This report presents the current dynamics of the natural environment and landscape in a part of the mountainous southeastern Spitsbergen coast on the Barents Sea in 1900-2005. Its current state substantially varies from what is shown on recently published topographic maps actual for 1936. The physico-geographical mapping and GPS survey were the basic field methods of recognizing the area, supplemented by remote sensing. Each landscape component, except for the Pre-Quaternary bedrock, has been changed primarily as a direct or indirect result of the current warming. The most dramatic landscape transformation has been connected with the formation of a fjord, the abandoning of the lower parts of valleys by tidewater glaciers, and the alteration of the coastline. This transformation's pace has been increasing visibly over the last few decades. The landscape became more diversified. There is a positive feedback in the process of life expansion in the study area: the processes of animal colonization and plant succession stimulate each other.
The family Richtersiidae, although established recently with the use of phylogenetic methods, was considered potentially paraphyletic at the time of its erection. Until now, the family comprised four genera, Richtersius, Diaforobiotus, Adorybiotus and a newly erected genus Crenubiotus. However, the genetic characterisation for the latter two genera was very limited or absent. To address concerns about the phylogenetic affinity of these two genera, we present a multilocus phylogeny of the families Richtersiidae and Murrayidae based on four molecular markers (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, ITS-2 and COI). Our results show a distinct evolutionary lineage composed of Adorybiotus and Crenubiotus, which is sister to Murrayidae. In order to accommodate the phylogenetic and morphological distinctiveness of this lineage, we erect a new family, Adorybiotidae fam. nov. The new taxon differs morphologically from other families in the superfamily Macrobiotoidea by a unique combination of traits: (1) the presence of tubercles/cushions with aggregations of microgranules on their surfaces present on all legs and on the dorso-caudal cuticle, (2) a system of internal septa in claws, and (3) buccal apparatus morphology. Moreover, in order to stabilise the taxonomy and nomenclature in the genus Crenubiotus, we redescribe its type species, Crenubiotus crenulatus, by means of integrative taxonomy and designate a new neotype based on a population from the original terra typica.
The aim of this article is to expand the understanding of the history of cartography of the lands of southern Poland under Austrian rule in the nineteenth century. The Austrian Second Military Survey, at the scale 1:28,800, was produced for the province of Galicia between 1861 and 1864 and for Austrian Silesia between 1838 and 1841. In Galicia, work on 413 sheets was led by thirteen cartographers, and the content and descriptions were prepared by 106 cartographic technicians. On the 42 sheets of the Silesia maps, two directors and 11 technicians were recorded. The military cartographers who prepared the survey of the two provinces belonged to 71 multinational units of the army of the Austrian Empire. Work with nineteenth-century maps is fraught with uncertainty about the consistency of the series, which may be reflected in the content of the maps. The consistency of map content was tested on sheets covering the Polish Carpathians for two types of features: linear (roads) and area (forests). Expanding the understanding of these maps may contribute to reducing uncertainty in their use for various environmental and socio-economic analyses.
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