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The Orchidaceae Family is the most diversified and widespread higher plant family worldwide. In Romania, orchids are found from the coastal sandy dunes of the Black Sea, to the highest rocky cliffs at an altitude over 2000 m. They grow in any type of soil (from slightly acid to basic), covering the whole range of humidity, from the driest areas to the most humid marshes and swamps. Some of them are sun-loving species, growing in full sun, in short grasslands and meadows, while others are shadow-loving species, growing hidden in the middle of the darkest forests. The paper presents 39 orchid species (from 62 species found in Romanian Flora), which can be found also in Argeș county. One explanation for the large number of species in the Argeș county could be the diversity of habitats. The orchid species described in the paper will be ordered alphabetically, accompanied by the ecology, coenology and chorology in the Argeș county. It is very important to know the distribution of orchids in our country, because in this way changes in the ecosystems can be prevented, thus ensuring the survival and perpetuation of such rare and beautiful plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the food composition of 39 individuals belonging to four lizard species (Lacerta viridis, Lacerta agilis, Podarcis tauricus, Zootoca vivipara). The studied lizards accidentally fell in pitfall traps installed in north-western Romania (Bihor and Satu-Mare counties) in the years 2004, 2008, and 2009. Among the 39 lizards, only three did not have stomach contents. Only in the case of P. tauricus all studied individuals had stomach contents. L. agilis had a higher food diversity, as it consumed preys that were larger, harder, and more rigid compared with the other species. At the opposite pole, Z. vivipara had a lower feeding intensity; it consumed a lot of soft and small-sized preys, as its feeding is focused primarily on spiders. The low feeding intensity of Z. vivipara could be a consequence of the fact that in the region, it is distributed in plain areas, thus at an unusual altitude for this species in Romania. P. tauricus had a food composition that reflects the peculiarities of the habitats it populates in north-western Romania, namely areas with sandy soil. In the case of L. viridis, the reduced food composition and diversity is probably a consequence of the small number of individuals identified in the pitfall traps. Our results indicated the importance of the university scientific collections in offering complex information and that even the lizards accidentally collected in pitfall traps can offer numerous information on them, just like those originating from road mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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