A checklist of benthic macroinvertebrates of ponds of Tatra Mountains is presented. The checklist comprises 122 taxa including the first records of Derotanypus cf. sibiricus (Kruglova & Chernovskii, 1940) (Diptera: Chironomidae) and Arctocorisa carinata (Sahlberg, 1918) (Heteroptera) from Slovakia. The most diverse pond site supported 28 taxa, the minimum number of recorded taxa was 2. The richest group was Chironomidae (Diptera) constituting almost half of the total diversity (58 taxa), followed by Trichoptera with 15 taxa. The other higher taxonomic groups were represented by considerably lower taxa number. Relatively high number of recorded taxa underlines important contribution of small lentic waterbodies to regional biodiversity of high-altitude ecosystems.

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Aquatic vegetation of the mountains and sub-alpine ponds in the Tatra Mountains and adjacent area (Slovakia) has been studied with the aim to provide information about the composition and species richness of macrophytes in relation to environmental factors. Macrophytes were studied in two pond groups: natural ponds of glacial origin and artificial ponds. Simultaneously, eight environmental variables were measured or estimated at each pond. The studied pond groups differed significantly (Mann-Whitney U-test, P<0.01) in almost all recorded environmental variables except for water temperature and pond area. Almost all environmental characteristics showed higher variability in the artificial ponds. In total, 70 macrophyte taxa were found at the study sites consisting of ca 90% of vascular plants and ca 10% of bryophytes. Artificial ponds were characterised by a multi-element vascular plant species group typical for marshy and aquatic habitats of lower altitudes, while Carex rostrata was the only species typical for natural ponds. Species richness differed significantly between the two pond groups, with artificial ponds hosting considerably more species. Species richness of all studied ponds was negatively correlated with altitude and precipitation;

Interesting faunistic records of meniscus midges (Diptera: Dixidae) from Slovakia. -Acta Mus. Siles. Sci. Natur., 64: 11-16, 2015. Abstract: Records of meniscus midges (Diptera: Dixidae) are reported from lotic and lentic water bodies with of Slovakia. Midges were sampled during specifically aimed research of ponds (project BIOPOND) or during field works related to various studies of running waters. In total, occurrence of 3 species of genus Dixa and 1 species of genus Dixella are presented and shortly discussed. Record of Dixa dilatata Strobl, 1900 on the basis of adult specimen is reported from Slovakia for the first time.

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