The Croatian society is still coping with traumatizing events (World War II and civil war) and memories of them. The politics of memory, articulated by Tudjman´s strategy of generational and memory reconciliation of the society in the early 1990s, led to the relativization and even promotion of the pro-fascist Ustashe regime, and simultaneously to the marginalization and stigmatization of narratives relating to the role of national liberation struggle within multi-ethnic partisan movement. This also included members of local Czech minority. The study shows how - despite this - the narratives concerning the partisan resistance are still alive in family memory, and they form, through generational transmission, a value alternative to the contemporary nationally-oriented state ideology as well as to the cultural presentation of Czech minority. Family memory works as an autonomous ”intimate space/area” of expatriates in Croatia, which is based on searching for a generational value continuities in the period of post-communist social uncertainties.
No spirlin have been registered in the barbel zone of the Sava River, Croatia in the late seventies of the last century. Since then, due to improved water quality the presence of spirlin gradually increased in number (23.3%) and in biomass (4.7%). The most dominant item in the diet of spirlin were Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyceae during every monthly investigation. The diet consisted also of invertebrates which can be considered as a secondary or an accidental prey. The size related analyse of the consumed food showed Bacillariophyceae to be preferred food by fish of all sizes. The back calculated growth in the total length could be expressed by the following formula: Lt = 12.0 (1-e -0.59 (t+0.14)). The phi-prime of spirlin from the Sava river is φ’=4.44. The length-weight relationship, covering the fish from the entire growing period, showed an isometric growth with a b-value of 3.025 (p›0.05), except of September when it was significantly allometric. That was confirmed by the non-significant relationship between condition factor and total length (r = 0.014; p > 0.05). However, CF in June, September and October (0.86 ± 0.07; 0.85 ± 0.09 and 0.87 ± 0.10, respectively) was significantly lower (p<0.05) than in May and July (1.00±0.21 and 1.00±0.12, respectively). The improved water quality during the last fifteen years enabled spirlin to migrate and enlarge its population downstream, resulting in a slightly decreased condition factor.
The Neretva chub, Squalius svallize is an endemic species of the Adriatic basin of the southeastern Europe. Altogether, 60 specimens were caught by gill nets from the Neretva river area, the oldest being seven years old. The most dominant item in the diet of S. svallize during winter season were larvae of Trichoptera and Diptera. Diptera larvae were also dominant during spring and summer. In autumn period the largest amount in stomach content were Trichoptera larvae and Gastropoda. Plant material was present in stomach content but not dominant food item. The von Bertalanffy formula, counted from the back calculated growth in total length, appeared to be: Lt = 35.3 (1-e-0.15 (t+1.40)). The phiprime of Neretva chub (ln base) is Φ’=5.23. The length-weight relationship, including the fish from the entire growing period, demonstrated positive allometric growth with a b-value of 3.47. The average value for condition factor was CF = 0.98±0.14 (min = 0.76; max = 1.29).
This study describes the of distribution and level of endangerment of the genus Gobio in Croatia. Four species of the genus Gobio live in the Croatian Danube River basin: Gobio Gobio - common gudgeon, G. albipinnatus - whitefin gudgeon, G. kesslerii - sand gudgeon and G. uranoscopus - stone gudgeon, while in the Croatian Adriatic Sea basin lives only G. Gobio. According to IUCN methodology and the level of endangerment, in the Red List of Threatened Plants and Animals of Croatia G. Gobio is considered to be of the least concern (LC). G. uranoscopus and G. kesslerii are in the category of near threatened (NT) while G. albipinnatus is considered as data deficient (DD).
The variability of the external characters of four sibling Plecotus species in Croatia was analysed. For the recently discovered species P. macrobullaris and P. kolombatovici we used specimens identified by mitochondrial DNA sequences as key specimens. Living individuals of P. kolombatovici can be distinguished from P. macrobullaris and P. auritus by means of shorter thumb and hind foot, more clearly than distinguishing P. austriacus from P. auritus. Using the triangular pad on the lower lip it is easy to distinguish P. macrobullaris from all other species in the field. Sympatric distribution is confirmed for P. macrobullaris and P. auritus as well as for P. auritus and P. austriacus. In Istria, P. kolombatovici was found only at one site syntopic with P. austriacus and at another site inhabiting the same church attic with P. macrobullaris.
a1_In the last few decades, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) (= Stegomyia albopicta), the so-called "Asian tiger mosquito", has spread from its native range in southeast Asia to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Pacific islands. The spread of this species poses a risk to human health as it is considered to be one of the main vectors of dengue and other arboviruses. Aedes albopictus was reported in Croatia in 2004, thereafter it was discovered at several coastal localities in 2005 and to date it has spread to most coastal areas and islands in Croatia. Here we investigate the genetic variability of A. albopictus based on 39 individuals collected during the summer of 2009 along the East-Adriatic coast and islands of Croatia and Montenegro and using two mitochondrial molecular markers: cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase 5 (ND5). We identified a single ND5 haplotype, corresponding to the previously reported and worldwide-distributed haplotype H3. The COI marker was more variable and we identified four COI haplotypes. In order to identify the geographic origin of the populations that colonized Croatia, we performed phylogenetic analyses of ND5 and COI haplotypes in Croatian populations and other A. albopictus populations retrieved from the GenBank. The phylogenetic tree based on ND5 haplotypes revealed two well supported clades where the unique Croatian ND5 haplotype clustered with the majority of haplotypes originating from South-Asia, America, Europe, and Africa. Another smaller cluster consisted of only Brazilian haplotypes. The phylogenetic tree and haplotype network that resulted from the COI analysis also indicates that the three Croatian COI haplotypes cluster with European and American haplotypes. However the fourth Croatian COI haplotype was the only European haplotype that occurred in a separate clade (group) with Indian, South-Asian, and Brazilian haplotypes., a2_This data suggests there have been several independent introduction events in Croatia., and Toni Žitko, Ana Kovačić, Yves Desdevises, Jasna Puizina.
