Springs are globally abundant. They are classified according to many typologies primarily due to the combination of a very diverse geological formation and hydrology of their area. In hydrobiological research the most important are the type of a niche, water quality and catchment area. The high diversity of these parameters is reflected in a broad range of spring habitats and a development of different algae communities. The aim of the presentation is to report the springs as a refuge for freshwater algae. The presence of many rare, endangered and new to science taxa has been documented in many springs. Diatoms are amongst the most common and abundant organisms. The diatom flora of springs in Europe has been extensively studied for over 200 years and is therefore the best recognized in the world. The most studies on algae occurring in the springs, however, were limited to upland and mountain areas. In the case of Poland, the researchers also focused on such areas. The results of my research on diatom assemblages in the lowland springs of north-eastern Poland confirm the important role of the springs in maintaining the biodiversity. Alongside cosmopolitan and widespread species, many rare ones have been described. Among them were Navicula striolata (Grunow) (Lange-Bertalot 1985), Cocconeis pseudothumensis E. (Reichardt 1982), Diploneis krammeri (Lange-Bertalot & E. Reichardt 2000), and Diploneis alpina (F. Meister 1912) which was first recorded for Poland.

Sponge microbiome is an indicator of both natural and antropogenic stresses. In aquatic ecology, metagenomic approaches makes it possible to investigate complex microbial communities and their interactions within the host as well as with environment. A metagenomic study was performed among 4 different samples of healthy and diseased freshwater sponges belong to Lubomirskia baikalensis species collected from Baikal Lake, Bolshie Koty, Russia. The analysis of nucleotide composition of the 16S rRNAmetagenomic libraries will be carried out on an IlluminaMySeq sequencer. The PCR amplification of the V3-V4 16S rRNA ribosomal gene was used in this study. The primary analysis of NGS sequencing data, removal of short and chimeric sequences, clustering in OTUs (operational taxonomic units), assessment of biodiversity by calculating ACE, Chao1, and Shannon indices will be carried out using the Mothur v.1.22.0 program (http://www. mothur.org). The Pyrosequencing pipeline program (http://pyro.cme.msu.edu) will be used to determine species diversity and taxonomic composition and compare communities. Data cluster analysis will be performed using the Complete Linkage Clustering program, which is part of the Pyrosequencing pipeline. A comparative analysis of the metagenomes of diseased and healthy sponges showed that diseased sponges undergo a variety of nonspecific changes in the bacterial composition, in particular, an increase in the number of Flavobacteria and a decrease in Alphaproteobacteria and Saprospirae. The composition of the bacterial community is probably influenced by the type of sponge, as well as the degree of disease affection. The results contribute to understanding the nature of changes in symbiotic relationships during the development of discoloration syndrome in freshwater sponges.

The dynamics of any given plant community are closely related to the population ecology of the principal plant species, but these had hardly been studied in Central Asian plants. The outcomes of long-term studies in the dry steppes of Central Mongolia have shown that the simplification of steppe communities has taken place over recent decades. Annually since 1976, the detailed research of pascual ecosystems in the main natural zones Mongolia are carried out here within the framework of Russian-Mongolian Biological Expedition’s program. Changes of dominant and co-dominant species of pasture plant communities occur corresponding to a dried steppe type. The estimation of present state of natural grasslands was given. The area of different degree of anthropogenic disturbance was discovered. Steppes and dry steppes of Mongolia are characterized by highly dynamic and extreme natural conditions. The results of our survey has showed degradation of vegetable communities for 35-40 years’ period in connection with overgrazing and strengthening of climate aridity in the last decades. The succession of pastoral ecosystems leads to replacement of ecological niches of fodder grasses with uneatable and poisonous species. It results in unsuitability of such pastures for grazing.

The non-invasive methods, which do not need direct access and harassment of animals, are essential for biodiversity monitoring. For mammals, analyses of scats and hair samples, tracking and recording by remote cameras are among the most commonly used. The study aimed to verify the current status of animal populations using camera traps in Gorce National Park (GNP), located in the Polish Carpathians covered with the natural beech and spruce mountain forests. On average, 35 passive infra-red camera traps annually were deployed in GNP. The archived data from the period of December 2013 to December 2017 was processed. In total, there were 21087 recordings of animals with 23 different taxa of mammals including 17 large and medium-sized species. Shannon’s diversity index was H´= 1.908. Among ungulates, the most commonly observed species were red deer (Cervus elaphus; n=7898), followed wild boar (Sus scrofa; n=526) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus; n=482). Three large carnivores i.e., grey wolf (Canis lupus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) were all regularly observed, though they belong to rare species in Poland and other neighbouring countries. The use of camera traps allowed us to distinguish lynx individuals and estimate the size of its local population. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) which was not observed in GNP since the 90s, was surprisingly recorded by camera traps in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, we registered raccoon (Procyon lotor), an invasive alien species in Poland, which can pose a potential threat to local fauna. Similarly, domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) were free-ranging in GNP without any confinement and far from the nearest human settlements. The collected information helped to improve management and conservation measures by GNP. We showed that this non-invasive method is particularly useful for the monitoring of elusive and individually recognizable animal species.

