Diversity of burnet moths (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) on Mountain Koritnik, Kosovo

The aim of this paper is to present the first data on the diversity of the moth family Zygaenidae, on Koritnik Mountain in Kosovo. Although this mountain is a biodiversity hotspot, no study of Zygaenidae has ever been conducted. During our survey in 2021 and 2022, in ten localities, 11 Zygaenid species were recorded. Among them Jordanita notata (Zeller, 1847) is reported for the first time for Kosovo

Correlation between physical and chemical parameters of water and biotic indices: The case study the White Drin River basin, Kosovo

The major impacts on aquatic ecosystems worldwide caused by land use lead to changes in their natural conditions and limitation of water use for various needs. This paper presents the results of the study of the physical and chemical parameters and macroinvertebrate assemblage in the White Drin River (or: the Drim River, Alb. the Drini i Bardhë River) basin, the largest in Kosovo. Macroinvertebrate sampled at 11 sites in the river resulted in 5946 collected benthic organisms, which in taxonomic terms belong to 12 orders and 51 families. Of the total number of organisms, 72.28% were Insects, 25.39% Amphipoda crustaceans and 2.33% were Annelide worms and Mollusk. The used biotic indices Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP), Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT), average score per taxon (ASPT) and Stroud Water Research Center (SWRC) classify water quality in excellent category in the sampling site S1 near the source of the White Drin River, whereas in other sampling sites, as a result of pollution, water quality varies on category II–IV. The Pearson's correlation analyses shown that the physical and chemical parameters affect the water quality and the composition of macroinvertebrates. Our results show that the parameters that adversely affect the BMWP, EPT and ASPT biotic indices as well as the Shannon–Wiener, Mergalef and Menhinik diversity indices are: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), nitrates (NO3–) and chlorides (Cl–). We can conclude that the anthropogenic impact on White Drin basin affects the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water therefore these parameters should be constantly included in Biomonitoring and Management plans for water resources in Kosovo

Biodegradation of Azo Dyes

Synthetic dyes are widely used in textile, dyeing, paper, printing, color photography, pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, and other industries. Azo dyes represent about one-half of all the dyes in common use and are employed as coloring agents in the textile, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Although these are not toxic, but after released into the aquatic environments, they can be converted into carcinogenic amines. Chemical and physical methods including adsorption, coagulation-flocculation, advanced oxidation and electrochemical methods are very efficient in color removal. These methods are quite expensive and have operational problems; high sludge formation, regeneration requirement and cost of adsorbent make adsorption an unattractive method for decolorization purposes. Nowadays the attention is focused on the treatment of azo dyes with biological methods due to these methods are ecofriendly and cost-effectiveness. Azo dye biodegradation by several mixed and monoculture bacterial cultures, aerobic and anaerobic culture, white root fungi, algae, plants have been reported

Biodiversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in Mountain Koritnik in the Republic of Kosovo

The following paper outlines a study conducted on the abundance, distribution, and diversity of butterflies in Mt. Koritnik. located in the Republic of Kosovo, during 2019–2022. This research resulted in a total of 8166 recorded specimens, which belonged to 6 butterfly families, 50 genera and 131 species. The richest family in terms of abundance was Nymphalidae with 4611 specimens (56.47%), followed by Lycaenidae 1924 specimens (23.56%), Pieridae 856 (10.48%), 561 Hesperiidae (6.87%), Papilionidae 179 specimens (2.19%) and Riodinidae with 24 specimens (0.29%). In terms of species richness, Nymphalidae were the richest with 55 species, Lycaenidae 40, followed by 15 Pieridae, 15 Hesperiidae, 5 Papilionidae and 1 Roidinidae. Among 131 registered species, 11 have Near Threatened status in Europe. Our results indicated that species richness and abundance of butterflies were significantly negatively correlated with altitude (p<0.01), whereas they showed a strong positive correlation (p<0.01) with the temperature. The highest abundance and number of species were presented in the lower altitudinal range and the numbers decreased with altitude increasing. Activities such as intensive agriculture, grazing, fires and illegal timber cutting, which were observed during our survey, may be the main threats for butterflies in Mt. Koritnik in the future, therefore, we suggest the data from this research serve as a basic information for authorities to monitor future changes in butterfly diversity

Distribution of Trifolium genus (Fabaceae family) in Some Villages of Istogu Municipality

The object of the research was Trifolium genus. The aim was to establish the presence of species of this genus in some villages of Istogu Municipality (Trubuhoc, Prekallë and Saradran). The plant samples were collected and dried in newspapers for the purpose of further determination. In these three villages was established the presence of the following species: Trifolium pratense L., Trifolium repens L., Trifolium incarnatum L., Trifolium dubium Sibth. and Trifolium striatum L. It was concluded that Trifolium pratense L. and Trifolium repens L., were more cosmopolite species and their presence was established in all three villages

Determination of Land Pollution with Heavy Metals along Sitnica River, Kosovo

The main river of the Kosovo valley is the Sitnica River, which collects a large number of streams, recipients of wastewaterfrom various urban and industrial centers. The blockage of Sitnica river with waste and non-regulation of the bedding of this river makes this river flood tens of acres of worked ground surface through its course, causing great damage every spring and autumn. Uncontrolled discharge of heavy metals into the contaminated terrestrial environments ensures their transfer to plants, animals and humans and results in an impact on the environment and public health. Determination of the heavy metals concentration level for the assessment of soil pollution along the Sitnica River course was also the main purpose of this study, which was carried out in 2016. For analysis, 8 soil samples were taken at depths of 30–50 cm. From the analysis of the data it was noticed that the content of heavy metals such as Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr in some analyzed samples exceeds the maximum allowed values. The findings indicate high values of metal pollution in the samples taken in meadows as well as the agricultural lands stretching around the river

