S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 53. (Budapest, 1992)

The Bátorliget Nature Reserves - after forty years Edited by S. Mahunka The first part in the series of Studia Naturalia comprises a collection of essays written by ninety Hungarian and foreign experts. It is dealing with the flora and fauna of three small nature conservation areas: the Bátorligeti-láp, the Fényi-erdő and the Bátori-legelő (NE Hungary). Exactly forty years ago a similar complex research was performed there the results of which were published in a volume Bátorliget élővilága (The flora .and fauna of Bátorliget) edited by V. Székessy. This new exploration work lent an opportunity to Hungarian zoologists to make the same research work over again in order to survey the living world prevailing there, and furthermore, whether - reliable inferences - concerning the divers animals groups - are permissible to be drawn from occasionally repeated, therefore comparable, investigations for determining the status of an area at any given time or for the recognition of eventual (primarily negative) changes in its conditions; - similarly made investigations were suitable for an appraisal of the correctness of inferences of a nature conservational character. The botanical and the zoological researches prove the presence of over 7500 plant and animal species. Among them 146 species proved to be new for the Hungarian fauna and 23 species including some genera new for science. The research results are highly important both in the theoretical and practical fields of nature conservation. What is more, the floristic and faunistic lists, the descriptions of the new taxa, the discussions of less known species and of ecological, zoogeographical and faunagenetical questions make this work a useful handbook also for the taxonomists, ecologists and specialists working in various fields of applied sciences. The price of the two volumes is 60 US dollars. The book may be ordered from the offices of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, H-1088 Budapest, Baross u. 13, Hungary. Banking account number: MNB 232-90142-5134