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Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951 (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) or Asian chestnut gall wasp, has been one of the most important pest insects on the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) in the last 20 years in Europe. In Romania, it was observed since 2015 in the western part of the country, but the population was kept under control without a negative impact. After almost four years, a new presence of this species in Northeastern Romania was discovered in the most important area for Castanea sativa, The Chestnut Forest from Baia Mare which is a Natura 2000 protected area (Arboretele de castan comestibil de la Baia Mare, ROSCI0003) The distribution of the pest in this area is clustered (Moran's Index = 0.311) with a preference on eastern and western exposure and higher temperatures. The colonization in this area can be explained by the introduction of infested chestnut trees without the quarantine treatment. This study aims to present the distribution of D. kuriphilus, the level of infestation, and climatic preferences for suitable management of a future biological control program in Romania [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The avian habitats in Eastern Europe are poorly managed in last decades. It is of highly noteworthy influence importance to obtain more information regarding the link between birds’ presence and environmental features in wetlands to improve this poorly managed system. In our study we investigated the effects of the various habitat, landscape fragmentation and weather variables on the bird assemblages in Eastern Romania, described by diversity, species richness and abundance of non-passerine birds in wetlands. Poisson regression modelling revealed wetland area, wetland heterogeneity, proportion of open-water, density of patches and habitats, landscape shape and temperature conditions have a noteworthy influence on the bird assemblages (p

The purpose of this research was to establish the baseline concentrations of thirteen trace elements (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Fe, Mg, Na, K, Sr, Ca, and Zn) in feathers of the common blackbird Turdus merula (n=9) at the Natura 2000 site "Marine Dunes from Agigea" (ROSCI0073). Both remiges and rectrices were pooled, and the quantification of trace elements was accomplished using two spectrometry analysis methods: high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometer with a graphite furnace (HR-CS GF-AAS) and flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FL-AAS). The concentration of Ca was the highest of the thirteen trace elements, registering at 209.9146±192.4098 µg·g-1 w.w., while Cd had the lowest concentration levels in feathers, 0.0243±0.0158 µg·g-1 w.w., respectively. However, the results obtained were significantly lower than those in the relevant literature. These findings suggest that the bioavailability of the analysed trace elements is minimal in our study area. Thus, it is imperative to conduct further research on the impact of these trace elements' accumulation and effects on avifauna in the Natura 2000 site "Marine Dunes from Agigea". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While some species naturally expand their range by finding suitable climatic and trophic niches in new areas, others have been transported intentionally or unintentionally by humans since their journey from Africa to other continents. This phenomenon has occurred throughout history, being more prevalent at the end of the Middle Ages and at the start of the Industrial Revolution, with its frequency increasing in recent times due to globalization. Hierodula tenuidentata Saussure, 1869 is a mantis species originally distributed from India to Caucasus, that started to become more and more common in many European countries in the last few years, being considered an alien species. However, there is limited information available regarding its distribution range, habitat preference, and other ecological requirements that can help us understand its movements. We used observation data from its range, along with bioclimatic and elevation variables, to build Species Distribution Models in MaxEnt. This allowed us to analyze the species' spatial ranges and understand and predict its distribution across Europe. Before selecting the best-fitting models, the occurrence data were spatially filtered, and bioclimatic variables tested for multicollinearity. Based on the present species distribution models, with AUC values of 0.967 for the training data and 0.960 for the test data, Hierodula tenuidentata emphasizes a coastal occurrence in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea regions, with local observations in southeastern Europe, an area that is likely to be occupied in the next few years through species expansion. Our data show that the expansion of Hierodula tenuidentata in Europe is influenced by the natural movement of the species westward combined with human introduction in some areas. It is now evident that the species' presence in Europe is not solely based on human-aided dispersion, as was previously believed. The main variables influencing the distribution of Hierodula tenuidentata across Eurasia are temperature and precipitation, both of which have been significantly modified in recent years due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that Ligularia sibirica, a boreal relict species in Europe, occurs in Romania in a wide range of habitat types, we assumed that under different ecological conditions, the response of phytocoenoses will be different, affecting the populations' performance. Thus, we aimed to determine L. sibirica's optimum conditions, through the interactions between the environmental factors and phytocoenological composition. We grouped the communities with L. sibirica according to their ecological features, with cluster analysis. The effect of interactions between the ecological factors (expressed by the Ellenberg Indicators for nitrogen availability, soil reaction, moisture, and light) and species assemblage (from the resulting clusters) on the performance of L. sibirica (assessed through its cover abundance values), was tested with general linear models. Our results show that L. sibirica's cover abundance is influenced by the nutrient content of the substrate and by the soil reaction, not only directly but also indirectly, through the increasing competition of the ecologically specialised species (under acidification or alkalinisation conditions) or of the generalist, more productive ones (in case of eutrophication). The results also highlighted the complexity of biotic interactions from the phytocoenoses, under different ecological conditions, the same species having either a competitive or facilitative effect on L. sibirica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. The Common Buzzard is a partial migrant in Eastern Europe, but its wintering