Daugavpils University

Predation risk influences how animals approach predictable food sources where ambush predators may be present. In parids, chick-a-dee calls are used in a wide variety of contexts related to social cohesion and are well known as mobbing signals. Here, we examined whether they are also produced in the absence of visible predators in contexts in which predation risk may nevertheless be latent or uncertain. We tested whether chick-a-dee calls emitted by Willow Tits (Poecile montanus) during feeder approach exhibit acoustic and recruitment characteristics comparable to mobbing calls elicited by predator models. The study included repeated observations of 44 individuals across 11 flocks, enabling within-individual comparisons across habitat contexts. We analyzed call structure, calling duration, and recruitment latency in relation to habitat visibility and dominance status. Calls produced during the feeder approach showed overlapping structural features with mobbing calls and were associated with the recruitment of flock members, particularly in dense habitat. Mixed-effects models confirmed significant effects of habitat structure, predator presentation, and social rank on calling behavior and recruitment dynamics. These patterns are consistent with mobbing-like signaling under conditions of uncertain predation risk. Because predator presence and detection outcomes were not directly measured, our findings provide behavioral evidence compatible with proactive signaling rather than functional confirmation of predator probing.

A pervasive trend across academia, social cognition, and general communication contexts is the interchangeable use of “information” and “knowledge”, particularly with reference to their forms—explicit knowledge, testimony, and expertise—conveyed by external sources. This raises a fundamental question: is the source perceived, considered, and validated as a reliable knowledge provider or merely as an information carrier? This study investigates seven academic and popular science sources by modelling their constructs of knowledge provision based on epistemological criteria and sociopsychological value, as manifested through the perspectives of university academics. The external sources examined include scientific journal articles, knowledge shared by university lecturers, scholarly monographs, textbooks and handbooks, popular science books and magazines, academic social networks and social media platforms. A quantitative investigation, supplemented by qualitative content analysis, collected assessments from sixty-six university academics in Latvia using the Epistemological Attitude Questionnaire towards Knowledge Sources. Statistical analysis, coupled with an examination and interpretation of academics’ perceptions, comprehension, use, and personal valuation of these sources, elucidated their profiles. The findings provide a holistic picture of these sources, detailing the value, qualities, functionality, and contributions of each type. Interpretations reveal that the designation of a form of “knowledge source” predominantly aligns with scientific and educational sources, whereas “information carriers” or socially functional sources primarily pertain to popular science and social media. Academic social networks, notably, occupy an intermediary position. This study offers critical academic insights into ongoing issues regarding these means of cognition. It prompts a scrutiny of both established traditional sources and contemporary mediums, both academic and popular, encouraging readers to evaluate these compiled images according to the delineated criteria of the theoretical framework.

Phototaxis, the movement toward or away from light, is a fundamental behavior with ecological and evolutionary relevance. In Drosophila melanogaster, phototactic choice shows individual variability and has been linked to serotonergic signaling. Using a high-throughput FlyVac assay to test single flies in parallel, we reared w1118 flies on (1) standard food (Control), (2) aMW (a serotonin-synthesis inhibitor), (3) 5-HTP (a serotonin precursor), or (4) escitalopram (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI). Light-choice probability (LCP) did not differ between Control and aMW. LCP was lower in 5-HTP and escitalopram than in Control and aMW, and lower with escitalopram than with 5-HTP. Between-fly variability (MADn) differed across treatments: escitalopram exhibited higher dispersion than Control and aMW, whereas 5-HTP did not differ reliably from Control. These findings support the hypothesis that serotonin modulates behavioral predictability and mean choice bias; variability effects were compound-specific (escitalopram modestly increased MADn, whereas 5-HTP did not differ from Control). Given the rising costs and ethical constraints of vertebrate models, our results highlight Drosophila and FlyVac as a powerful, cost-effective system for investigating SSRI effects on decision phenotypes.

This paper presents a novel 6D dynamic system derived from modified second-type 3D Lorenz equations using state feed- back control. While these original 3D equations are structurally simpler than the classical Lorenz equations, they generate more topologically complex attractors with a distinctive two-winged butterfly structure. The proposed system is the most compact of its kind in the literature, containing only 11 terms: two cross-product nonlinearities, two piecewise linear functions, one cosine function, five linear terms, and one constant. The newly developed 6D hyper- chaotic system exhibits rich dynamic properties, including hidden attractors and dissipative behavior. A detailed dynamic analysis has identified two unstable hyperbolic equilibrium points, indicating the potential for self-exciting attractors. Additionally, bifurcation diagrams were constructed, Lyapunov exponents were computed, and the maximum Kaplan-Yorke dimension DKY = 3.23 was obtained at parameter value a = 0.5, revealing the high complexity of the hyperchaotic dynamics. Furthermore, multistability and offset boosting control were examined to gain deeper insights into the system’s behavior. Finally, synchronization between two identical 6D hyperchaotic systems was successfully achieved using an adaptive control method.

