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In the European Union, assessments of the quality of the aquatic environment based on aquatic invertebrates are mandatory. Biological methods are supplemented with hydromorphological assessments of watercourses. There are many studies analysing the relationships between aquatic invertebrates and the hydromorphological assessment of the environment by the River Habitat Survey (RHS) method, but thus far, there has been no detailed study including water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) and the application of this method. In the present study, the following research hypothesis was put forth: a hydromorphological characterization of habitats is a significant element explaining the nature of water mite communities, and the RHS method can be used to predict the characteristics of Hydrachnidia populations in a river. The research was carried out in a small lowland river, the River Krąpiel (north-western Poland). Six locations were selected as representative of some state of habitat modification for the assessment of the hydromorphological conditions of the river and the collection of biological samples. The following conclusions can be drawn from the research: (1) the biology and ecology of water mites make them suitable as bioindicators of the environment, including hydromorphological modifications, and (2) the hydromorphological characteristics of habitats explain the nature of water mite communities in the river at the level of general population parameters (number of specimens and species), while at the species level, general regularities in water mite fauna distribution in river ecosystems, the continuity of the river ecosystem, and characteristics at a smaller spatial scale (habitat scale) better explain water mite community structure than the hydromorphological indices determined for a given site or section of the river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The objectives of our survey were to determine the most important environmental factors within buffer zones that influenced mollusc communities and to evaluate the ecological conservation value of natural aquatic habitats (NAHs) that support mollusc species. Analysis of the spatial structure of buffer zones and catchments was based on a set of landscape metrics. Land cover classes were determined, and buffer zones within a radius of 500 m from a sampling point were marked out. Mollusc samples were collected from each NAHs. Our results showed that the number of patches and mean patch size were most associated with the distribution of mollusc species. Within patches of buffer zones, the length of the catchment boundaries with low-density housing, an increasing area of forest and pH of the water were also significant. Our results proved that landscape metrics provide essential information about catchment anthropogenic transformation. Therefore, landscape metrics and the designated buffer zones should be included in restoration plans for the river, water bodies and adjacent habitats as elements of modern, sustainable water management. NAHs located along a valley of a lowland river provide refuges for molluscs, play an essential role in the dispersal of IAS, create important protective biogeochemical barriers for rivers, constitute necessary sources of moisture and water and support microhabitats for distinct mollusc communities, especially in the context of global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was sequencing of the mitogenome of Hygrobates turcicus Pešić, Esen & Dabert, 2017 to expand knowledge of the polymorphism and cryptic or pseudocryptic diversity within Hydrachnidia. The samples originated from Bulgaria, Vidima River near Debnewo, 42°56′41.4′′N, 24°48′44.6′′E, depth 0.4 m, stones on the bottom, water flow 0.71 m/s, temperature 10 °C, pH 8.53, oxygen 110%, conductivity 279 µS/cm, hardness 121 CaO mg/l; 11 males, 27 females, 2 deutonymphs 12.x.2019 leg. Zawal, Michoński & Bańkowska; one male and one female dissected and slides mounted. The study was carried out using the following methods: DNA extraction, sequencing, assembly and annotation, comparison with other populations of H. turcicus, and multigene phylogeny. As a result of the study, it was determined that the mitogenome is 15,006 bp long and encodes for 13 proteins, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs. The genome is colinear with those of H. longiporus and H. taniguchii, the difference in size originating from a non-coding region located between protein-coding genes ND4L and ND3. Five genes have alternative start-codon, and four display premature termination. The multigene phylogeny obtained using all mitochondrial protein-coding genes unambiguously associates H. turcicus with the cluster formed by H. longiporus and H. taniguchii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to reconstruct the biography of Artur Eisenbach, who was both a prominent historian of the nineteenth century and one of the first historians to study the Holocaust. Born in Poland, Eisenbach survived the war in the Soviet Union. Upon his return to Poland, he joined the Jewish Historical Institute (ŻIH) in Warsaw, where he wrote many works on the Holocaust. During the course of the antisemitic campaign of 1968, he resigned as director of the institute. His subsequent research, carried out with colleagues at the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), focused on Polish Jewry in the nineteenth century. He is a pivotal figure precisely because he remained on the borderline between Jewish and Polish identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New records of water mites from Iran and Turkey revealed by DNA barcoding are presented. DNA barcodes were recovered from 44 water mite specimens morphologically assigned to 18 species. The DNA barcoding data for the twelve species were uploaded into the BOLD database. One species of the Hygrobates longiporus-complex, H. thori Pešić & Smit sp. nov. is described as new for science and Hydrodroma persicaPešić & Saboori, 2012 is reported as new for Turkey. We propose to lower the taxonomic status of Hydrodroma golestanica to a subspecies of H. torrenticola, i.e. H. torrenticola golestanicanov. stat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) are a significant component of freshwater ecosystems inhabiting a wide range of aquatic habitats. This study provides a first comprehensive DNA barcode library for the water mites of Montenegro. DNA barcodes were analysed