University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” Faculty of Biology, Department of Zoology

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ZOOLOGY

“50 YEARS DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY”

PROGRAMME & ABSTRACTS

October 8 – 10, 2012 Hissar, Bulgaria

Plovdiv University Press

ISBN 978-954-423-794-3

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FOREWORD

Dear colleagues and friends, On behalf of the Department of Zoology and the Organizing Committee it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the International Conference on Zoology, organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Department of Zoology of University of Plovdiv. We are happy that the Conference, with its location at the wonderful ancient town of Hissar, has attracted such an interest. We have a delightful variety of presentations comprising the working program – in classical fields of research, such as taxonomy, systematics and ecological studies, as well as population genetics, molecular studies, zoomonitoring, physiology, transmissible diseases, pest control, conservation zoology. We hope the Conference will be a great forum for dynamic exchange of information, ideas and recent scientific results into all fields of zoology and it will yield positive contacts and future collaboration for all participants. We wish you fruitful work, success and a pleasant stay in beautiful Hissar and in Bulgaria! Welcome! Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anelia Stojanova

Head of the Department of Zoology

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COMMITTEES

Organizing Committee Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Anelia Stojanova, University of Plovdiv, stanelia@uni-plovdiv.bg Ph.D., Assist. Prof. Hristo Dimitrov, University of Plovdiv, hr_dim@abv.bg M.Sc., Assist. Prof. Vesela Mitkovska, University of Plovdiv, vmitkovska@uni-plovdiv.bg Ph.D., Assist. Prof. Peter Boyadzhiev, University of Plovdiv, boyadz@uni-plovdiv.bg

Secretaries M.Sc., Assist. Prof. Gergana Stankova, University of Plovdiv, g_stankova@abv.bg B.Sc. Liliya Vodenicharova, University of Plovdiv, lily.djunova@abv.bg

Scientific Committee DSc Prof. Dimitar Bechev, University of Plovdiv DSc Academician Vassil Golemanski, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS DSc Prof. Paraskeva Michailova, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS DSc Prof. Georgi Markov, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS DSc Prof. Venelin Beshovski, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS DSc, Prof Iva Hristova, National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Ph.D., Assoc Prof. Nasko Atanasov, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, BAS MD Angel Kunchev, Ministry of Health, Republic of Bulgaria M.Sc., Viktor Ivanov, University of Plovdiv – Web design and Book design

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SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

International Conference on Zoology “50 years Department of Zoology” October 8-10, 2012, Hissar, Bulgaria

Monday, 8 October 2012 14.00 – 18.00 Arrival, registration, posters set up. SPA Hotel “Hissar” 18.00 – 19.30 Welcome party at the Lobby bar, SPA Hotel “Hissar”

Tuesday, 9 October 2012 9.00 – 10.00 Opening. Maritsa hall in SPA Hotel “Hissar” 10.00 – 10.30 Plenary lecture: Extreme zoology – what is this and where we are?

DSc Academician Vassil Golemanski, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

10.30 – 11.00 Plenary lecture: Molecular analyses in mammals and birds: population genetics, phylogeography and conservation. Dr. habil. Frank E. Zachos, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria

POPULATION GENETICS AND MOLECULAR STUDIES (Maritsa hall)

Session chair: DSc Professor Paraskeva Michailova

11.00 – 11.15 Diapause-specific gene expression pattern in the fat body of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Ž. Popović

11.15 – 11.30 Discrimination of the Orthocladiinae species (Diptera: Chironomidae) by using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. A. Sari

11.30 – 11.45 Hidden biodiversity: the case of the chromosomal races of the Balkan endemic vole Microtus thomasi. M. Rovatsos

11.45 – 12.00 Allozyme variability in populations of Apis mellifera mellifera, A. m. carnica and A. m. caucasica from Poland. E. Ivanova

12.00 – 12.15 Genetic variability in silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) strains with different origin. T. Staykova

12.15 – 12.30 Modern technologies in molecular genetics. Instruments and applications in Bulgaria. M. Kicheva

12.30 – 13.00 coffee-break

ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY (Maritsa hall)

Session chair: Professor T. Zorenko

13.00 – 13.15 Fatty acid composition dynamics during diapause of European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyrallidae). E. Vukašinović

13.15 – 13.30 The structure of spermatozoa in social voles subgenus Sumeriomys. T. Zorenko

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13.30 – 13.45 Fatty acid composition of Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae). Z. U. Nurullahoğlu

13.45 – 14.00 Life on the see-saw: an insight into cell death control during larvaldiapause of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. Ž. Popović

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION ZOOLOGY (Maritsa hall)

Session chairs: DSc Professor G. Markov and Professor M. Shishiniova

14.00 – 14.15 Species diversity of epigeobiont and geobiont animal groups from Strandzha Mountain. M. Shishiniova

14.15 – 14.30 Skull non-metrical features of the European water vole Arvicola amphibius from Hungary: cranial evidence for its geographic detachment. G. Markov

14.30 – 14.45 Changes in the aquatic communities in the Rhodopi Mountain Landslide Lakes (S. Bulgaria) for the last 40 years. I. Biodiversity of the macrozoobenthos, zooplankton and the fish communities. M. Pavlova

14.45 – 15.00 Diversity of Long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) in Gradina Floodplain forest, Bulgaria. M. Kechev

15.00 – 15.15 The golden jackal (Canis aureus L.) in Bulgaria: What is going on? G. Markov

15.15 – 15.30 Natural colonies of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in European Turkey and discussion on the chances of natural re-colonization of the species in Bulgaria. E. Kmetova

15.30 – 16.00 coffee-break

PARAZITOLOGY, TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASES AND PEST CONTROL (Maritsa hall)

Session chair: DSc Professor I. Hristova, MD

16.00 – 16.15 Genetic investigations of rodents for human pathogens. I. Christova 16.15 – 16.30 Impact of entomophages on density of Thaumetopoea pityocampa in egg

stage near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. G. Georgiev 16.30 – 16.45 Species composition, distribution and seasonal variations in the invasion of

domestic goats (Capra aegagrushircus) and sheep (Ovis aries) by ixodidae ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the region of the town of Parvomai. A. Arnaudov

16.45 – 17.00 Outbreak of trichinellosis in Elin Pelin city January – March 2011. I. Rainova

17.00 – 18.30 Poster session, Trakiya hall in SPA Hotel “Hissar” 14.00 – 17.00 Seminar-training “Transmissible diseases”, Trakiya hall in SPA Hotel

“Hissar” 19.30 – Conference dinner, restaurant “Prestige” in SPA Hotel “Hissar”

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Wednesday, 10 October 2012 Maritsa hall 9.00 – 9.30 Plenary lecture: Polytene chromosomes and their significance for

taxonomy, speciation and genotoxicology. DSc Professor Paraskeva Michailova. Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

9.30 – 10.00 Plenary lecture: Research strategies to address the challenges related to the future of the environment. DSc Professor Georgi Markov, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Research, Bulgarian Academy of Science

ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND ZOOMONITORING (Maritsa hall)

Session chair: Professor R. Metcheva

10.00 – 10.15 Assessment of the sediment toxicity in Bulgarian and Turkish Rivers using the biomarkers in Chironomus riparius Mg. (Diptera, Chironomidae). M. Duran

10.15 – 10.30 Preliminary results on development of a chironomid based summer surface water temperature inference model for the Turkish lakes. G. Akyildiz

10.30 – 10.45 Ecological quality assessment of salmonid rivers in Bulgaria using ichthyologic parameters. L. Pehlivanov

10.45 – 11.00 Histopathological analysis of liver in fish population of reservoir “Tikves”. L. Velkova-Jordanoska

11.00 – 11.15 Effect of river fragmentations on the abundance and size structure of Barbus petenyi (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), river Iskar, Bulgaria. E. Uzunova

11.15 – 11.30 Impact of Entomophaga maimaiga (Entomophtorales: Entomophtoraceae) on non-target phytophagous insects in oak forests of Bulgaria. M. Georgieva

11.30 – 11.45 Evaluation of the ecological status of two river ecosystems with different types of anthropogenic pollution in Southern Bulgaria based on the level of the fluctuating asymmetry in the populations of the marsh frog Rana ridibunda (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae). A. Arnaudov

11.45 – 12.00 Results from marking of Sandwich terns (Sterna sandvicensis) with colour rings and radio transmitters at Pomorie Lake. D. Popov

12.00 – 12.15 Data from Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) tagged with GPS/GSM transmitters in Bulgaria. G. Gradev

12.15 – 12.30 Free-living rodents as bioindicators of genetic risk in Natural Park “Strandzha”. V. Mitkovska

12.30 – 12.45 East European Vole (Microtus levis Miller, 1908) – biomonitor for the heavy metals impact on the environment in Strandzha Mountain. H. Dimitrov

10.00 – 12.00 “Roundtable”, Trakiya hall in SPA Hotel “Hissar” 12.45 – 13.00 Closing the conference, Maritsa hall

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POSTER SESSION

P1 Application of variability of ITS1 sequences for studying biodiversity of some Black Sea representatives of Clupeidae family. Darinka Boyadzhieva-Doychinova, Feriha Myumyunova, Maria Gevezova, Daniela Petrova-Klisarova, Iliya Denev