A new fossil species of the melandryine beetle genus Phloiotrya from Rovno amber is described and illustrated. The new species, Phloiotrya (Phloiotrya) groehni sp. nov., is compared with its extant congeners and related extinct taxa from Baltic amber. Additional fossil records of false darkling beetles from Eocene Rovno and Baltic fossil resins are presented.

Taxonomic and faunistic data for 14 species of the genus Omalium Gravenhorst, 1802 of the eastern Palaearctic Region is presented. Three new species are described and illustrated: O. intermedium sp. nov. (Nepal: Bagmati), O. conoideum sp. nov. (Taiwan: Nantou Hsien) and O. constrictum sp. nov. (China: Hubei). Three new synonymies are established: O. littorale Kraatz, 1857 = O. balassogloi Eppelsheim, 1888 syn. nov. = O. bucharicum Bernhauer, 1915 syn. nov.; Omalium rivulare (Paykull, 1789) = O. kabakovi Kashsheev, 1999 syn. nov. A lectotype is designated for Homalium balassogloi Eppelsheim, 1888. The habitus of the lectotype of O. balassogloi, and, in addition, the aedeagus of O. anguliferum Shavrin, 2025 and O. littorale are illustrated. Distributional maps for O. intermedium sp. nov., O. angustissimum Shavrin, 2023 and O. scapulare Coiffait, 1982 are given. Several species are recorded from a certain area for the first time: O. acutangulum Shavrin, 2023 from Koshi (Nepal), O. amicorum Shavrin, 2023 from Bagmati (Nepal), O. anguliferum from Hubei and Fujian (China), O. angustissimum from Bagmati and Koshi (Nepal) and O. flavotestaceum Shavrin, 2023 from Nepal.

Remote work, as a technologically possible and widely applicable working mode, gained renewed attention during lockdowns amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On one hand, remote work ensured that working remained sustainable; on the other hand, the unexpected and widespread nature of the immediate shift to remote work led to issues in terms of practicing and adapting to the process. Moreover, remote work can have strong social, economic, and environmental effects that have to be comprehensively understood. The high interest of employees in continuing with full or hybrid remote work calls for effective coping strategies at the individual and organizational levels in the future. This article focuses on academic studies documenting the peculiarities of remote work during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The aim is to identify the issues relating to remote work during the COVID-19 lockdowns that are documented in academic studies and thematically classify them into a range of factors. In this study, bibliometric and content analyses were employed, leading to comprehensive insights into the following areas: (1) remote work as a cause for changes in physical and psychological health; (2) remote work as a cause for changes in daily behavior, routine, and lifestyle; (3) factors that affect the process and productivity of remote work; (4) societal, economic, and environmental consequences of remote work; and (5) the distribution of the effects of remote work on individuals, economic subjects, and sectors. In conclusion, this study on working practices during the COVID-19 lockdowns that were documented in academic studies offers several benefits and areas of novelty: first, a comprehensive overview of the widespread process of adjusting to this new working mode; second, a classification of factors that affected the process at different stages and in different areas; and third, common factors that had more widespread effects during the remote working period. The findings also offer the following theoretical and practical implications: For researchers, this article can be a reference offering a holistic view of remote working during these lockdowns. For practitioners, it can provide an understanding of the impacting factors and their contextualization in terms of health, sociodemographic, and sectoral aspects can allow for more accurate human resource management strategies.

Based on a well-preserved adult inclusion in Baltic amber, the first extinct species of the subfamily Eubriinae and the first representative of the family Psephenidae from the Eocene fossil resin is described and illustrated. The new fossil species belonging to the extant genus, Macroeubria groehni sp. nov., is compared with related extant taxa. Two additional fossil records of previously described Dryopoidea from Eocene Baltic amber of the Sambian Peninsula deposited in the collection of the Kaliningrad amber museum are provided. A brief updated list of the described Dryopoidea species from Baltic and Rovno ambers is compiled. The currently described diversity of the superfamily in the mid-late Eocene European ambers consists of 11 extinct species belonging to nine genera within five families.

Anaspis (Spanisa) solodovnikovi sp. nov., the second known representative of its genus and subgenus from the late Eocene Rovno amber of Ukraine, is described and illustrated. The taxonomic position is confirmed, and supplementary description and images are provided for the Eocene Baltic amber A. (Silaria) parva Abdullah, 1964. A key to extant and extinct species of the subgenus Spanisa Emery, 1876 is presented for the first time. Morphology and new taxonomic position of Anaspis (incertae sedis) subhumerosa Franciscolo, 1954 are briefly discussed; this species is excluded from the subgenus Spanisa. Extant Spanisa species are allopatric, but in Rovno amber they are sympatric likely because of their adaptation to the ‘extinct’ equable Eocene climate. New faunistic records are provided for the extant A. (Spanisa) labiata A. Costa, 1854 and A. (Spanisa) subtilis Hampe, 1871.