INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES
Transcription
INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES
ISSN 1848-6789 INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES Biennial REPORT 2011 - 2012 www.izor.hr INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES Biennial REPORT 2011 - 2012 Editor: Ivona Marasović Editorial board: Branka Grbec Olja Vidjak Ante Žuljević Contributors: Ingrid Čatić, Vlado Dadić, Boris Antolić, Branko Dragičević, Jakov Dulčić, Živana Ninčević-Gladan, Vanja Čikeš Keč, Nada Krstulović, Grozdan Kušpilić, Jasna Maršić Lučić, Mira Morović, Vedran Nikolić, Mladen Šolić, Ivana Ujević, Melita Peharda Uljević, Gordana Beg Paklar, Ivona Mladineo, Damir Ivanković, Vesna Milun, Anita Marušić Layout and design: Ante Žuljević Split, February 2013. ISSN 1848-6789 1 Contents Preface 3 Institute of Ocanography and Fisheries 4 80 years of Acta Adriatica 7 Dr. Otmar Karlovac (1902-1980) – 110th Anniversary of birth 9 Mission and Vision of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries 10 Laboratory for Aquaculture 11 Laboratory for Benthos 15 Laboratory of Marine Microbiology 19 Laboratory for Ichthyology and Coastal Fisheries 23 Laboratory of Physical Oceanography 27 Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography and Sedimentology 33 Laboratory of Fisheries Science and Management of Pelagic and Demersal Resources37 Laboratory of Plankton and Shellfish Toxicity 41 Library of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries 45 Computing Center 46 Institute Core Projects 48 Institute Studies 72 Educational Activities of the Institute 75 2 PREFACE Over the past two years, despite the significant reduction of the research activities funding in the Republic of Croatia, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries has operated successfully and achieved very good results in the scientific, developmental and educational field. This is confirmed by the three National Science Awards, which were assigned to the Institute’s scientists in 2011 and 2012 and the City of Split Award for scientific research, awarded in 2011. Especially valuable recognition was given to the Institute in March 2012 when it was appointed by the Croatian Government a National Marine Reference Center of the Croatian Environment Agency. During this period, the Institute was the organizer of over ten international conferences, among which the most important was the international congress of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, which was attended by more than 200 scientists from all over the world. The Institute also organized a dozen of international workshops with the participation of scientists from ten Mediterranean countries. In 2011 and 2012 the Institute began working on six new international projects, as well as on a dozen of the national ones, which secured the majority of funds for the scientific research. In fact the work on the international, but also on the national projects, both fundamental and applied, is the only way to successfully pursue with the scientific work in the present circumstances. Consequently, the Institute is increasingly focused on the use of international funds, as due to the high cost of oceanographic research, the budget funding for science is insufficient to conduct regular surveys at sea. In the middle of 2011 the Institute became a member of the Marine Board of the European Science Foundation, entering the exclusive club of European scientific and research institutions, which means that the value of this Institute is recognized at the international level, too. Very good results were achieved in the education of young scientists, as in the previous two-year period, eight research assistants completed successfully the doctoral studies and earned a PhD degree. The scientific activity of the Institute in 2011 and 2012 was undertaken within about thirty national and international scientific-research projects, and the results of these activities are manifested through 110 scientific papers published in journals indexed in Current Contents database, as well as through a number of other scientific papers that were presented by the scientists of Institute at about fifty international conferences and published within the congress materials. 3 Director of the Institute Prof. Ivona Marasović, Ph.D. Institute of Ocanography and Fisheries Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63, 21000 Split Telephone: +(385) (21) 408000 Fax: +(385) (21) 358650 Director of the Institute: Prof. Ivona Marasović, Ph. D. [email protected] ORGANIZATION OF THE Institute At the Institute there are 100 employees of whom 54 belong to scientific staff, 16 associates, 6 crew members of a research vessel Bios 2, together with 24 members of the administrative and support staff. Eight scientific research laboratories IT Services - Computing Center Library Editorial Board of Acta Adriatica Technical Service & Maintenance Research vessel Bios 2 Accounting Office General and Legal Affairs Office 4 Laboratory of Physical Oceanography - research done thermohaline properties of sea currents, surface waves, sea level changes, the emergence tidal waves under the influence of synoptic disturbances (meteo-tsunami) and the optical properties of the sea. Laboratory staff are working on the development of numerical hydrodynamic models, and improving measurement systems operational oceanography. LABORATORY OF CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY OF THE SEA - conducts research chemical oceanography and sedimentology, study of nutrient cycles in the marine environment, and contamination with heavy metals and organohalogen compounds in marine organisms and sediment. Laboratory deals with sedimentology studies, including examination of grain size and redox potential of the sediment and organic matter, organic carbon, total nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediment. Laboratory of Marine Microbiology - explores the role of viruses, bacteria, cyanobacteria and heterotrophic nanoplankton (composition, abundance, biomass, production and activity) in the pelagic food chain. In the issue of alien organisms, is conducted study on the indicators of faecal contamination in seawater and biota, and occasionally some groups of pathogenic microorganisms. LABORATORY OF PLANKTON AND SHELLFISH TOXICITY - examines the role of phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, protozoa, and mikrometazoa mesozooplankton (primary production, abundance, biomass, chlorophyll a) in the pelagic food chain. Within shellfish toxicity issues, research is focused on composition and effects biotoxins which cause PSP, DSP, YTX, ASP toxicity, taxonomy and ecology of toxic phytoplankton. LABORATORY FOR ICHTHYOLOGY AND COASTAL FISHERY - conducts research in the field of ichthyology and fisheries biology, ecology, fish, coastal fisheries, management and protection, as well as fishing gear and techniques. This research involves the study of systematics and zoogeography of fish, biology and ecology of plankton, juvenile and adult stages of fish, and the status of the Adriatic ichthyofauna assessment of living resources especially commercially important coastal fish species. LABORATORY FOR BENTOS - examines the composition and distribution of benthic flora and fauna and the benthic animal communities. Of particular importance are studies on invasive species. The lab is developing methods for monitoring the state of the marine environment using bioindicators. The herbarium collection of algae is held; lab staff creates a basis of microscopic and underwater photography. Research on qualitative and quantitative composition of meiofauna in sediment and on vegetation is carried out. LABORATORY FOR fisheries and management of demersal and pelagic SETTLEMENTS - engaged in research in the field of applied biology, ichthyology, ecology and population dynamics of the most economically important pelagic and demersal fish, cephalopods, crustaceans and shellfish. Special attention is given to the most sensitive areas of research, such as fry carp growing ponds and hatcheries of economically important species, as well as the deep Adriatic. LABORATORY FOR AQUACULTURE - research conducted by the introduction of new species in aquaculture, which includes studies of the reproductive cycle, feeding and ecophysiology of juvenile and adults, but also zootechnics. The Laboratory is investigating diseases of marine organisms, and population-genetic studies of microsatellites in wild and farmed populations. Research also provided farming issues of bluefin tuna. 5 Research vessels BIOS 2 - research vessel length is 36.60 m. It is designed according to the specific research needs of the Institute. It can accommodate up to 18 members of the research team. Six crew members look after the ship. NAVICULA - boat length is 10.8 m, type Calafuria. This boat is used for smaller coastal research and service activities at the operational oceanographic equipment. inflatable boat - 3.80m long inflatable boat, type Mistral. Serves in numerous studies in the Split area and beyond for mapping the coast, transporting divers or collecting samples in the shallow areas of difficult access. Real time measurement systems Oceanographic station Punta Jurana The station is located in front of the Institute’building. The station sensors are for air and sea measurements. They measure the air temperature, wind direction, speed and gust (speed is instantaneous, and gust is the maximum value between two measurements), humidity, rainfall and air pressure. Sensors in the sea measure temperature and conductivity of the sea (salinity). http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/ postaja-punta-jurana System of oceanographic bouys It consists of two oceanographic buoys, both designed and manufactured in Croatia. One is located in central part of the bay, and the other after the annual general overhaul is planned to be deployed in waters close to the island Vis. They are equipped for standard meteorological measurements and the oceanographic sensors measure wave direction, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll in the surface layer of the sea and speed and direction of sea currents throughout the water column. The total height of the buoy is 6 m, and weighs 1300 kg. http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/ sustavoceanografskih-plutaca 6 Microbarographic measurements To detect high-frequency atmospheric phenomena that may have significant impact on the sea, the measurements frequency should be minute or second. One such processes, which often occurs in the Adriatic is called meteorological tsunami, which was the reason to place the microbarographs in Vis, Vrbovska and Vela Luka. The core of the microbarographs is a Vaisalaa pressure sensor, which allows 1 second measurement resolution, and has an accuracy of 0.01 hPa. The data are transferred to the database of the Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries via internet. http://jadran.izor.hr/barograf/ 80 years of ACTA ADRIATICA (1932.