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Abstract The appropriate structure of the digestive tract is crucial for individual adaptation to ecological conditions. In birds, the length of the small intestine, responsible for food absorption, is generally believed to be positively correlated with body size. In this study, we investigated the variation in small intestine length in the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), a monomorphic species without visible sexual dimorphism, but characterized by differing parental efforts, which can be reflected by the small intestine lengths between the sexes. We examined the relationship between small intestine length and body size within the sexes. Our findings show that male White Storks have significantly shorter small intestines than females, despite having larger body sizes than the latter. Furthermore, we found a significant relationship between body size and small intestine length, but it was of a different nature in the two sexes. Males exhibited a previously unreported phenomenon, whereby increasing body size was associated with shortening small intestines, whereas females exhibited the opposite pattern. These novel findings shed light on the anatomical adaptations of the digestive tract in birds.

Farmland, a vital terrestrial environment, has seen significant changes due to intensified agricultural practices and plastic pollution. Assessing plastic pollution in farmed areas remains challenging, and understanding its impacts on agricultural ecosystems is limited. The aim of the was to determine whether plastic pollution in agricultural landscapes depends on the type of crops. We used the Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), an indicator bird species and investigated plastic contamination of 122 of its nests. We found plastic waste in 82.1 % of nests, totalling 6234 items weighing 197.2 g. On average, each nest contained 55.7 waste items, constituting approximately 4.3 % of the nest's mass. Plastic string fibres were predominant, making up 95.6 % of the items and 90.7 % of the mass. This variation may be due to different straw and hay management practices and varying levels of vigilance in removing plastic remnants. Contamination levels varied significantly among farmland types, with cultivated fields showing the highest contamination and meadows the lowest.

Conclusion: We hypothesise that the absence of these parasites in the examined P, S, and R suggests that these feather types might be unsuitable for the mites due to their thick quill walls, preventing successful feeding.

Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) parasitizing starlings of the genus Lamprotornis Temminck (Aves: Passeriformes: Sturnidae) from the sub-Saharan region are comprehensively studied for the first time. Among them, two new species are described: (1) Syringophiloidus soponai Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n., collected from four host species—Lamprotornis chalybaeus (Hemprich et Ehrenberg) (type host) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia; L. superbus (Rüppell) in Kenya and Tanzania; L. chloropterus (Swainson) and L. unicolor (Shelley) both in Tanzania; (2) Syringophilopsis parasturni Skoracki, Patan and Unsoeld sp. n. collected from L. pulcher (Müller) and L. chalcurus (Nordmann), both in Senegal. Additionally, two Lamprotornis species, L. chalybaeus in Tanzania and Kenya and L. chloropterus in Kenya, are recorded as the new hosts for Picobia lamprotornis Klimovicova et al., 2004. We also discussed the diversity of the syringophilid mites associated with starlings.

Tekst zawiera analizę związków masowego wybuchu społecznego protestu w sierpniu 1980 roku, jego przyczyn oraz implikacji dla demokratycznych przemian społeczeństwa polskiego oraz dla zmiany funkcji edukacji z instrumentu autorytarnej władzy na ważny podmiot samoregulacji społecznej. Próba jego wydania w książce „Konieczność – niepokój – nadzieja” skończyła się niepowodzeniem. Najpierw tekst ten został okrojony przez cenzurę, a następnie na początku stanu wojennego w styczniu 1982 roku wydawca prawie cały nakład książki (ponad 10 tysięcy egzemplarzy) przekazał na zniszczenie.

Brak abstraktu.

Abstract Metapopulation functioning in the context of landscape and habitat structure is generally well understood. However, in human‐transformed landscapes, human disturbance may affect not only a species of interest but also biotic interactions in which that species is engaged, which has been rarely studied at multiple spatial scales. We tested (1) the associations between local (habitat and micro‐habitat) and landscape factors and the occurrence and abundance of the land snail Cepaea nemoralis and two of its predators (thrushes and mice); and (2) the hypothesis that human disturbances modify associations between C. nemoralis and its predators. We surveyed snail colonies in rural landscapes of Poland. Generalized linear mixed models were used to test the stated hypotheses. At the landscape scale, the occurrence of C. nemoralis colonies was positively related to the cover of suitable habitats, fallow/waste land, and road length in the surrounding landscape. Bird predator abundance was positively correlated with the occurrence of snail colonies, mostly at sites with a high human impact, and was negatively correlated with snail abundance at sites with low human disturbance. Snail occurrence and abundance at the micro‐habitat scale were positively correlated with variables describing the proximity of shelter and humidity. Avian predation pressure was negatively correlated with forest and settlement cover, whereas rodent predation pressure was positively associated with snail abundance and was negatively correlated with bird abundance. Human disturbance at the habitat and landscape scales benefited C. nemoralis through the creation of suitable habitats and scaling down of avian predation pressure. Conditions related to shelter and humidity were linked to the distribution and abundance of snails at the micro‐habitat scale.

Przełom wieków i tysiącleci sprzyjał stawianiu pytań o to, co żegnamy z upływem XX wieku i co nas czeka w wieku XXI. W syntezach i prognozach powstałych na przełomie wieków pojawiły się zupełnie sprzeczne wizje, które łączyło jedno: głoszenie końca dotychczasowych dziejów ludzkości. Ogłoszono przeto „koniec historii”, gdyż cywilizacja europejska dotarła – zwłaszcza w USA, Europie Zachodniej, Japonii, Australii i Kanadzie – do kresu swych możliwości, osiągnęła najlepsze i trwałe rozwiązania w zakresie demokracji politycznej, gospodarki, dobrobytu i wygody życia rodzin.