MORPHOLOGIC PARAMETERS AND LENGTH-MASS RELATIONSHIP OF THREE ROACH (Rutilus rutilus (L., 1758)) POPULATIONS FROM NORTHWESTERN CROATIA

U triju populacija bodorki iz sjeverozapadne Hrvatske istražene su 24 morfometrijske i sedam merističkih osobina, te dužinsko-maseni odnosi. Neke su merističke osobine prelazile granice za ovu vrstu, navedene u ključu za određivanje vrsta slatkovodnih riba, koji se rabi u jugoistočnoj Europi. Dužinsko-maseni odnosi i faktor kondicije (CF) bili su najveći u rijeci Kupi, a nešto slabiji u populacije bodorki iz eutrofne stajačice (III. maksimirsko jezero). Nasuprot tomu, ovi su parametri bili znatno niži u populaciji bodorki iz oligotrofne stajačice (Mrtvica). To pokazuje da su bodorke podjednako dobro prilagođene životu i u stajačicama i u tekućicama, te da na njihovu uhranjenost i morfometrijske osobine ponajprije utječe količina raspoložive hrane.Three populations of roach from northwestern Croatia were checked for 24 morphometric and 7 meristic parameters, as well as for length-mass relationship. Some meristic characters expressed the values beyond those mentioned in the key for freshwater fish species determination in southeastern Europe. Length-mass relationship and condition factor (CF) were the highest in the river Kupa and somewhat lower in the eutrophic stagnant water (3 rd Maksimir lake). On the other hand, these parameters were significantly lower at roach from oligotrophic stagnant water (Mrtvica). This indicates that roach is similarly well adapted to the stagnant as well as running waters and that its condition and morphometry is primarily influenced by the quantity of the food offered

The condition of fish from some freshwaters of Croatia

The 41 “bases for fishery management” and 16 related studies were thoroughly analyzed. The data on 39 species, registered in 1 to 23 Croatian water bodies were statistically processed for CF and length-weight relationship parameters. The great variations of CF and parameter b were found at different locations. These results are discussed with the conclusion that the data presented in this paper can serve as a useful tool for a deeper scientific analyses and numerous comparisons.U radu su temeljito analizirane 42 gospodarske osnove i 16 srodnih studija iz Hrvatske. Zabilježeni su podaci o 39 ribljih vrsta lovljenih u rasponu od 1 do 23 lokacije. Ti su podaci statistički obrađeni da bi se izračunali faktor kondicije (CF) i parametri dužinsko-masenih odnosa. Za pojedine vrste uočene su velike varijacije ovih parametara, što je posebno raspravljeno. Prikazani podaci mogu poslužiti kao koristan izvor za daljnje dublje znanstvene analize i brojne usporedbe

THE GROWTH OF GRAYLING (THYMALLUS THYMALLUS L.) IN THE KUPA RIVER

Rast lipljena (Thymallus thymallus L.) analiziran je na uzorku od 98 riba ulovljenih športskoribolovnim alatom u blizini izvora rijeke Kupe u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje je provedeno tijekom ribolovne sezone godine 2002., i to od svibnja do studenoga. Totalna dužina ulovljenih lipljena kretala se je od 17.0 do 41.0 cm, dok je raspon mase bio od 40 do 700 g. Dužinski rast u totalnu dužinu ove populacije može se izraziti von Bertalanffyjevom jednadžbom: Lt= 69.77(1 – e-0.1214(t-1.25)). Ukupna performanca rasta (Φ\u27) malo varira i prosječna joj je vrijednost u naše populacije Φ\u27=6.38 ±0.14. Masa pokazuje negativan alometrijski rast (b=2.643).The growth of grayling (Thymallus thymallus L.) was analyzed on specimen of 98 fish, caught whit sport-fishing equipment in upper part of the Kupa river, northwest Croatia. The research was conducted in 2002 fishing season, monthly from May to November. The total length of caught grayling ranged from 17.0 to 41.0 cm, and weight from 40 to 700 g. The growth in total length of this population could be expressed by the following von Bertalanffy expression: Lt= 69.77(1 – e-0.1214(t-1.25)). The overall growth performance (Φ\u27) has minimum variance, and average value of our population is Φ\u27=6.38±0.14. Weight express a negative allometric growth (b=2.643)

