.g., the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus). The only way to protect susceptible crayfish species from the disease is to prevent the dispersion of the pathogen to their populations. One of the most important sources of the crayfish plague pathogen in Central Europe is the spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus), a species of North American origin, which can carry the parasite in its cuticle for years. Some literature sources claimed that the pathogen dispersion from the American vectors is restricted to periods of moulting or to the time before and after the crayfish death. However, experimental evidence for such hypotheses was lacking. The main aim of my thesis was to test these predictions, and the alternative scenario that the crayfish plague pathogen can be transmitted from the infected spiny-cheek crayfish also in other periods. For this purpose, experiments were set up to investigate A. astaci transmission from infected spiny-cheek crayfish to non-infected spiny-cheek or noble crayfish. As expected, the pathogen was transmitted to noble crayfish much more easily than to the uninfected American host. Nevertheless, we succeeded in the pathogen transmission also among spiny-cheek...
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