Diplomová práce Educational set of microscopic anatomy of intervertebrates for secondary schools. Tomáš Bartáček Pedagogická fakulty UK v Praze 2010 In this thesis, I compiled an educational set illustrating the microscopic anatomy of intervertebrates. This set is intended for use by students and teachers at high schools and gymnasia. It complements the common tools used for education in zoology of invertebrates. It combines a set of microscopic specimens (histological sections, smear and native specimens) and multimedia atlas. For the present work, I chose model invertebrates that have been commonly described in high school and gymnasia text books. For preparation of the histological sections, I used flatworms (Dugesia gonocephala), roundworms (Ascaris suum) and earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris). I prepared the specimens in accordance with standard methods shown in literature with slight modifications in order to make them suitable for the given specimens. I used paraffin as a cutting fluid and I stained the specimens using either Harris hematoxylin and eosin or Masson's trichrome stain. To create the smear specimens, I spread the animal tissues of interest, fixed them in methylene and stained using Giemsa-Romanowski stain. I prepared the native specimens both vital stained and non-stained. I...

The first part of my thesis is focused on observation of the leaf damage by invertebrate herbivores during season. I examined how the selected traits affect the palatability of plant species. In the next project, I investigated the effect of herbivory and gaps on seedling establishment. And finally, in the last part, I studied the effect of herbivory of terrestrial gastropods on competitive relationships among selected species.