P2 The seasonal changes of fatty acid composition of sea bream, Sparus aurata L. 1758 (Osteichthyes: Sparidae). Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, İkbal Yıldırım, Rahile Öztürk

P3 Effects of dietary fatty acids on fecundity of Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, Ekrem Ergin

P4 Small mammal reproduction in Riga city meadow habitats. Ilze Mitre, Tanya Zorenko P5 Bioenergetic characteristics of genus Mus from South Europe. Roumiana Metcheva,

Michaela Beltcheva

P6 Measurements of tyrosinase activity in diapausing larvae of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Danijela Kojić, Jelena Purać, Željko Popović, Elvira Vukašinović, Snežana Milovac, Tatjana Nikolić, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić

P7 Morphological abnormalities in Branchipus schaefferi (Fischer, 1834) (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from Serbia. Dragana Miličić, Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Luka Lučić

P8 An updating of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) distribution in Serbia. Dunja Lukić, Ana Nahirnić, Aleksandar Marković, Tamara Karan Žnidaršič, Marko Šćiban, Dragana Miličić

P9 Studies on the gall community of Diplolepis rosae (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Ivaylo Todorov, Anelia Stojanova, Dimitar Parvanov, Peter Boyadzhiev

P10 On the endemism in the fungus gnat fauna (Diptera: Diadocidiidae, Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae) in the Mediterranean region. Dimitar Bechev

P11 Addenda to the Bulgarian myrmecofauna. Albena Lapeva-Gjonova P12 Soil nematodes from order Plectida (Nematoda) in different plant communities of

Standzha Mountain (Bulgaria, Turkey). Iliyan Iliev, Zhenya Ilieva P13 Genetic variation in bullhead populations from the lower Danube tributaries, Northwest

Bulgaria: implications for management conservation strategies. Eliza Uzunova, Jerzy Sell, Monika Stolarska, Anna Wysocka

P14 Insect community from seeds of Ephedra distachya from Dobrogea, Romania. Irinel Popescu

P15 Comparative analysis of fish biodiversity from the Adriatic and the Aegean watersheds in the Republic of Macedonia. Trajce Talevski, Aleksandra Talevska

P16 Parasite fauna of chub (Squalius squalus Bonaparte, 1837) from the lake Ohrid (R. Macedonia). Stojmir Stojanovski, N. Hristovski, Lidija Velkova-Jordanoska, D. Blazekovic-Dimovska, Gj. Atanasov

P17 First record of Grossuana angeltsekovi Glöer & Georgiev, 2009 (Gastropoda: Risooidea) from Greece. Dilian Georgiev

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P18 Two new species of stygobiotic snails from the genus Bythiospeum (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from Bulgaria. Dilian Georgiev

P19 Variation of morphometric characters of astragalus tarsal bone in Bostaurus L., 1758 (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from the neolithic sites of the Vinča culture on the Balkan Peninsula. Darko Radmanović, Desanka Kostić, Jelena Lujić, Svetlana Blažić

P20 Cases of colouration anomalies of small mammals from Bulgaria. Nedko Nedialkov, Yordan Koshev, Ivaylo Raykov, Georgy Bardarov

P21 Height mountain species from subfamily Aphidiinae (Braconidae, Hymenoptera) from Bulgaria. OgnianTodorov

P22 Four new harvestmen records from Turkey (Arachnida: Opiliones). Plamen Mitov P23 Earthworms (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) of Bulgaria: diversity and biogeographical

consideration. Mirjana Stojanović, Ralitsa Tsekova, Tanja Milutinović P24 Distribution and threat status of endemic earthworm Dendrobaena rhodopensis

(Černosvitov, 1937) on the Balkan Peninsula. Mirjana Stojanović, Ralitsa Tsekova, Jovana Milanović, Tanja Milutinović

P25 Total IgE concentration evaluation and assessment of its diagnostic value in patients with toxocarosis. Eleonora Kaneva, Iskra Rainova

P26 Serologic findings of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme borreliosis, in rodents. Iva Christova, Hristo Dimitrov, Vesela Mitkovska, Iva Trifonova, Nikolay Kalvatchev, Teodora Gladnishka, Evgeniya Taseva, Vladislava Ivanova, Anelia Stojanova

P27 Seasonal analyses in Lake Ohrid pelagial zone water on basis of microbiological and physicochemical parameters. Vera Novevska, ElizabetaVeljanoska-Sarafiloska, Ksenija Novevski

P28 Developmental stability and nutritional quality in fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Luka Lučić, Dragana Miličić, VladimirKekić

P29 Temporal and spatial distribution of fauna of Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophildae) in Belgrade, Serbia. Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Vladimir Kekić

P30 Estimation of ethological isolation and wing morphology between two strains of Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera, Drosophilidae) after rearing on banana and carrot substrates during several years. Jelena Trajković, Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Tatjana Savić

P31 Effects of low temperature on adult emergence of two different Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) strains. Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, Nesrin Liman

P32 Relationships between phytoplankton and zooplankton in Lake Ohrid. Suzana Patceva, Dafina Guseska, V. Mitic, Orchideja Tasevska

P33 Comparison of the presence of DDT metabolites in sediments and fish from Lakes Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran (Republic of Macedonia). Elizabeta Veljanoska-Sarafiloska, Trajče Stafilov

P34 Long-term investigations of the biomass of Crustacea: Copepoda, Cladocera in the Lake Ohrid pelagic zone. Dafina Guseska, Orhideja Tasevska, Goce Kostoski

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P35 Spawning grounds of cyprinid fish in the eastern shoreline of Lake Ohrid. Marina Talevska, Trajce Talevski

P36 Comparison of pelagic rotifer communities in three natural Macedonian lakes. Orhideja Tasevska, Dafina Guseska, Goce Kostoski

P37 Small mammal habitat associations in the area of Strandzha Mountain (SE Bulgaria). Sirma Zidarova

P38 Study on carabid beetles’ communities (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in typical habitats of Strandzha Mt. Rumyana Kostova, Elena Tasheva

P39 Diet of Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) from Moldova and Ukraine. Nedko Nedialkov, Dimitar Ragyov, Zlatozar Boev, Andrew Dixon

P40 Habitat preferences and relative abundance of small mammals (Mammalia: Insectivora and Rodentia) from West Trakia valley, Bulgaria. Nedko Nedialkov, Yordan Koshev

P41 Paleo-ecological reconstruction of the locality of Perunika village in Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria) during the Upper Eocene, based on Molluscs (Mollusca: Gastropoda, Bivalvia). Slaveya Petrova, Elvan Mehmed, Ivelin Mollov, Dilian Georgiev

P42 Trophic niche breadth and overlap between two sympatric lizard species (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from South Bulgaria. Ivelin Mollov, Peter Boyadzhiev, Atanas Donev

P43 Assessing the influence of the automobile traffic on the amphibians and reptiles in the buffer zone of Biosphere Reserve “Srebarna” (NE Bulgaria). Ivelin Mollov, Krasimir Kirov, Slaveya Petrova, Dilian Georgiev, Iliana Velcheva

P44 Тhe tabanid fauna (Diptera: Tabanidae) of the Chirpan Eminences (Bulgaria). Diana Ganeva, Milena Kalmishka

P45 New data on the morphology of two acanthocephalan species from family Polymorphidae from the region of the Durankulak Lake. Zlatka Dimitrova

P46 Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus rudolfi) in Western Rhodope Mountain, Bulgaria: distribution and species habitat modeling. Dimitar Plachiyski, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Stoyan Nikolov

P47 Faunistical and ecological anlysis of small mammals species diversity in Strandzha Natural Park. Nasko Atanasov, Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Hristo Dimitrov, Vesela Mitkovska

P48 Craniometric characteristics of the wild goat (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica Bolkay, 1925) from Bulgaria. Svetoslav Gerasimov, Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Rosen Andreev, Petar Genov

P49 Geographical characteristics, age-sexual features and trophy quality of the horns of the wild goat (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica Bolkay, 1925) from Bulgaria. Rosen Andreev, Nino Ninov, Petar Genov, Svetoslav Gerasimov

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CONTENTS FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................................... 3 COMMITTEES ................................................................................................................................. 4 SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME ......................................................................................................... 5

PLENARY LECTURES ........................................................................................................ 19 Extreme zoology – what is this and where we are? ...................................................................... 21

Vassil Golemanski

Molecular analyses in mammals and birds: population genetics, phylogeography and conservation ................................................................................................. 22

Frank Zachos

Polytene chromosomes and their significance for taxonomy, speciation and genotoxicology ........................................................................................................ 23

Paraskeva Michailova

Research strategies to address the challenges related to the future of the environment .................................................................................................... 24

Georgi Markov

POPULATION GENETICS AND MOLECULAR STUDIES .......................................... 25 Diapause-specific gene expression pattern in the fat body of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) ................................... 27

Željko Popović, Jelena Purać, Ana Subotić,Tatjana Nikolić, Danijela Kojić, Elvira Vukašinović, Snežana Milovac, Snežana Gošić-Dondo, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić, Vladimir Koštál

Discrimination of the Orthocladiinae species (Diptera: Chironomidae) by using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I ........................................... 28

Adile Sari, Mustafa Duran, Fevzi Bardakci

Hidden biodiversity: the case of the chromosomal races of the Balkan endemic vole Microtus thomasi .................................................................................. 29

