2024
Natura Croatica, Vol. 33 No.1
Abstract
This article reports on Cenchrus spinifex Cav. (Poaceae) as a new alien species in Croatia. Cenchrus spinifex was found in autumn 2023 on the Pelješac peninsula in the southernmost part of the country. It occurs on ruderal sites with sandy soils. The morphology, habitat and distribution of the species in the Mediterranean and south-east Europe are briefly described and discussed.
Keywords
eastern Adriatic, invasive alien species, NE Mediterranean, Poaceae, ruderal habitats
Abstract
In this paper, we provide the first data on the occurrence of the trematode Leucochloridium perturbatum Pojmanska, 1969 in Serbia. This is also the first record of the genus Leucochloridium Carus, 1835 from the country. Trematodes were found pulsating in the tentacles of the amber snail Succinea putris (Linnaeus, 1758). Collected broodsacks are described, and short notes about the habitat where specimen was found are given.
Keywords
helminth, parasites, Digenea, life cycle
Abstract
During a field survey of marine alien species along the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, the invasive sabellid polychaete Branchiomma luctuosum (Grube, 1870) was detected for the first time in the Ramsar site of Marchica lagoon. This finding represents the second record of this species in the country and the westernmost record in the southern Mediterranean, indicating its rapid expansion along the Moroccan coast.
Keywords
North Africa, Marchica lagoon, alien fan worm, rapid expansion
Abstract
Jewel beetles (Buprestidae), also known as metallic wood-boring beetles, predominantly inhabit forest environments. Several taxa within this family hold heritage status in both broadleaf and conifer forests. The larvae of most species undergo development within the inner, living part of tree bark, while some species can behave as opportunistic pests, causing considerable damage to weakened host trees. Notably, in Algeria, Lamprodila festiva on Barbary thuja (Tetraclinis articulata), and Agrilus biguttatus on oak trees were recognized as significant pests. Given the potential impact of climate change on forest jewel beetles, there were two key concerns: i) many of these species prefer warmer climates, making them thermophilic, and shifts in temperature patterns can affect their distribution and abundance, ii) following severe droughts, forest declines and diebacks may occur, offering an opportunity for these beetles to exploit weakened trees. In the context of this study, a Buprestidae (Coleoptera) species was re-discovered in the northeastern region of Algeria within holm oak (Quercus ilex) shrub lands, Perotis unicolor (Olivier, 1790). This is an important finding as it has not been reported in the fauna of North Africa for more than half a century.
Keywords
Jewel beetles, Coleoptera, Quercus ilex, Perotis unicolor, Algeria, North Africa
Abstract
After its reintroduction in northern Croatia, the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) successfully spread to new areas along streams. Although the beaver has spread in a part of Croatia covered with karst, the information published to date about beavers using caves has been sparse. Since the first observation in the Matešićeva Cave – Popovačka Cave System near Slunj in 2021 and two caves in Plitvice Lakes National Park in 2022, the beaver and traces of its activity was recorded several times in Jopićeva Cave near Krnjak in the period from March to June 2022. In the same year, beaver activity was recorded near Krnjak in the surface stream Bent connected with cave streams. The spatial and field analysis of this locality showed it is likely that the entry of the beaver into the cave, diving through karst spring Vrelce, was induced by limited access to compatible surface habitats and additional pressures induced by humans. More research is needed for a better understanding of the importance of caves for beavers and the species limitations determined by karst areas.
Keywords
beaver, Dinaric karst, caves, karst springs, Croatia
Abstract
The coypu is a South American rodent that was introduced to Europe more than a century ago and it has since then spread over a large area. It appeared in the north-western and northern part of Hungary only in recent years. The first coypu observation in the South Transdanubian region was in July 2023 near Bélavár on a side arm of the Drava River in the Danube-Drava National Park. During the autumn a coypu was spotted in the vicinity of Barcs, and the number of observations along the Drava River continued to increase during the winter. In two locations, adults with younglings were observed, which indicates that the coypu reproduce in that area. The coypu most likely arrived in the areas along the Drava in Somogy county with the large flood waves of 2023 coming from the north-west of the Drava watershed, and it can be expected to spread further along the watercourses and canals on both the Hungarian and Croatian sides.
