Institute of Biological Sciences

Head: prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec ul. Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin pokój 173, tel. 81 537 59 19, 537-50-31 mail: bernard.staniec@mail.umcs.pl, hesperus@onet.eu

Staff members:

prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec
dr hab. Paweł Buczyński, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Rafał Gosik, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Halina Kucharczyk, prof. UMCS 
dr hab. Marek Kucharczyk, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Marcin Polak, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Ewa Pietrykowska-Tudruj, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Jarosław Wiącek, prof. UMCS
dr Maciej Filipiuk
dr Rafał Krawczyk
dr Grzegorz Karol Wagner

mgr Wojciech Czarniawski
mgr Jacek Kot

Doctoral students:

mgr Krystian Ołdak
mgr Agnieszka Tańczuk
mgr Michał Zembrzycki

History

The Department of Zoology and Nature Protection comprises two former units: the Department of Zoology and the Department of Nature Protection.

The Department of Zoology was one of the oldest scientific units of the Faculty. It was established in 1944, and prof. dr hab. Konstanty Strawiński was its organizer and first Head. The Department of Zoology was formerly named the Department of Biology, the Department of Systematic Zoology and Entomology, and the Department of Systematic Zoology. The Laboratory of Protozoology, which was an independent unit in 1958-1970, was incorporated into the Department in 1970. The Department was headed by prof. dr hab. Konstanty Strawiński (1944-1963), doc. dr hab. Sergiusz Riabinin (1963-1964), prof. dr hab. Sędzimir Maciej Klimaszewski (1964-1973), prof. dr hab. Zdzisław Cmoluch (1973-1995), dr hab. prof. UMCS Jacek Łętowski (1995-2008), and prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec (2008-2019).

The Department of Nature Protection was established in 1962 as the Department of Nature Protection and Phenology. It was renamed in 1973. The Department was headed by doc. dr hab. Sergiusz Riabinin (1973-1987), prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Puszkar (1987-2001), dr Jarosław Krogulec (2001-2005), and dr hab. prof. UMCS Marek Kucharczyk (2005-2019). On 1 October 2019, prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec was appointed the Head of the newly created Department of Zoology and Nature Protection.

Current research topics

• Systematic and phylogenetic evaluation of insects based on morphological, anatomical, biochemical, and molecular traits of various developmental stages - verification of the status of taxa and development of a natural classification system based on phylogenetic relationships;
• Taxonomy of symbiotic fungi colonizing nests of selected species of saproxylic Lasius ants;
• Variability of insect microbiome in terms of the systematic position, environmental and trophic specialisation, and physiological features - myrmecophilous, saproxylic, zoophagous, saprophagous, and phytophagous species, including species with economic importance;
• Insect biology in field and laboratory observations - life cycles, phenology, selected aspects of ecology and behaviour, and importance of species for economy, epidemiology as vectors of animal diseases, forensic science, and environmental protection;
• Biodiversity with elements of zoogeography, ecology, and interactions between selected groups of animals, mainly insects and amphibians, in various regions of Poland and some areas of European countries;
• Biological activity of animal-origin substances in relation to certain honeybee and human pathogens and some cancer cell lines;
• Impact of railway noise on birds;
• Inventory of bird communities in some forest complexes and agricultural landscape;
• Ecology of the marsh harrier on ponds in Lubelszczyzna and peat bogs near Chełm;
• Detection of the presence of viruses, bacteria, and heavy metals in the organisms of some bird species;
• Effect of a “known enemy” in interspecies relationships exhibited by two species of birds from the family of rails (Rallidae);
• Biodiversity and function of ecosystems in the dynamic landscape of active military training grounds;
• Ecology of astatic and ephemeral midfield reservoirs;
• Phytosociological studies with the use of numerical methods;
• Biology and ecology of invasive and threatened and endangered plant species in Poland