Michalis Rovatsos, J. Marchal, G. Paspali, S. Oruci, A. Sanchez, E. Giagia-Athanasopoulou

Allozyme variability in populations of Apis mellifera mellifera, A. m. carnica and A. m. caucasica from Poland ........................................................................... 30

Evgeniya Ivanova, Malgorzata Bienkowska, Beata Panasiuk, Jerzy Wilde, Teodora Staykova, Ivan Stoyanov

Genetic variability in silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) strains with different origin ...................... 31 Teodora Staykova, Evgeniya Ivanova, Dimitar Grekov, Krasimira Avramova

ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 33 Fatty acid composition dynamics during diapause of European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyrallidae) ................................ 35

Elvira Vukašinović, David Pond, Danijela Kojić, Jelena Purać, Željko Popović, Snežana Milovac, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić

The structure of spermatozoa in social voles subgenus Sumeriomys ......................................... 36 Tanya Zorenko, Fedor Golenishchev

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Fatty acid composition of Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae) ..................................................................................................... 37

Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, Esra Ulusoy

Life on the see-saw: an insight into cell death control during larval diapause of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. ........................................ 38

Željko Popović, Tatjana Nikolić, Darko Častven, Milan Đilas, Jelena Purać, Danijela Kojić, Elvira Vukašinović, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić, Vladimir Koštal

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION ZOOLOGY ................................................... 39 Species diversity of epigeobiont and geobiont animal groups from Strandzha Mountain .............................................................................................................. 41

Maria Shishiniova, Plamen Mitov, Elena Tasheva-Terzieva, Ilyan Iliev, Albena Lapeva-Gjonova, Rumyana Kostova, Rostislav Bekchiev, Sirma Zidarova

Skull non-metrical features of the European Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius from Hungary: cranial evidence for its geographic detachment ............................. 42

Georgi Markov, Gabor Csorba, Maria Kocheva, Milena Gospodinova

Changes in the aquatic communities in the Rhodope Mountain Landslide Lakes (S Bulgaria) for the last 40 years. I. Biodiversity of the macrozoobenthos, zooplankton and the fish communities .......................................................................................... 43

Milena Pavlova, Luchezar Pehlivanov, Stefan Kazakov, Emilia Varadinova, Yanka Vidinova, Violeta Tyufekchieva, Yordan Uzunov

Diversity of Long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) in Gradina Floodplain forest, Bulgaria ......................................................................................... 44

Mihail Kechev

The golden jackal (Canis aureus L.) in Bulgaria: “What is going on?” .................................... 45 Georgi Markov, Milena Gospodinova

Natural colonies of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in European Turkey and discussion on the chances of natural re-colonization of the species in Bulgaria ........................ 46

Elena Kmetova, Pavlin Zhelev, Aleksandar Mechev, Gradimir Gradev, Ivelin Ivanov

PARAZITOLOGY, TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASES AND PEST CONTROL ................ 47 Genetic investigations of rodents for human pathogens .............................................................. 49

Iva Christova, Hristo Dimitrov, Vesela Mitkovska, Iva Trifonova, Nikolay Kalvatchev, Teodora Gladnishka, Evgeniya Taseva, Vladislava Ivanova, Anelia Stojanova

Impact of entomophages on density of Thaumetopoea pityocampa in egg stage near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria .................................................................... 50

Plamen Mirchev, Georgi Georgiev, Petеr Boyadzhiev, Maria Matova

Species composition, distribution and seasonal variations in the invasion of domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries) by ixodidae ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the region of the town of Parvomai ............................... 51

Dimo Arnaudov, Atanas Arnaudov, Diana Kirin, Svetla Gospodinova

Outbreak of trichinellosis in Elin Pelin city January – March 2011 .......................................... 52 Iskra Rainova

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ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND ZOOMONITORING ............................................................. 53 Assessment of the sediment toxicity in Bulgarian and Turkish Rivers using the biomarkers in Chironomus riparius Mg. (Diptera, Chironomidae) .......................... 55

Mustafa Duran, Paraskeva Michailova, Adile Sarı, Julia Ilkova, A. Sen, Erdal Karadurmus

Preliminary results on development of a Chironomid based summer surface water temperature inference model for the Turkish lakes ............................................ 56

Gürçay Kıvanç Akyildiz, Mustafa Duran

Ecological quality assessment of salmonid rivers in Bulgaria using ichthyologic parameters ....................................................................................................... 57

Luchezar Pehlivanov, Milena Pavlova, Milen Vassilev, Apostolos Apostolou, Boris Velkov

Histopathological analysis of liver in fish population of reservoir ,,Tikves” ............................. 58 Lidija Velkova-Jordanoska, Stojmir Stojanovski, Lence Lokoska, Elizabeta Veljanoska-Sarafiloska, G. Kostoski

Effect of river fragmentations on the abundance and size structure of Barbus petenyi (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), river Iskar, Bulgaria ............................ 59

Eliza Uzunova, Anna Futekova, Ivelina Georgieva, Lidia Rashkova

Impact of Entomophaga maimaiga (Entomophtorales: Entomophtoraceae) on non-target phytophagous insects in oak forests of Bulgaria .................................................. 60

Margarita Georgieva, Danail Takov, Daniela Pilarska, Vassil Golemansky, Plamen Pilarski, Plamen Mirchev, Georgi Georgiev, Boyan Rossnev, Peter Petkov, Maria Matova

Evaluation of the ecological status of two river ecosystems with different types of anthropogenic pollution in Southern Bulgaria based on the level of the fluctuating asymmetry in the populations of the marsh frog Rana ridibunda (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae) .......................................................................................................... 61

Zhivko Zhelev, Atanas Arnaudov, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Hristo Dimitrov

Results from marking of Sandwich terns (Sterna sandvicensis) with colour rings and radio transmitters at Pomorie Lake ......................................................... 62

Dimitar Popov, Doncho Kirov

Data from Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus) tagged with GPS/GSM transmitters in Bulgaria .......................................................................... 63

Gradimir Gradev, Elena Kmetova, Viktor Garsiya, Ivelin Ivanov

Free-living rodents as bioindicators of genetic risk in Natural Park “Strandzha” ................... 64 Vesela Mitkovska, Hristo Dimitrov, Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Nasko Atanasov

East European vole (Microtus levis Miller, 1908) – biomonitor for the heavy metals impact on the environment in Strandzha Mountain ...................................... 65

Georgi Markov, Hristo Dimitrov

POSTER SESSION ................................................................................................................ 67 Application of variability of ITS1 sequences for studying biodiversity of some Black Sea representatives of Clupeidae family ............................................................... 69

Darinka Boyadzhieva-Doychinova, Feriha Myumyunova, Maria Gevezova, Daniela Petrova-Klisarova, Iliya Denev

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The seasonal changes of fatty acid composition of Sea Bream, Sparus aurata L. 1758 (Osteichthyes: Sparidae) .......................................................................... 70

Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, İkbal Yıldırım, Rahile Öztürk

Effects of dietary fatty acids on fecundity of Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) ............................................................... 71

Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, Ekrem Ergın

Small mammal reproduction in Riga city meadow habitats ....................................................... 72 Ilze Mitre, Tanya Zorenko

Bioenergetic characteristics of genus Mus from South Europe .................................................. 73 Roumiana Metcheva, Michaela Beltcheva

Measurements of tyrosinase activity in diapausing larvae of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)..................................................... 74

Danijela Kojić, Jelena Purać, Željko Popović, Elvira Vukašinović, Snežana Milovac, Tatjana Nikolić, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić

Morphological abnormalities in Branchipus schaefferi (Fischer, 1834) (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from Serbia ....................................................................................... 75

Dragana Miličić, Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Luka Lučić

An updating of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) distribution in Serbia ...................................................................................................................... 76

Dunja Lukić, Ana Nahirnić, Aleksandar Marković, Tamara Karan Žnidaršič, Marko Šćiban, Dragana Miličić

Studies on the gall community of Diplolepis rosae (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria ...................................................................................................... 77

Ivaylo Todorov, Anelia Stojanova, Dimitar Parvanov, Peter Boyadzhiev

On the endemism in the fungus gnat fauna (Diptera: Diadocidiidae, Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae) in the Mediterranean region ............................................... 78

Dimitar Bechev

Addenda to the Bulgarian myrmecofauna .................................................................................... 79 Albena Lapeva-Gjonova

Soil Nematodes from order Plectida (Nematoda) in different plant communities of Standzha Mountain (Bulgaria, Turkey) ................................................... 80

Ilyan Iliev, Zhenya Ilieva

Genetic variation in bullhead populations from the lower Danube tributaries, Northwest Bulgaria: implications for management conservation strategies ............................. 81

Eliza Uzunova, Jerzy Sell, Monika Stolarska, Anna Wysocka

Insect community from seeds of Ephedra distachya from Dobrogea, Romania ....................... 82 Irinel Popescu

Comparative analysis of fish biodiversity from the Adriatic and the Aegean watersheds in the Republic of Macedonia ......................................................... 83

Trajce Talevski, Aleksandra Talevska

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Parasite fauna of chub (Squalis squalis Bonaparte, 1837) from the Lake Ochrid (R. Macedonia) .......................................................................................... 84

