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The long-term effects of large-scale changes in forestry, agriculture and other land use on habitats and the large-scale expansion of wind farming  affects bats foraging environments. In order to predict consequences of exploitations on local bat species and populations, good surveys are important. To get good background information for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) it  is crucial to rapidly assess which areas are most important for bats. The aim of this work was to measure the importance of the two types of forest environment for bats foraging : forest areas located close to or far from the lakes. Bat activity and species diversity was measured with automatic ultrasound recorders in 211  nights of fieldwork at 155 locations in 23 areas in different parts of Sweden during June, July and the first two weeks of August 2011 and 2012. A total of 11 species were recorded in forest far from lakes and 8 species in forest close to lakes. Eptesicus nilssonii , Myotis sp. and Pipistrellus pygmaeus were the most common taxa in both habitat types. Activity levels were higher in the vicinity of lakes compared to forests far away from lakes. Species diversity calculated on base on Chao 2 was similar for both types of habitats . The results suggest that the forests close to lakes are the most important habitats to surveys for bats in Sweden and that inventory efforts should be primarily invested in them.

Modeling species of conservation concern, such as those that are rare, declining, or have a conservation designation (e.g. endangered or threatened), remains an activity filled with uncertainty. Species that are of conservation concern often are found infrequently, in small sample sizes and spatially fragmented distributions, thereby making accurate enumeration difficult and traditional statistical approaches often invalid. For example, there are numerous debates in the ecological literature regarding methodological choices in conservation-based models, such as how to measure functional traits to account for ecosystem function, the impact of including rare species in biological assessments and whether species-specific dispersal can be measured using distance based functions. This thesis attempts to address issues in methodological choices in conservation-based models in two ways. In the first section of the thesis, the impacts of methodological choices on conservation-based models are examined across a broad selection of available approaches, from: measuring functional diversity; to conducting bio-assessments in community ecology; to assessing dispersal in metapopulation analyses. It is the goal of this section to establish the potential for methodological choices to impact conservation-based models, regardless of the scale, study-system or species involved. In the second section of this thesis, the use of consensus methods is developed as a potential tool for reducing uncertainty with methodological choices in conservation-based models. Two separate applications of consensus methods are highlighted, including how consensus methods can reduce uncertainty from choosing a modeling type or to identify when methodological choices may be a problem.

Darbo objektas - VDU Kauno botanikos sodo kolekcijoje auginamos paprastojo putino veislės (išvestos Rusijoje – ‘Krasnaja Grozd‘, ‘Leningradskaja Otbornaja‘, ‘Souzga‘, ‘Zarnica‘, ‘Šukšinskaja‘, Ukrainoje – ‘Kijevskaja Sadovaja‘) ir klonai ‘Zarnica 2‘, ‘Upninkai‘ bei dvi naujos Lietuvoje natūraliai neaptinkamos rūšys V. sargentii ir V. trilobum. Tyrimų tikslas ištirti ir įvertinti Lietuvoje natūraliai augančių ir intradukuotų putinų rūšis ir veisles, jų tinkamumą dekoratyviniam želdinimui ir uogų auginimui. Tikslui pasiekti numatyti uždaviniai: 1.Vertinti Lietuvoje auginamų putinų rūšis ir veisles, 2. Atrinkti ir pasiūlyti tinkamiausias putinų veisles uogų auginimui, 3. Atrinkti ir pasiūlyti tinkamiausias putinų rūšis ir veisles dekoratyvniam želdinimui. Darbui atlikti buvo: išanalizuoti informaciniai šaltiniai ir mokslinė literatūra, nustatytos sezoninio vystymosi ypatybės (fenologiniai stebėjimai), įvykdyti ūglių matavimo stebėjimai, nustatytas putino veislių ir rūšių produktyvumas, įvykdyti biometriniai matavimai jie apdoroti statistiškai. Išsiaiškinta, kad Lietuvoje sėkmingai gali būti auginamas ne tik čia savaime augantis paprastasis putinas, bet ir kitos (intodukuotos) putinų rūšys ir iš jų išvestos veislės. Paprastojo putino veislės ir klonai vaisiuose sukaupia antioksidacinėmis savybėmis pasižyminčių cheminių medžiagų: antocianinų, askorbo rūgšties, karotinoidų, flavonolių. Pagal fenologinių tarpsnių terminus ir vegetacijos laikotarpį galima išskirti ankstyvas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Work object - VDU Kaunas botanical garden, in which the collection of simple cranberrybushes are cultivated (derived in Russia – ‘Krasnaja Grozd‘, ‘Leningradskaja Otbornaja‘, ‘Souzga‘, ‘Zarnica‘, ‘Šukšinskaja‘, Ukraine – ‘Kijevskaja Sadovaja‘), clones ‘Zarnica 2‘, ‘Upninkai‘ and two new species, which naturally are not growing in Lithuania - V. sargentii and V. Trilobum. Main research goal is to explore and estimate cranberry types and species growing naturally in Lithuania and derived in other countries, their suitability for decorative afforestation and berry cultivation. To achieve this goal fallowing tasks are performed: 1. Estimation of types and species of cranberrybushes growing in Lithuania, 2. Selection and offering the best cranberrybush species for berry cultivation, 3. Estimation and offering the best cranberrybush species for decorative afforestation. These task are performed by analysing literature and scientific articles, by estimating the seasonal evolutional property of cranberrybush, by making measures of growing shoots, by estimating productivity of the cranberrybush species and by making biometrical measures. The research showed, that by side simple cranberrybush Viburnum opulus may other species derived in foreign countries grown and could used for decorative afforestation. The cranberrybushes can be divided to early species as 'Šukšinskaja' and 'Zarnica ', middle species as 'Kijevskaja Sadovaja', 'Upninkai', 'Leningradskaja Otbornaja' 'Zarnica-2'... [to full text]

