Beaver (Castor fiber) in Slovenia

Bober je bil v Sloveniji zanesljivo prisoten od interglaciala Riss/Würm pa vse do 17-18. stoletja, ko ga je iztrebil človek. Prva pobuda za njegovo ponovno naselitev (1992) zaradi pomanjkanja sredstev ni zaživela. Bober se je tako naselil v Sloveniji po naravni poti, kot posledica naselitev bavarskih bobrov na Hrvaško, ki so se začele leta 1996. Prva naselbina je bila zabeležena pozimi 1998/1999 v spodnjem toku Radulje, ob izlivu v Krko. Bober je odtlej stalno prisoten na tem območju. Prvo razmnoževanje smo zabeležili leta 2001, pozimi 2003/2004 pa so se bobri ustalili tudi v zgornjem delu Krke. Oktobra 2002 se je bober pojavil tudi na Dobličici, kjer se je prav tako ustalil. Oba habitata sta za bobra suboptimalna glede kakovosti vode, brežin in prehranske osnove, močna pa je prisotnost človeka. Škode in konflikti so na obeh območjih zmerne. Obe naselbini sta opredeljeni kot območji NATURA 2000.V zadnjih dveh letih se je bober pojavil tudi na Sotli (2005), Muri (2005) in Dravi (2006). Populacija bobrov v Sloveniji predstavlja obrobje hrvaške populacije

The status of a rare phylogeographic lineage of the vulnerable European souslik Spermophilus citellus, endemic to central Macedonia

The conversion of grasslands for agriculture has triggered a serious decline of the European ground squirrel or souslik Spermophilus citellus, categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996. The Jakupica phylogeographic lineage of central Macedonia is the smallest of the three major evolutionary lines of the European souslik. This lineage is an important reservoir of within-species diversity and should be regarded as an independent unit for conservation management purposes. It is endemic to Mount Jakupica, where it lives in mountain pastures at 1,500-2,250m altitude. The total area occupied by sousliks (884 ha) is fragmented and 94% of individuals occur in four colonies. Densities (0.8-5.5 adults ha-1) are lower than those reported elsewhere for the species, with the total population probably ,2,000 adults. One large colony, reportedly of c. 1,000 sousliks, was decimated in 2007 by a catastrophic fire and had still not recovered bz 2010. A steady decline in livestock grazing, together with the predicted advance of the tree line as a consequence of climate change, will probably reduce the optimal habitat for the souslik and negatively affect population fitness. Monitoring needs to be implemented, at least for the largest colonies, to provide early warning of any decline

Female reproductive characteristics of the Horvath's rock lizard (Iberolacerta horvathi) from Slovenia

In this paper, we present data on the female reproductive traits of the Horvath’s rock lizard from Slovenia. The clutch, egg and hatchling characteristics were investigated based on clutches laid in laboratory conditions by pregnant females collected from a natural population. A female lays one clutch of eggs annually with an average number of three (range 1-5) eggs. We found a significant positive correlation between female size and egg width and volume. The mean egg length and volume in a clutch decreased significantly with clutch size independently of female size. The incubation period averaged 44 days. Significant positive correlations were found between the hatchling total length and mass, and egg mass. There was a significant negative relationship between the egg mass and incubation duration. The life-history strategy of the Horvath’s rock lizard appeared to be shaped by several factors, such as the constraints of a high-altitude environment, flattened body morphology and possibly phylogenetic background.Projekat ministarstva br. 17304

Occurence of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in the Gulf of Trieste and the northern Adriatic Sea

1. The Mediterranean common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), considered to have been very common in the past, had undergone a dramatic decline across most of the basin by the end of 1970s. In the northern Adriatic Sea, one of the regions with most available historical information, the common dolphin is thought to have been the most common and abundant cetacean throughout most of the 20th century. However, by the end of 1970s, it had virtually disappeared from the region and is now considered generally absent from the entire Adriatic Sea. 2. This contribution summarizes the occurrence of common dolphins in the Gulf of Trieste and provides a brief review of published records in other parts of the Adriatic Sea. 3. Systematic boat surveys in the wider area of the Gulf of Trieste between 2002 and 2019 confirmed that the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only regularly occurring cetacean species in this area. Despite this, several records of common dolphins were documented in the Gulf of Trieste between 2009 and 2012, through sightings of live animals or recovery of dead stranded animals. 4. Dorsal fin markings allowed the photo‐identification of some of these, suggesting that at least four different live individuals (three adults and one calf) occurred here in recent times. Most cases involved single adult individuals, but one included a mother‐calf pair that was temporarily resident in a port for several months, a behaviour atypical for this species. Photo‐identification showed that the presumed mother had previously been sighted in the Ionian Sea in Greece, over 1,000 km from the Gulf of Trieste, making this the longest documented movement for this species worldwide. 5. At present, the common dolphin continues to be rare in the region.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Phylogeographic structure of the pygmy shrew: revisiting the roles of southern and northern refugia in Europe

Southern and northern glacial refugia are considered paradigms that explain the complex phylogeographic patterns and processes of European biota. Here, we provide a revisited statistical phylogeographic analysis of the pygmy shrew Sorex minutus Linnaeus, 1766 (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) examining the genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and demographic history in the Mediterranean peninsulas and in Western and Central Europe. The results showed support for genetically distinct and diverse phylogeographic groups consistent with southern and northern glacial refugia, as expected from previous studies, but also identified geographical barriers concordant with glaciated mountain ranges during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), early diversification events dated between the Upper Pleistocene and Lower Holocene for the main phylogeographic groups, and recent (post-LGM) patterns of demographic expansions. This study is the most comprehensive investigation of this species to date, and the results have implications for the conservation of intraspecific diversity and the preservation of the evolutionary potential of S. minutus