-2012.) Prepared by Dr sc Jakov Dulčić “Acta Adriatica” is the primary scientific publication with an international review, a long tradition, which the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split continuously published since 1932. Political and administrative circumstances have changed several times over the last eighty years period (swept through two wars and five states), but the main goal of publishing has always remained the same - the publication of scientific papers from different disciplines that help to better understanding of the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean. Journal has gained a great reputation, especially in the Mediterranean countries, because Croatian as well as foreign scientists in the fields that sea studies the (natural sciences, bio-sciences) show enormous interest to publish in Acta Adriatica. At the beginning Journal was an internal newsletter of the Institute, and today it is respected journal which publishes the research papers by scientists and experts from almost all over the world. By the end of 2012 there were a total of 53 volumes with a total of 852 scientific papers written by over 900 authors. Types of work that may be taken into consideration for the review process by the Editorial Board of the journal are: a) the original scientific papers, b) review articles, and c) short communications. The papers mainly comprise the given issues related to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea, but we also accept works that may include other areas or have a contribution of general interest (description of the new methodology, a description of new species, etc). The journal is published semi-annually with the financial support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia and is distributed through the exchange to 350 addresses of scientific institutions in Croatia and around the world. Topics of the Scientific Papers Out of the total number of papers published so far about 60% is covering an area of marine biology (biology and ecology of fishes in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, taxonomy and ecology of plankton, marine microbiology); 16% covers the problems of physics (physical oceanography) (seasonal and long-term fluctuations in temperature and salinity, temperature rise, dynamic conditions, geostrophic flow, «upwelling “Adriatic ingressions”, optics sea); 12% are dealing with issues of importance to fishing (fish biomass estimates using direct and indirect methods, aquaculture, lagoon fisheries and shellfish), and 11% by chemistry and marine pollution (quantity and distribution of nutrients, eutrophication, heavy metals in seawater and sediments, the content of contaminants: oil, 7 detergents and pesticides, the impact of humans and their activities on the marine ecosystem). What is necessary to highlight is the fact that the first papers containing the first data on the dynamics of primary production in the Adriatic were published in this journal, which in the sixties of the last century to ensured exceptional visibility of Acta Adriatica at the international level. In our journal were published numerous papers dealing with the biology and ecology of pelagic and demersal fish species, both in the Adriatic Sea, as well as those in the waters around the Mediterranean. In a number of works were presented the problems of fish diet, as well as problems in the field of aquaculture, shellfish farming and fishing in the lagoon. Among the published works can be found papers that deal with issues of the impact of certain fishing gear on the population status of fish and other marine organisms, as well as papers that present the results of the fish biomass estimates of indirect and direct methods used in fishery biology. There are many articles on issues in physical oceanography from the area around the Adriatic Sea and parts of the Mediterranean (Egypt, Greece and Turkey). Printed papers also include the issue of seasonal variation of the basic hydrographic properties in certain areas and the impact of Levantine Intermediate Water (“Adriatic ingressions”) on hydrographic properties in the Adriatic Sea. There is a growing presence of multidisciplinary papers covering issues of long-term trends and fluctuations of abiotic and biotic parameters in relation to the Adriatic ingressions. A certain number of papers refer to optics of the sea and issues related to the dynamics of water masses are represented in more than 25 volumes of the journal. The spatial coverage of the entire area of the Adriatic and the Gulf of Trieste until the Strait of Otranto was carried out. In Acta Adriatica, for the first time, were published the results of calculation of geostrophic currents in the Adriatic and the eastern Mediterranean. The paper which shows the impact of the construction of the Aswan Dam on the fisheries and oceanographic features of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic has also been published. Inclusion of the world’s scientific courses requires the international visibility and recognition; therefore Editorial invested and continues to invest great efforts in order to get Acta Adriatica included in international databases, with published papers which become available to the general scientific community. The efforts result in success, and since 2007, the papers in the journal are indexed in a number of scientific journal databases such as: Agricola, ASFA (CSA) – Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts CSA, CAB Abstracts, CNRS - INIST, Dialog, DOAJ, EBSCOhost Fish & Fisheries Worldwide produced by NICS, South Africa, Georeference, HRČAK, ISI Web of Knowledge, Oceanic Abstracts, Pollution Abstracts Referativnij Zhurnal, WoS-Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded, SCOPUS, Water Resources Abstracts and Zoological Record. Entry into international databases results with a significant response of the scientific community, and the number of papers that come to the editors is constantly increasing. It also allows Editorial stricter selection and consequently reduces the percentage of publications. All this leads to an increase in impact factor (Impact Factor), which first appeared in 2009 and it was 0,459, while for 2011 was 0,500. In addition, by the number of citations of articles from Acta Adriatica in SCI (Science Citation Index) Journal in the period (1975-2001) occupied second place (Andreis & Jokić,2008 *). Today, compared to all the Croatian scientific journals covering all scientific fields, Acta Adriatica is in fourth place, based on the criteria proposed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia (personal communication). In the time of increased globalization, where scientific standards become almost equal there is a great interest to be chosen in a group of selected journals that are in the CC (Current Contents) database; to raise the quality even more and subsequently the citation (higher IF) and be able to give even better services for those who submit their papers to be published in Acta Adriatica. Yet despite all the changes and future aspirations the main goal of publishing Acta Adriatica remains unchanged: to publish highquality papers on a multidisciplinary level, which will help to better understand the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean, and thus become even richer treasure of knowledge for these seas. *Andreis , M. & M. Jokić. 2008. An impact of Croatian journals measured by citation analysis from SCI-expanded database in time span 1975–2001. Scientometrics, 75 (2): 263–288. Changing of appearance of Acta Adriatica from 1930 to date. 8 Dr. Otmar Karlovac (1902-1980) – 110th Anniversary of birth Prepared by Dr sc Jakov Dulčić Dr. Otmar Karlovac (1902-1980) – 110th Anniversary of birth Dr. Otmar Karlovac was born February 7, 1902 in Split, where he attended elementary and high school, and in 1919 he went to Belgrade and enrolled the group of biological sciences at the Faculty of Philosophy. After returning to Split, he was hired as a professor at the Classical High School, while simultaneously worked in the Biological Oceanography Institute in Split. During 1935, he was perfecting in the microscopic technique at the Morpho-biological Institute of the Medical Faculty. This was followed by employment in the City Museum of Natural History, the Zoo and Marine Aquarium in Split, first as a volunteer and then as Curator and Director of the institution from 1940 to 1946. Following that duty, Dr. Karlovac goes to work at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split where he spent his best years. In 1953 he has completed his doctoral studies in Belgrade with a defense of his Ph.D. thesis entitled: “Ecological Study of prawns Nephrops norvegicus in the open waters of the Adriatic Sea”. Shortly after his arrival to the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split, Dr. Otmar Karlovac was appointed as the Head the Laboratory of Ichthyobenthos and he held that job position until his retirement. Together with Dr. Tonko Šoljan actively involved in organizing and preparing Fishery-biological expedition Hvar, and from 1948 to 1949 takes over the whole organization of the field research activities. He was also the first Head of the public and the experimental aquarium at the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Dr. Karlovac was also Chairman of the Group and to coordinate research at the General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean, FAO, and the editor of the first and second editions of the Maritime Encyclopedia. He has received from town of Split the Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1971. In the scientific and professional work he was thorough, an excellent fisheries biologist, educator and popularizer of biological sciences. He has published 66 titles, of which 29 original papers, 28 professional and 9 popular-scientific works. In addition, he has also published 62 short articles on issues in fisheries and fisheries biology in two editions of the Maritime Encyclopedia. His most important research includes: shrimp Neprohps norvegicus, small mollusks Latreilia elegans, orange shrimp Stenopus spinosus, red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea and golden shrimp Plesionika acanthoanatus. Dr. Karlovac’s prominent researches were: study of three types of diet family Scorpaenidae (Scorpaena scrofa S. porcus, S. ustulata) (together with Dr. Tonko Šoljan); investigation of early and adult stages of various species of fish (Boops boops, Lophius piscatorius, Trachurus trachurus, Lepidopus caudate - along with Dr. Jožica Karlovac) and exploring of the Adriatic Sea sharks from families Squalidae. Dr. Otmar Karlovac, Head of the Hvar Expedition, lists the inedible trawl catch. 9 Mission and Vision of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries Mission of THE Institute OF Oceanography and Fisheries is to be a center for scientific excellence within the area of marine research and marine fisheries, following the international research standards and respecting the specific interests of the Republic of Croatia. The mission of the Institute is accomplished through: –– –– –– –– –– Strategic national and international scientific research, Research motivated by new ideas and curiosity, Professional activities, technological development and cooperation with economy, Conducting and maintaining of the oceanographic and fishery services, Education and transfer of knowledge. Vision of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries is to be0 a national center for marine research and fisheries in the Republic of Croatia and to become an inevitable factor and center of the oceanographic and fishery research activities concerning the Adriatic Sea. Accomplishment of the Institute’s vision includes creation of the human and infrastructural capacities necessary for accomplishing the vision of the Institute and realization of the specific aims, especially the following ones: –– –– –– –– –– Reinforcement of the quantity and quality of the research teams, Establishment of the new research activities based on multidisciplinary approach, Encouraging the mobility of the scientists, to and from the Institute, Strengthening of the professional and management staff, and the administrative support, Solution of the strategic infrastructural needs. 10 Laboratory for Aquaculture Head of the Laboratory Prof. Ivan Katavić, Ph.D., Senior research scientist (katavic@izor. hr) - aquaculture, new species in mariculture Staff Jasna Maršić Lučić, Ph.D., Senior associate, ([email protected]) aquaculture, population genetics of fish and shellfish Leon Grubišić, Ph.D., Senior research scientist (grubisic@izor. hr) - aquaculture, new species in mariculture, cryopreservation of gametes Ivona Mladineo, Ph.D., Senior research scientist (mladineo@ izor.hr) - ichtyopathology Mladen Tudor, Ph.D., Research associate ([email protected]) modeling of impact of aquaculture on the environment Tanja Šegvić Bubić, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow ([email protected]) - aquaculture, new species in mariculture Ivana Lepen Pleić, B.Sc., research fellow ([email protected]) - fish immunology Mladen Jozić, senior technician ([email protected]) Overview of the laboratory activities Within the Laboratory of Aquaculture research is focused on the issue of introducing new species in aquaculture with emphasis on high-value species: Pink dentex (Dentex gibbosus) and red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa). A method is determined for collecting individual brood fish, their adaptability to conditions of captivity and feeding. Biotechnological research is based on the experiments concerning the possibility of cryopreservation of fish milt and production of polyploid, monosex or sterile culture materials. The farming of tuna (Thunnus thynnus) based on fishing is also covered by the research. 