Research projects

1. State Forests Funds (2018) „Chrząszcze saproksyliczne wybranych obszarów chronionych Polski Polskiego Parku Narodowego” [Saproxylic beetles of some protected areas of Poleski National Park]. Head of the project: prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec.
2. NCN Preludium (2015 – 2018) "Efekt "znanego wroga" w relacjach międzygatunkowych na przykładzie dwóch gatunków ptaków z rodziny chruścieli (Rallidae)" [Effect of a “known enemy” in interspecies relationships exhibited by two species of birds from the family of rails (Rallidae)]. Project implemented in cooperation with the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. Investigator: dr hab. Marcin Polak, prof. UMCS.
3. State Forests Funds (2016-2017) „Chrząszcze myrmekofilne Polskiego Parku Narodowego” [Myrmecophilous beetles of Poleski National Park]. Head of the project: prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec.
4. NCBiR PBS (2013-2016) „Ocena rozprzestrzeniania i znaczenia zakażeń wirusem Schmallenberg w Polsce” [Assessment of the spread and importance of Schmallenberg virus infections in Poland]. Head of the task: dr hab. Maria Grochowska prof. UMCS.
5. NCN (2009-2014) „Wpływ struktury krajobrazu doliny niewielkiej rzeki nizinnej na charakter fauny wybranych grup bezkręgowców wodnych” [Impact of the landscape structure in a small lowland river valley on the fauna of selected groups of aquatic invertebrates]. Investigator: dr hab. Paweł Buczyński, prof. UMCS.
6. National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (2009-2014), Marshal of Pomeranian Province –„Czynna ochrona raka szlachetnego w jeziorach Pomorskiego Zespołu Parków Krajobrazowych” w ramach programu PLo2 „Ochrona różnorodności biologicznej i ekosystemów” [Active protection of the noble crayfish in the lakes of the Pomeranian Association of Landscape Parks” under the PLo2 program “Protection of biodiversity and ecosystems]. Investigator: dr hab. Paweł Buczyński, prof. UMCS.
7. NCN (2006-2011) „Gniazda ptaków wodno-błotnych i ich otoczenie jako siedlisko makrofauny bezkręgowców wodnych” [Nests of wetland birds and their surroundings as a habitat of aquatic invertebrate macrofauna]. Head of the project: dr hab. Paweł Buczyński, prof. UMCS.
8. Individual grant of the UMCS Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation (2009) “Jak dobrze mieć sąsiada... - przyczyny i mechanizm oddziaływań protekcjonistycznych u ptaków” [It is good to have a neighbour... - causes and mechanisms of protectionist interactions in birds] implemented in 2009. Head of the project: dr hab. Marcin Polak, prof. UMCS.

Patent applications

1. Patent application no. P.430603 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2019. „Ekstrakt wodny z kartonu gniazd mrówek Lasius fuliginosus do zastosowanie w leczeniu czerniaka ludzkiego” [Aqueous extract from the nest of Lasius fuliginosus ants for application in human melanoma treatment]. Inventors: Bernard Staniec, Karol Wagner, Ewa Pietrykowska, Magdalena Jaszek, Dawid Stefaniuk, Anna Matuszewska, Monika Prendecka, Anna Balcerz, Mirosław Zagaja, Grzegorz Grzywnowicz.
2. Patent application no. P.432228 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2019. „Wodny ekstrakt z gniazd mrówek Lasius fuliginosus do zastosowania w zwalczaniu nosemozy pszczoło miodnej” [Water extract from the nest of Lasius fuliginosus ants for application in control of honeybee nosemosis]. Inventors: Bernard Staniec, Karol Wagner, Aneta Ptaszyńska, Magda Kunat, Magdalena Jaszek, Dawid Stefaniuk, Anna Matuszewska.

Research cooperation

The Department of Zoology and Nature Protection cooperates with the following units of Lublin universities: University of Life Sciences (Chair of Zoology, Animal Ecology, and Hunting), Institute of Rural Medicine in Lublin, Independent Laboratory of Isobolographic Analysis), Medical University. We also cooperate with the following national research centres: University of Gdańsk (Faculty of Biology, Chair of Genetics and Biosystematics), Jagiellonian University (Institute of Botany), University of Life Sciences in Poznań (Institute of Zoology), University of Agriculture in Kraków (Chair of Forest Protection, Entomology and Forest Climatology), University of Life Sciences in Poznań (Chair of Forest Entomology), University of Silesia (Chair of Hydrobiology), University of Szczecin (Chair of Invertebrate Zoology and Limnology), University of Rzeszów (Chair of Zoology), University of Warsaw (Faculty of Biology), National Veterinary Institute and the Principal Laboratory of Chemical Analysis IUNG in Puławy, University of Warmia and Mazury (Chair of Ecology and Environmental Protection), and Poleski National Park (Urszulin).