Stojmir Stojanovski, N. Hristovski, Lidija Velkova-Jordanoska, D. Blazekovic-Dimovska, Gj. Atanasov

First record of Grossuana angeltsekovi Glöer & Georgiev, 2009 (Gastropoda: Risooidea) from Greece ................................................................................. 85

Dilian Georgiev

Two new species of stygobiotic snails from the genus Bythiospeum (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from Bulgaria ................................................................................... 86

Dilian Georgiev

Variation of morphometric characters of astragalus tarsal bone in Bos taurus L., 1758 (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from the neolithic sites of the Vinča culture on the Balkan peninsula ....................................................... 87

Darko Radmanović, Desanka Kostić, Jelena Lujić, Svetlana Blažić

Cases of colouration anomalies of small mammals from Bulgaria ............................................. 88 Nedko Nedialkov, Yordan Koshev, Ivaylo Raykov, Georgy Bardarov

Height Mountain species from subfamily Aphidiinae (Braconidae, Hymenoptera) from Bulgaria .................................................................................. 89

Ognian Todorov

Four new harvestmen records from Turkey (Arachnida: Opiliones) ........................................ 90 Plamen Mitov

Earthworms (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) of Bulgaria: diversity and biogeographical consideration ................................................................................ 91

Mirjana Stojanović, Ralitsa Tsekova, Tanja Milutinović

Distribution and threat status of endemic earthworm Dendrobaena rhodopensis (Černosvitov 1937) on the Balkan Peninsula .......................................................... 92

Mirjana Stojanović, Ralitsa Tsekova, Jovana Milanović, Tanja Milutinović

Total IgE concentration evaluation and assessment of its diagnostic value in patients with toxocarosis ...................................................................... 93

Eleonora Kaneva, Iskra Raynova

Serologic findings of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme borreliosis, in rodents.................................................................... 94

Iva Christova, Hristo Dimitrov, Vesela Mitkovska, Iva Trifonova, Nikolay Kalvatchev, Teodora Gladnishka, Evgenya Taseva, Vladislava Ivanova, Anelia Stojanova

Seasonal analyses in Lake Ochrid pelagial zone water on basis of microbiological and physicochemical parameters .................................................... 95

Vera Novevska, Elizabeta Veljanoska-Sarafiloska, Ksenija Novevski

Developmental stability and nutritional quality in fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) ..................................................................... 96

Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Luka Lučić, Dragana Miličić, Vladimir Kekić

Temporal and spatial distribution of fauna of Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophildae) in Belgrade, Serbia ................................................................................ 97

Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Vladimir Kekić

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Estimation of ethological isolation and wing morphology between two strains of Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera, Drosophilidae) after rearing on banana and carrot substrates during several years ......................................... 98

Jelena Trajković, Sofija Pavković-Lučić, Tatjana Savić

Effects of low temperature on adult emergence of two different Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) strains .............................................. 99

Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, Nesrin Lıman

Relationships between phytoplankton and zooplankton in Lake Ohrid .................................. 100 Suzana Patceva, Dafina Guseska, V. Mitic, Orchideja Tasevska

Comparison of the presence of DDT metabolites in sediments and fish from Lakes Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran (Republic of Macedonia) ..................................... 101

Elizabeta Veljanoska-Sarafiloska, Trajče Stafilov

Long-term investigations of the biomass of Crustacea: Copepoda, Cladocera in the Lake Ohrid pelagic zone .............................................................. 102

Dafina Guseska, Orhideja Tasevska, Goce Kostoski

Spawning grounds of cyprinid fish in the eastern shoreline of Lake Ohrid ............................ 103 Marina Talevska, Trajce Talevski

Comparison of pelagic rotifer communities in three natural Macedonian lakes .................... 104 Orhideja Tasevska, Dafina Guseska, Goce Kostoski

Small mammal habitat associations in the area of Strandzha Mountain (SE Bulgaria) ........................................................................................ 105

Sirma Zidarova

Study on carabid beetles’ communities (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in typical habitats of Strandzha Mt. ............................................................................................ 106

Rumyana Kostova, Elena Tasheva

Diet of Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) from Moldova and Ukraine ........................................... 107 Nedko Nedialkov, Dimitar Ragyov, Zlatozar Boev, Andrew Dixon

Habitat preferences and relative abundance of small mammals (Mammalia: Insectivora and Rodentia) from West Trakia valley, Bulgaria .......................... 108

Nedko Nedialkov, Yordan Koshev

Paleo-ecological reconstruction of the locality of Perunika village in Eastern Rhodopes Bulgaria) during the Upper Eocene, based on Molluscs (Mollusca: Gastropoda, Bivalvia) ................................................................ 109

Slaveya Petrova, Elvan Mehmed, Ivelin Mollov, Dilian Georgiev

Trophic niche breadth and overlap between two sympatric lizard species (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from South Bulgaria ........................................................ 110

Ivelin Mollov, Peter Boyadzhiev, Atanas Donev

Assessing the influence of the automobile traffic on the amphibians and reptiles in the buffer zone of Biosphere Reserve “Srebarna” (NE Bulgaria) .......................... 111

Ivelin Mollov, Krasimir Kirov, Slaveya Petrova, Dilian Georgiev, Iliana Velcheva

Тhe tabanid fauna (Diptera: Tabanidae) of the Chirpan Eminences (Bulgaria) .................... 112 Diana Ganeva, Milena Kalmishka

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New data on the morphology of two acanthocephalan species from family Polymorphidae from the region of the Durankulak Lake.................................... 113

Zlatka Dimitrova

Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus rudolfi) in Western Rhodope Mountain, Bulgaria: distribution and species habitat modeling ................................................................. 114

Dimitar Plachiyski, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Stoyan Nikolov

Faunistical and ecological anlysis of small mammals species diversity in Strandzha Natural Park .............................................................................. 115

Nasko Atanasov, Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Hristo Dimitrov, Vesela Mitkovska

Craniometric characteristics of the wild goat (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica Bolkay 1925) from Bulgaria ................................................. 116

Svetoslav Gerasimov, Tsenka Chassovnikarova, Rosen Andreev, Petar Genov

Geographical characteristics, age-sexual features and trophy quality of the horns of the wild goat (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica Bolkay, 1925) from Bulgaria ..................... 117

Rosen Andreev, Nino Ninov, Petar Genov, Svetoslav Gerasimov

SEMINAR-TRAINING “Transmissible diseases” ..................................................................... 118 ROUNDTABLE ............................................................................................................................ 119 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS .......................................................................................................... 120 SPONSORS ................................................................................................................................... 127

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PLENARY LECTURES

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Extreme zoology – what is this and where we are?

Vassil Golemanski

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzar Osvoboditel Bld. 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria e-mail: golemansky@zoology.bas.bg

ABSTRACT: The extreme Zoology studied the biological and ecological characteristics of animal diversity in habitats with extreme conditions. The main categories of extreme animals: anaerobes, thermophiles, barophiles. etc. and their biological preferences and adaptation mechanisms to extreme habitats are presented. Several general topics and achievements of Bulgarian zoologists, studying animal inhabitants in extreme conditions, are briefly maintained.

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Molecular analyses in mammals and birds: population genetics, phylogeography and conservation

Frank Zachos

Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Wien, Austria e-mail: frank.zachos@nhm-wien.ac.at

ABSTRACT: Over the last twenty or so years the molecular revolution has resulted in many exciting new methodologies that are extremely useful in addressing evolutionary and ecological questions in zoology, from studies of genetic variation and its partitioning to historical biogeography to conservation biological applications. The talk will give examples of each of these topics in mammals and birds, drawing from my own research as well as from the rich literature that has accumulated. The focus will be on the European fauna, and target species will include red deer, carnivores and sea eagles.

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Polytene chromosomes and their significance for taxonomy, speciation and genotoxicology

Paraskeva Michailova

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, 1, Blvd. Tsar Osvoboditel, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria; e-mail: michailova@zoology.bas.bg

ABSTRACT: The polytene chromosomes are interphase chromosomes which are formed by endomitotic replication of chromosomes without cell division. Their large size, constant somatic pairing of the homologues and species-specific band patterns makes them important signs for taxonomy, systematics and evolution. The significance of the polytene chromosomes for the taxonomy and systematic of the family Chironomidae is illustrated. Interspecies differences by chromosome rearrangements, localization and appearance of heterochromatin, differences in amount of repetitive DNA elements are shown in the genera Chironomus and Glyptotendipes. It was discussed to what extent and under what circumstances changes in the banding patterns of the polytene chromosomes may initiate sympatric, allopatric and introgressivie hybridization. The presence of fixed aberrations in the homozygous state is an important factor of species divergence. Sympatric species display more complicated chromosome rearrangements then allopatric species. In addition, hybridization tests revealed that pre – and postmating isolating mechanisms were operating. During the introgressivie hybridization, each species is characterized by a unique integrated internal system of genetic balance but it remains open to the acquisition of small amounts of genetic variability from the other species. The high resolution of chironomid salivary gland chromosomes and their sensitivity to external stressors allows their use in the diagnosis of environmental quality and hence of potential hazards posed by environmental pollution.

