Hydrological variability of middle European peatland during the Holocene, inferred from subfossil bog pine and bog oak dendrochronology and high-resolution peat multiproxy analysis of the Budwity peatland (northern Poland).

Subfossil pine and oak tree trunks were excavated during exploitation of the Budwity peatland in Northern Poland. Based on dendrochronological analysis, the woodland successions in peatland were reconstructed and correlated with moisture dynamics of the peatland ecosystem inferred from the high-resolution multi-proxy analysis of the peatland deposits. From the results of dendrochronological analysis and the 14C wiggle matching methods, four floating pine chronologies (5882-5595; 5250-5089; 3702-3546; and 2222-1979 mod. cal BP) and two oak chronologies (4932-4599 and 4042-3726 mod. cal BP) were developed. The organic sediments of the peatland (6 m thick) were deposited over approximately nine thousand years. The lower complex (525-315 cm) comprises minerogenic peat, while the upper complex (315.0-0.0 cm) is composed of ombrogenic peat. Subfossil tree trunks are distributed across various peat horizons, which suggests multiple stages of tree colonisation followed by subsequent dying-off phases. Multiproxy sediment analyses (lithological, geochemical and δ13C stable isotope, pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera, diatom, and Diptera analyses) indicate that the two earliest phases of pine colonisation (5882-5595 and 5250-5089 mod. cal BP) and the two stages of oak colonisation (4932-4599 and 4042-3726 mod. cal BP) were associated with periodic drying of the peatland. Conversely, tree dying-off phases occurred during periods of increased water levels in the peatland, coinciding with stages of increasing climate humidity during the Holocene. The two most recent phases of pine colonisation occurred during the ombrogenic stage of mire development. Remnants of the dead forest from these phases, marked by subfossil trunks still rooted in the ground, were preserved and exposed presently during peat exploitation, approximately 2.5 m below ground level. The identified phases of tree colonisation and subsequent dying-off phases show correlation with analogical phenomena observed in the other investigated European peatlands.

Detection of Babesia occultans protozoa in cattle from territory of eastern Poland.

OBJECTIVE: Bovine piroplasmoses are tick-borne protozoan diseases caused by parasites of the genus Theileria and Babesia. The aim of this work was to study the epizootic situation of babesiosis in the cattle population in eastern Poland and possibly to determine which species of protozoa infects Polish cattle. MATERIAL, METHODS AND RESULTS: Blood samples for molecular analysis (real time PCR) were collected from 192 dairy cattle from various farms located in eastern Poland. The infection was detected in 10.4 % of the samples. All animals were infected with Babesia occultans which sequence of the 18S RNA gene fragment showed a 92.8 % homology with the sequence of B. occultans EU 376017. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This is the first report about the detection of B. occultans DNA in asymptomatic cattle in eastern Poland. The results obtained indicate that the range of these parasites is increasing and that continuous monitoring of babesiosis in cattle in Europe and in Poland is necessary.

Three clinical cases of Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in cats in Poland.

The purpose of this study was to describe Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection of three cats in Poland showing signs of fever, swollen and painful joints, pale mucous membranes and epistaxis. Morulae consistent with A phagocytophilum were present within the neutrophils of two of the cats. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was found targeting the 16S rRNA gene amplified DNA consistent with A phagocytophilum in the blood of all three cats. The sequence of the PCR product obtained showed 99.6-100% homology with the sequence of A phagocytophilum, gene number EU 090186 from Genbank. Applied therapy (including administration of tetracyclines for 3 weeks) resulted in a gradual clinical recovery.