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A popular science calendar “An ant for each day”

A popular science calendar „An ant for each day” (authors: Paweł J. Mazurkiewicz, Jarosław Szczepanik, Alex Wild, Maciej Nielubowicz i Ewa J. Godzińska, Warsaw, Script, 292 pp.) is a non-profit educational publication published thanks to the financial suport of the Foundation for Polish Science (programme SKILLS-eNgage „Awesome world of ants”, project manager: Paweł J. Mazurkiewicz) and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS. The team of the authors of the calendar includes two myrmecologists from the Nencki Institute, Paweł J. Mazurkiewicz (a Ph. D. student of the Inter-faculty Interdisciplinary Doctoral Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences at theUniversity of Warsaw carrying out the research on ant ethology and neuroethology in the Laboratory of Ethology of the Nencki Institute) and Ewa J. Godzińska (head of the Laboratory of Ethology). The remaining three authors are Jarosław Szczepanik, assistant professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw, and two outstanding photographers of insects: Alex Wild (USA), one of the most renowned worldwide photographers of ants, and Maciej Nielubowicz, a Polish photographer of insects and crustaceans. The main aim of the publication of the calendar was to raise interest in scientific research in young people via exploration of secrets of ant biology. The calendar may act as the so called organizer allowing its user to plan various activities and take notes. Particular days (or pairs of days in the case of the weekends) are illustrated by photographs of ants accompanied by short curiosities about these insects. More extensive informations on ant biology are assigned to particular weeks, and yet more extensive ones to particular months. A particular stress is laid on scientific achievements of Polish scientists, and especially the myrmecologists from the Nencki Institute, starting from the classical works of Janina Dobrzańska and Jan Wojciech Dobrzańskich up to the results of the current research of the team of Laboratory of Ethology. The calendar contains among others a complete list of publications on ants and/or mentioning ants that have been authored or coauthored by the researchers fom the Nencki Institute. The informations about the Nencki Institute and the Nencki Institute Hydrobiological Station in Mikołajki which in September 2015 hosted a myrmecological workshop for young people organized by P. J. Mazurkiewicz as a part of the project of the Foundation for Polish Science „Awesome world of ants” have also been provided, as well as the adresses of scientific institutions in which the research on various aspects of ant biology is recently carried out in Poland.  Less known terminology used in the text of the calendar is explained in the dictionary. Informations provided in the calendar were popularized by P. J. Mazurkiewicz also during his lecture „Awesome world of ants” delivered during the 200th meeting of the Polish Ethological Society held on 17th December 2015. After the end of the meeting several copies of the calendar were distributed by lots to its participants. The calendar has been very well received and its second edition in the next year is presently under consideration.

Date of publication
28 December 2015