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Research strategies to address the challenges related to the future of the environment

Georgi Markov

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria, e-mail: georgimar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: In this lecture is reflected strategic scientific position of the Standing Committee for Life, Earth and Environmental (LESC) of the European Science Foundation (ESF) for the challenges of the future of the environment, which is produced by its members with the support of the European Science Foundation and distributed through the issuance of Science Position Papers by the European Science Foundation. The initiative for and the development of this Science Position Paper has been coordinated by Professor Reinhart Ceulemans, LESC Chair and Dr. Arja Kallio, Head of LESC Unit.

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POPULATION GENETICS AND MOLECULAR STUDIES

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Diapause-specific gene expression pattern in the fat body of European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Željko D. Popović1,2, Jelena Purać1, Ana Subotić1,Tatjana V. Nikolić1, Danijela Kojić1, Elvira Vukašinović1, Snežana Milovac1, Snežana Gošić-Dondo3, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić1, Vladimir Koštál2

1 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Trg D. Obradovića 2, Novi Sad, Serbia

2 Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Branišivska 31, Česke Budejovice, Czech Republic

3 Maize Research Institute, Slobodana Bajića 1, Belgrade, Serbia Corresponding author: Željko Popović, e-mail: zeljko.popovic@dbe.uns.ac.rs

ABSTRACT: Most insect species have evolved a period of developmental arrest (diapause) that enables them to encompass adverse seasonal periods. European corn borer O.nubilalis is an important pest species whose larvae enter into winter diapause in autumn. In this study, we investigated gene expression in the diapause of 5th instar O. nubilalis larvae. Diapause was induced in laboratory and larval fat body tissue was sampled every two months. Candidate genes were selected from the public databases and the criterion was the potential involvement of genes in diapause (HSPs, GST, metallothionein, ferritin, glutaredoxin, TNF1, Bax inhibitor, prohibitin and selected mitochondrial electron transport chain genes). Real-time PCR analysis showed that analysed genes had similar diapause-specific gene expression pattern. Namely, level of analysed gene transcripts gradually rises during diapause, being the lowest after 2 and the highest after 6 months. Low expression in the beginning of diapause could be the consequence of strong metabolic suppression and diversion of energy for the synthesis of important protective molecules. As for the progressive increase in the number of transcripts during the latter part of diapause, we assume that this is not the result of higher gene expression but rather the consequence of mRNA accumulation during basal low-level transcription in general combined with prolonged mRNA lifetime at low temperatures. In support of this, a high level of mRNA in the end of diapause could be of vital importance for the completion of diapause and the resumption of development in the spring.

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Discrimination of the Orthocladiinae species (Diptera: Chironomidae) by using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I

Adile Sari1, Mustafa Duran1, Fevzi Bardakci2

1 Pamukkale University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 20070 Denizli, Turkey

2 Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 09010 Aydin, Turkey

Corresponding author: Adile Sari, e-mail: aozdemir@pau.edu.tr

ABSTRACT: Chironomidae family (Diptera) is more than 120 million years old and has undergone extensive adaptive radiation to occupy a wider range of microhabitats than any other aquatic insect group at present. Chironomidae are often the most abundant group of insects in freshwater environments worldwide. The family Chironomidae includes over 10,000 species, which are distributed from the tropics to the Arctic in lakes, streams and puddles. Unfortunately, the larval stage of Chironomidae, commonly collected in aquatic sampling surveys, possesses relatively few morphological characteristics useful for their identification. Molecular approaches are now being used for identification and taxonomic resolution in many animal taxa. In this study, species of larval Chironomids were collected from 12 lakes of Turkey. Species were characterized morphologically and 56 Orthocladiinae species were identified. Mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), has been used as phylogenetic marker in Orthocladiinae species collected from 12 lakes of Turkey. Neighbour-joining, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analysis have been used to identify the relationship between species and to detect the monophyletic groups. According to phylogenetic analysis Cricotopus bicintus, Cricotopus sylvestris, Rheocricotopus atripes and genus Psectrocladius have been formed monophyletic groups.

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Hidden biodiversity: the case of the chromosomal races of the Balkan endemic vole Microtus thomasi

Michalis Rovatsos1, J. A. Marchal2, G. Paspali3, S. Oruci3, A. Sanchez2, E. B. Giagia-Athanasopoulou1

1 Section of Animal Biology, Department of Biology, University of Patras, GR-26500 Patras, Greece

2 Dpto de Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, E-23071 Jaén, Spain

3 Department of Biology and Chemistry, University “Eqrem Cabej”, Gjirocaster, Albania

Corresponding author: Michalis Rovatsos, e-mail: mrovatsos@upatras.gr

ABSTRACT: The phylogenetic relationships between the chromosomal races of the underground vole Microtus thomasi were investigated through cytogenetic analysis (G-banding, C-banding, FISH with satellite and telomeric sequences), mtDNA molecular phylogeny (cytb, dloop, ND2) and inbreeding experiments. Our study on specimens from Greece, Albania and Montenegro, revealed an extensive chromosomal polymorphism among the populations, resulting in the description of seven new chromosomal races, with chromosomal numbers varying from 2n=38 to 2n=44. The studied populations were divided in two genetically distinct, geographically and reproductively isolated lineages (2.7% divergence for cytb gene), which we suggest that probably correspond to two sibling species, namely Microtus thomasi and Microtus atticus, derived from different glacial refugia of Southern Greece. Furthermore, inbreeding experiments among chromosomal races of the species Microtus thomasi revealed a reproductive isolation in several cases, caused by chromosomal incompatibilities. We assume that the reproductive isolation among chromosomal races of Microtus thomasi indicates their evolutionary fate, able to evolve to distinct species in time.

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Allozyme variability in populations of Apis mellifera mellifera, A. m. carnica and A. m. caucasica from Poland

Evgeniya Ivanova1, Malgorzata Bienkowska2, Beata Panasiuk2, Jerzy Wilde3, Teodora Staykova1, Ivan Stoyanov1

1 Department of Developmental Biology, University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria 2 Research Institute of Horticulture, Apiculture Division, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland 3 Apiculture Division, Warmia and Mazury University, Sloneczna 48, 10-710 Olsztyn, Poland

Corresponding author: Evgeniya Ivanova, e-mail: geneiv@uni-plovdiv.bg

ABSTRACT: The genetic variability in honey bee populations of three subspecies reared in Poland (A. m. mellifera, A. m. carnica and A. m. caucasica) has been studied by usage of allozymic analysis of six enzymic systems (MDH-1, ME, EST-3, ALP, PGM and HK) corresponding to 6 loci. All loci were found to be polymorphic in the populations studied. Three alleles were detected at MHD-1, ALP, PGM and HK, four alleles – at Me and six alleles – at EST-3 loci. The most frequent and the private alleles were discussed as suitable genetic markers for the subspecies characterization. The observed and expected heterozygosities (Ho and He) ranged from 0.233 (A. m. carnica) to 0.311 (A. m. mellifera) and from 0.268 (A. m. carnica) to 0.327 (A. m. caucasica), respectively. Allele frequencies of all loci were used to estimate Nei’s (1972) genetic distance, which was found to range from 0.025 (between A. m. carnica populatons) to 0.518 (between A. m. caucasica and A. m. mellifera populations). The estimated mean FST value from allozyme data was 0.28. UPGMA and Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic dendrograms were obtained by genetic distance matrix methods. The studied A. m. mellifera, A. m. carnica and A. m. caucasica populations were grouped in three different clusters.

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Genetic variability in silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) strains with different origin

Teodora Staykova1, Evgeniya Ivanova1, Dimitar Grekov2, Krasimira Avramova2

1 Department of Developmental Biology, Section of Genetics, University of Plovdiv, 24 Tsar Assen Str., Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria

2 Agricultural University, Plovdiv, Department of Animal Breedig

Corresponding author: Teodora Staykova, e-mail: tstaykova@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Genetic diversity within and among ten silkworm Bombyx mori strains was investigated using isoenzymes of four metabolic enzymes viz., phosphoglucomutase (PGM), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and aspartataminotransferase (AST) by polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Three of the studied enzyme systems – PGM, MDH and ACP manifested intra- and inter-strain polymorphism with three or five alleles. AST was monomorphic in all strains tested. The observed heterozygosity was found to range from 0.000 to 0.266. Allele frequencies of all loci were used to estimate Nei’s (1972) genetic distance, which was found to range between 0.004 and 0.457 among the strains studied. A perusal of genetic diversity within and among strains indicated that 34.72% of the observed variation occurred among strains and the rest of the variation (65.28%) within strains. Genetic relatedness of the ten strains revealed by the UPGMA dendrogram, showed genetic grouping of strains in two clusters. Populations of silkworm strains Kinshu and E 29, and Asahi and Kinshu showed the highest percent of polymorphism and more number of alleles, respectively. Their rich genetic diversity needs to be exploited in conservation and breeding programme.