The Department of Zoology and Nature Protection cooperates with the following foreign research institutions: University of Szent István, Budapest (Hungary), Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovakia), Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen (Denmark),

Fondazione Lombardia per l’Ambiente, Settore Biodiversità e Aree protette (Italy), Museo delle Scienze, Sezione Zoologia dei Vertebrati, Corso della Scienza e del Lavoro Trento (Italy), Museo Zoologico "La Specola" dell'Università di Firenze (Italy), DST–NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa), Curculio–Institute e.V. (CURCI), Weckenstraße 15, 30451 Hannover (Germany), Group Function of Invertebrate and Plant Biodiversity in Agro-Ecosystems, Crop Research Institute, Prague 6–Ruzyně (Czech Republic), Center of Alpine Entomology, University of Milan (Italy), Institute for Plant Protection and Environment, Banatska (Serbia), Institute of Ecology, University of Vitebsk (Belarus).

Awards and distinctions

• Dr Karol Wagner - UMCS Rector's award for the doctoral dissertation (2018)
• Prof. dr hab. Bernard Staniec, dr hab. Ewa Pietrykowska-Tudruj, prof. UMCS – UMCS Rector's Team Award for research activities (2018)

Major publications

• Buczyńska E, Buczyński P. 2019. Survival under anthropogenic impact: the response of dragonflies (Odonata), beetles (Coleoptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera) to environmental disturbances in a two-way industrial canal system (central Poland). PeerJ, 6: e6215.
• Staniec B, Pietrykowska-Tudruj E. 2019. Pupae of the mega-diverse rove beetle tribe Staphylinini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae): their traits and systematic significance. ZooKeys 877: 133–159. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.877.35715
• Wiater, A., Pleszczyńska M., Pietrykowska‐Tudruj E., Janczarek M., Staniec B., Szczodrak J. 2019. Isolation and characterization of α-(1→3)-glucan-degradingbacteria from the gut of Diaperis bolete feeding on Laetiporus sulphureus. Entomological Science (2019) 22, 36–41. doi:10.1111/ens.12332
• Kaczmarczyk-Zięba A., Wagner G. K., Grzywnowicz K., Kucharczyk M., Zielińska S. 2019. The microbiome profiling of fungivorous black tinder fungus beetle Bolitophagus reticulatus reveals the insight into bacterial communities associated with larvae and adults. PeerJ 7: e6852 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6852
• Krawczyk R., Zubel R., Komsta Ł. 2019. Military training areas and vegetation – the effect of explosion craters on species diversity along a moisture gradient. Pol. J. Ecol. 67(3): 196-207.
• Kucharczyk H., Kucharczyk M., Winiarczyk K., Lubiarz,M., Tchórzewska D. 2019. Effects of temperature on the development of Thrips nigropilosus Uzel (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on Mentha × piperita L. and the impact of pest on the host plant. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Hortorum Cultus, 18(3), 219–233. https://doi.org/10.24326/10.24326/asphc.2019.3.21
• Wiącek J., Polak M., Filipiuk M., Kucharczyk M. 2019. Does railway noise affect forest birds during the winter? European Journal of Foresr Research 138(5): 907-915.
• Skuhrovec J, Volovnik S, Gosik R, Stejskal R, Trnka F. 2019. Cleonis pigra (Scopoli, 1763) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae): Morphological Redescription of the immature stages, keys, tribal comparisons and biology. Insects, 10, 325; doi:10.3390/insects10100325
• Gosik R, Mazur MA, Sawka-Gądek N. 2019. First Descriptions of larva and pupa of Bagous claudicans Boheman, 1845 (Curculionidae, Bagoinae) and systematic position of the species based on molecular and morphological data. Insects, 10, 166; doi:10.3390/insects10060166
• Gosik R, Sprick P, Tiahunova T. 2019 Descriptions of the mature larva and pupa of the Scaly strawberry weevil Sciaphilus asperatus (Bonsdorff, 1785) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae) and observations of its biology. ZooKeys 873: 65–83; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.873.35922
• Pietrykowska-Tudruj E.;Staniec B., Wagner G.K., ;Zagaja M. 2019. Re-descriptions of mature larvae of two predatory species of Nudobius and Gabrius associated with bark beetle galleries (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). Zootaxa 4674 (5): 581–599.
