Karstology in the Classical Karst

“Karstology in the Classical Karst” is the first book that presents a selected karst area from different perspectives, supported by interdisciplinary methods, including monitoring and data analysis from geographical, geological, geomorphological, speleological, hydrogeological, biological and microbiological viewpoints. It seems that only a holistic approach to study karst fits this particular and peculiar landscape. &nbsp

17th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology - ISME 17

 ISME meetings have been organ­ized regularly since 1977, and in 1986 the 4th ISME was hosted by Ljubljana. The 17th ISME was in Leipzig, Germa­ny, where 2250 delegates from 60 countries met. Dur­ing the symposium eight plenary lectures, 26 different sections and three days of poster presentations were or­ganized. A participant could choose one of six or seven simultaneously running sections daily which covered an extremely wide set of microbial ecology from evo­lution, modeling of microbial interactions, review on new and existing metabolic pathways, (meta)genomics, interactions between microbes and hosts, biogeochemi­cal cycles, bioinformatics, new methods and innovative bioremediation procedures. It became clearly evident that microbial ecology can offer some answers to many urgent global issues. Some interesting highlights from the symposium are given below

Exposition in Stone Forest National Park: international cooperation between Slovenia and China in research and development of Stone Forest UNESCO Global Geopark

Informal cooperation between Slovenian and Chinese karstologists started as early as 1980's, but the main boost was initiated after 1995 in the frame of several national and international projects. Fruitful long-term cooperation between the Karst Research Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and Yunnan Institute of Geography, Yunnan University, successfully culminated in many joint research efforts, among which the research in Stone Forest (Shilin) in South China Karst was the most apparent one

Microorganisms in Hypogeon: Examples from Slovenian Karst Caves

In caves microorganisms inhabit distinct habitats where they develop various interactions. As an evidence of microbial activ­ity several features can be identified. Microorganisms are in­volved bothin lithogenic and litholitic processes. Besides het­erotrophs in caves autotrophic organisms can be also expected. Some cyanobacteria and microalgae in caves can survive even at photon flux densities lower than their photosynthetic compen­sation point. In the paper up-to-date identified groups of mi­croorganisms (bacteria, cyanobacteria, microalgae, fungi and protozoa) withtheir localities in Slovenian caves are presented. Especially bacteria from caves, as the most diverse group, of­fer immense biotechnological and bioremediation potential. In caves microbial biomass can be considered a considerable food source for cave-dwelling higher organisms. Caves in Slovenia offer great chances to discover new species, as was fungus Mu­cor troglophilus discovered in association withthe cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus

Foreign tour operators and travel agents knowledge of a potential tourism destination

Vojvodina is an autonomous region of Serbia, and has the potential to become a successful tourism destination. Twenty years of changes have elapsed since the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and destination planners in Vojvodina are now looking to accommodate visitors and generate service related jobs. The method for collecting data was through survey responses from those in the travel industry. The objective for conducting this research is to analyze the knowledge and awareness of the developing destination of Vojvodina. From here, it is possible to get a sense of the regionʼs awareness, and role tour operators and travel agents act as opinion makers in promoting destinations to their clientele. Results suggest that Vojvodina is not known as a tourism destination among foreign travel expertsfurthermore, this would suggest that their clientele base is not informed of this region of Serbia as a tourism destination. Although not known, this is better than having a negative image. With a non-image, tour operators and travel agents then have the ability to creatively market and promote an image that will generate further awareness of the Vojvodina region as an emerging tourism destination

Karst spring microbial diversity differs across an oxygen-sulphide ecocline and reveals potential for novel taxa discovery