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ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY

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Fatty acid composition dynamics during diapause of European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. (Lepidoptera: Pyrallidae)

Elvira Vukašinović1, David Pond2, Danijela Kojić1, Jelena Purać1, Željko Popović1, Snežana Milovac1, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić1

1 Department of Biology and Ecology, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia; 2 British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Cambridge, United Kingdon

Corresponding author: Elvira Vukašinović, e-mail: elvira.pamer@dbe.uns.ac.rs

ABSTRACT: Many insects of temperate regions enter into winter diapause in order to survive adverse environmental conditions. Cold hardiness is associated with diapause in many insect species and the 5th instar diapausing larvae of Ostrinia nubilalis is prime example. In order to estimate cold hardy potential of this pest species, we analyzed with GC-MS the fatty acid (FA) composition of transesterified lipids extracted from haemolymph and fat body from both non-diapausing and diapausing larvae. The fatty acid composition in both tissues and groups was similar, with the dominance of C16:0 (palmitic acid), C16:1n7 (palmitoleic acid) and C18:1n9 (oleic acid) comprising up to 80% of FA pool. Major difference between non-diapausing and diapausing tissues was relative abundance of dominant FA. In both tissues, the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic and oleic) significantly increased in the beginning of diapause and then remained relatively constant. Concurrently, levels of saturated FA significantly decreased. In haemolymph of both groups, monounsatured FA percentage raised from 43% to 67% while saturated FA declined from 23% to 15%. Similarly, in fat body, the amount of monounsaturated FA increased from 50% to 85% and saturated decreased from 28% to 11%. Based on our results, a shift to unsaturated FA in larval tissues primarily occurs in the beginning of diapause which indicates its genetic control. On the other hand, maintenance of unsaturated FA at high levels during whole diapausing period confirms an important role of lipid fluidity maintenance in the insect cold hardy adaptations.

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The structure of spermatozoa in social voles subgenus Sumeriomys

Tanya Zorenko1, Fedor Golenishchev2

1 University of Latvia, Kronvald Boulevard 4, Riga LV-1586, Latvia 2 Institute of Zoology, Sankt-Petersburg

Corresponding author: Tanya Zorenko, e-mail: zorenkot@lanet.lv

ABSTRACT: Structure of males’ spermatozoa can have great taxonomic value. The purpose of a study was to compare a shape and size of spermatozoa in 5 social voles’ species. This subgenus is divided on two groups of species: “socialis” and “guentheri”. Species of guentheri group have the greatest size of a spermatozoon' head, especially in M. guentheri. It is a little less in M. hartingi. The relation of length of a head to its width makes respectively 1.58 and 1.52. This index is much less in species of socialis group. The relation of length of a midpiece of a tail to a head length considerably differs too. The smallest index is noted in M.paradoxus (authors have a different view on the taxonomic status of this vole), the greatest in M. schidlovskii and M. socialis. The obtained data confirm Aksenova's (1978) conclusion that voles of subgenus Microtus s. str and subgenus Sumeriomys essentially differ in a shape of a head and acrosome of spermatozoon. Common voles’ head is battleaxe and the acrosome has a form of a pole-axe, whereas in social voles it looks as a cockleshell snail, and the acrosome represents a cone-shaped hillock. Aksenova considers the battleaxe shape of a head as initial in evolution of voles. It is possible to consider a structure of spermatozoa of social voles as later acquisition. Structure of spermatozoa also points to isolation of social voles and confirms justice of allocation them in independent subgenus.

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Fatty acid composition of Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) (Osteichthyes: Tetraodontidae)

Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu1, Esra Ulusoy

1 Marmara University, Faculty of Science and Arts, Department of Biology, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey

Corresponding author: Z. Ulya Nurullahoğlu, e-mail: nulya28@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT: The Silverstripe Blaasop Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) is distributed in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. It is known that L. sceleratus is situated also in the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Sea. The species has a potential risk since it contains tetrodotoxin. Certain internal organs are highly toxic when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of L. sceleratus is considered a delicacy in Japan, Korea and China. The toxin has only occasionally been detected in the muscles of these fishes. If cleaned and dressed properly, the puffer flesh or musculature is edible. In this study, total lipid and fatty acid composition of L. sceleratus muscle obtained in Antalya Bay (Boğazkent, Mediterranean coast of Turkey) was determined. After total lipid quantity of samples had been determined, methylation of fatty acids for gas chromatography analysis was achieved. It is confirmed that the fatty acids which has the highest percentage in fatty acid composition, are palmitic acid, steraic acid, docosaheksaenoic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. Total omega-3 fatty acid ratio was found high. It is well known that fish oil, especially omega-3 has beneficial effects on health. Our results show that L. sceleratus may be a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. *This study was supported by The Scientific Research Committee of The Marmara University (Istanbul- Turkey) Project number: FEN- D130612- 0242.

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Life on the see-saw: an insight into cell death control during larval diapause of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.

Željko D. Popović1,2, Tatjana Nikolić1, Darko Častven1, Milan Đilas1, Jelena Purać1, Danijela Kojić1, Elvira Vukašinović1, Gordana Grubor-Lajšić1, Vladimir Koštal2

1 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Trg D. Obradovića 2, Novi Sad, Serbia

2 Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Branišivska 31, Česke Budejovice, Czech Republic

Corresponding author: Tatjana Nikolić, e-mail: tatjana.nikolic@dbe.uns.ac.rs

ABSTRACT: In a mammalian cell a decrease in ATP and increase in ADP/AMP levels, if prolonged, lead to the activation of cell death pathways. In order to avoid harsh winter conditions, fifth instar larvae of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, enter into diapause, a state of arrested and prolonged development. During diapause metabolism is strongly suppressed, ATP is gradually depleted which induces lower activity of ion pumps and the subsequent ion leakage in cells. In such hypometabolic conditions, it is a question how diapausing larvae avoid induction of cell death. In order to investigate this, we used non-diapausing/diapausing larvae and pupal tissues to measure activities of major apoptotic caspases- initiator (caspases 8/9) and effectory (caspase 3). We also performed genomic DNA laddering assay and fluorescent microscopy (FM) with DAPI dye to investigate potential apoptotic changes in larval tissues. Our results showed that initiator caspases were more active in larvae than in pupae, while the effectory caspase had the opposite pattern. These results were further supported with the DNA laddering assay and FM that showed no substantial fragmentation of the genomic DNA and normal morphology of larval tissues during diapause. Activated initiator, but not the effectory, caspases indicate the presence of unknown control mechanisms that prevent the activation of effectory caspases and thus, keep cells in life until the end of diapause.

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BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION ZOOLOGY

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Species diversity of epigeobiont and geobiont animal groups from Strandzha Mountain

Maria Shishiniova1, Plamen Mitov1, Elena Tasheva-Terzieva1, Ilyan Iliev1, Albena Lapeva-Gjonova1, Rumyana Kostova1, Rostislav Bekchiev 2, Sirma Zidarova3

1 Department of Zoology and Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 8 Dragan Tsankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria

2 National Museum of Natural History, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria 3 Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,

2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Maria Shishiniova, e-mail: mariadelova@abv.bg

ABSTRACT: The biogeographical peculiarities of Strandzha Mountain and the adjacent Black Sea coast as a crossroad between Europe and Asia imply the presence of an extreme faunal diversity and uniqueness. Because of the border position there is lack of information about many animal groups, especially in the Turkish part of the mountain. During the period of three years, species composition of some epigeobionts and geobionts in different plant communities were investigated. The list of the established species for both Bulgarian and Turkish part of Strandzha Mt. includes: 219 species of free living and plant parasitic soil nematods (Nemathelmintes, Nematoda), 22 species of harvestmens (Arachnida, Opiliones), 197 species of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae), 44 species of pselaphines (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), 122 species of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and 15 species of small mammals. One harvestmen species and two beetle species are new for the science, 52 species are new for the Bulgarian fauna (39 nematod species, 1 harvestmen species, 5 pselaphine species, 1 carabid species and 6 ant species) and 299 are recorded for the first time for Strandzha Mountain. There are 3 harvestmen species and one subspecies, 9 pselaphine species and 6 ant species which are new records for Turkey. The presence of more than 100 rare, endemic or threatened species from the investigated fauna underlines the priority of the region as a very important in conservation of the biodiversity in Bulgaria.

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Skull non-metrical features of the European Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius from Hungary: cranial evidence for its geographic detachment

Georgi Markov1, Gabor Csorba2, Maria Kocheva1, Milena Gospodinova1

1 Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzar Osvoboditel Bld. 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

2 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, H-1088, Hungary

Corresponding author: Georgi Markov, e-mail: georgimar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: A study of epigenetic cranial polymorphism of the European water vole (Arvicola amphibius Linnaeus, 1758) from Hungary based on the frequencies of 13 non-metric cranial traits was carried out and its population epigenetic variation (Vi= 0, 1173) was found. The comparative analysis of epigenetic distances of Hungarian water vole from other populations of A. amphibius and from southern water vole (Arvicola sapidus Miller, 1908) from Europe revealed a sharp distinction of the Hungarian population from the others. Registered considerable epigenetic uniqueness (MU=12.0123) of A. amphibius in the central part of its European area proved the polytypical cranial epigenetic character of the water vole in Europe.

