Features and interpretation of Upper Eocene shallow water and coastal deposits in the area of Novigrad (northern Dalmatia)

Sjeverozapadno područje Dalmacije najvećim je dijelom prekriveno Prominskim naslagama koje su taložene u Dinarskom predgorskom (foreland) bazenu. Interpretiramo ih kao naslage "wedge-top" ili "piggyback" bazena čija je karakteristika jaka erozija vršnih uzdignutih dijelova reljefa. Erodirani materijal transportirao se riječnim putem i taložio se u nižim predjelima u kopnenom, prijelaznom i morskom okolišu. Tako su nastale i Prominske naslage u zaleđu dinarske orogene fronte. Nastale su izdizanjem Dinarida u eocenu i oligocenu u okviru alpske orogeneze. Promatranjem i korelacijom mnogobrojnih facijesa prominskih naslaga može se interpretirati njihov okoliš taloženja, ali i paleogeografski izgled područja.Northwestern area of Dalmatia is mostly covered by Promina beds that were generated in Dinaric foreland basin. We interprete them as "wedge-top" or "piggyback" layers of a basin that are characterized by a high erosion rates in the upper parts of a relief. Eroded material was transported by rivers and was sedimented in the lower parts of a relief in terrestrial and aquatic environments. That was also the way how did Promina beds developed in the background of a Dinaric orogen front. They were built in Eocene and Oligocene in an Alpine orogeny realm. With viewing and correlation of many sedimentary facies of Promina beds, we can interprete their sedimentary environment so as paleogeographical situation of an area

ASSESSMENT METHODS OF CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax carbo) DIET

Različite metode procjene hranidbe kormorana služe za procjenu njihova dnevnog obroka kako bi se iz tih i drugih podataka procijenila šteta koju kormorani čine na gospodarskim ribnjacima, kao i na otvorenim vodama. Svi parametri koji služe u procjeni šteta na ribljem fondu koju čine kormorani (broj ptica, gustoća i struktura riba, svakodnevni obrok, cijena ribe, stupanj zaštite i očuvanja i sl.) specifični su za pojedini ribnjak ili neki drugi akvatorij i ne mogu se primijeniti drugdje, osim na tom lokalitetu. Rezultati o najnižim i najvišim vrijednostima mase riba koju na dan konzumira kormoran višestruko variraju. Pregledom dostupne literature utvrđene su sljedeće vrijednosti za odrasle jedinke: gvalice — 347 g, gvalice zarobljenih ptica — 371 g, želučani sadržaj — 359,5 g, regurgitacija — 260 do 539 g, energijske potrebe — 751 g, temperatura želuca — 336±98 g.Various cormorant diet assessment methods are used to assess their daily meal in order to evaluate, using these and other data, the damage to commercial fish farms as well as the damage on open waters caused by cormorants. All of the parameters used for evaluating the damage to fish stock (number of birds, density and fish structure, daily meal, fish price, degree of protection and preservation etc.) are specific for an individual fishpond or other body of water and can only be used for that locality and not elsewhere. The results on the lowest and highest values of fish mass that cormorants eat daily vary extensively. By examining the available literature, the following values for individual adults have been determined: pellets — 347 g, pellets of captive cormorants — 371 g, stomach content — 359.5 g, regurgitations — 260 to 539 g, energy requirements — 751 g, stomach temperature — 336±98 g

Genome-wide Association Study of Anthropometric Traits in Korčula Island, Croatia

AIM: To identify genetic variants underlying six anthropometric traits: body height, body weight, body mass index, brachial circumference, waist circumference, and hip circumference, using a genome-wide association study. ----- METHODS: The study was carried out in the isolated population of the island of Korcula, Croatia, with 898 adult examinees who participated in the larger DNA-based genetic epidemiological study in 2007. Anthropometric measurements followed standard internationally accepted procedures. Examinees were genotyped using HumanHap 370CNV chip by Illumina, with a genome-wide scan containing 316730 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). ----- RESULTS: A total of 11 SNPs were associated with the investigated traits at the level of P<10(-5), with one SNP (rs7792939 in gene zinc finger protein 498, ZNF498) associated with body weight, hip circumference, and brachial circumference (P=3.59-5.73 x 10(-6)), and another one (rs157350 in gene delta-sarcoglycan, SGCD) with both brachial and hip circumference (P=3.70-6.08 x 10(-6). Variants in CRIM1, a gene regulating delivery of bone morphogenetic proteins to the cell surface, and ITGA1, involved in the regulation of mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and cartilage production, were also associated with brachial circumference (P=7.82 and 9.68 x 10(-6), respectively) and represent interesting functional candidates. Other associations involved those between genes SEZ6L2 and MAX and waist circumference, XTP6 and brachial circumference, and AMPA1/GRIA1 and height. ----- CONCLUSION: Although the study was underpowered for the reported associations to reach formal threshold of genome-wide significance under the assumption of independent multiple testing, the consistency of association between the 2 variants and a set of anthropometric traits makes CRIM1 and ITGA1 highly interesting for further replication and functional follow-up. Increased linkage disequilibrium between the used markers in an isolated population makes the formal significance threshold overly stringent, and changed allele frequencies in isolate population may contribute to identifying variants that would not be easily identified in large outbred populations