11 Taking into account the economic value of the tuna and the impact they may suffer from a poor diet, in the purchase of frozen food it is especially important to check its safety based on the content of volatile amines. By the method of visual observations the impact of tuna farms is estimated, as well as of white fish and shellfish farms, on the natural ichtyopopulations that live in the vicinity. The spatial and temporal distribution of natural populations is examined, their biodiversity and biometrics, and it is compared with habitats outside the impact of the farms. The genetic characterization of wild and farmed gilthead sea bream populations using microsatellite loci are in progress. Also, the population-genetic assessment of commercially important fish species from the eastern coast of the Adriatic is investigated. Laboratory conducts research on the diseases of marine organisms, with emphasis on parasitic diseases of fish and shellfish in aquaculture, especially those with zoonotic characteristics (Anisakis spp, Cryptosporidium spp.). The approach to research is holistic and includes the basic microscopic identification of parasites (light and transmission electron microscopy), molecular identification and phylogeny of the parasites (COX markers, ITS, rDNA), and the detection of pathological changes induced in the host (the classic histology, IHC, IF). To complete the picture of the effect of pathogens on hosts in the system of susceptible breeding in aquaculture, we have initiated a study of functional genomics of fish, with emphasis on the expression of genes involved in immune response (cytokines, Toll-like receptors, lysozyme) as well as indicators of stress genes (qPCR, microarray). One of the activities of the Laboratory of Aquaculture is also the mathematical modeling of the impact of fish farms on the environment. Two computer programs (TunaMod and AquaKult) are made and used in making the studies of environmental impact of tuna, gilthead sea bream and sea bass farms. Banner for the 15th international conference of the European Association of Fish Pathologists. The most important laboratory activities In September 2011 Laboratory has organized 15th conference of the European Association of Fish pathologists that gather more than 200 delegates from countries from almost all around the world. Conference lasted five days and was preceded by workshop on the management of diseases in aquaculture, aiming to Croatian finfish and tuna farmers. Laureate for the Croatian National Award for Science, field biomedicine in 2011 was Ivona Mladineo, Ph.D. Ongoing laboratory projects Research of zootechnical and environmental conditions for fish and cephalopods farming Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Ivan Katavić Population-genetic assessment of fish species interested to sport - recreational fishing and aquaculture long the eastern Adriatic (greater amberjack, common dentex, sea bass and sea bream) Financed by: Croatian association for angling at sea Project Leader: Ivan Katavić Interaction of wild tuna with purse seine catch Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Ivan Katavić Monitoring of tuna fishing and farming Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Leon Grubišić 12 Development of the Atlantic bluefin tuna: (a) embryo formed, appearance of Kupffer’s vesicle; (b) embryo 3 hours before hatching; (c) yolk-sac larvae 3 hours after hatching; (d) 1.5 dph yolk-sac larvae; (e) 2.5 dph larvae, mouth developed, first feeding; (f) 4 dph larvae. Scale bar = 0.5 mm. Using a stereoscopic camera in assessing farmed tuna Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Leon Grubišić Dynamic and pathology of parasitofauna in the cage-reared fish system Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Ivona Mladineo MikroTuna – new diagnostic tool for monitoring of diseases on tuna farms Financed by: Croatian Business and Innovation Center BICRO Project Leader: Ivona Mladineo AQUAMED: Future research of aquaculture in the Mediterranean region Financed by: EU FP7 Project Leader: Ivona Mladineo Parasite: Risk analysis of parasite and tool integration in EU fish production value chains Financed by: EU FP7 Project Leader: Ivona Mladineo Šegvić-Bubić, Tanja; Boban, Josip; Grubišić, Leon; Trumbić, Željka; Radman, Margita; Perčić, Marin; Čož-Rakovac, Rosalinda. 2012. Effects of propolis enriched diet on growth performance and plasma biochemical parameters of juvenile European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) under acute low temperature stress. Aquaculture Nutrition (In press). Gračan, Romana; Buršić, Moira; Mladineo, Ivona; Kučinić, Mladen; Lazar, Bojan; Lacković, Gordana. 2012. Gastrointestinal helminth community of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, in the Adriatic Sea. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 99: 227-236. Haenen, Olga; Mladineo, Ivona; Konecny, Robert; Yoshimizu, M; Groman, David, Munoz, Pilar, Saraiva, Aurelia, Bergmann, Sven; van Beurden, SJ. 2012. Diseases of eels in an international perspective: Workshop on Eel Diseases at the 15th International Conference on Diseases of Fish and Shellfish, Split, Croatia, 2011. Bulletin of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, 32: 109-115. Mladineo, Ivona; Petrić, Mirela; Hrabar, Jerko; Bočina, Ivana; Peharda, Melita. 2012. Reaction of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia) to Eugymnanthea inquilina (Cnidaria) and Urastoma cyprinae (Turbellaria) concurrent infestation. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 110: 118-125. Selected publications Mladineo, Ivona; Šegvić-Bubić, Tanja; Stanić, Rino; Desdevises, Yves. 2012. Pathogen transfer between wild and reared sea bream (Sparus aurata) population: morphological and phylogenetic consequences. PLOS One, in press. 13 Mladineo, Ivona; Šimat, Vida; Miletić, Jelena; Beck, Relja, Poljak, Vedran. 2012. Molecular identification and population dynamic of Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae Dujardin, 1845) isolated from the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus L.) in the Adriatic Sea. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 157: 224-229. Šimat, Vida; Bogdanović, Tanja; Krželj, Maja; Soldo, Alen; Maršić Lučić, Jasna. 2012. Differences in chemical, physical and sensory properties during shelf life assessment of wild and farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata, L.). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28 1: 95-101. Petrić, Mirela; Mladineo, Ivona; Krstulović Šifner, Svjetalana. 2011. Insight in the short-finned squid Illex coindetii (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) feeding ecology: is there a link between helminth parasites and food composition? Journal of Parasitology, 97/1: 55-62. Mišlov Jelavić, Krstina; Stepanowska, Katarzyna; Grubišić, Leon; Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Katavić, Ivan. 2012. Reduced feeding effects to the blood and muscle chemistry of farmed juvenile bluefin tuna in the Adriatic Sea. Aquaculture Research, 43/2: 317-320. Tański, Adam; Korzelecka-Orkisz, Agata; Grubišić, Leon; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Szulc, Joanna; Formicki, Krzysztof. 2011. Directional responses of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) fry under static magnetic field. Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities, 14. Lepen, Ivana; Puzina, Jasna. 2011. Fish mapping of 18S-5.8S26S rRNA genes and fluorochrome banding in the triploid viviparous onion Allium x Cornutum clementi ex visiani, 1842. Acta Biologica Cracoviensia Series Botanica, 53/1: 1–6. Bošnjak, Ivana; Šegvić, Tanja, Smital, Tvrko; Franekić Čolić, Jasna; Mladineo, Ivona. 2011. Sea Urchin Embryotoxicity Test for Determination of Environmental Contaminants – Potential Role of the MRP Proteins. Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 217: 627-636. Mladineo, Ivona; Lovy, Jan. (2011): A new xenoma-forming microsporidium infecting intestinal tract of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). Acta Parasitologica, 56: 339-347. Mladineo, Ivona; Zrnčić, Snježana; Lojkić, Ivona; Oraić, Dražen. 2011. Molecular identification of a new strain of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in Croatian rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) farm. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27: 1165-1168. Mladineo, Ivona; Šegvić, Tanja; Petrić, Mirela. 2011. Do captive conditions favor shedding of parasites in the reared Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)? Parasitology International, 60:25-33. 14 Šegvić-Bubić, Tanja; Grubišić, Leon; Karaman, Nikola; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Mišlov Jelavić, Krstina; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Damages on mussel farms potentially caused by fish predation - self service on the ropes? Aquaculture (Amsterdam). 319 3/4; 497504. Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Grubišić, Leon; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Temporal and spatial variability of pelagic wild fish assemblages around tuna fish farms in the Eastern Adriatic. Journal of Fish Biology. 78/ 1: 78-97. Šegvić-Bubić, Tanja; Lepen, Ivana; Trumbić, Željka; Ljubković, Jelena; Sutlović, Davorka; Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Grubišić, Leon; Glamuzina, Branko; Mladineo, Ivona. 2011. Population genetic structure of the reared and wild gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) in the Adriatic inferred with microsatellite loci. Aquaculture (Amsterdam), 318 3/4: 309-315. Tičina, Vjekoslav; Grubišić, Leon; Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Biometric characteristics of small Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Linnaeus, 1758) of Mediterranean Sea origin. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27/4: 971-976. Laboratory for Benthos Head of the Laboratory Boris Antolić, Ph.D., Senior research associate ([email protected]) – Phytobenthos, taxonomy, phytocenology Staff Ivana Grubelić, Ph.D., Senior research associate ([email protected]) – Zoobenhtos, taxonomy, biology, ecology Ante Žuljević, Ph.D., Senior research associate ([email protected]) – Phytobenthos, invasive species, Natura 2000, education Marija Despalatović, Ph.D., Senior research associate (mare@ izor.hr) – Zoobenthos, taxonomy, biology, ecology, biocenology Ivan Cvitković, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow ([email protected]) – Zoobenthos, taxonomy, biology, ecology, meiofauna Vedran Nikolić, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow ([email protected]) – Macroalgae, seagrasses, taxonomy, ecology Srđana Rožić, B.Sc., Associate ([email protected]) – Water Framework Directive monitoring (seagrasses and macroalgae) Overview of the Laboratory’s activities Laboratory for Benthos investigates composition and distribution of benthic communities (flora and fauna) along the eastern Adriatic coastmateju. The research is based on field sampling (SCUBA divers, drag, bottom trawl, grab, corer) and processing of collected samples in the laboratory (microscopic analysis, chemical and molecular-genetic analysis). Basic taxonomic research is finalized with inventory lists of algae and invertebrates which serves as a baseline for applied research in benthic ecology. Photography and videorecording (in situ or in the laboratory) of benthic organisms and biological processes are one of the basic methods for research and documentation. 