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Changes in the aquatic communities in the Rhodope Mountain Landslide Lakes (S Bulgaria) for the last 40 years. I. Biodiversity of the macrozoobenthos, zooplankton and the fish communities

Milena Pavlova, Luchezar Pehlivanov, Stefan Kazakov, Emilia Varadinova, Yanka Vidinova, Violeta Tyufekchieva, Yordan Uzunov

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzar Osvoboditel Bld. 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Milena Pavlova, e-mail: mnp.iber@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: The biodiversity of the aquatic communities (macrozoobenthos, zooplankton and fish) in 5 of the Smolyanski and 2 of the Chairski Landslide lakes was investigated in spring and summer of 2010. A total of 25 taxa of different taxonomic level of macrozoobenthos and zooplankton were reported for the first time in the studied lakes. The enriched list included 6 new planktonic species (5 species of Rotifera and 1 of Cladocera), and 19 new macrozoobenthic taxa (4 species of Oligochaeta, 2 species of Bivalvia, one genus of Ephemeroptera, one species of Plecoptera, one species of Odonata, 6 species, 2 genera and 2 families of the Trichoptera groups). Five fish species were registered belonging to two families in the composition of the ichthyofauna of the studied lakes. The similarities in the species composition of the macrozoobenthos and zooplankton among the lakes and in comparison with previous investigations were assessed. The statistically significant differences found for the macrozoobenthos composition in comparison with the published in 1975 revealed two completely different communities. Moreover, this applied also to the zooplankton community which fundamentally differed from that found in 1975. The large number of taxa reported for the first time was probably due to the long period of time since the last studies (more than 40 years) and the changes in the ecological conditions in the lakes. A more refined examination of the ecosystem functioning could provide more comprehensive data about the processes in these lakes of high conservation value.

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Diversity of Long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) in Gradina Floodplain forest, Bulgaria

Mihail Kechev

University of Agribusiness and Rural Development 78 Dunav Blvd., Plovdiv 4003, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Mihail Kechev, e-mail: mkechev@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: Gradina floodplain forest was visited for collecting dolichopodid flies in the period from 18.III.2012 to 23.VI.2012. Twenty-one distinct dolichopodid species (Argyra leucocephala, Chrysotus sp., Dolichopus latilimbatus, D. nubilus, D. salictorum, D. signifier, Gymnopternus metallicus, Hercostomus convergens, H. fulvicaudis, Poecilobothrus chrysosygus, P. regalis, Sybistroma nodicornis, S. setosa, Rhaphium caliginosum, Sciapus platypterus, Campsicnemus curvipes, C. simplicissimus, Syntormon metathesis, S. mikii, S. pallipes, Teuchophorus spinigerellus) were found in the investigated period. The species Hercostomus fulvicaudis, Sybistroma setosa and Syntormon metathesis are new to the fauna of Bulgaria. With these data the total number of Dolichopodidae species known in Bulgaria increases from 155 to 158.

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The golden jackal (Canis aureus L.) in Bulgaria: “What is going on?”

Georgi Markov, Milena Gospodinova

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzar Osvoboditel Bld. 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Georgi Markov, e-mail: georgimar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: In order to reveal the well-defined specificity of golden jackal (Canis aureus L) development in Bulgaria, its population dynamics was tracked using the available data from the official results of spring game counts carried out by the Executive Agency for Forests throughout the country during the period 1960 – 2011. It seems that the largest jackal population (39 343 animals in 2011) in Europe occurs in Bulgaria. The assessment of the importance of jackal’s increased numbers in Bulgaria takes into account its high predation upon ungulates (especially fawns) and livestock and its possible impact of the health of humans, wild and domestic animals, and requires implementation of adequate measures for its regulation in regions with proven harm on hunting, livestock breeding and human health. Preservation and stable presence of the jackal in Bulgaria could be achieved through declaring it normal game species and treating it as native species of Bulgarian mammals’ fauna.

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Natural colonies of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) in European Turkey and discussion on the chances of natural re-colonization of the species in Bulgaria

Elena Kmetova, Pavlin Zhelev, Aleksandar Mechev, Gradimir Gradev, Ivelin Ivanov

Green Balkans NGO, www.greenbalkans.org, 1 Skopie str., Plovdiv 4004, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Elena Kmetova, e-mail: ekmetova@greenbalkans.org

ABSTRACT: Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni Fleischer, 1818) is a small falcon, useful ally of man in the combat against pest on cultural plantations. The current nesting status of the species in Bulgaria is extremely unclear. The option for natural re-colonization of the species is determined by the fact that Lesser Kestrels still breed relatively close to Bulgaria – in Turkey, Macedonia and Greece. In order to assess the hypothesis for natural re-colonization, a team of Green Balkans carried out a seven-day expedition in the European part of Turkey in the period April 16-23d 2010. During the expedition the team covered about 2000 linear km visiting 115 settlements, establishing a total of 5 colonies of Lesser Kestrel at a total number of minimum 68 breeding pairs. Two of these colonies had not been known before. Considering the results of the expedition and a GIS habitat model developed for identifying the most suitable habitats for Lesser Kestrel, the current publication discusses the possibilities for natural re-colonization of the species from European turkey to Southeastern Bulgaria.

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PARAZITOLOGY, TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASES

AND PEST CONTROL

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Genetic investigations of rodents for human pathogens

Iva Christova1, Hristo Dimitrov2, Vesela Mitkovska2, Iva Trifonova1, Nikolay Kalvatchev1, Teodora Gladnishka1, Evgeniya Taseva1, Vladislava Ivanova1, Anelia Stojanova2

1 National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria 2 Department of Zoology, University of Plovdiv, 24 Tsar Assen Str., Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Iva Christova, e-mail: iva_christova@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Small mammals are reservoirs of various human pathogens – borreliae, anaplasmae, hantaviruses. In rodents, these pathogens often persist during their whole life. They might be transmitted to humans by ticks (borreliae, anaplasmae) or directly trough rodent excreta (hantaviruses), causing sometimes life-threatening infections. Objective: The aim of this work was to investigate infections with human pathogens in rodents trapped in different regions of Bulgaria. Material and methods: Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) for detection of flagellin gene of borreliae from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, ankA gene of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and nucleoprotein gene of hantavirus Dobrava. Results: Borreliae were detected in 64 (22,5%) of investigated 284 rodents by PCR – 41 samples were from A. flavicollis, 20 from A. agrarius, and 3 from A. sylvaticus. Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection was confirmed in 33 (11,6%) of the rodents – 11/128 (8,6%) infected A. flavicollis, 13/96 (13,5%) infected A. аgrarius and 1/11 (9%) A. sylvaticus. Specific hantavirus RNA was detected in 9 of the rodents. Seven of these infected rodents were trapped in the vicinity of town of Peshtera, district of Pazardjik. Dobrava hantavirus was confirmed in all infected with hantaviruses rodents. Discussion: Among rodents from A. agrarius species, A. phagocytophilum was detected in very high rate suggesting that this species may be a major reservoir of human granulocytic anaplasmosis in Bulgaria. Remarkably, a high number of rodents from genus Apodemus were infected with borreliae. Mainly infected with hantaviruses were Apodemus flavicollis mice, known as reservoir of Dobrava hantavirus but hantavirus infections was detected also in mice Apodemus agrarius, known as reservoir of Saarema hantavirus. *This study was supported by Bulgarian Sciense Fund, Project number: DVU 02/26

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Impact of entomophages on density of Thaumetopoea pityocampa in egg stage near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria

Plamen Mirchev1, Georgi Georgiev1, Petеr Boyadzhiev2, Maria Matova1

1 Forest Research Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 132 Kl. Ochridski Blvd., 1756 Sofia

2 Department of Zoology, University of Plovdiv, 24 Tsar Assen Str., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Georgi Georgiev, e-mail: ggeorgiev.fri@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: In Bulgaria, near Ivailovgrad, the Eastern Rhodopes, in a forest of Pinus nigra Arn. 85 egg batches were sampled over three generations (2009, 2010 and 2011 – time of deposit of eggs) of Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Den. and Schiff.) (Lep., Thaumetopoeidae). Directly after collection the batches were singled in test tubes, closed with cotton stoppers and stored under laboratory conditions at 20-22 °C. After removal of scales, the numbers of caterpillars hatched were counted. The final analysis was made after termination of parasitoid emergence. For that all eggs were opened carefully. Average number of eggs per egg batches was the most of generation 2011 -279.5 and in the previous two generations is about 10 % lower: 2010 – 250.1; 2009 – 256, 8. Survival of pine processionary moth in egg stages, expressed in percentage of hatched caterpillars was between 60 and 75 %. The most significant factor for reducing of density was entomophages (parasitoids and predators). Parasitized eggs amount to 30 %. Destroyed eggs of predators were below 1 %. Five species of parasitoids were identified: Ooencyrtus pityocampae (Mercet, 1921) (Encyrtidae), Baryscapus servadeii (Domenichini, 1965) (Eulophidae), Baryscapus transversalis Graham, 1991 (Eulophidae), Pediobius bruchicida (Rondani, 1872) (Eulophidae) and Anastatus bifasciatus (Fonscolombe, 1832) (Eupelmidae). All emerged after collection A. bifasciatus was male, only 1 of generation of 2010 was female, all O. pityocampae and B. servadeii – were females and B. transversalis – both sexes. The most abundance was the first two parasitoids, whose number is about 80 % to all parasitoids.