• Polak M. 2019. Nest Concealment and Nest Defense by Two Passerines: Effect of Protective Nesting Association. Zoological Studies 58: 15.doi:10.6620/ZS.2019.58-15.
• Buczyńska E., Szlauer-Łukaszewska A., Czachorowski S., Buczyński P. 2018. Human impact on large rivers: the influence of groynes of the River Oder on larval assemblages of caddisflies (Trichoptera). Hydrobiologia, 819 (1), 177-195.
• Kęsik- Maliszewska J., Krzysiak M.K., Grochowska M., Lechowski L., Chase C., Larska M.  2018. Epidemiology of Schmallenberg Virus in European Bison (Bison bonasus) in Poland, Journal of Wildlife Diseases 54(2); 272-282 doi: 10.7589/2017-07-159.
• Hanaka A., Lechowski L., Mroczek-Zdyrska M.,Strubińska J.2018. Oxidative enzymes activity during abiotic and biotic stresses in Zea mays leaves and roots exposed to Cu, methyl jasmonate and Trigonotylus caelestialium. Physiology and Molecular Biology of  Plants m24(1):1-5. doi: 10.1007/s12298-017-0479-y.
• Staniec B, Zagaja M, Pietrykowska-Tudruj E, Wagner G. K. 2018 Comparative larval ultramorphology of some myrmecophilous Aleocharinae (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae), with a first description of the larvae of Amidobia talpa (Heer O, 1841) and Oxypoda haemorrhoa (Mannerheim C.G., 1830), associated with the Formica rufa species group. ZooKeys 808: 93–114. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.808.29818
• Bordoni A., Staniec B. 2018. Description of Neoxantholinus koghianus sp. n. and its larva from New Caledonia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Xantholinini). Zootaxa 4446 (2): 247–256. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4446.2.4
• Kaczmarczyk A., Kucharczyk H, Kucharczyk M., Kapusta P., Sell J., Zielińska S. 2018. First insight into microbiome profile of fungivorous thrips Hoplothrips carpathicus (Insecta:  Thysanoptera) at different developmental stages: molecular evidence of Wolbachia endosymbiosis. Scientific Reports 8:14376| DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-32747-x
• Staniec B, Pietrykowska-Tudruj E, Pawlęga K. 2018. First description of the larva of Dinaraea Thomson, 1858, with comments on chaetotaxy, pupa, and life history based on two saproxylic species from Europe (Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae, Athetini). ZooKeys 752: 99–123. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.752.24440
• Caldara R, Skuhrovec J, Gosik R, Marvaldi AE. 2018. On the affinities and systematic position of Pachytychius Jekel, a genus currently incertae sedis in Coleoptera, Curculionidae: evidence from immature stages and the COI gene support its placement in Smicronychini. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 277: 218-230.
• Buczyńska E., Czachorowski S., Buczyński P., Pakulnicka J., Stępień E., Szlauer-Łukaszewska A., Stryjecki R., Zawal A. 2017. Environmental heterogeneity at different scales: key factors affecting caddisfly assemblages in standing waters within a lowland river catchment. Journal of Limnology, 76 (2): 305-325. 
• Buczyński P., Szlauer-Łukaszewska A., Tończyk G., Buczyńska E. 2017. Groynes: a factor modifying the occurrence of dragonfly lavae (Odonata) on a large lowland river. Marine and Freshwater Research, 68 (9): 1653-1663.
• Larska M., Grochowska M., Lechowski L., Żmudziński J.F. 2017. Abundance and species composition of Culicoides spp. Biting midges near cattle and horse in South- Eastern Poland. Acta Parasitologica 62,4: 739-747.  doi: 10.1515/ap-2017-0089
• Zagaja M., Staniec B., Pietrykowska-Tudruj E.& Trytek M. 2017. Biology and defensive secretion of myrmecophilous Thiasophila spp. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) associated with the Formica rufa species group, Journal of Natural History, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2017.1387299
• Bereś P.K., Kucharczyk H., Górski D. 2017. Effects of Insecticides Used against the European Corn Borer on Thrips Abundance on Maize. Plant Protection Science, 53, 1: 44-49, doi: 10.17221/78/2016-PPS: 1-6.
