Toxicity of compounds presented in sediment contaminated by powdered waste coal has been examined in a set of experiments. Reproduction parameters of amphipod Gammarus fossarum and prosobranchian snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum were affected after laboratory exposures to contaminated coal sediments from Karviná mining area, northeastern Czech Republic. The exposure to sediment extract has result...

Neonicotinoid insecticides like thiacloprid enter agricultural surface waters, where they may affect predator-prey-interactions, which are of central importance for ecosystems as well as the functions these systems provide. The effects of field relevant thiacloprid concentrations on the leaf consumption of Gammarus fossarum (Amphipoda) were assessed over 96 h (n = 13-17) in conjunction with its...

The freshwater crab Sesarma fossarum (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae) was only recently described as a new species. As in most other endemic Jamaican crabs that have radiated in limnic and terrestrial environments, its early life history has been largely unknown. In an experimental laboratory study this species was reared through embryonic, larval, and early juvenile development, and ontogenet...

The capacity to survive a temporary or permanent cold environment is a crucial challenge for ectotherms. Many physiological and biochemical mechanisms are known to extend the survival of freeze-susceptible species at subzero temperatures by avoiding injuries induced by the formation of ice crystals in tissues (Zachariassen, 2000). However, low but positive temperatures may also induce severe da...