The effects of an increase in water temperature as a direct consequence of global change on organisms living in springs and spring brooks have rarely been studied in laboratory experiments. In this study, experiments were conducted to test the response of Gammarus fossarum Koch, 1836, as an abundant representative of the European spring fauna, to changing water temperatures. The aim was to find out experimentally how G. fossarum reacts to varying and increasing water temperatures. The experiments were conducted in flow channels with spring water. In each flow channel, G. fossarum were placed in boxes with a flow-through system for 4 weeks. Two analytical methods were applied: the feeding activity of the amphipods was quantified in order to determine the reaction of G. fossarum on the level of the organism and the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) assay was conducted in order to determine changes in the test organisms on the cellular level. The results show that the feeding activity of G. fossarum increased with increasing water temperature, up to an optimum, indicating an increase in their metabolic activity. The ETS activity does not show significant differences at the different temperatures tested. A possible explanation for this is the ability of the organisms to adapt quickly to the changed environmental circumstances.

-Alpine springs are sensitive ecotones which are inhabited by highly adapted organisms. Studies on how the species assemblages change vertically have not been conducted previously. We investigated 35 natural springs along an altitudinal gradient of about 2000 m in a valley in the Bernese Alps over 2 years. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of the macroinvertebrate assemblages of natural springs along this gradient and to find out which environmental factors determine the distribution of the species along the altitudinal gradient. The spring fauna was quantitatively sampled three times and a wide range of environmental parameters were measured. The species richness significantly decreased with increasing altitude and the composition of the species assemblages changed distinctively along the altitudinal gradient. The low-elevation springs were dominated by crenobiont species, whereas high-altitude springs were mostly inhabited by taxa typical for Alpine headwaters in general. The mid-altitudinal range was a transition zone where crenobiont and alpine species co-existed. The water temperature was an important factor determining the species richness and the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages of the springs at different altitudes. Moss, stones and the degree of forestation also had a significant influence on the composition of the macroinvertebrate assemblages. This study helps to understand the distribution of the spring fauna along altitudinal gradients. Knowing the current distribution ranges is an important prerequisite to predict potential changes of the species distribution, caused by global change, in the future.

The specialised fauna of freshwater springs will have to cope with a possible temperature rise owing to Global Change. It is affected additionally by contamination of the water with xenobiotics from human activities in the surrounding landscape. We assessed the combined effects of temperature increase and exposure to toxins in laboratory experiments by using copper sulphate as a model substance and Gammarus fossarum Koch, 1835, as the model organism. This amphipod is a common representative of the European spring fauna and copper ions are widespread contaminants, mainly from agricultural practice. The experiments were conducted in boxes placed in flow channels and the water temperatures were varied. The gammarids were fed with conditioned beech leaf discs. The feeding activity of the amphipods was quantified on the level of the organism; and the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) assay was conducted in order to determine changes on the cellular level in the test organisms. The results show that the feeding activity increased slightly with higher water temperature. The sub-lethal copper dose had no significant effect other than a trend towards lower feeding activity. The ETS activity was significantly higher at the higher water temperatures, and the copper ions significantly lowered the ETS activity of the organisms. The combination of the two methods was useful when testing for combined effects of environmental changes and pollutants on a species. From the results one can reasonably infer a higher risk of adverse effects with increase in water temperature and exposure to a particular heavy metal.

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The rare yet entomologically important scientific journal "Revue entomologique" was published in French language in five volumes during the first half of the nineteenth century. We provide some bibliographic notes which reveal, for example, the motivation and goals of the editor, Gustave Silbermann. He wanted to contribute to an exchange of entomological knowledge between French and German scientists, in particular by translating German articles into French and to inform his readers of new German and French entomological literature. The work deals with many taxa, mainly beetles, yet also moths, cicadas and other insects. The journal contains taxonomic notes and species descriptions for which correct dating is essential. Evidence inside the books indicates the partly wrong assignment of the publication dates printed on the title pages from 1833 to 1837. We found one depository holding the originally assembled and unbound fascicles of the first two volumes. Despite the month of publication being absent on all wrappers, their original composition allowed the detailed reconstruction of publication dates, as well as of unpaginated species descriptions. We analysed the work, attributed page numbers to single or merged fascicles and provided publication dates for all 30 fascicles, which were shown to have been published from 1833 to 1840. We also traced the enigmatic reference for the description of a longhorn beetle (Molorchus ulmi Chevrolat, 1838) and were able to demonstrate that its supposed association with the "Revue entomologique" is erroneous.