from 233 specimens of water mites morphologically assigned to 86 species from 28 genera and 15 families. In the course of the study, four species, i.e. Lebertia reticulata (Koenike, 1919), Atractides inflatipalpis K.Viets, 1950, A. latipes (Szalay, 1935) and Parabrachypoda montii (Maglio, 1924) were molecularly confirmed as new for Montenegro and three species, i.e. Protzia octopora Lundblad, 1954, Piona laminata (Thor, 1901) and Unionicola ypsilophora (Bonz, 1783) are new for the Balkan Peninsula. Results are analysed using the Barcode Index Number system (BIN) and the Refined Single Linkage (RESL) of BOLD. The BIN assigned sequences to 98 clusters, while the RESL reveal 103 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Unique BINs were revealed for 72 species (83.7%), whereas twelve species (14%) were characterised by two BINs and two species (2.3%) with three BINs. Amongst the studied taxa, 14 species were found with a high intraspecific sequence divergences (> 2.2%), emphasising the need for additional comprehensive morphological and molecular analysis of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, very little is known about the ability of adult and deutonymph water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) to survive in sub-zero temperatures. Information concerns mainly water mites from vernal astatic waters, and the knowledge has never been experimentally verified. To determine the sensitivity of water mites to freezing, experiments were conducted on (1) the impact of acclimatization, (2) temperature, and (3) duration of freezing on survival, (4) the survival rate of water mites from various types of water bodies, and (5) the survival rate of water mites from different climatic zones. The experiments were carried out in a phytotron chamber, and water mites were placed in containers (10 × 10 × 5 cm) filled with 4/5 of water for 10 specimens each. Water mites were identified to the species level after finishing the experiments. The temperature was lowered 1 °C every hour until the target temperature was reached. After a certain period of freezing (depending on the treatment) the temperature was raised by 1 °C every hour until it reached 4 °C. The time of the experiment was measured from the moment the desired temperature was reached (below 0 °C) until the ice thawed and the temperature of 4 °C was reached again. The highest survival rates had Limnochares aquatica, Piona nodata, Sperchon clupeifer and Lebertia porosa, followed by L. insignis, Hygrobates longipalpis, H. setosus, Limnesia undulatoides, Piona pusilla, Arrenurus globator, Hydrodroma despiciens, Piona longipalpis, Sperchonopsis verrucosa, Unionicola crassipes and Mideopsis crassipes; no specimens of Torrenticola amplexa survived. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) water mites can survive freezing to −2 °C, lower temperatures are lethal for them; (2) they survived better the short period of freezing (24–48 h) than the long period (168 h); (3) resistance to freezing seems to be an evolutionary trait of individual species, only partly related to the living environment; and (4) freezing survival rates are linked to the region of Europe and are much lower in Southern than in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of water mites from Montenegro and Bulgaria, Atractides anae Pešić sp. nov., is described, combining traditional morphological techniques with the analysis of partial mtDNA COI sequences (DNA-barcodes). Based on our molecular and morphological analysis, the new species is most closely related to the crenobiontic A. pennatus (K. Viets 1920) from which it differs by 6.4 (SD = 1.12)% K2P distance. A dataset including the novel COI sequences of 10 Atractides species from Montenegro and Iran is assembled in order to facilitate further studies on the genus by using molecular tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New records of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the standing waters of Sri Lanka are presented. Fifteen species have been registrated, among them four species, i.e. Piona srilankana (Pionidae), Neumania edytae (Unionicolidae), Krendowskia (Krendowskiella) srilankana (Krendowskiidae), and Mideopsis ewelinae (Mideopsidae) are described as new to science. DNA was extracted from 18 water mite specimens and DNA barcodes are given for the first time for nine species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water mites of the Hygrobates fluviatilis-complex are often the most ubiquitous and usually the most abundant water mite group in the running waters of the Palaearctic and Balkans. In the present study we used an integrative taxonomic approach by applying partial COI sequences (DNA-barcodes) to describe two new species of the fluviatilis-complex from the Balkan Peninsula, H. balcanicus Pešić sp. nov. (Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece) and H. mediterraneus Pešić sp. nov. (Montenegro). Phylogenetic analysis based on COI data placed H. balcanicussp. nov. as the sister species of the clade grouping H. turcicusPešić, Esen & Dabert, 2017 and H. ulii Pešić et al. 2019 whereas H. mediterraneussp. nov. is placed as the sister species of H. grabowskii Pešić et al. 2019, with about 20% and 13% K2P divergence, respectively, between the closest relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Torrenticola Piersig, 1896 is a common water mite group in the running waters in all biogeographical regions except Antarctica and Australasia. In the present study we used an integrative taxonomic approach by applying partial COI sequences (DNA-barcodes) to describe a new species of the genus Torrenticola, T. dowlingi Pešić sp. nov. from Iran. Morphologically, the new species is most similar to T. laskai Di Sabatino, 2009 from which it differs by the larger dimensions of idiosoma and genital field. The K2P distance that separated the new species from T. laskai was amounted to 3.98%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of disturbance factors—flooding and intermittency—on the distribution of water mites in the riparian springs situated in the valley of a small lowland river, the Krąpiel. The landscape factors and physicochemical parameters of the water were analysed in order to gain an understanding of the pattern of water mite assemblages in the riparian springs. Three limnological types of springs were examined (helocrenes, limnocrenes and rheocrenes) along the whole course of the river and a total of 35 water mite species were found. Our