Due to the critical status of Psammobates geometricus and the vulnerability of their habitat, there is a need to allocate areas for their protection. The aim of this study was to provide information on the space requirements and activity level of geometric tortoises to facilitate future conservation efforts.

Tyrimo medžiaga (žirgelių lervos, išnaros ir suaugėliai) buvo rinkta 2008 – 2009 metais Nemuno ir Dauguvos takoskyroje esančiuose nenuotakiuose ežeriukuose Gražutės regioninio parko bei Smalvų-Smalvykščio kraštovaizdžio draustinio administracinėse teritorijose. Šiame darbe siekiama įvertinti žirgelių rūšių įvairovę ir jų pasiskirstymo ypatumus nenuotakiuose ežeruose. Tyrimams pasirinkta 31 nenuotakus ežeras, kurie pagal dydį, savo apyežerių plotus, hidrologinę būklę buvo suskirstyti į tris atskiras grupes. Juose buvo užregistruotos 35 žirgelių rūšys, iš kurių 6 įrašytos į LRK ir 3 į ES buveinių direktyvos (92/43/EEC) II priedą. Tarp ištirtų ežerų, remiantis rūšinės sudėties stabilumo skaičiuokle (Nestedness temperature calculator (NTC)), patvariausias žirgelių rūšių rinkinys nustatytas tik antros grupės ežeruose T = 31,75° (p = 0,06). Būdingos trijų ežerų grupėse rūšys nesutapo (W > 51%). Nenuotakių nedidelių ežerų kaip žirgelių buveinių svarbą patvirtina indikatorinės rūšys (sutinkamumas nuo 15% iki 40% ežerų), kurios yra skirtingos visoms ežerų grupėms (išskyrus vieną – Leucorrhinia albifrons), kuri sutapo pirmai ir antrai ežerų grupėms). Tarp indikatorinių rūšių patenka net 5 Lietuvos raudonosios knygos rūšys. / Material (dragonfly larvae, exuviae and imagos) for the study were gathered in 2008 - 2009 in closed lakes of Nemunas and Daugava basins watershed, which are located in Gražutė regional park and Smalvas-Smalvykštis landscape reserve. This work aims to evaluate the dragonfly species diversity and distribution characteristics in closed lakes. 31 closed lakes were selected for research, which according to hydrological conditions and shore size were divided into three groups. 35 species of dragonfly were recorded, of which 6 are enrolled in the Red list of Lithuania and 3 to EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) Annex II. According to Nestedness temperature calculator the most durable species complex of dragon-fly among investigated lakes occurred in second group of lakes, only T = 31.75 ° (p = 0.06). Characteristic dragonfly species for all three of groups lakes were differed (W> 51%). The importance of small closed lake as a dragonfly habitat as well confirms the fact that all indicator species (abundant from 15% to 40% of lakes) were different for all groups of lakes(except one Leucorrhinia albifrons which coincided to first and second groups of lakes). Among indicator species there were five species of the Red list of Lithuania.

This thesis explores some important practical considerations concerning the use of species distribution models in marine conservation planning. Using geo-referenced gorgonian distribution data, together with explanatory environmental variables, predictive models have been used to map the spatial distribution of suitable gorgonian (sea fan) habitat in two study sites; Hatton Bank, in the Northeast Atlantic, and Lyme Bay on the south coast of Devon. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and a Maximum Entropy (Maxent) model have been used to support critical investigation into important model considerations that have received inadequate attention in the marine environment. The influence of environmental data resolution on model performance has been explored with specific reference to available datasets in the nearshore and offshore environments. The transferability of deep-sea models has been similarly appraised, with recommendations as to the appropriate use of transferred models. Investigating these practical issues will allow managers to make informed decisions with respect to the best and most appropriate use of existing data. This study has also used novel approaches and investigated their suitability for marine conservation planning, including the use of model classification error in the spatial prioritisation of monitoring sites, and the adaptation of an existing presence-only modelling method to include absence data. Together, these studies contribute both practical recommendations for marine conservation planning and novel applications within the wider species distribution modelling discipline, and consider the implications of these developments for managers, to ensure the ongoing improvement and development of models to support conservation planning.