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Species composition, distribution and seasonal variations in the invasion of domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries) by ixodidae ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the region of the town of Parvomai

Dimo Arnaudov, Atanas Arnaudov1, Diana Kirin2, Svetla Gospodinova

1 Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Plovdiv, 24 Tsar Assen Str., 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

2 Agricultural University, Plovdiv

Corresponding author: Atanas Arnaudov, e-mail: arnaudov@uni-plovdiv.bg

ABSTRACT: The species composition and the distribution of ticks from the family Ixodidae, invading domestic goats and sheep near Parvomay (the district of Plovdiv) were studied. The values of invasion indicators (the number of parasites and the bio-geographical distribution) and the seasonal changes in the invasion of Carpa hircus and Ovis aries by tick species were found out. The daily activity of Ixodes ricinus in a habitat near the Gradina village was observed. 465 specimens of domestic goat and 570 specimens of sheep from 12 farms in different villages in the Parvomay Municipality were examined; the study was conducted in all four seasons. It is found out that domestic goats and sheep in the regions investigated are invaded by 7 species of ixodidae ticks – Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor marginatus, Haemaphysalis sulcata, Haemaphysalis punctata and Hyaloma plumbeum. The predominant invading species in both Capra aegagrus hircus and Ovis aries is Rhipicephalus bursa. The maximum of invasion in both host species was identified – in the spring by Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor marginatus; in the summer – by the species Rhipicephalus bursa and Rhipicephalus sanguineus; in the spring and autumn – by Haemaphysalis sulcata и Haemaphysalis punctata. Single specimens from the species Hyaloma plumbeum were found in March and November. Changes in the daily activity of ticks of the species Ixodes ricinus were reported – they were related to the fluctuations of the temperature and of the relative humidity and the solar radiation.

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Outbreak of trichinellosis in Elin Pelin city January – March 2011

Iskra Rainova

Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine at NCIPD, 26 Yanko Sakazov Blvd, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Iskra Rainova, e-mail: rainova@ncipd.org

ABSTRACT: An outbreak of trichinellosis in the Elin Pelin city was reported by the local hospital authorities on 10 March 2011 by the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI). An epidemiological investigation was carried out in order to determine the extent of the outbreak, identify the source and to propose control measures. The National Diagnostic Scientific Research Veterinary Institute (NDSRVI) in Sofia conducted a veterinary investigation. The source of infection was minced meat and row sausages prepared from domestic pork and horse meat. The animals were bought alive from an Elin Pelin citizen. An active search for cases was conducted by RHI in Sofia region among medical laboratories, general practitioners and hospital physicians. Two patients with high temperature, facial oedema and muscle pain in the limbs were admitted in Elin Pelin Hospital. 34 more cases were found and registered after that. 24 of them had manifested clinical signs – 17 were treated in hospital and 7 were treated in outpatient conditions.

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ANIMAL ECOLOGY AND ZOOMONITORING

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Assessment of the sediment toxicity in Bulgarian and Turkish Rivers using the biomarkers in Chironomus riparius Mg. (Diptera, Chironomidae)

Mustafa Duran1, Paraskeva Michailova2, Adile Sarı1, Julia Ilkova2, A. Sen1, Erdal Karadurmus3

1 University of Pamukkale, Faculty of Science and Arts, Department of Biology, 20070 Denizli, Turkey

2 Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Tzar Osvoboditel 1, Sofia 1000, Bulgaria

3 University of Hitit, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering. 19030 Corum, Turkey

Corresponding author: M. Duran, e-mail: mduran@pau.edu.tr; mduranpau@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT: As a model organism we used Chironomus riparius Mg. – a widely distributed species that can be reared in the laboratory conditions and has excellent salivary gland chromosomes. The study showed that the genome at cytogenetical and biochemical levels is a sensitive biomarker and can serve as early – warning indicators of environmental impact of chemicals. Analysis of trace metals in sediment of Chaya River (Asenovgrad, Bulgaria, 2010) and Derincay River (Turkey, 2010), indicated higher concentrations of trace metals (Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd) in comparison with reference data. The response at cytogenetical level is determined by changes of gene expression of key structures (BRs and NOR) and increased in structural chromosome somatic aberrations. Changes of gene expression are indicated by decreasing the transcriptional activity of BRs and NOR: very often they occurred in the intermediate state of activity or BRs are in collapes. The cells with somatic rearrangements of C.riparius from polluted Derincay River and Chaya River were in 16,94% and 36,36% respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the control (Derincay River: G = 125,53, P< 0.001; Chaya River: G = 73,81, P

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Preliminary results on development of a Chironomid based summer surface water temperature inference model for the Turkish lakes

Gürçay Kıvanç Akyildiz, Mustafa Duran

Pamukkale University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, Turkey

Corresponding author: Gürçay Kıvanç Akyildiz, e-mail: gkakyildiz@pau.edu.tr

ABSTRACT: As a preliminary study, surface sediment recovered from 29 lakes in Turkey was analysed for subfossil chironomid (Insecta: Diptera) remains and incorporated in a chironomid-based inference model for summer surface water temperature. Altitude varies between 2037 m and 5 m among the lakes. Gravity corer was used to take surface sediment for contemporary training set. Chironomid identification was made to the generic level. To standardize the taxonomic approach, chironomid samples taken from the Turkish lakes have compared with the European subfossil larvae collection. In total 67 different subfossil chironomids were collected. Samples were deleted if they contained fewer than 40 identifiable chironomid head capsules. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to examine the distribution of chironomid taxa among the lakes and to relate their distributions to measured environmental variables in dataset. Weighted Averaging-Partial Least Squares (WA-PLS) were used to assess the transfer function performance. The statistics of the inference model for summer surface water temperature were analyzed as RMSE = 0.663, r2 = 0.984 and RMSEP = 1.78°C. These results are expected to become more consistent as the number of lakes. This study is innovative as the first Turkish chironomid-based temperature calibration set and this will offer much potential for work on temperature reconstructions in Turkey.

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Ecological quality assessment of salmonid rivers in Bulgaria using ichthyologic parameters

Luchezar Pehlivanov1, Milena Pavlova1, Milen Vassilev, Apostolos Apostolou, Boris Velkov

1 Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Major Yurii Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Luchezar Pehlivanov, e-mail: lzp@abv.bg; luchezar_pehlivanov@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: The salmonid rivers in Bulgaria are characterized with naturally poor species composition of the ichthyocenoses including 1 to 3 species. This makes inapplicable for ecological quality assessment the existing fish indices including the species richness as a parameter. An algorithm is proposed for assessment the ecological status of all trout rivers within the both Eco-region 12 and Eco-region 7 according WFD. Ten ichthyologic parameters were used: total numbers and biomass of the ichthyofauna, total numbers, biomass and number of the size-age groups of the Brown trout, percentage in numbers and number of the size-age groups of the Bullhead (for Danube tributaries), percentage in numbers of the cyprinid species, percentage in numbers of the introduced species, health status of fishes. The values of the used parameters were organized in four ranges with respective rates 0, 1, 3, and 5. The integrated index was calculated as the sum of the rates. The ecological quality assessment was made through comparison of the values obtained with the referent values of EQR the river type being taken in account. The proposed algorithm was tested for ecological quality assessment of salmonid river stretches within the watersheds of both the Danube River and Aegean Sea.

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Histopathological analysis of liver in fish population of reservoir ,,Tikves”

Lidija Velkova-Jordanoska, Stojmir Stojanovski, Lence Lokoska, Elizabeta Veljanoska-Sarafiloska, G. Kostoski

SI Hydrobiological Institute, Naum Ohridski 50, Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia

Corresponding author: Lidija Velkova-Jordanoska, e-mail: lidvejo@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: The liver of fish can be considered a target organ to pollutants. Alterations in its structure can be significant in the evaluation of fish health and exhibit the effects of a variety of environmental pollutants. Liver pieces of 12 fish individuals collected from reservoir ,,Tikves” during 2010, were excised and processed for standard histopathological analysis. The obtained results revealed pathological changes in the liver tissue including an inflammatory processes, fibrosis and necrosis on a level of hepatocelular parenchyme, bile duct proliferation and bile duct epithelium necrosis on a level of hepatic bile tract. Estimation of water quality of reservoir ,,Tikves” on the basis of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters indicate that waste water have distinct impact to the natural fish population.

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Effect of river fragmentations on the abundance and size structure of Barbus petenyi (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), river Iskar, Bulgaria

Eliza Uzunova1, Anna Futekova1, Ivelina Georgieva2, Lidia Rashkova3

1 Department of General and Applied Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, 8 Blvd Dragan Tsankov, Sofia 1164, Bulgaria

2 Executive Environment Agency, 136 blvd. Tsar Boris III, Sofia, Bulgaria 3 National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture, 17 Blvd. Hristo Botev, Sofia, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Eliza Uzunova, e-mail: e_uzunova@abv.bg

ABSTRACT: Habitat fragmentation affects the populations of many fish species, but the little attention has paid to cyprinids. The black barbel Barbus petenyi (L.) is a characteristic species in the mountain and sub-mountain streams of the lower Danube tributaries. The B. petenyi is of particular interest because of its value as a game fish and as well as an indicator species listed in Annex II of the European Commission’s Habitats and Species Directive (92/43/EEC). The 19 km sector of upper section of the River Iskar was investigated during May-June, 2011. In the investigated zone were identified five flow-obstructing structures (weirs) that have potential to prevent or limit the upstream movement of B. petenyi. Abundance (ind.·100 m-2) and size structure of B. petenyi were obtained immediately downstream and upstream of the each weir. It was observed that abundance of B. petenyi declined dramatically in upstream direction due to the restricted re-colonization and migration processes. Barbel abundance did not depend on the distances between fragmentation structures. A signi