The pattern of earthworm diversity along altitudinal gradients was rarely investigated. The aim of this study is to examine the patterns of earthworm diversity at on western slopes of the Kopaonik Mountain. Earthworm was sampled within four months in both 2018 and 2019 (from April to July). In total, 30 plots at altitudinal transects (between 420 and 1950 m a.s.l.) were sampled within two years’ fieldwork. Overall, 27 earthworm species belonging to 11 genera were found at the study sites. A combination of Pearson’s correlation, linear regression and cluster analysis (UPGMA) were used for determining the effects of altitude on the earthworm diversity. Essentially, we found monotonically declining relationships between total abundance/species richness and altitudinal gradients (from 14 to 6 species, and from 118 to 39 individuals). Cluster analysis revealed two patterns of earthworm community composition, one that characterizes lower altitude (up to 1000 m) and one that observed at the middle and higher altitude (from the 1000 m). Nevertheless, a major number of taxa with broader ecological tolerances which mean altitudinal range increased with increasing altitudes and thus supported the Rapoport's altitudinal rule, was observed. Overall, this study has provided new insights into the understanding of the effect of altitude on earthworm diversity.

Contrary to what is normally thought, any ecosystem is fragile in itself. That is, if the correct pressure is being applied over it. Coral reefs are usually robust, balanced, dynamic, self-regulating ecosystems that will have greater or lesser populations of all the species of plants and animals that live there, depending on the climate conditions: water temperature, amount of sunlight, salinity, etc. But there are situations in which this balance can be quickly and easily thrown out of whack: among others, it is happening when new coming species arrive for disturbing the host ecosystem.

Marine biological invasions are one of the main causes of biodiversity losses, agravated in vulnerable habitats such as islands and continental waters. Ports are main entry gates of exotic biota, principally through biofouling and ballast water. Since eradication is more difficult in late than in early invasion stages, early detection of first stages of invasion is essential in conservation biology politics. The main problem is that most species are difficult to detect, especially during early developmental stages (i.e. larval and juvenile stages) and new strategies are needed to effective prevention and early detection of nuisance organisms. They should involve not only port stakeholders and researchers but the whole society because sostenaible development is a priority for any ecosystems and more for Pacific Islands, which are a reflection of Natural Paradise.

The principal aim of this work is the development of an early detection, monitoring and control protocol for benthonic NIS in Polynesian ports in order to see the evolution of invasive oyster species. The two exotic species identified during the sampling in different years were the Natal rock oyster, Saccostrea cucullata – native from Indian Ocean and Red Sea and the Frond oyster, Dendostrea frons – native from Caribbean Sea. The Frond oyster (D. frons) was detected only in the three ships sampled in Port of Papeete in 2011, however, in 2018 this oyster was present into the port of Papeete and in Vaiare Ferry and Marina. On the other hand, the Natal rock oyster (S. cucullata) was present only in Pao-Pao port in Moorea Island in 2011, and in Pao-Pao, Vaiare Ferry and Port of Papeete in 2018.

We describe three new tardigrade species from Canada, i.e., one representing Paramacrobiotus richtersi complex, the other Macrobiotus hufelandi complex and one belonging to the genus Bryodelphax. Integrative analysis is made based on morphological and morphometrical data (using both light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) combined with multilocus molecular data (nuclear sequences, i.e., 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and ITS-2 as well as mitochondrial COI barcode sequences). Paramacrobiotus sp. nov. differs from most species of the genus by a different type of the oral cavity armature, details of egg morphology (number of areoles around egg processes and shape of egg processes) and some morphometric characters of adults (presence or absence of eyes, presence or absence of granulation on legs, dentate lunules under claws IV). Based on COI molecular data, Macrobiotus sp. nov. is most similar to Mac. canaricus Stec, Krzywański & Michalczyk, 2018 (p-distance 17%). Bryodelphax sp. nov. is most similar to Bry. parvulus Thulin, 1928 (p-distance 16%). Moreover, both species differs also from their congeners in some morphological and morphometrical characters of adults and/or details of eggs. Additionally, a large population of Mesobiotus skorackii Kaczmarek, Zawierucha, Buda, Stec, Gawlak, Michalczyk & Roszkowska, 2018 was found in Canada and this is the first report of this species outside terra typica in Kirghizia. The original description of this species was based solely on the morphology. Here we provide an updated description of the species by means of integrative taxonomy.