• Strachecka A., Chobotow J., Paleolog J., Łoś A., Schulz M., Teper D., Kucharczyk H., Grzybek M. 2017. Insights into the biochemical defence and methylation of the solitary bee Osmia rufa L: A foundation for examining eusociality development. PLoS ONE 12 (4): e0176539.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176539
• Hurej M., Kucharczyk H., Twardowski J., Kotecki A. 2017. Thrips (Thysanoptera) associated with two genetically modified types of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.).Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 124: 81-91. doi: 10.1007/s41348-016-0052-x
• Grzywaczewski G., Bochniak A., Wiącek J., Łapiński P., Morelli F. 2017. Water on the Fen Mire as a problem in the Protection of Globally Threatned Species: Long Term Changes in Aquatic Warbler Numbers. Pol.J.Environ.Stud. 26(2): 613-618.
• Polak M. 2017. Bąk. Monografia przyrodnicza. Klub Przyrodników. Świebodzin, (ISBN 978-83-63426-14-9), 136 stron.
• Grochowska M., Lechowski L., Larska M., Żmudziński J.F. Kęsik- Maliszewska J. Krzysiak K. 2016. Analysis of the composition and abundance of SBV vectors Culicoides  spp., in habitats of wild and livestock animals. Journal of Veterinary Science & Medical Diagnosis 5: 5 (suppl). doi : 10.4172/2325-9590.C1.009.
• Staniec B., Pietrykowska-Tudruj E., Czepiel-Mil K. 2016. Larva Of Gyrophaena boleti (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) – an obligatory saproxylic and mycophagous species associated with Fomitopsis pinicola: notes on tergal gland system and behavior. Annales Zoologici, 66 (1): 83-100. 10.3161/00034541ANZ2016.66.1.006
• Staniec B., Pietrykowska-Tudruj E., Wagner K. 2016. Ultramorphological characteristics of unknown larva of Phloeonomus punctipennis Thomson, 1867 (Coleoptera; Staphylinidae; Omaliinae) – an obligate saproxylic species: notes on chaetotaxy and ecological preferences. Zootaxa 4171(3): 475-490. http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.0000.0.0
• KrawczykR., CwenerA., Michalczuk W., Zubel R. 2016.Ephemeral wetlands communities of Isoëto-Nano-Juncetea class – new data from south-eastern Poland. Biodiv. Res. Conserv. 42: 41-54.
• Polak M. 2016. Nest survival patterns in Eurasian Bittern: Effect of nest age, time and habitat variables. PeerJ 6, e2047 doi: 10.7717/peerj.2047
• Polak M. 2016. Comparative breeding ecology, nest survival and agonistic behaviour between Barred Warbler and Red–backed Shrike. Journal of Ornithology: 157: 747-758 doi: 10.1007/s10336-016-1336-4.
• Buczyński P. 2015. Dragonflies (Odonata) of anthropogenic waters in middle-eastern Poland. Wydawnictwo Mantis, Olsztyn, 272 s.
• Mirosław Zagaja & Bernard Staniec. 2015. Thiasophila szujeckii sp. n. (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae)—a cryptic species associated with Formica truncorum in Poland Zootaxa 3955 (3): 417–426. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3955.3.8.
• Przybylska A., Fiedler Ż., Kucharczyk H., Obrępalska-Sęplowska A. 2015. Detection of the quarantine species Thrips palmi by loop-mediated isothermal amplification. PLOS one 10(3): e0122033. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0122033
• Krawczyk A.J. Augustiničová G., Gwiazdowicz D.J., Konwerski S., Kucharczyk H., Olejniczak I., Rutkowski T., Skubała P.,Solarz K., Zdrojewska Z., Trojanowski P. 2015. Nests of the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) as habitat for nvertebrates. Biologia 70/11: 1—, 2015 Section Zoology DOI: 10.1515/biolog-2015-0186
• Hurej M., Kucharczyk H., Twardowski J., Kotecki A. 2015. Thrips (Thysanoptera) associated with two morphological forms of Andean lupin (Lupinus mutabilis). Biologia 70/7: 935-942
• Wiacek J., Polak M., Filipiuk M., Kucharczyk M., Bohatkiewicz J. 2015. Do birds Avoid Railroads as Has Been Found for Roads? Environmental Management 56(3): 643-652.
• Wiącek J., Polak M., Kucharczyk M., Bohatkiewicz J. 2015. The influence of road traffic on birds during autumn period: Implications for planning and management of road network. Landscape and Urban Planning 134 (2015): 76-82.
• Wiącek J., Polak M. 2015. Does traffic noise affect the distribution and abundance of wintering birds in a managed woodland? 2015. Acta Ornithologica 50(2): 233-245.
• Polak M. 2015. Variation in the nesting phenology of two positively interacting passerines. Avian Biology Research 8: 97–103 doi: 10.3184/175815515X14279001268462.