Past, present and future of chamois science

The chamois Rupicapra spp. is the most abundant mountain ungulate of Europe and the Near East, where it occurs as two spe- cies, the northern chamois R. rupicapra and the southern chamois R. pyrenaica. Here, we provide a state-of-the-art overview of research trends and the most challenging issues in chamois research and conservation, focusing on taxonomy and systematics, genetics, life history, ecology and behavior, physiology and disease, management and conservation. Research on Rupicapra has a longstanding history and has contributed substantially to the biological and ecological knowledge of mountain ungulates. Although the number of publications on this genus has markedly increased over the past two decades, major differences persist with respect to knowledge of species and subspecies, with research mostly focusing on the Alpine chamois R. r. rupicapra and, to a lesser extent, the Pyrenean chamois R. p. pyrenaica. In addition, a scarcity of replicate studies of populations of different subspecies and/or geographic areas limits the advancement of chamois science. Since environmental heterogeneity impacts behavioral, physiological and life history traits, understanding the underlying processes would be of great value from both an evolutionary and conservation/management standpoint, especially in the light of ongoing climatic change. Substantial contri- butions to this challenge may derive from a quantitative assessment of reproductive success, investigation of fine-scale foraging patterns, and a mechanistic understanding of disease outbreak and resilience. For improving conservation status, resolving taxonomic disputes, identifying subspecies hybridization, assessing the impact of hunting and establishing reliable methods of abundance estimation are of primary concern. Despite being one of the most well-known mountain ungulates, substantial field efforts to collect paleontological, behavioral, ecological, morphological, physiological and genetic data on different popu- lations and subspecies are still needed to ensure a successful future for chamois research and conservation

The de novo assembly of a European wild boar genome revealed unique patterns of chromosomal structural variations and segmental duplications

The rapid progress of sequencing technology has greatly facilitated the de novo genome assembly of pig breeds. However, the assembly of the wild boar genome is still lacking, hampering our understanding of chromosomal and genomic evolution during domestication from wild boars into domestic pigs. Here, we sequenced and de novo assembled a European wild boar genome (ASM2165605v1) using the long‐range information provided by 10× Linked‐Reads sequencing. We achieved a high‐quality assembly with contig N50 of 26.09 Mb. Additionally, 1.64% of the contigs (222) with lengths from 107.65 kb to 75.36 Mb covered 90.3% of the total genome size of ASM2165605v1 (~2.5 Gb). Mapping analysis revealed that the contigs can fill 24.73% (93/376) of the gaps present in the orthologous regions of the updated pig reference genome (Sscrofa11.1). We further improved the contigs into chromosome level with a reference‐assistant scaffolding method. Using the ‘assembly‐to‐assembly’ approach, we identified intra‐chromosomal large structural variations (SVs, length >1 kb) between ASM2165605v1 and Sscrofa11.1 assemblies. Interestingly, we found that the number of SV events on the X chromosome deviated significantly from the linear models fitting autosomes (R (2) > 0.64, p 1 kb) events as a proxy to understand the large‐scale inter‐chromosomal evolution, by resolving parental‐derived relationships for SD pairs. We revealed a significant excess of SD movements from the X chromosome to autosomes (p < 0.001), consistent with the expectation of meiotic sex chromosome inactivation. Enrichment analyses indicated that the genes within derived SD copies on autosomes were significantly related to biological processes involving nervous system, lipid biosynthesis and sperm motility (p < 0.01). Together, our analyses of the de novo assembly of ASM2165605v1 provides insight into the SVs between European wild boar and domestic pig, in addition to the ongoing process of meiotic sex chromosome inactivation in driving inter‐chromosomal interaction between the sex chromosome and autosomes

Development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for risk screening non-native terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions

Electronic decision-support tools are becoming an essential component of government strategies to tackle non-native species invasions. This study describes the development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for screening terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions: the Terrestrial Animal Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (TAS-ISK). As an adaptation of the widely employed Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), the TAS-ISK question template inherits from the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and related WRA-type toolkits and complies with the 'minimum requirements' for use with the recent European Regulation on invasive alien species of concern. The TAS-ISK consists of 49 basic questions on the species' biogeographical/historical traits and its biological/ecological interactions, and of 6 additional questions to predict how climate change is likely to influence the risks of introduction, establishment, dispersal and impact of the screened species. Following a description of the main features of this decision-support tool as a turnkey software application and of its graphical user interface with support for 32 languages, sample screenings are provided in different risk assessment areas for one representative species of each of the main taxonomic groups of terrestrial animals supported by the toolkit: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, annelids, insects, molluscs, nematodes, and platyhelminths. The highest-scoring species were the red earthworm Lumbricus rubellus for the Aegean region of Turkey and the New Zealand flatworm Arthurdendyus triangulatus for Croatia. It is anticipated that adoption of this toolkit will mirror that of the worldwide employed AS-ISK, hence allowing to share information and inform decisions for the prevention of entry and/or dispersal of (high-risk) non-native terrestrial animal species - a crucial step to implement early-stage control and eradication measures as part of rapid-response strategies to counteract biological invasions