15 Researchers from the Laboratory are also involved in applied investigations conducted by the Institute, such as monitoring and ecological studies with the aim to determine possible changes in the composition and distribution of benthos resulting from natural changes or anthropogenic impact. Important activity of the laboratory concerns the monitoring of the appearance and spread of invasive benthic species and research of their biology and ecology in the new environment. Another subject is qualitative and quantitative research of meiofauna composition in the sediment and flora, and various ecological aspects of this faunal component. Laboratory staff takes part in university teaching and actively participates in public education about the biology, ecology and nature protection of the Adriatic Sea. Top activities Within the project of implementation of European Water Framework Directive in Croatia, researchers from the Laboratory intensively tested bioindicator methods that use phytobenthos as bioindicator of the coastal water quality in the middle and south Adriatic Sea. Methods like CARLIT (Cartography of littoral rocky-shore communities), POMI (Posidonia oceanica Multivariate Index) and CYMOX (Cymodocea nodosa index) have been successfully implemented into the national monitoring and the results will also be used within the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Collaboration with the majority of laboratories for benthos from the Mediterranean Sea is established through several international projects in which our laboratory actively participates. One of the most important international projects is the research of biodiversity and ecology of the brown algae in the eastern Mediterraenan Sea which is funded by the Foundation Total. We have started the organisation and digitalization of the herbarium collection which now has over 4000 categorized herbarium sheets. The newly organized computer database of photographs contains over 25000 microscope photos and over 60000 photographs taken during the fieldwork. The red list of marine macroalgae and seagrasses has been compiled according to IUCN guidelines, and the inventory list of echinoderms. Ongoing laboratory projects Biodiversity of benthos in the middle Adriatic Sea Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Boris Antolić Brown algal biodiversity and ecology in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Financed by: TOTAL Foundation Project leader: Prof. Christos Katsaros Seagrass productivity: From genes to ecosystem management Financed by: COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Project leader: Prof. Rui Santos National representatives: Vedran Nikolić and Ante Žuljević Characterization of the area, drafting of monitoring program and execution of monitoring of water quality in transitional and coastal waters in the Adriatic Sea, according to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) Financed by: Croatian Waters Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić SOLEMON (Solea monitoring) project Financed by: FAO ADRIAMED Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč and Marija Despalatović, national coordinators 16 Fieldwork for the implementation of CYMOX bioindicator method PERSEUS (Policy-orientated marine Environmental Research for the Southern European Seas) Financed by: EU FP7 National coordinator: Ivona Marasović Initial assessment of the state and pressures on Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection Project leader: Nada Krstulović Biological Baseline Survey Financed by: Ministry of maritime affairs, transport and infrastructure Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Analysis of the impact of petroleum product storage and ballast waters to the marine environment and the living resources of the Kaštela Bay Financed by: HANDA (The Croatian Compulsory Oil Stocks Agency) Project leader: Ivona Marasović Recent publications Despalatović M, Cvitković I, Žuljević A, Grubelić I, Piccinetti C.(2012) Distribution and abundance of the knobby swimcrab, cropipus tuberculatus (Roux, 1830) (Decapoda, Portunidae), in the northern and middle Adriatic Sea. Crustaceana 85 (7): 835845. Puizina J, Despalatović M, Vladislavić N, Šamanić I, Cvitković I. (2012) Characterization of potential marine invasive mollusc Siphonaria pectinata (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in the Adriatic Sea using molecular markers – preliminary results. Vie et milieu – life and environment 62 (2): 61-68. Fieldwork for the implementation of CARLIT method. Sampling in Ploče city harbour for the project Biological Baseline Survey. Mascaró O, Alcoverro T, Dencheva K, Díez I, Gorostiaga J M, Krause-Jensen D, Balsby TJS, Marbà N, Muxika I, Neto JM, Nikolić V, Orfanidis S, Pedersen A, Pérez M, Romero J. (2012) Exploring the robustness of macrophyte-based classification methods to assess the ecological status of coastal and transitional ecosystems under the WFD. Hydrobiologia, DOI 10.1007/ s10750-012-1426-0 Mascaró O, Bennett S, Marbà N, Nikolić V, Romero J, Duarte CM, Alcoverro T. (2012) Uncertainty analysis along the ecological quality status of water bodies: the response of the Posidonia oceanica multivariate index (POMI) in three Mediterranean regions. Marine pollution bulletin 64: 926-931 Žuljević A, Thibaut T, Despalatović M, Cottalorda JM, Nikolić V, Cvitković I, Antolić B. (2011) Invasive alga Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea makes a strong impact on the Mediterranean sponge Sarcotragus spinosulus. Biological invasions 13 (10): 2303-2308 Cvitković I, Travizi A, Despalatović M, Grubelić I, Bogner D, Nikolić V, Žuljević A, Antolić B. (2011) Spatio-temporal variability of meiofauna community structure in abandoned salina of Velike soline and adjacent area (Mediterranean, Adriatic sea). Fresenius environmental bulletin 20 (3): 645-655 Antolić B, Špan A, Žuljević A, Nikolić V, Grubelić I, Despalatović M, Cvitković I. (2011) A checklist of the benthic marine macroalgae from the eastern Adriatic coast: III. Rhodophyta 1: Ceramiales. Acta Adriatica. 52 (1); 67-86 Sampling in the Ionian Sea for the project Brown algal biodiversity and ecology in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. 17 Žuljević A, Antolić B, Nikolić V, Despalatović M, Cvitković I. (2012) Absence of successful sexual reproduction of Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea in the Adriatic Sea. Phycologia 51 (3): 283-286 Doctoral disertations Nikolić Vedran (2012). Macroalgal communities as bioindicator of ecological status of coastal waters in the Adriatic Sea. Doctoral disertation, University of Zagreb: Faculty of Science. 176 pp. (mentor Boris Antolić) Cvitković Ivan (2011). Influence of invasive alga Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh on structure and dynamic of meiofauna in phytal and sediment. Doctoral disertation. University of Zagreb: Faculty of Science, 145 pp. (mentor: Travizi, Ana). Selected links www.izor.hr/kaulerpa Labaratory of Bentos’s herbarium base, counting over 4000 scanned herbarium sheets. 18 Laboratory of Marine Microbiology Head of the laboratory Prof. Nada Krstulović, Ph. D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]) - ecology of marine microorganisms, pelagic microbial trophic chain, sanitary aspects of marine microbiology Staff Prof Mladen Šolić, Ph. D., Senior research scientist (solic@ izor.hr) - ecology of marine microorganisms, pelagic microbial trophic chain, sanitary aspects of marine microbiology Stefanija Šestanović, Ph. D., Research Associate ([email protected]) – bacterial biomass and production in marine sediments, trophic relationships in microbial communities of marine sediments Danijela Šantić, Ph. D., Research Associate ([email protected]) – trophic and size structure of marine microbial communities Slaven Jozić, Ph. D. – Associate ([email protected]) Mate Pavlović, Technician Overview of the laboratory activities Work of the Laboratory of Microbiology includes research of ecology of marine microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic nanoplankton), as well as research of allochthonous microorganisms which from different sources enter the marine environment. Field of marine microorganisms ecology includes research of microbial community structure (composition, number, biomass, production and activity), and the role of microbial trophic web in the flow of matter and energy through the pelagic ecosystem. Given the importance of bacteria in biogeochemical processes in the sea, research of numbers and biomass of bacteria have recently been carried out in the sediment as well. As part of the allochthonous microorganisms research, the presence of fecal pollution 19 indicators in sea water and organisms (especially shellfish) and occasionally, of some groups of patogenic microorganisms as well, is being monitored. The results of these studies are essential for assessing the sanitary quality of water and marine organisms and potential risks to human health. Research of microorganism survival in the marine environment, and the rate of their concentration in shellfish in different enviromental conditions, is also being carried out. Within this issue, Laboratory of Microbiology organizes national and international workshops related to the introduction of new methods and training in their implementation. Laboratory of Microbiology is the authorized research laboratory for testing and evaluation of water quality, according to the resolution of the Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Economy of the Republic of Croatia, the Board of Water Management (Class: UP/Io-034-04/08-01/16; URBROJ: 538-10/1- 4-64-08/6; of 10th of December 2008. In the framework of the cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection we would like to stress activities of the scientists in the working groups dealing with the preparation of directives and documents related to Ongoing laboratory projects Role of plankton communities in the energy and matter flow in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Nada Krstulović Residence time of bacteria Escherichia coli in seawater and marine organisms Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Mladen Šolić Fluorescence microscopy (left). Flow cytometry: bacteria with high (HNA), and low (LNA) DNA content (right). Initial assessment of the state and pressures on Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection Project leader: Nada Krstulović Monitoring of the environmental impact of the submarine outfall Stobreč Financed by: Water and Sewage Company of Split Project Leader: Nada Krstulović Environmental Impact Assessment “Hotel and apartment complex with mooring Vela Borovica, community Marina” Financed by: Vela Borovica koncern d.o.o. Project Leader (Part: Marine Environment): Mladen Šolić Viral production in the Kaštela Bay. the Adriatic protection. Some scientists of the Laboratory were very active as experts at the consultation meetings of the WHO/ UNEP for the finalization and approval of criteria and standards for bathing waters along with beach profiles. In the framework of these activities pilot project „Beach Profile for Coastal Bathing Waters in the Mediterranean: Beach profile of five beaches in the Republic of Croatia” was prepared taking into consideration the WHO guidelines which are in conformity with the new EC directive and were considered as a step forward in monitoring bathing waters particularly in applying the proposed methodology for completing the coastal water quality profiles in Croatia related to the obligation according Directive of the bathing water quality. In the period 2011-2012 some scientists of the Laboratory were included in the number of activities on the implementation of Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Within the framework of these activities some scientists of laboratory were engaged in the process applying Ecosystems Approach in the Mediterranean Sea within the BC/MAP Project which is driven by contracting parties. 20 Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research in the Southern EUropean Seas (PERSEUS) Financed by: EU Seventh Framework Project (FP7-OCEAN-2011) Project leader: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Project leader in IOF: Ivona Marasović For details, see the Laboratory of plankton and shellfish toxicity Determination of transitional and coastal shellfish waters under Directive 2006/11/EC Financed by: Hrvatske vode Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Quality control of the Coastal Adriatic Sea (Pag-Konavle Project) Financed by: Water Protection Division, Croatian Waters Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Systematic Investigation of Transitional and Coastal Waters Quality during the period 2012-2013 Financed by: Water Protection Division, Croatian Waters Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Publications Chapters in books PhD Theses Šantić, D. & N. Krstulović. 2011. Identification and characterisation of microbial populations using flow cytometry in the Adriatic Sea. In: Flow Cytometry/ Book 1. Schmid Ingrid (ed) In Tech. ISBN 979-953-307-355-1. Šantić, D. 2010. Raspodjela i aktivnost prokariotskih mikroorganizama u području srednjeg i južnog Jadrana. Doktorska disertacija, Sveučilište u Zagrebu. 165 str. (voditeljica Nada Krstulović) Carić, H. 2011. Model vrednovanja onečišćenja u funkciji upravljanja morskim okolišem – primjer crusing turizma. Doktorska disertacija, Sveučilište u Splitu. 186 str. (voditelji Mladen Šolić i Maja Fredotović) Ordulj, M. 2012. Raspodjela i aktivnost virusa na području srednjeg i južnog Jadrana. Doktorska disertacija, Sveučilište u Splitu. 