Strong geochemical gradients of dissolved oxygen and sulphide establish habitats where specialized bacterial and archaeal taxonomic groups occupy specific redox-sensitive niches, primarily based on metabolic and ecological requirements. In contrast, knowledge of microeukaryote diversity and their ecology in redox-stratified habitats is poor, as species-specific occupation of such geochemical gradients has not been well established. Here we assessed total microbial diversity from rRNA genes retrieved from two morphologically distinct microbial mats formed along an oxygen-sulphide gradient in the outflow channel from the Žveplenica sulphidic karst spring, Slovenia. Microbial mats contained diverse bacteria and archaea associated with chemolithoautotrophic and primary productivity, and overall microeukaryotic diversity was higher under oxygenated conditions. The oxygenated mats were comprised of undescribed and undifferentiated fungi, Annelida, Nematoda, Apicomplexa, and Gastrotricha, some being represented by novel lineages. Under anoxic conditions, diversity was dominated by Ciliophora, Nematoda, and Fungi-Ascomycota, also affiliated with novel lineages. Colonization of the distinct mat types related to ecological tolerance of specific geochemical conditions, and the associations between bacterial and archaeal diversity with distinct microeukaryotes may be related to grazing options and food web structure within the karst system.Key words: karst, spring, sulphide, geochemical gradient, diversity, microeukaryotes.Pestra mikrobna diverziteta vzdolž ekokline kisik-sulfid kraškega izvira odkriva potencial za okritje novih taksonovIzraziti geokemijski gradienti raztopljenega kisika in sulfida so osnova za habitate, kjer v odvisnosti od redoks potenciala, predvsem pa glede na metabolne in ekološke zahteve, specializirane bakterijske in arhejske taksonomske skupine zasedajo občutljive ekološke niše. Nasprotno pa je poznavanje diverzitete mikroevkariontov in njihove ekologije v habitatih, stratificiranih glede na redoks potencial, pomanjkljivo, saj vrstno specifične kolonizacije takšnih gradientnih okolij še nismo dobro proučili. Celotno mikrobno diverziteto smo ovrednotili na podlagi zaporedij rRNA genov, ki so bila pridobljena iz dveh morfološko različnih mikrobnih biofilmov, ki nastajata vzdolž gradienta kisik-sulfid v žveplenem kraškem izviru Žveplenica, Slovenija. Mikrobni biofilmi so vsebovali pestro združbo bakterij in arhej, ki jim pripisujemo kemolitoavtotrofen metabolizem s primarno produkcijo, celotna mikroevkariontska diverziteta pa je bila v oksigeniranih okoljskih razmerah višja. Oksigeniran biofilm so večinoma sestavljale še neopisane in nepoznane glive ter predstavniki skupin Annelida, Nematoda, Apicomplexa in Gastrotricha; nekatere izmed njih pripadajo celo novim linijam. V anoksičnih razmerah so prevladovali predstavniki skupin Ciliophora, Nematoda in Glive-Ascomycota, ki tudi pripadajo novim genetskim linijam. Kolonizacija različnih tipov biofilmov glede na ekološko toleranco specifičnih geokemijskih razmer ter povezava med bakterijsko in arhejsko diverziteto z značilnimi mikroevkariontskimi predstavniki sta lahko povezana z različnimi možnostmi prehranjevanja in s strukturo prehranjevalne verige v kraškem sistemu.Ključne besede: kras, izvir, sulfid, geokemijski gradient, diverziteta, mikroevkarionti.

Aesthetic Awareness and Spectacle: Communicated Images of Novi Sad, the Exit Festival and the Event Venue Petrovaradin Fortress

More research and discussion is needed to understand how destination image and awareness links to aesthetic portrayals. Representations of image, awareness, and aesthetics are embedded in textual content, and the narratives portrayed offer valuable meaning that is open to interpretation. Newspaper articles and websites play a crucial role in creating and presenting new images of places to international audiences. While image is certain, what is often overlooked in textual sources are discussions addressing the importance of aesthetics, which also link to destination image and awareness. The city of Novi Sad, Serbia represents a unique case given the location of the city's popular music event, the Exit Festival, which attracts youths from across the former Yugoslavia, Europe and the world and has contributed to a new image of Serbia. Moreover, the event's unique setting, held in the Petrovaradin Fortress on the banks of the Danube River overlooking Novi Sad, is described in relation to historical/cultural ambiance, and aesthetic attributes. Sources analyzed stressed the beauty of Novi Sad and the festival venue, but mere notions of spectacle could not be ignored. Discussions of image, awareness, and aesthetic dimensions presented in newspaper content and websites are analyzed in this article to understand how the festival textual content challenges us to re-create place meanings of Serbia. Copyright © 2015 Cognizant, LLC