Invasive populations of feral cats strongly threaten the native fauna on islands worldwide. French Polynesia, located in the South Pacific, is included within the 36 global biodiversity hotspots and harbors several highly endangered endemic species. Domestic cats have been introduced by European settlers ca. 200yrs BP and feral and domestic cat populations are now present in most French Polynesia islands and their habitats, but their abundance and impacts remain largely understudied. The French Polynesian islands represent a multi-invaded system that exhibit contrasted assemblages of introduced rodents. The impact of feral cat populations is assumed to be higher in presence of introduced rodents and may also vary according to the rodent species. Here, we investigated the trophic ecology and impact of feral cats on four contrasted inhabited tropical islands, regarding the introduced rodent species: two islands in the Marquesas - Ua Huka (harboring only Polynesian rats R. exulans) and Tahuata (harboring Polynesian rat and black rat R. rattus) - and two islands of The Society: Moorea and Tahiti (harboring Polynesian, black, brown rats R. norvegicus). We studied i) cat diet by trophic analyses using feral cat scats samples and ii) cat abundance using camera traps set up during 15 consecutive days giving an abundance index (General Index (GI): mean number of virtual capture per camera per occasion); across 2 surveys (2018-2021) on these four studied islands. Our study reveals previously unreported patterns of cat abundance; in the Marquesas islands, we obtained a GI of 0.46±0.25, for Ua Huka 0.73±.23 and 0.19±0.03 for Tahuata. In the Society islands, we obtained a GI of 0.17±0.15, 0.02±0.01 for Moorea and 0.32±0.03 for Tahiti. Feral cats prey upon at least 13 native bird species in French Polynesian islands, 8 of which are endemics throughout 3 are UICN Red-listed as threatened. Surprising relative abundances revealed more feral cats on islands harboring only one species of rodent (Ua Huka with only Rattus exulans). Bird conservation in the different islands of French Polynesia requires specific studies on invasive predators before implementation of management actions.

Morocco, like the other Mediterranean countries, is characterized by a great diversity of indigenous varieties of vines "Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera", taking advantage of the climate and also of the heterogeneity of their landscapes Without forgetting, the know-how and agricultural practices adopted by traditional farmers who have contributed in one way or another to preserve the genetic diversity of these indigenous grape varieties. Within the framework of this study, we are seeking the identification and characterization of 36 indigenous grape varieties sampled in the north and south of Morocco. The samples studied were taken from traditional vineyards in these regions. For the ampelographic and ampelometric description, 26 characters were used according to a list of descriptors developed by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV). Thus, the ampelographic and ampelometric approach were refined by a principal component analysis (PCA) which made it possible to group the grape varieties into five distinct groups according to their correlations to the variables linked to the bunch, the berry and the seed. The results obtained from these different approaches confirmed the presence of great inter-grape and intra-grape variability within the samples studied. This observation leads us to make more efforts to maintain this variability and to fight against genetic erosion and the threat of environmental changes.

In Europe, chalk grasslands are considered as biodiversity hotspots, hosting rare species (e.g. orchid and endemic species). However, since the mid 20^th century, this habitat is threatened by changes in agricultural practices, especially the decline of pastoralism and recent anthropogenic nitrogen inputs.

In this national research project (‘SURPAS’ project, French Ministry for the Ecological Transition, UMS PatriNat, OFB), we aimed to identify the main factors driving plant composition and richness of these chalk grassland communities to update our knowledge and recommendations in terms of conservation measures.

The study was carried out in Natura 2000 chalk grassland sites in the valley of Somme river, in north-western France. We performed botanical and habitat surveys (topography and soil measures, vegetation structure, composition and biomass, fodder quality) at two spatial scales, in 1x1 m and 4x4 m plots. Data were analyzed using multivariate analyses (CCA) and mixed models.

Our main results showed that plant height, South exposure, litter thickness and woody species abundance drive composition and richness species, and that nitrogen inputs in the ecosystem, Brachypodium pinnatum dominance and tree colonization were currently the major threats to the conservation of the diversity of chalk grasslands.