densities are poorly known for this area due to a low number of studies. However, its migration patterns and wintering grounds can be affected by climate change with local fluctuations in numbers linked to weather conditions. Between 2010 and 2015 we annually carried out 15 transects/winter month in order to count the wintering population of Common Buzzards across Eastern Romania to look for climatic factors explaining variation in wintering density. Transects were controlled during two weeks from the end of the month, each covering a distance of 40 km, outlining the broadest winter monitoring of raptors in Central and Eastern Europe. Road survey was used, with a car driving at a low speed, and two observers counting birds, recording distance and habitat where birds occurred. In analyses, in addition to local weather data also 9 indices integrating weather conditions across longer time windows and larger areas were included. The wintering density calculated for the five-year period was 0.539 individuals/km2 fluctuating during the winter seasons with a possible cyclic pattern. The Buzzards selected pastures and herbaceous vegetation associations for hunting across their wintering grounds. Common Buzzard numbers fluctuate during the winter season (highest in December). They are positively influenced by rising solar flux and negatively by the low North Eastern Europe temperatures and Arctic Oscillation Index recorded within 14 days before the survey, which drive birds to southern wintering areas. These weather conditions (high pressure and low temperatures) represent the onset of the Siberian Anticyclone, a regular, annual weather system that occurs in Eastern Europe every winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bird migration is one of the most interesting nature phenomenons, covering annually thousands of kilometers between the breeding and the wintering grounds. For medium and large sized bird species the technology developed nowadays, tracking systems through satellite or GSM networks can cover very well this journey, but for those with smaller sizes the puzzle still remains to be solved. For those species the solution is still a traditional one, based on capture and marking (ringing) and recapture. Therefore, in 2018 the first station with a permanent activity from Romania was born inside of the Marine Biology Station „Prof. Dr. Ioan Borcea” in Agigea. This station covers spring migration, nesting season and autumn migration of birds at the Black Sea coast. Within this study more than 100 bird species are captured annually with an effective range between 13.000 -- 16.000 individuals per year. The most abundant three species are the Robin, the Common chiffchaff and the Blackcap. The species presence for the two migration seasons (spring and autumn) is different, varying depending on the migration strategy of each species. Some have a circular migration (e.g. the red-breasted flycatcher -- or the common redstart, subspecies samamisicus). Periods with maximum migration intensity are April -- May for the spring season and September -- October for the autumn season. In these periods, more than 400 -- 500 individuals ringed per day can be reached. Regarding this intense and long activity, even the rare species have appeared. Among these we mention the Eastern Subalpine warbler, the Sardinian warbler, the Red-flanked bluetail, the Dusky warbler, the Eastern Bonelli's warbler and the Pallas's Leaf warbler. Also, international recaptures are recorded annually therefore individuals ringed by us were recaptured in: Sweden, Finland, Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Malta, thus covering a part of the East European migration route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow-browed Warbler is a species of the Sylviidae family that breeds in Asia and winters in South East Asia and western Europe. In northern and north-western Europe it is considered one of the most numerous nocturnal migratory species from Siberia. In the southern and eastern part of the continent there are fewer observations of the presence of the species in passage or in winter. On 29 September 2013, during a ringing session in the southern part of the Danube Delta (Romania), we captured a juvenile individual of the Yellow-browed Warbler. This is the first record of the species in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the wintering population of common buzzards in northeastern Romania from November 2010 to February 2011. They are described as partial migrants in Eastern Europe whose numbers in a specific area fluctuate during winter. The birds' non-random distribution across habitat types such as agricultural land and areas with natural perches like trees or bushes is mentioned. The peaking of populations during periods of lower-than-average temperature is also cited.

Given that Ligularia sibirica, a boreal relict species in Europe, occurs in Romania in a wide range of habitat types, we assumed that under different ecological conditions, the response of phytocoenoses will be different, affecting the populations’ performance. Thus, we aimed to determine L. sibirica’s optimum conditions, through the interactions between the environmental factors and phytocoenological composition. We grouped the communities with L. sibirica according to their ecological features, with cluster analysis. The effect of interactions between the ecological factors (expressed by the Ellenberg Indicators for nitrogen availability, soil reaction, moisture, and light) and species assemblage (from the resulting clusters) on the performance of L. sibirica (assessed through its cover abundance values), was tested with general linear models. Our results show that L. sibirica’s cover abundance is influenced by the nutrient content of the substrate and by the soil reaction, not only directly but also indirectly, through the increasing competition of the ecologically specialised species (under acidification or alkalinisation conditions) or of the generalist, more productive ones (in case of eutrophication). The results also highlighted the complexity of biotic interactions from the phytocoenoses, under different ecological conditions, the same species having either a competitive or facilitative effect on L. sibirica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because increasing global temperatures are influencing the avian population phenology in temperate areas, the date when migrant birds arrive to breed in spring and the time when birds begin to lay eggs may occur progressively earlier. On May 25th, 2010, in Larga Jijia Fish Farm, Iasi County, at 20:30 (GMT + 02.00) our team trapped in a mist net one young Reed Warbler with all feathers still growing, soft bill, but with a very good flight. Using the literature data for comparison we can estimate that the Reed Warbler starts to lay its eggs around April 29 - May 2, which means that this has been the earliest clutch recorded yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]