Keywords
nutria, distribution, alien species, semi-aquatic invasive rodent
Abstract
Although Aspidogaster conchicola is a common and widespread parasite of freshwater molluscs, knowledge about its distribution and hosts in Croatia is still insufficient. The aim of our research was to investigate the presence of A. conchicola in the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum, which is widely distributed in the rivers of Europe. The study was conducted in the Mrežnica River, where U. pictorum is a common species. Five specimens of U. pictorum were collected by scuba diving in October 2021. The dissection of mussels was carried out in the laboratory, and all tissues were inspected under a stereo microscope. Determination of the parasite was performed based on the number and arrangement of alveoli. The results showed that the prevalence of infection was 40% (two out of five mussels were infected), and the intensity of infection was 2 to 3 specimens per mussel. All parasites were detected in the mussels’ pericardial cavity. In conclusion, this is the first record of A. conchicola in U. pictorum in Croatia.
Keywords
trematodes, prevalence and intensity of infection, Aspidogastrea, pericardial cavity, Unionidae
Abstract
During field surveys in recent years in the southernmost part of Algeria in Tamanrasset Province, a photographic account of the butterfly fauna was made. Fifteen species were recorded at four locations. Among these, the sky-blue Cupid, Chilades eleusis was recorded for the first time from the country and the north-western part of Africa. The species utilizes small acacia trees (Vachellia spp.) as larval host plants and is possibly resident in the studied region. This record extends its known range from subSaharan Africa, and apart from its presence along the Nile River in Egypt, represents the only known occurrence of the species in the Sahara realm. More targeted surveys of butterflies in the studied region would be highly recommended.
Keywords
butterfly records, Tamanrasset province, Adrar des Ifoghas, Afrotropical region, chec- klist, photography
Abstract
Tempyra biguttula Stål, 1874 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea: Rhyparochromidae: Rhyparochrominae: Udeocorini) is a minute seed bug species native in the USA, Mexico and Caribbean. The first record of this alien species in Croatia is provided here based on a single specimen attracted to light in the Pelješac Peninsula (southern Dalmatia) in 2023. This finding is in accordance with the current spread of the species in the Mediterranean area from west to east. A review of the available data concerning the biology and distribution of the species is provided. The identification of T. biguttula within Euro-Mediterranean fauna is addressed and its distribution in that area is mapped. The unusual teratological case of the bilateral asymmetrical oligomery of the antennae of the examined specimen is described.
Keywords
Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Rhyparochromidae, antenna, invasion, new record, oligomery, teratology, Croatia, Palaearctic Region
Abstract
We collected adult caddisflies during the period October 2016 - October 2017 in Brodec village in the Karadak Mountains in North Macedonia. We found 26 species in total, two of which are recorded for the first time from North Macedonia: Limnephilus auricula Curtis, 1834, and Limnephilus griseus (Linnaeus, 1758). The finding of these two species contributes to the knowledge of their distribution patterns and shows that Balkan Peninsula has still poorly investigated areas.
Keywords
Trichoptera, Limnephilus auricula, L. griseus, North Macedonia
Abstract
We report on new data obtained from our collections concerning 22 species of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera collected in Greece, providing new distributional records, the first records of two Hymenoptera previously unreported from Greece: i.e. Chalybion bengalense (Dahlbom, 1845) and Tremex fuscicornis (Fabricius, 1787) as well as some notes on their identification, ecology and native or alien status.
Keywords
Greece, distribution, faunistics, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, alien species, taxonomy
Abstract
Barrage-lake systems are a rare natural phenomenon with specific ecological characteristics that are greatly affected by tufa formation. Our main goal was to investigate benthic macroinvertebrate communities and their longitudinal variations within the lakes arranged in cascades in the Dinaric karst hydrosystem. Each lake within the Plitvice Lakes system studied presented with a distinct community, showing the effects of the barrage-lake system on the macroinvertebrates in these lakes. We observed a downstream decrease in taxa richness, abundance and Shannon diversity index along the longitudinal profile of the studied barrage-lake system. This pattern is most probably a result of decreased organic matter and increased tufa deposition. Overall, our results suggest that the hydrosystem studied represents a sequence of sediment sinks in which lakes retain and accumulate organic matter and fauna. Therefore, each lake acts as a filtering screen and consequently appears to be a small ecosystem. Each lake has its own community characteristics, regardless of the fact that water flows from one lake to the next, connecting them and creating very similar abiotic conditions in each lake along the system.