149 str. (voditeljica Nada Krstulović) Jozić, S. 2012. Vrijeme zadržavanja indikatora fekalnog onečišćenja u moru i morskim organizmima. Doktorska disertacija, Sveučilište u Splitu, 118 str. (voditelj Mladen Šolić) Books Šolić, M. 2012. Umijeće življenja: Iz kuta jednog ekologa. Izvori, Zagreb, 330 str. 21 Šolić, M., N. Krstulović, D. Šantić, S. Šestanović. 2012. Kaštela Bay and Stončica (Sites 60-61). In: O’Brien, T.D., W.K.W. Li, X.A.G. Moran (Eds), ICES Phytoplankton and Microbial Plankton Status Report 2009/2010. ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 310. 196 pp: 150-152. SBN 978-87-7482-115-1. Collos, Y., M. Gasol, M. Šolić, D. Soudant, A. Zingone. 2012. Phytoplankton and Microbial Plankton of the Mediterranean Sea. In: O’Brien, T.D., W.K.W. Li, X.A.G. Moran (Eds), ICES Phytoplankton and Microbial Plankton Status Report 2009/2010. ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 310. 196 pp: 136-37. SBN 978-87-7482-115-1. Research papers Kušpilić, G., I. Marasović, N. Krstulović, M. Šolić, Ž. NinčevićGladan, N. Bojanić, O. Vidjak, S. Matijević. 2010. Restoration potential of eutrophic waters adjacent to large cities: lessons from the coastal zone of Croatia // Proceedings of the International workshop on the Impact of large coastal Mediterranean cities on marine ecosystems, Alexandria, Egypt - 10-12 Feb. 2009 / Angelidis, Michael ; Briand, Frederic ; Cadiou, Jean-Francois ; Kholeif, Suzan ; Oh, Jae ; Rodriguez Y Baena, Alessia ; Scoullos, Michael (ur.). La Seyne/Mer (France) : Imprimerie MARIM - 83000 Toulon (France), 2010, 117-120. Šantić, D., N. Krstulović, M. Šolić, G. Kušpilić. 2011. Distribution of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus in the central Adriatic Sea. Acta Adriatica, 52: 101-113. Krstulović, N., M. Šolić, D. Šegvić, S. Šestanović, G. Kušpilić. 2011. Praćenje utjecaja podmorskog ispusta Stobreč na okoliš. Hrvatske vode, 19: 127-132. Krstulović, N., M. Šolić, D. Šantić, S. Šestanović, G. Kušpilić, N. Bojanić. 2011. Responses of microbial food web to eutrophication decreasing. Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, MEDCOAST 11 Erdal Ozhan (ed.). Rhodes, Mediterranean Coastal Foundation, 2011, 2: 533-543. Bojanić, N., O. Vidjak, M. Šolić, N. Krstulović, I. Brautović, S. Matijević, G. Kušpilić, S. Šestanović, Ž. Ninčević Gladan, I. Marasović. 2012. Community structure and seasonal dynamics of tintinnid ciliates in Kaštela Bay (middle Adriatic Sea). Journal of plankton research. 34: 510-530. Šantić, D., N. Krstulović, M. Šolić, G. Kušpilić. 2012. HNA and LNA bacteria in relation to the activity of heterotrophic bacteria. Acta Adriatica, 53: 25-40. Šantić, D., N. Krstulović, M. Šolić, M. Ordulj and G. Kušpilić. 2012. Dynamics of prokaryotic picoplankton community in the central and southern Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Helgoland Mar Res. DOI: 10.1007/s10152-012-0336-x . Šolić, M., N. Krstulović, D. Šantić, S. Šestanović, G. Kušpilić, N. Bojanić. 2011. Inter-annual variability in the bottom-up and top-down control of bacteria in the middle Adriatic Sea. Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal Environment, MEDCOAST 11 Erdal, Ozhan (ed.). Rhodes, Mediterranean Coastal Foundation, 2011, 2: 545-556. Impact of UVA spectrum of solar radiation on the survival of E. coli. Jozić, S., Šolić, M. and N. Krstulović. The accumulation of the indicator bacteria Escherichia coli in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and oysters (Ostrea edulis) under experimental conditions. Acta adriatica. (u tisku). The ratio of the concentration of E. coli in mussels and seawater. 22 Laboratory for Ichthyology and Coastal Fisheries Head of laboratory Jakov Dulčić, Ph. D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]) – fish fry, population dynamics, systematics, biology and ecology of fishes, Adriatic ichthyofauna biodiversity, invasive species Staff Miro Kraljević, Ph. D., Senior research scientist (kraljevic@izor. hr) – fish fry, population dynamics, mariculture, nutrition Armin Pallaoro, Ph. D., Senior research scientist (pallaoro@izor. hr) – systematics, biology and ecology of fishes, coastal fisheries Sanja Matić Skoko, Ph. D., Senior research scientist (sanja@izor. hr) – fish fry, population dynamics, systematics, coastal fisheries, biology and ecology of fishes, management and protection of coastal resources Pero Tutman, Ph. D., senior research associate (tutman@izor. hr) – fish fry, population dynamics, systematics, biology and ecology of fishes, Dubravka Bojanić Varezić, Ph. D., Postdoctoral fellow (dbojanic@ izor.hr) – zooplankton, ichthyoplankton, fish diet Branko Dragičević, Ph. D., Postdoctoral fellow (brankod@izor. hr) – biology and ecology of fishes, coastal fisheries, invasive species Nika Stagličić, Research fellow ([email protected]) – fish biology, coastal fisheries, marine protected area Robert Grgičević, Associate ([email protected]) – coastal fisheries 23 Overview of the laboratory activities Scientists of this laboratory are engaged in research of ichthyology, fisheries biology, and ecology, coastal fisheries, management and conservation, fishing gears and fishing techniques. This research includes the study of systematics and zoogeography of fishes, biology and ecology of plankton, juvenile and adult fish stages, status and evaluation of the Adriatic ichthyofauna, especially the commercially important species, as well as effectiveness assessment of resources’ protection in marine protected areas. Special attention is given to population dynamics of the coastal fish species and the impact of coastal fisheries on fish, crustacean and cephalopod populations. Regarding fishing gear and techniques, field of research encompasses methods and purposes of fishing, catchability, selectivity and harmfulness of certain tools used in coastal fisheries. In recent years, laboratory is engaged in monitoring the impact of global climate change on the diversity of fishes and other marine organisms. Also, in the last three years the Laboratory was deeply involved in researching the effectiveness assessment of protected marine areas in terms of coastal recovery of fish communities, but also the potentials for establishing new marine reserves. Activities of the Laboratory are supported by various national and international projects. It is important to emphasize that the Institute regularly conduct those studies of coastal ichthyofauna during past 65 years. Also, there is very proper collaboration with marine biologists from neighbouring countries, who as postdoctoral students or within Fulbright scholarships are often involved in our studies. The most important activities of the laboratory Besides a number of published papers resulting from ongoing projects, the results of research were used as a basis in making key documents for rational management of living resources of the Adriatic Sea (Strategy for Fisheries, Marine Fisheries Act and accompanying regulations). Scientists are actively involved in the development management plans of active fishing gears. Laboratory participates in monitoring of coastal fisheries (PRIME). Figure 2. Cover of the book “History scientific research of the Adriatic Sea”. Two books “The new fishes from the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea “ (Figure 1) and “History of natural science Research of the Adriatic Sea “ (Figure 2), whose co-authors are members of the Laboratory, were promoted. Employees were participating in the organization and leadership of the international workshop “AdriaMed Technical Meeting on Small Scale Fisheries in the Adriatic Sea “, which was held in Split, 13 - 14 November, 2012. Ongoing laboratory projects Management of living marine resources and biodiversity in the Croatian coastal areas Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of Republic of Croatia Project coordinator: Jakov Dulčić Control of the coastal waters (Project Vir-Konavle) Financed by: Croatian waters, Department for Water Protection Project coordinator: Grozdan Kušpilić Characterization of the area and making of programme proposals and monitoring water status in transitional and coastal waters of the Adriatic Sea, according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) Financed by: Croatian Waters Project coordinator: Grozdan Kušpilić Figure 1. Cover of the book “New fishes from the Adriatic Framework for data collection in fisheries of RH - (OPP) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Croatia Project coordinator: Jakov Dulčić and Mediterranean Sea“. 24 Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Ferri, Josipa; Kraljević, Miro; Pallaoro, Armin. 2012. Age estimation and specific growth pattern of boxlip mullet, Oedalechilus labeo (Cuvier, 1829) (Osteichthyes, Mugilidae) in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 28 (2): 182-188. Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Ferri, Josipa; Tutman, Pero; Skaramuca, Daria; Đikić, Domagoj; Lisičić, Duje; Franić, Zdenko; Skaramuca, Boško. 2012. The age, growth and feeding habits of the European conger eel, Conger conger (L.) in the Adriatic Sea. Mar. biol. research 8, 1012-1018. Selected publications Books Dulčić, J., Kršinić, F. 2012. Povijest prirodoznanstvenih istraživanja Jadranskoga mora. HAZU i IOR, pp. 211. Papers Codinal, E.; Kéver, Loïc; Compère, Philippe; Dragičević, Branko; Dulčić, Jakov; Parmentier, Eric. 2012. The barbel-like specialization of the pelvic fins in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae), Journal of morphology 27 (12): 1367-1376. Dulčić, J.; Tutman, P.; Matić-Skoko, S.; Glamuzina, B.2011. Six years from first record to population establishment : the case of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Brachyura, Portunidae) in the Neretva River delta (South-eastern Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Crustaceana (Leiden) 84:1211-1220. Dulčić, Jakov; Tutman, Pero. 2012. Northernmost record of the shamefaced crab Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1767) (Brachyura: Calappidae) in the Mediterranean area. Crustaceana (Leiden) 85 (4/5):601-606. Tzanatos, E., Castro, J., Forcada, A., Matić-Skoko, S., Gaspar, M., Koutsikopoulos, C., 2012. A Métier-Sustainability-Index (MSI25) to evaluate fisheries components: assessment of cases from data-poor fisheries from southern Europe. ICES Journal of Marine Science; doi.10.1093/icesjms/fss161. Ferri, Josipa; Stagličić, Nika; Matić-Skoko, Sanja. 2012. The black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus (Scorpaenidae): could it serve as reliable indicator of Mediterranean coastal communities’ health? Ecol. indicators. 18: 25-30. Kéver, L.; Boyle, Kelly S.; Dragičević, B.; Dulčić, J.; Casadevall, M.; Parmentier, E. 2012. Sexual dimorphism of sonic apparatus and extreme intersexual variation of sounds in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae): first evidence of a tight relationship between morphology and sound characteristics in Ophidiidae. Front. In Zool., 9 (34): 1-16. 25 Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Stagličić, Nika; Pallaoro, Armin; Kraljević, Miro; Dulčić, Jakov; Tutman, Pero; Dragičević, Branko. 2011. Effectiveness of conventional management in Mediterranean type artisanal fisheries. Estuarine, coastal and shelf science 91 (2): 314-324. Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Tutman, Pero; Petrić, Mirela; Skaramuca, Daria; Đikić, Domagoj; Lisičić, Duje; Skaramuca, Boško 2011. Mediterranean moray eel, Muraena helena (Pisces: Muraenidae): biological indices for life history. Aquatic biology 13( 3): 275-284. Stagličić, Nika; Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Pallaoro, Armin; Grgičević, Robert; Kraljević, Miro; Tutman, Pero; Dragičević, Branko; Dulčić, Jakov. 2011. Long-term trends in the structure of eastern Adriatic littoral fish assemblages: Consequences for fisheries management. Estuarine, coastal and shelf science 94 (3): 263271. Dulčić, Jakov; Dragičević, Branko. 2011. First record of the Atlantic tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch, 1790), in the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 27 (6): 1385-1386. Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Ferri, Josipa; Škeljo, Frane; Bartulović, Vlasta; Glavić, Katarina; Glamuzina, Branko. 