Antioxidant properties of green tea (GT) have been widely reported. The antioxidant capacity (AOC) of green tea was investigated to include the effect of infusion time over 24 hours. The AOC was measured by the FRAP, DPPH, TEAC, and CBA assays. It was proven according that after 2 hours of brewing, tea has higher AOC and Total phenolic content (TPC), these significantly decreases after 4 hours. GT has a high amount of polyphenols with potent AOC. However, interactions between polyphenols and food matrix may decrease their potential benefit. The objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that the addition of milk (full fat, semi-skimmed, and skimmed) may affect the phenolic content and AOC was measured. The results indicated the plain GT had highest activity; then tea with FFM had a significantly higher amount of AO than others. Plant extracts possess health promoting properties. The objective of this study was to determine the TPC and AOA of different concentrations of spice extracts (fennel, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, anise, and black pepper) with DPPH, TEAC and Rancimat methods. At low concentration, black pepper had a highest activity but at high concentration, ginger showed the highest activity among the extracts. The TPC for spice extract was greater for anise. Results provided evidence that the studied spices may be used as a natural AO. In recent decades, saliva has emerged as a new way to diagnose and investigate basic health problems. In this study, salivary TPC and AOC were measured after consumption a single cup of green tea with and without of milk. In a healthy adult crossover design. The salivary AOC and TPC were measured before and after consumption up to 3 hours. Results indicated that milk decreased AOC of GT when compared with the control water. The activity reached peak 1 hour after ingestion and then decreased returning to the baseline. Results confirmed that saliva could be used as an easier and safer alternative to blood to assess AOA in humans.

Investigations were carried out into the allelopathic potential of the invasive alien annual Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera Royle) using a series of bioassays, including ones developed or adapted for this study. They were evaluated for their suitability to detect three of the four main modes of allelochemical release, namely leaching, exudation and decomposition. Assays which involved the measurement of lettuce radicles and hypocotyls gave reliable results and allowed a range of different Impatiens material, both living and dead, to be assessed and ranked according to the allelopathic effects demonstrated. Attempts were made to isolate resource competition from allelopathy using separately grown but connected donor and receiver plants and a density dependent design where single I. glandulifera plants were grown in pots with variable numbers of receiver plants. Results proved inconclusive. Initial experiments showed that the allelopathic potential of I. glandulifera varied according to the organ from which the material was derived. Pods, leaves and stems produced the greatest inhibition of lettuce seedlings. Effects on germination were not significant at most of the concentrations tested. Live roots of I. glandulifera plants produced pronounced orange staining of the agar into which they were placed and showed clear evidence of distance dependent inhibition of lettuce radicles. Effects were limited to growth rather than germination of the test plants. Germinating I. glandulifera seeds caused a significant inhibition of lettuce radicle elongation when the two species were grown together in an agar medium. The inhibitory effects increased significantly with increasing exposure time. Increasing I. glandulifera seedling number also produced significant reductions in lettuce radicle length. Dormant seeds, by contrast, stimulated growth. Dead seeds did not produce significant changes to the growth of the test plants. When rhizosphere soil was gathered from pot grown I. glandulifera plants, the results were mixed. Initial samples inhibited growth, whereas those collected from dying plants over a period of weeks stimulated growth. Further experimentation is required before the indications of allelopathic interactions demonstrated here can be applied to the behaviour of wild populations of I. glandulifera.

The larvae (wireworms) of some click beetle genera inhabit the soil in agricultural land and are crop pests. In the UK, a pest complex of Agriotes species, A. obscurus, A. sputator and A. lineatus, has been identified as the cause of the majority of damage. However, studies on their ecology are lacking, despite knowledge of this being important for the development of sustainable risk assessment and pest management strategies, in part due to the morphologically cryptic nature of wireworms. The ecology of economically important click beetle species was investigated, focusing on UK Agriotes species. The relationship between sex pheromone trapped male Agriotes adults and wireworms, identified using a molecular tool (T‐RFLP), was influenced by sampling method, and some environmental variables significantly correlated with species distributions. Scale of sampling influenced the observed distribution of wireworms and other soil insect larvae. Other wireworm species were trapped together with Agriotes species, but mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences could not be matched to those of other UK species. Sequences from Canadian wireworm samples revealed possible cryptic species. Differences in adult movement rates were found in laboratory tests (A. lineatus > A. obscurus > A. sputator). Molecular markers (AFLPs) were developed to assess dispersal in adult male Agriotes but further protocol optimisation is required. The results show the importance of identifying wireworms to species for assessing adult and wireworm distributions, since the Agriotes pest complex may not be present or as 3 widespread as previously assumed. Sex pheromone trapping of adults may not be appropriate for risk assessment as the relationship between aboveground adult and belowground wireworm species distribution is not straightforward. The differences observed in Agriotes species’ ecology have implications for the implementation of pest management strategies. The techniques used here can be applied in future studies to provide information on other economically important click beetle species worldwide.