Gyrodactylus orecchiae sp. n. (Monogenea, Gyrodactylidae) is described from the skin, fins, eyes and gills of juvenile Sparus aurata L. (gilthead seabream) following two outbreaks of gyrodactylosis amongst stocks held in inshore floating cages on the Adriatic coast of Albania and Croatia. Fish were heavily infected (1000+ gyrodactylids/fish) with G. orecchiae which reportedly resulted in ~2-10% mortality amongst the infected stock. Morphologically, the haptoral hooks of G. orecchiae most closely resemble those of Gyrodactylus arcuatus Bychowsky, 1933 in the approximate shape of the ventral bar with its pronounced ventral bar processes and marginal hook sickles which possess a square line to the inner edge of the sickle blade and large rounded heels. The marginal hooks are also morphologically similar to those of Gyrodactylus quadratidigitus Longshaw, Pursglove et Shinn, 2003 and Gyrodactylus colemanensis Mizelle et Kritsky, 1967, but G. orecchiae can be readily discriminated from all three species by the characteristic infolding of the hamuli roots and the shape of the marginal hook sickle. Molecular sequencing of the ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2 regions (513+157+404 bp, respectively) of G. orecchiae and alignment with other gyrodactylids for which these same genomic regions have been determined, suggests that this is a new species. No similarities were found when the ITS1 region of G. orecchiae was compared with 84 species of Gyrodactylus available on GenBank.
The Jadro River with total length of 4.3 km and average annual discharge of 7.9 m3 s-1 is a relatively small river on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea, close to Split. Field campaign measurements were made to estimate salt intrusion in the Jadro estuary in July 2012. This measurement confirmed the stratified character of the estuary where fresh water flows in a thin layer over denser sea water. Furthermore, a numerical model was set up for simulating unsteady stratified flow without mixing between the layers. The model is applied for the Jadro River and field measurements are used for calibration. In addition, the steady state of stratification within the estuary is analyzed by a box model which assumes mixing between layers. Results of the numerical and the box models were compared. The flushing time estimated with the box model is approximately 1.5 day for summer steady conditions. Numerical analysis however shows that the residence time is much larger owing to flow unsteadiness.
Like the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, after the Second World War, Croatia came under the rule of the Communist regime. It constituted a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in which the shift towards the Soviet model was happening faster than in the majority of countries in the region. After 1948, the Tito-Stalin split and the conflict between Yugoslavia and the Eastern Bloc the situation gradually moved towards partial liberalization, though some remnants of the Soviet model were still present, and the government’s policies towards the intellectual elite of the country continued to be marked by imposing ideology and attempts to establish control of the Communist Party. Under such conditions, the processes which occurred at the university, in the Academy of Arts and Sciences and in cultural institutions did not differ much from those found in the other countries under Communist rule, and the attitudes of individuals varied from wholehearted support for the regime, through adjustment to the situation and cooperation with the authorities, to resistance. The main scholarly institutions in Croatia at that time were the University of Zagreb and the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. In the first period after WWII, the Yugoslav Communist regime tried to introduce the Soviet model in the field of sciences, meaning the transformation of universities into teaching institutions and concentrating the whole research processes in the institutes of the academies of sciences. This changed to some extent after the Tito-Stalin conflict, but some traces of this remained in later periods. The control of the Communist Party also remained in the form of the so-called self-management systems. Still, the Communist regime was never completely satisfied with the level of its influence on the intellectual elites and the main institution in the country. and Chorvatsko se po druhé světové válce dostalo pod kontrolu komunistického režimu stejně jako větší část střední a východní Evropy. Bylo součástí Socialistické federativní republiky Jugoslávie a tempo změn směřujících k sovětskému modelu bylo v této zemi větší než v okolních státech v regionu. Po roce 1948, kdy došlo k rozkolu mezi Titem a Stalinem, a Jugoslávie se tak ocitla v rozporu se zbytkem Východního bloku, se poměry začaly pozvolna liberalizovat, ačkoliv mnohé prvky sovětského modelu zůstávaly zachovány a vládní politika vůči intelektuálním elitám země byla nadále vedena v duchu ideové kontroly a nastolení komunistické svrchovanosti. Za těchto podmínek se prostředí univerzity, Akademie věd a umění jakož i ostatních kulturních institucí příliš nelišilo od poměrů v jiných komunisty ovládaných zemích. Postoje jednotlivců sahaly od upřímné spolupráce s režimem přes víceméně oportunní přizpůsobení se poměrům a kooperaci s vládními orgány, až po odpor. Hlavní akademické instituce Chorvatska té doby představují Záhřebská univerzita a Jugoslávská akademie věd a umění. V prvním období bezprostředně po druhé světové válce se jugoslávský komunistický režim snažil po sovětském vzoru organizovat vědu tak, že univerzity měly být transformovány na pracoviště čistě pedagogická a veškerý výzkum měl být soustředěn a veden pod záštitou ústavů Akademie věd. Tento přístup se po rozkolu Tita a Stalina poněkud změnil, avšak některé jeho prvky přetrvaly do následujících období. Komunistická strana se rovněž pokoušela o kontrolu prostřednictvím tzv. samosprávného systému, Nebyla však s rozsahem svého vlivu na inteligenci státu, jakož i na na hlavní vědecké instituce, nikdy zcela spokojena.