2011. Age, growth and validation of otolith morphometrics as predictors of age in the forkbeard, Phycis phycis (Gadidae). Fisheries research 112 (1/2): 52-58. Paranthias furcifer - new allochthonous species recorded in the Adriatic Sea Holacanthus ciliaris – new allochthonous species recorded in the Adriatic Sea Dulčić, Jakov; Pallaoro, Armin; Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Dragičević, Branko; Tutman, Pero; Grgičević, Robert; Stagličić, Nika, Bukvić, Višnja; Pavličević, Jerko; Glamuzina, Branko; Kraljević, Miro. 2011. Age, growth and mortality of common two-banded seabream, Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817), in the eastern Adriatic Sea (Croatian coast). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 27(5): 1254-1258. Bartulović, Vlasta; Dulčić, Jakov; Bogut, Ivan; Pavličević, Jerko; Hasković Edhem; Glamuzina, Branko. 2011.First record of the freshwater bream, Abramis brama in the river Mala Neretva, Adriatic drainage system of Croatia. Cybium 35 (2):165-166. Kožul, Valter; Glavić, Nikša; Tutman, Pero; Bolotin, Jakša; Onofri, Vladimir. 2011. The spawning, embryonic and early larval development of the green wrasse Labrus viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Labridae) in controlled conditions. Animal reproduction science 125( ¼): 196-203. Lipej, Lovrenc; Furlan, Borut; Antolović, Nenad; Golani, Daniel; Dulčić, Jakov. 2011. The first record of fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatina (Lowe, 1839) in the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 27 ( 6):1385-1386. Dulčić, Jakov; Dragičević, Branko. 2011. Nove ribe Jadranskog i Sredozemnog mora.Split : Institut za oceanografiju i ribarstvo ; Državni zavod za zaštitu prirode, pp. 160. Bartulović, Vlasta; Dulčić, Jakov; Matić-Skoko, Sanja; Glamuzina, Branko. 2011. Reproductive cycles of Mugil cephalus, Liza ramada and Liza aurata (Teleostei: Mugilidae). Journal of Fish Biology 78 (7): 2067-2073. 26 Matić-Skoko, S.; Tutman, P.; Dulčić, J.; Prusina, I.; Đođo, Ž.; Pavličević, J.; Glamuzina, B. 2011. Growth pattern of the endemic Neretvan roach, Rutilus basak (Heckel, 1843) in the Hutovo Blato wetland. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 27 (3):813-819. Dulčić, Jakov; Dragičević, Branko. 2012. (in press) Paranthias furcifer (Perciformes: Serranidae), a new alien fish in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Fish Biology (in press, December, 2012). Dulčić, J.; Dragičević, B. 2012. (in press). Holacanthus ciliaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Teleostei: Pomacanthidae), first record from the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology (in press, December, 2012). Bojanić Varezić, D; Tutman, P; Matić-Skoko, S; Pallaoro, A; Tičina, V; Dulčić, J. 2012 (in press). First record of leptocephali of bandtooth conger Ariosoma balearicum (Pisces: Congridae) in the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology (in press, 2012). Laboratory of Physical Oceanography Head of the laboratory Mira Morović, Ph. D., Senior research associate (morovic@izor. hr) - marine physics, marine optics, remote sensing, climate, physics of marine ecosystem. Staff Vlado Dadić, Ph.D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]) - oceanographic instrumentation and measurement systems, data handling, the use of geographic information systems Branka Grbec, Ph.D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]) - marine physics, thermohaline properties, air-sea interaction, climatology Gordana Beg Paklar, Ph.D., Research research associate (beg@ izor.hr)- marine physics, hydrodynamical models of the sea, airsea interaction Ivica Vilibić, Ph.D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]) - meteo-tsunamis, waves, sea level oscillations Frano Matić, Ph.D., Associate ([email protected]) - marine physics, air-sea interaction, climate regimes,climatology Jadranka Šepić, B.Sc., Assistant ([email protected]) - meteotsunamis, waves, sea level oscillations, hydrodynamic modeling Žarko Kovač, ([email protected]) Assistant – marine optics, coupled biological-physical dynamic systems, Monte Carlo simulations, biological optimisation algoritms Tomislav Džoić, ([email protected] ) Assistant – marine physics, Dynamcs of coastal seas, hydrodynamic models Nikola Bubić, ([email protected]) Associate Josip Bašić, ([email protected]) Associate Ivan Vučić, ([email protected]) Associate Mašće Toni, ([email protected]) Associate 27 Overview of the laboratory activities Investigations of physical properties are the basis of oceanographic research and have been conducted since the foundation of the Institute. Laboratory of physics explores the impact of climatic factors to thermohaline properties, circulation in the sea, influence of synoptic disturbances (meteo-tsunami) on sea level oscillations, the optical properties of the sea and the relationship of biotic and abiotic factors. Hydrodynamic modeling simulates the processes and properties in the sea providing currents and thermohaline fields in the sea. The Institute has a long-term data series of temperature and salinity collected during oceanographic cruises, whose metadata are available to the public through the database MEDAS Database of the Adriatic Sea) at the web site (http://jadran.izor. hr/roscop/) while the data can be obtained with authorization. The Laboratory maintains the buoy Jadranka and coastal station Jurana, both with meteorological and oceanographic sensors. Mean surface currents field during the storm blowing from 18th to 20th February 2009 obtained from the ASHELF-2 model with the use of meteorological fields from prognostic meteorological model ALADIN (above) and ECMWF (middle) and their difference (bottom) (from Bencetić Klaic et al., Ocean Science, 2011). Tide gauge station Jurana operates since 1949, and in 1993 was equipped with digital tide gauge, whose data are available in real time. Most of the data collected at these stations and their products, the graphs, are available to the public via the web, in real time (http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/mjerni-sustavi-urealnom-vremenu). The buoys Višanka and Rovinjka and the coastal station Veli Rat are in preparation phase. The system of three microbarographs was set up in Vis, Vrboska and Vela Luka, with the aim of detecting high-frequency atmospheric fluctuations that can significantly affect the sea level and cause the so-called meteorological tsunami. Measurements data are available on the Web in real time (http://jadran. izor.hr/barograf/). Agreement between the IOF and the DHMZ (Meteorological and Hydrological Service) has enabled collaboration and synergy between research results of both organizations. This resulted in a shared virtual laboratory for monitoring the variability of physical parameters in the atmosphere, boundary layer air-sea and the sea. At the website of Virtual Laboratory (http://www.izor.hr/ web / guest / virtuallab) the results of thermohaline measurements of IOF and the measurements of surface temperature and atmospheric 28 reanalysis over the sea for the period of oceanographic measurements from SMHS are available to users in near-real time after the oceanographic cruises. Following the initiative of scientists in the laboratory, and referring to the years of cooperation with scientists from other fields at the First Internal Symposium of the Institute (2011) presented was the cooperation in the frame of an interdisciplinary group with the scope to monitor and explain the impact of climate change on marine ecosystem, or to answer how the physics of the atmosphere is responsible for the variability of biotic properties of the sea, from the plankton communities to the abundance and composition of fish population. Existing research results of these changes on decadal, interannual and climate scale indicate that changes in the atmosphere at the regional and even larger spatial scales cause changes in the circulation of the Adriatic, which has implications for the overall ecosystem. This initiative resulted in the establishment of the group SECCHI (Sea Ecosystem Climate Change Interactions) which aims to defining and monitoring indicators of Adriatic ecosystem variability under the influence of climate changes and shifts (http://www. izor.hr/web/guest/secchi). In addition to the research activities the Physics Laboratory participates in series of professional studies within the Institute in the frame of which carried out are research of thermohaline properties and currents, optical properties, suspended matter and other parameters relevant to ecosystem and the categorizations of water within the European directives. Laboratory members were organizers of several local and international meetings: Dr. Sc. Vilibić I. was the organizer and the head of the section NH015. Meteotsunamis and High-Frequency SeaLevel Phenomena Origin of Meteorological held at the AGU Fall Meeting, 3-7 December 2012, San Francisco, USA. Dr.Sc. Morović M. organized an international meeting “Climate and Ecosystem”, IOR, Split, 24-26 November 2011. Our work was also presented on a series of international scientific meetings: -International Symposium “Geophysical challenges of the 21st Century, “ Zagreb, 2 December 2011. -Congress “Advances in Fluid Mechanics”, Split, June 2012 -Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference, Kochi, 5-11.11.2012 We have participated in the work of a number of international committees and groups: -8th Session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the establishment of warning systems and mitigation of tsunami in North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the accompanying seas, Santander, Spain, 22-24. November 2011. -45th Meeting of the Executive Committee of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Paris, 26-28. June 2012. -International Meeting “Climate change in the coastal zone” June 2011, Rabat, Morocco Visits of foreign scientists dr. sc. Andrei Ivanov, Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia (24-30.10. 2011) dr. sc. Anna Zrobek- Sokolnika, University of Warmia snd Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland (8–30.09.2012.) dr. sc. Piotr Dynowski, University of Warmia snd Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland (8– 30.09.2012.) Ongoing laboratory projects Investigation and monitoring systems for the unusual Adriatic dynamics Financed by: MZOŠ Project leader: Ivica Vilibić Co-oscillations of atmosphere and the sea important for the Adriatic ecosystem Financed by: MZOŠ Project leader: Mira Morović Marine referent center Financed by: Croatian guvernment/Environmental protection agency Project leader: Vlado Dadić Hovmöllerov diagram of mean summer sea temperatures at the SplitGargano transect, for stations Pelegrin (a), Stončica (b) and Palagruža (c). Lab members participated in the work of the Executive Board of the Croatian Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), the Council for Remote Sensing and Photointerpretation (HAZU), the National Committee for monitoring the Framework Research Programme of the European Commission, the Croatian Science Foundation as well as working through various committees, evaluation and monitoring the projects of the European Commission. We have also participated at two international meetings connected to establishing a Regional Maritime Meteorological Center: -Workshop on Establishing WIS DCPC / WIGOS Marine Meteorological Centre as a RA VI Sub-Regional Facility for Adriatic Sea Area, May 17-18, 2012, Zagreb, Croatia -The First Meeting of the Expert Team on Establishment of Marine Meteorological Centre for Adriatic, 18-19.10.2012., Split, Croatia. On the 28th October 2011, the Workshop on “Remote sensing, GIS and web technologies” was held with the presence of more participants from governmental and other state institutions. The workshop was held by Dr. Andrei Ivanov form the Institute of oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia. 29 Initial assessment of the state and loads of the marine environment in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Environmental protection Ministry Project leader: Nada Krstulović Monitoring the environmental impact of the submarine outfall Stobreč Financed by: Vodovod i kanalizacije d.o.o. Split. Project leader: Nada Krstulović Optical radiometer PRR800 (Biospherical Instrument Inc.) can measure diffuse downward Solar attenuation of light and upward radiance at 14 wavelengths in visible spectrum and is lowered to o 150m. Changes of atmospheric oscillation, heat flux and sea temperature. Determining areas of water ideal for life and growth of shellfish in transitional and coastal waters of the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Hrvatske vode Project leader: Živana Ninčević Water quality controlin the coastal seas (Project Pag-Konavle) Financed by: Sector for environmental protection, Hrvatske vode Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić A systematic examination of the quality of transitional and coastal waters in 2012 and 2013 Financed by: Sector for environmental protection, Hrvatske vode Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Determination of transitional and coastal waters for shellfish according to Directive 2006/113/EC Financed by: Hrvatske vode Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Analysis of the impact of petroleum product storage and ballast water to the marine environment and the living resources of the Kaštela Bay Financed by: HANDA Project leader: Ivona Marasović MEDIAS: Monitoring the distribution and abundance of small pelagic fish in the Adriatic Sea ultrasonic detection (echomonitoring) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries and the EU (DCF) Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina PELMON-MEDIAS: Echo-monitoring of small pelagic fish alignment with OPP Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Department of fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina Exploring the physical, chemical and biological properties of the sea near the Smrka bay area (island Brač) (2012). Financed by: Municipality Nerežišće Project leader: Vlado Dadić Towards a meteotsunami warning system along the U.S. coastline (TMEWS) Financed by: NOAA / NWS, USA Duration: 1.11.2011-30.6.2013. Project leader: Ivica Vilibić Measuring currents in the bay Dugovača (setlement Draga, municipality Pakoštane) (2011). Financed by: Municipality Pakoštane Project leader: Vlado Dadić Report on indicators of the marine environment, fisheries and aquaculture in 2010 and 2011. Financed by: Environmental Protection Agency Project leader: Vlado Dadić Oceanographic buoy and its removal from the sea for maintenance. 