Analysis of the Impact of Ferronicel Industrial Activity on Drenica River Quality

Today, environmental water degradation all over the world comes about due to the growth of urban, industrial and agricultural activities. As a result of these discharges without any prior treatment, the quality of river waters in Kosovo has deteriorated greatly. On the basis of the research that has been done so far in the rivers of Kosovo, it was shown that Drenica is one of the rivers that are constantly exposed to the discharge of industrial waters. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of water discharged from Feronikeli on the water quality of the Drenica River and the possibility of its protection. The realization of this study is focused on the evaluation of physico-chemical parameters of the water of the Drenica River, the content of heavy metals in the water, the analysis and comparison of the results obtained using the standard for the assessment of the ecological status of surface waters of Romania (GD 161). Laboratory assays were developed according to standard analysis methods (APHA). The results obtained, analyzed and compared with the values of the parameters according to the standard referred to in this research, confirm that the water of the Drenica River belongs to the class of water with “good quality” only in the source area, while in other flow stations river, especially in the third station S3 (Ferronikel industrial zone), water has “poor quality”, passing into the category of “very poor quality”. Therefore, in order to improve the current situation, it is recommended to apply the best environmental practices and proper management of industrial waste

Application of mathematical models for predicting the content of trihalomethanes in the drinking water of the city of Struga

Trihalomethanes (THMs) as the main disinfection byproducts created when chlorine reacts with organic matter of the drinking water. THMs in high concentrations are harmful and can be carcinogenic for the liver, pancreas, nervous system, development organs, whereas in women can cause miscarriage. Therefore, THMs recently have concerned very much the scientific and public opinion. Consequently THMs must be constantly monitored. THMs mainly are determined by the gas chromatography method, which is a difficult procedure and very costly. To avoid this, in the past years is practiced the use of mathematical models for prediction of THMs in drinking water. By fast measuring of the values of some simple parameters of drinking water quality and with replacing them in the mathematical models we can predict the THMs content. The aim of this article was the prediction of the THMs content in drinking water in the city of Struga for the spring 20121 in three sampling points S1, S2 and S3. Measured parameters and their average values with standard deviation were: water temperature (13.56± 1.17 ºC), residual chlorine (0.20± 0.00 mg/L), pH (7.58± 0.03), electrical conductivity (250.89± 9.37 µS/cm), chemical oxygen demand (1.53± 0.06 mg/L), total dissolved solids, (407.67± 2.89 mg/L) and chlorides (5.26± 0.32 mg/L), respectively. These values are then placed in mathematical models and with calculation is predicted the THMs content in drinking water. For prediction were used ten mathematical models and the average value of the THMs with standard deviation was 16.61 ± 6.04µg/L). From the results we can conclude that the used models for THMs prediction has resulted successful and this content of THMs pose no risk to public health

The Application of Benthic Diatoms in Water Quality Assessment in Lepenci River Basin, Kosovo

During the study on the assessment of ecological status of the Lepenci river basin, epilithic diatoms were used. Via this methodology, the authors aimed to standardization the ecological assessment methodology and gradually make it applicable for all river basins of Kosovo. The authors relied on a hypothesis that the epilithic diatom communities can serve as a reliable ecological tool to evaluate the quality of flowing waters in Kosovo. Thirteen water quality indices (IBD, IPS, IDG, DESCY, SLA, IDSE, IDAP, EPID, CEE, WAT, TDI, IDP and SHE) were measured in eight sample-points. From the conducted qualitative analysis, the obtained results showed that the water quality varies from upper parts of the basin (SP1, SP2, SP3 & SP4) characterized with higher water quality towards the lower parts (SP5, SP6 & SP7) where water quality was of the 2nd class and finally in Hani i Elezit (SP8) where the index values showed that its water belongs to the 3rd class. The samples were taken in to 8 sampling sites, in river during year (2017), the Navicula viridula species was the most dominant, along with Cocconeis placentula var. lineate and Diatoma vulgaris. In turn, between August and end of September, the following species were dominant ones: Craticula ambigua, Navicula hintzii, Navicula viridula and Rhoicosphenia abbreviata

The Macrophyte Indices for Rivers to Assess the Ecological Conditions in the Klina River in the Republic of Kosovo

Macrophytes are important elements of aquatic ecosystems that grow in or near water. Their taxonomic composition, species diversity, depth, and density are indicators of environmental health; as such, Macrophytes are used to assess the ecological status of water bodies. Under the aim of assessing the ecological status of the Klina River in Kosovo, a survey was conducted at eight sampling sites along the river course to analyze macrophyte composition, diversity, density, and cover. Three samples were collected at each sampling site from early June to late September. The following macrophyte indices were used to assess the ecological status of the river: Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR), River Macrophyte Nutrient Index (RMNI), and River Macrophyte Hydraulic Index (RMHI). Our sampling area included the upper reaches of the river where no organic pollution was detected (oligotrophic), the middle reaches where polluted water from farms is discharged into the river, and the lower reaches characterized by heavy organic pollution from settlements and various industrial activities. There is a positive correlation (p 43−), ammonia (NH4+), nitrites (NO2−), calcium (Ca2+), and potassium (K+) with plant density, RMNI, RMHI, EQR-RMNI, EQR-RMHI, and MIR. Sodium (Na+) has stronger positive correlation (p < 0.01) with RMNI and RMHI indices and negative correlation with EQR-RMNI and EQR-RMHI. Our results show that ecological status along the river varies from high and good upstream to poor, bad, and moderate running downstream