Keywords
Dinaric karst, tufa deposition, barrage lakes, retention effect, macrozoobenthos Sviben, S., Matoničkin Kepčija, R., Vilenica, M., Krulik, I., Mičetić Stanković, V., Kružić, P. &
Abstract
Nevesinjsko Polje is one of the large karst fields of the Dinaric karst (western Balkans). There is a long tradition of floristic research into the Nevesinjsko Polje, starting at the the end of the 19th century. During our field research into the wetland ecosystems of the Nevesinjsko Polje, new and noteworthy chorological data for rare and threatened vascular plant species were recorded: Achillea ptarmica, Drosera rotundifolia, Menyanthes trifoliata and Sanguisorba officinalis. Also, data concerning their habitats and population sizes are presented, and the conservation status of the studied species is assessed as Critically Endangered in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Possible negative anthropogenic influences could threaten the wetland habitats where these species occur, and the paper highlights the need to monitor the population trends of the studied species.
Keywords
Achillea ptarmica, Drosera rotundifolia, Menyanthes trifoliata, Sanguisorba officinalis, karst fields, Balkans
Abstract
After a four-year-long investigation, we present the finding of five bryozoan species in a eutrophic lake, situated in a natural floodplain of the Danube. Of the species found, three belong to the family Plumatellidae (Plumatella emarginata, P. fungosa and P. repens), one to the family Paludicellidae (Paludicella articulata), and one to the family Cristatellidae (Cristatella mucedo). Only C. mucedo was identified based on floatoblast appearance, while the identification of other species was based on colony fragments and dormant bodies. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to show the fine morphological structure of dormant bodies. In the present research, which covered a relatively small area, we discovered almost half of the bryozoan species listed for Croatia. Our results present the great diversity of Bryozoa in a floodplain system, indicating that water bodies such as Lake Sakadaš constitute a suitable habitat for bryozoan development, due to the favourable environmental conditions and the large amount and diversity of firm substrates in the water.
Keywords
bryozoans, biodiversity, statoblasts, wetland
Abstract
Human activity related to the exploitation or protection of environmental elements requires the creation of forecasts of the consequences involved. Such forecasts are not possible without the construction of models of ecosystems and the processes occurring in them. One of the critical elements in modern forecasting of the dynamics of ecosystems is the modelling of their anthropogenic block. Our research aims to develop methods for assessing the anthropogenic transformation of ecosystems necessary for modelling their state and dynamics. In accordance with the goal, we set ourselves the following tasks: to determine the limits of anthropotolerance of plant species; to evaluate the hemeroby of plant groups by the methods of synphytoindication; to create models of mutual dependence between anthropogenic transformation and natural dynamics. To implement the tasks, we used standard geobotanical methods (creating a geobotanical description, classification of plant communities, and synphytoindication). Hemeroby of plant communities can be used as an indicator of the anthropogenic transformation of ecosystems. To do this, we measure the boundaries of anthropotolerance of the plant species that make up these groupings. The range of anthropotolerance of individual plant species can be determined by the 12 most common types of human activity. The strength of their impact on ecosystems was determined by the induced changes in above-ground phytomass. The transition from anthropotolerance of individual species to hemeroby of plant communities was carried out according to the classical synphytoindication technique. We created an 18-point scale by assigning three points to each classic type of hemoroby. The use of the synphytoindication scale allows modelling of the interdependence between anthropogenic transformation and the measurable characteristics of the ecosystem. An inverse linear relationship with a probability of approximation of 0.2 and a correlation coefficient of 0.45 is an indicator of natural dynamics and the level of anthropogenic transformation. The correlation coefficient is 0.29 for ecosystems that are not suitable for economic use, and 0.85 for the rest.
Keywords
modelling, Ukrainian Polissia, hemeroby, plant communities, anthropotolerance
Abstract
In Europe, the palm borer moth, Paysandisia archon (Burmeister, 1879) is a non-native species which was introduced in the early 2000s. Since then, the moth has rapidly spread across the Mediterranean parts of Europe and started causing damage to both native and non-native palm trees. The first record for Croatia dates to 2011 when the moth was recorded in Split and Zadar. Since then, the spread of the species has not been documented in the scientific literature but being an unusual and invasive species, its expansions was reported across a wide array of internet sources, including social media. To comprehensively understand the current distribution of P. archon in Croatia, we sytstematically compiled data from citizen science platforms, social media, websites, and both published and personal observations. Our findings reveal a total of 112 records spanning most of the Mediterranean parts of Croatia, indicating a rapid and expansive distribution of the species. The caterpillars of this species develop within palms causing them to rot and eventually dry which causes economic and aesthetic losses. Severe economic damage in the horticultural sectors has been previously reported in countries like France and Italy, while in the western Mediterranean, it poses a conservation threat to native palm populations. Further monitoring and damage assessments should be carried out to understand to the full the impact of this non-native species in Croatia.