30 Seadatanet-II (Pan-European infrastructure for ocean & marine data management) Financed by: EU (FP-7) Project leader: Vlado Dadić HAZADR (Strengthening common reaction capacity to fight sea pollution of oil, toxic and hazardous substances in Adriatic Sea) Financed by: EU (IPA) Project leader in IOF: Vlado Dadić Selected publications Output from indicators Database for the state of marine environment, fisheries and aquaculture (www.izor.hr/azo). Book chapter Lončar, Goran; Beg Paklar, Gordana; Andročec, Vladimir (2012): Numerical analysis of the circulation variability in the Zadar channel area (east Adriatic). In: Rahman, M. & Brebbia, C.A. (Eds.), Advances in Fluid Mechanics IX. Southampton, WIT Press, 521-532 pp. Doctoral thesis F. Matić, 20.12.2011. The impact of hemispheric atmospheric processes on thermohaline characteristics of the Adriatic Sea, Ph.D., Geology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia (Head: prof. PhD. Branka Grbec) Scientific papers Lončar, G., Beg Paklar, G., Janeković, I., 2012. Numerical Modelling of Oil Spills in the Area of Kvarner and Rijeka Bay (The Northern Adriatic Sea). Journal of Applied Mathematics, 2012, doi: 10.1155/2012/497936, 1-20. View from the database about the bathing water quality (www.izor.hr/kakvoca). Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research in the Southern EUropean Seas (PERSEUS) Financed by: EU Seventh Framework Project (FP7-OCEAN-2011) Glavni ugovaratelj projekta: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Project leader: Evangelos Papanathassiou Projet leader in IOF: Ivona Marasović HyMex (HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment) Financed by: French guvernment Coordinators: V. Ducrocq, O. Roussot, K. Béranger, I. Braud, A. Chanzy, G. Delrieu, P. Drobinski, C. Estournel, B. Ivancan-Picek, S. Josey, K. Lagouvardos, P. Lionello, M.C. Llasat, W. Ludwig, C. Lutoff, A. Mariotti, A. Montanari, E. Richard, R. Romero, I. Ruin, S. Somot. National coordinator: Branka Picek (DHMZ) Project coordinators in IOF: Branka Grbec and Mira Morović 31 Carić, M., Jasprica, N., Kršinić, F., Vilibić, I., Batistić, M., 2012. Hydrography, nutrients, and plankton along the longitudinal section of the Ombla Estuary (Southeastern Adriatic). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92, 1227-1242. Vilibić, I., Matijević, S., Šepić, J., Kušpilić, G., 2012. Changes in the Adriatic oceanographic properties induced by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. Biogeosciences, 9, 2085-2097. Šepić, J., Vilibić, I., Jord., G., Marcos, M., 2012. Mediterranean sea level forced by atmospheric pressure and wind: variability of the present climate and future projections for several period bands. Global and Planetary Change, 86-87, 20-30. Šepić, J., Vilibić, I., Strelec Mahović, N., 2012. Northern Adriatic meteorological tsunamis: Observations, link to the atmosphere, and predictability. Journal of Geophysical Research, 117, C02002, doi:10.1029/2011JC007608. Supić, N., Kraus, R., Kuzmić, M., Paschini, E., Precali, R., Russo, A., Vilibić, I., 2012. Predictability of northern Adriatic winter conditions. Journal of Marine Systems, 90, 42-57. Mira Morović and Andrei Ivanov, Oil Spill Monitoring in the Croatian Adriatic Waters: needs and possibilities Acta Adriatica., 52 (2011), 1; 45 - 56. Gangai, B., Lučić, D., Morović, M., Brautović, I., & Miloslavić, M., 2012. Population structure and diel vertical migration of euphausiid larvae in the open southern Adriatic Sea (July 2003). International Journal of Crustacean Research (Crustaceana Leiden) 85 (2012) (6): 659-684. Lučić, D.; Benović, A.; Batistić, M.; Morović, M.; Onofri, I., Molinero, J.-C.; Gangai, B.; Miloslavić, M. A short-term investigation of diel vertical migration of the calycophoran Siphonofora in the open South Adriatic Sea (July 2003). Acta Adriatica. 52 (2011), 2; 159-172. Morović,M., Flander Putrle,V., Lučić,D., Grbec,B., Gangai,B., Malej,A., and Matić,F. 2012. Signatures of pigments and processes in the south Adriatic Sea- project MEDUZA, Acta Adriatica 53(3): 303-322. B.Grbec, M. Morović i A. Bajić. 2011. Virtualni laboratorij– sustav za praćenje promjenjivosti fizikalnih parametara u atmosferi, graničnom sloju atmosfera-more i u moru, 5th Croatian water conference with international participation, Hrvatske vode pred izazovom klimatskih promjena, Croatian waters facing the challenge of climate changes, Opatija, 2011. Kovač,Ž., Morović,M. and Matić,F, 2012. Space and time structure of the Adriatic Sea color satellite data, PORSEC2012-31-00056. Morović,M., Grbec,B., Kovač, Ž. and Matić, F, 2012. Ocean color variability of the Adriatic Sea, PORSEC2012-31-00023. Matić, F., Grbec, B., Morović, M. Indications of Climate Regime shifts in the Middle Adriatic Sea. Acta Adriatica. 52 (2) (2011), 235-246. Orlić, M.; Beg Paklar, G.; Dadić, V.; Leder, N.; Mihanović, H.; Pasarić, M.; Pasarić, Z. 2011. Diurnal upwelling resonantly driven by sea breezes around an Adriatic island. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, C09025-1 C09025-10. Lončar, G.; Beg Paklar, G.; Andročec, V. (2012): Numerical analysis of the circulation variability in the Zadar channel area (east Adriatic). In: Rahman, M. & Brebbia, C.A. (Eds.), Advances in Fluid Mechanics IX. Southampton, WIT Press, 521-532 pp. Mihanović, H., Cosoli, S., Vilibić, I., Ivanković, D., Dadić, V., Gačić, M., 2011. Surface current patterns in the northern Adriatic extracted from High Frequency radar data using Self-Organizing Map analysis. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116, C08033, doi:10.1029/2011JC007104. Selected links of the laboratory http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/virtual-laboratory http://jadran.izor.hr/barograf/ http://jadran.izor.hr/roscop/ Vilibić, I., Mihanović, H., Šepić, J., Matijević, S., 2011. Using Self-Organising Maps to investigate long-term changes in deep Adriatic water patterns. Continental Shelf Research, 31, 695711. Šepić, J., Vilibić, I., 2011. The development and implementation of a real-time meteotsunami warning network for the Adriatic Sea. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 11, 83-91. Bencetić Klaić, Zvjezdana; Pasarić, Zoran; Beg Paklar, Gordana; Oddo, Paolo 2011. Coastal sea responses to atmospheric forcings at two different resolutions. Ocean science, 7, 521-532. Lončar, G., Beg Paklar, G., Janeković, I., 2011. Influence of density stratification on the effluent plume dynamics. Oceanologia, 53 (2), 565-585. 32 Diver helps with lowering current meter for measuring currents in the Drage Bay. Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography and Sedimentology Head of the laboratory Grozdan Kušpilić, Ph.D., Senior research associate (kuspe@izor. hr) – marine pollution, chemical oceanography, biogeochemical cycle of nutrients in the water column and sediments, implementation of the EU Water and Marine Strategy Framework Directives for areas of transitional, coastal and open waters within the territorial sea of The Republic of Croatia Staff Danijela Bogner, Ph.D., Senior research associate (bogner@izor. hr) – marine geology, granulometric composition, carbonates, organic matter, heavy metals and foraminifers in marine sediment Slavica Matijević, Ph.D., Research associate ([email protected]) – chemical oceanography; biogeochemical cycles of nutrients in the water column and sediments; phosphorus speciation in marine sediment Jelena Lušić, Research fellow ([email protected]) – heavy metals in marine sediment and biota Jelena Mandić, Research fellow ([email protected]) – polyaromatic hydrocarbons in marine sediment and biota Krešimir Markulin, Research fellow ([email protected]) – biogeochemical processes in marine sediment Vesna Milun, Ph.D., Associate ([email protected]) – organic pollutants in marine sediment and biota Ivan Pezo, Associate ([email protected]) Jere Veža, Associate ([email protected]) 33 Overview of the laboratory activities Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography and Sedimentology conducts research pertaining to biogeochemical processes and cycles of different elements in the water column, sediment and marine organisms (algae, bivalves and fish species) of the Adriatic Sea. Field research work is carried out in the areas of different trophic status (river mouths, estuaries, bays, open sea waters, fish farms) with the aim to detect potential changes, anthropogenically or climatologically induced. In addition to the basic chemical parameters, concentrations of inorganic and organic nutrients are measured in sea water samples, to investigate the flux of matter and energy through the marine ecosystem and in order to set the national ecological status class boundaries. Sediment investigations (granulometric composition, redox conditions, distribution of inorganic and organic forms of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous) are focused on the processes of sedimentation and remineralisation of organic matter in sediments including the exchange of organic matter at the sediment-water interface. The degree of contamination of the marine environment by heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants is monitored via their accumulation in sediments and marine organisms. In addition to their engagement in scientific research activities, members of the Laboratory are involved in the development of the national indicators and implementation of EU Water and Marine Strategy Framework Directives and are also active members of the academic staff at the University of Split. The Laboratory of Chemical Oceanography and Sedimentology is authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Croatia to conduct sampling and investigations of physicochemical and chemical indicators in transitional, coastal and open waters within the territorial sea of the Republic of Croatia. The most significant lab activities Beside the engagement in the listed projects sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection of the Republic of Croatia, UNEP and Croatian Waters, one of the most significant activities of the Laboratory has been the development of the program proposal and implementation of the monitoring of ecological and chemical status of transitional and coastal waters of the Adriatic Sea, according to the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), as well as the initial assessment of the state and pollution of the marine environment in the Croatian part of the Adriatic (with respect to the state of the physico-chemical parameters) according to the requirements of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC). Ongoing laboratory projects Role of Plankton Communities in the