study shows that flooding influences spring assemblages, causing a decrease in crenobiontic water mites in flooded springs. The impact of intermittency resulted in a high percentage of species typical of temporary water bodies. Surprisingly, the study revealed the positive impact of the anthropogenic transformation of the river valley: preventing the riparian springs from flooding enhances the diversity of crenobiontic species in non-flooded springs. In the conclusion, our study revealed that further conservation strategies for the protection of the riparian springs along large rivers would take into account ongoing climatic changes and possible the positive impact of the anthropogenic transformation of river valleys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Springs are often recognized as biodiversity hotspots on the regional scale but at the same time they are among the most endangered freshwater habitats. Water mites are among the aquatic animal groups with highest share of crenobiotic (= spring-dwelling) species and, therefore, are possibly the best indicators of the ecological status of spring habitats. We studied water mites and environmental factors correlated with their distribution pattern along a eucrenon-hypocrenon gradient. The sampling was conducted in 14 karstic springs located in the Mediterranean part of Montenegro. We collected 17 water mite species of which four species were crenobiotic. We did not find significant differences between the water mite assemblages from the source and springbrook. Similarly, there were no significant differences in number of species and abundance between the studied spring sections, neither for crenobiotic taxa nor for non-crenobiotic taxa. We found that the number of non-crenobiotic taxa was predicted mainly by water depth, whereas the abundance of crenobionts was most strongly associated with temperature. No significant predictors for the number of crenobiotic species in spring habitats were found. Our results revealed also that distance from the nearby water body was the main driver of the crenobiotic species abundance in eucrenon suggesting the large effects of the local flooding events on crenobiotic species. Water mites may help in assessing the response of crenobiotic assemblages in those spring habitats which likely to be flooded in future as the results of ongoing climatic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of disturbance factors—flooding and intermittency—on the distribution of water mites in the riparian springs situated in the valley of a small lowland river, the Krąpiel. The landscape factors and physicochemical parameters of the water were analysed in order to gain an understanding of the pattern of water mite assemblages in the riparian springs. Three limnological types of springs were examined (helocrenes, limnocrenes and rheocrenes) along the whole course of the river and a total of 35 water mite species were found. Our study shows that flooding influences spring assemblages, causing a decrease in crenobiontic water mites in flooded springs. The impact of intermittency resulted in a high percentage of species typical of temporary water bodies. Surprisingly, the study revealed the positive impact of the anthropogenic transformation of the river valley: preventing the riparian springs from flooding enhances the diversity of crenobiontic species in non-flooded springs. In the conclusion, our study revealed that further conservation strategies for the protection of the riparian springs along large rivers would take into account ongoing climatic changes and possible the positive impact of the anthropogenic transformation of river valleys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has been done on egg diapause and the embryonic development of water mites. The aim of this study was to check the impact of temperature and periods of light on hatching of larvae of Eylais extendens. Three batches of eggs which were spawned on 30 July were placed at one of three temperatures (4, 10 and 20 °C) and two periods of light (7 and 14 h per day). Egg hatching (both, percentage of hatched larvae and rate of hatching) was found to differ between 4 versus 10 °C and between 4 versus 20 °C, but not between 10 versus 20 °C. The periods of light had no influence on hatching. This synchronization of hatching, enabling the eggs to emerge from diapause in the spring, could be considered an evolutionary adaptation aimed at postponing hatching of late-spawned eggs until a time allowing for completion of the full development cycle, including the parasitic larval stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cosmopolitan freshwater oligochaete Aulodrilus pigueti Kowalewski, 1914 (Naididae: Tubificinae) was recorded for the first time in Poland. The species was found at a few groyne field sites and in the main flow of the middle and lower course of the Oder River. Forty two other species of oligochaetes were found in the analyzed material, including rarely found in Poland Aulodrilus japonicus and Bothrioneurum vejdovskyanum, as well as alien species: Branchiura sowerbyi and Quistadrilus multisetosus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to determine whether a thermocline may constitute a barrier discouraging vertical migration of water mites. The research was carried out in May, June, July, and August 1999 in Lake Lubie, and a total of 3252 water mites (1880 females and 1178 males) belonging to 29 species were collected. A strong negative correlation was observed between the drop in temperature in the thermocline and the abundance and number of water mite species living beneath the thermocline. The negative correlation resulted from a considerable limitation of vertical migration of water mites by factors such as: low temperature below the thermocline, large difference between temperatures above and below the thermocline, and considerable thickness of the thermocline. During summer season, lower layers of the lake were increasingly penetrated by water mites as the temperatures above and below the thermocline were becoming more uniform. Lake species displayed the greatest ability to penetrate lower water layers and were present below the thermocline during the whole study period; moreover, their numbers were quite steady. On the contrary, the species, which are characteristic for small water bodies, crossed the thermocline in comparatively large numbers in June when the thermocline was of the lowest thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]