Keywords
coastal distribution, palms, impact of non-native species, aesthetic impact
Abstract
The European scorpion Euscorpius borovaglavaensis Tropea, 2015 is a morphologically cryptic species that is distinguishable only with difficulty from E. tergestinus (C. L. Koch, 1837). It is distributed in the middle part of the Dinaric Alps chain and along part of the Eastern Adriatic coast, specifically, in Croatia (Middle Dalmatia, Lika karst upland), as well as in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The new findings reported here have enhanced our knowledge of its geographic distribution in Croatia. Detailed morphological analyses highlighted the importance of carination in the ventral metasomal segments as morphological traits. Phylogenetic analyses, based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, have revealed the existence of two distinct lineages. One of them, distributed in the northwestern part of the range, is described here as E. b. flavus n. ssp., while the nominal subspecies occurs in the southeastern part. A time-calibrated phylogenetic analysis has established their divergence around 0.9 million years ago, coinciding with the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) period. In contrast to the nominal subspecies, E. b. flavus n. ssp. exhibits significant phylogeographic structuring, indicating recent isolation events in multiple glacial microrefugia after the initial divergence, followed by a final Holocene dispersal in the northwestern direction deep between the mountain chains.
Keywords
Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae, phylogeny, mtCOI gene, taxonomy, Croatia, Bosnia and Her- zegovina
Abstract
In the present study the macroinvertebrate composition in the Misoča River, its diversity and abundance were analyzed. The study was conducted in autumn and spring, in order to determine the influence of seasonal dynamics on the structure of macroinvertebrate communities and water quality. A biotic element analysis revealed a high abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate taxa. Significant differences in the structure of communities with respect to seasons and sampling sites were observed, as well as in species dominance, which was confirmed by the Bray-Curtis similarity analysis. The results of the EPT% index, EPT/Chironomidae index, Shannon-Weaver and Simpson's biodiversity indices showed the good ecological status of water at studied sites. The Pantle-Buck saprobic index indicated an oligo to β-mesosaprobic category, or slightly contaminated water. The presence of the Natura 2000 species Austropotamobius torrentium, and of six Trichoptera species new to the fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, among others, the species Hydropsyche botosanaenui was recorded in samples. This study represents the first literature data on macroinvertebrate diversity for the protected area of the Misoča River.
Keywords
biodiversity, macrozoobenthos, freshwater ecosystems, protection, Bosnia and Herze- govina
Abstract
Members of the Culex pipiens complex are considered a potential vector in the Republic of Croatia, which is why it is extremely important to have data on its distribution as well as data on the species and biotypes found within the Complex. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the frequency of biotypes within the Culex pipiens complex, and especially Culex pipiens/molestus hybrids. Culex pipiens biotype pipiens and Culex pipiens biotype molestus differ in behavior and physiology. Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens mainly feed on the blood of birds, while Cx. pipiens biotype molestus feeds on the blood of mammals. By feeding on both hosts, hybrids can significantly increase the possibility of transmission of various disease agents. The study was conducted in June 2022. Individuals were sampled using a net with a diameter of 25 cm in water habitats and using plastic containers on small and shallow water surfaces. As a diagnostic marker for discrimination among species and biotypes within the Cx. pipiens complex, the nuclear ACE2 and CQ11 microsatellite loci were used. Three representatives of the Complex were confirmed: Culex torrentium, Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and Cx. pipiens biotype molestus. The most common taxon in the research area was Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens (62% in urban and 69% in rural areas). Cx. torrentium was recorded in the rural area of north-western Croatia only. Cx. pipiens biotype molestus was recorded in south-eastern part of continental Croatia only (8.33%), with greater dominance in urban areas. Cx. pipiens/molestus hybrid was recorded in rural areas of the south-eastern part of continental Croatia (8.33%). This research with its results represents a platform for future research of the Cx. pipiens complex in Croatia.
Keywords
Culex pipiens complex, vectors, biotypes, hybrids, molecular determination