Flow and Cycling of Energy and Matter in the Adriatic Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia Project Leader: Nada Krstulović Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research in the Southern European Seas (PERSEUS) Financed by: EU Seventh Framework Project (FP7- OCEAN-2011) Principal project contractor: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Project Leader at the Institute of oceanography and fisheries: Ivona Marasović 34 Field research for the purpose of monitoring the state of the marine environment in tuna farms. Quality control of the Coastal Adriatic Sea (Pag-Konavle Project) Financed by: Water Protection Division, Croatian Waters Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Classification of the Area and Making a Program Proposal and Implementation of Monitoring of Transitional and Coastal Waters of the Adriatic Sea, according to the Requirements of the Water Framework Directive of EU (2000/60/EC) Financed by: Croatian Waters Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Systematic Investigation of Transitional and Coastal Waters Quality during the period 2012-2013 Financed by: Sector of Water Protection, Croatian Waters Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Ecological Investigation of Toxic Phytoplankton and Bivalve Toxicity Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia Project Leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan MED POL Financed by: UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) Project Leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Initial Assessment of the State and Pollution of the Marine Environment in the Croatian Part of the Adriatic Financed by: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection of the Republic of Croatia Project Leader: Nada Krstulović Reports on the State of the Marine Environment, Fisheries and Mariculture Indicators for the years 2010 and 2011 Financed by: Croatian Environment Agency Monitoring of the Marine Environment in the Tuna Farm Area in Grška Bay, Brač Island, during the period 2011.-2012 Financed by: Sardina d.o.o. Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Report on the Hydrographic and Chemical Characteristics of the Marine Environment along the Wider Area of Dugovača Bay (Locality Drage, Municipality Pakoštane) Financed by: Municipality Pakoštane Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Environmental Impact Study for the Hotel-Apartment Resort and Marina „Vela borovica“, Municipality Marina Financed by: Vela Borovica koncern d.o.o. Project Leader: Mladen Šolić Investigation of Physical, Chemical and Biological Sea Water Characteristics along the Wider Area of Smrka Bay (Brač Island) Financed by: Municipality Nerežišće Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Selected publications Bojanić, Natalia; Vidjak, Olja; Šolić, Mladen; Krstulović, Nada; Brautović, Igor; Matijević, Slavica; Kušpilić, Grozdan; Šestanović, Stefanija; Ninčević Gladan, Živana; Marasović, Ivona. 2012. Community structure and seasonal dynamics of tintinnid ciliates in Kaštela Bay (middle Adriatic Sea). Journal of Plankton Research. 34(6); 510-530. Vilibić, Ivica; Matijević, Slavica; Šepić, Jadranka; Kušpilić, Grozdan. 2012. Changes in the Adriatic oceanographic properties induced by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. Biogeosciences 9: 2085-2097. Davenport, John; Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Peharda, Melita; Skejić, Sanda; Ninčević-Gladan, Živana; Matijević, Slavica. 2011. Sizedifferential feeding in Pinna nobilis L. (Mollusca: Bivalvia): exploitation of detritus, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 92 (2):246-254. Area of transitional waters of the Cetina River. 35 Vilibić, Ivica; Mihanović, Hrvoje; Šepić, Jadranka; Matijević, Slavica. 2011. Using Self-Organising Maps to investigate longterm changes in deep Adriatic water patterns. Continental Shelf Research. 31 (6): 695-711. Matijević, Slavica; Kušpilić, Grozdan; Ninčević, Živana; Krstulović, Nada; Bojanić, Natalia; Bogner, Danijela. 2011. The influence of the wastewater outlet on the water column and sediment at the middle Adriatic area. 5. Croatian water conference with international participation; Croatian waters facing the challenge of climate changes: Conference proceedings / Biondić, Danko; Holjević, Danko; Tropan, Ljudevit, editor(s). Zagreb: Croatian waters, 655-663. Bosak, Sunčica; Šilović, Tina; Ljubešić, Zrinka; Kušpilić, Grozdan; Pestorić, Branka; Krivokapić, Sladjana; Viličić, Damir. 2012. Phytoplankton size structure and species composition as an indicator of trophic status in transitional ecosystems: the case study of a Mediterranean fjord-like karstic bay. Oceanologia. 54 (2): 2; 255-286. Krivokapić, Slađana; Pestorić, Branka; Bosak, Sunčica; Kušpilić, Grozdan; Wexels Riser, Christian. 2011. Trophic state of Boka Kotorska Bay (south-eastern Adriatic Sea). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin 20 (8): 1960-1969. 36 Skejić, Sanda; Marasović, Ivona; Vidjak, Olja; Kušpilić, Grozdan; Ninčević Gladan, Živana; Šestanović, Stefanija; Bojanić, Natalia. 2011. Effects of cage fish farming on phytoplankton community structure, biomass and primary production in an aquaculture area in the middle Adriatic Sea. Aquaculture Research. 42 (9): 1393-1405. Buljac, Maša; Bogner, Danijela; Cerjan-Stefanović, Štefica; Bolanča, Tomislav; Margeta, Karmen. 2011. Cr and Zn distribution in sediment from the semi-enclosed Kaštela Bay, the Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 20 (4): 853-860. Cvitković, Ivan; Travizi, Ana; Despalatović, Marija; Grubelić, Ivana; Bogner, Danijela; Nikolić, Vedran; Žuljević, Ante; Antolić, Boris. 2011. Spatio-temporal variability of meiofauna community structure in abandoned salina of Velike Soline and adjacent area (Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 20 (3): 645-655. Matijević, Slavica; Bilić Jadranka; Ribičić Deni; Dunatov Josipa. 2012. Distribution of phosphorus species in below-cage sediments at the tuna farms in the middle Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Acta Adriatica, 53 (3): 399-412. Laboratory of Fisheries Science and Management of Pelagic and Demersal Resources Head of Laboratory Nedo Vrgoč, Ph. D. , Senior research scientist ([email protected]) – fisheries biology, population dynamics of demersal resources, stock assessment Staff Vjekoslav Tičina , Ph. D., Senior research scientist (ticina@izor. hr) – fisheries acoustics, fisheries biology & ecology, dynamics and management of pelagic fish populations, pelagic fishery, capture based mariculture, pelagic ecosystem Melita Peharda Uljević , Ph. D., Senior research scientist (melita@ izor.hr) – biology and ecology of bivalves, population dynamics, sclerochronology, fisheries biology, bivalve aquaculture Vanja Čikeš Keč, Ph. D., Research associate ([email protected]) – identification, morphology, biology, ecology, fish population dynamics, management of pelagic resources, pelagic fisheries Barbara Zorica, Ph. D., Research associate ([email protected]) research scientist – identification, morphology, biology, ecology, fish population dynamics, management of pelagic resources, pelagic fisheries Daria Ezgeta Balić, Research fellow ([email protected]) – biology and ecology of bivalves, trophic ecology, sclerochronology Igor Isajlović ([email protected]) – Associate Dragi Bašković – Associate Goran Brzulja – Associate Ivo Marušić – Associate Vanja Vlahović – Associate Overview of the Laboratory’s activities For a number of years Laboratory of Fisheries Science and Management of Pelagic and Demersal Resources has been conducting fisheries biology research of pelagic and demersal resources including fish, cephalopods, crustaceans and bivalves 37 with special attention devoted to commercially most important species in the Adriatic. We systematically follow state of marine populations through scientific monitoring of communities and monitoring of commercial fishery. Our activities include stock assessments and participation in creating proposals for fisheries regulation and protection measures. In addition to our research devoted to most important populations and marine communities, we pay special attention to investigation of most sensitive areas, such as spawning and nursery areas of commercially most important species, as well as to investigation of the deep Adriatic. We continued research of biological and ecological characteristics of different species of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and bivalves what resulted in publications related to reproduction, feeding ecology and population dynamics. Laboratory staff members has actively participated in all important national and international activities related to fisheries, what includes participation in negotiation with EU related to Chapter 13 (Fisheries), creation of Management plans, and representation of state in various scientific and expert bodies such as SAC GFCM, AdriaMed, STCEF, ICCAT. Most important activities - Coordination and participation in significant number of national and international scientific and applied projects - Publication of scientific and professional papers - Publication of monography on state of demersal resources in the Adriatic Sea - Collaboration with fisherman and Ministry of Agriculture - Participation of Maboratory staff members in preparation of Management plans for certain fishing gear in the marine fisheries, Republic of Croatia - Organization and participation in different international meetings (AdriaMed, GFCM, MEDITS, WKMTCH- ICES) SOLEMON Evaluation of stock of common sole (Solea solea) in the northern Adriatic using different fishing gears Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč (National coordinator) DemMon – Assessment of distribution and abundance of demersal fish species and other marine organisms in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč Projects OPP DemMon – Data collection framework for demersal fisheries Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč Biodiversity and management of pelagic and demersal resources of the Adriatic (001-0013077-0532) Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč LME-EAF - Strategic partnership for the Mediterranean Large Marine Ecosystem (Ecosystem approach to fisheries) Financed by: FAO Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč MEDITS (Mediterranean International Bottom Trawl Survey) Financed by: EC Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč CREAM: Coordinating research in support to application of Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) and management advice in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Financed by: EU – FP7 Responsible scientists at IOF: Nedo Vrgoč and Vjekoslav Tičina ADRIJA- state of demersal resources along the eastern Adriatic coast and recommendations for the sustainable management and protection Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč AdriaMed Deep Sea Survey Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Igor Isajlović (National coordinator) MEDIAS: Acoustic survey (echo-monitoring) for the assessment of spatial distribution and abundance of small pelagic fish populations in the Adriatic Sea. Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries and EU (DCF) Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina TUNE-CPUE: Analyses of purse seiners fishing activities and their effectiveness in bluefin tuna fishery in the Adriatic Sea (CPUE) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina UWTV Survey in Central Adriatic Jabuka Pit Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč (National coordinator) Pelagic trawl used for sampling during echo-monitoring and collected sample of fish for biological analysis. 38 PELMON-MEDIAS: Acoustic survey on small pelagic fish – harmonization with DCF requirements Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina Monitoring of pelagic commercial fishery (PERIMON) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vanja Čikeš Keč Detection of main spawning grounds of sardine and anchovy in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Barbara Zorica OPP PERIMON – Data Collection framework for purse seiners Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vanja Čikeš Keč Bivalve feeding, competition and predation – what is at play? Financed by: Unity through Knowledge (www.ukf.hr), 3A project line Project leader: Melita Peharda Uljević Selected publications Čikeš Keč, Vanja; Zorica, Barbara. 2012. The reproductive traits of Scomber japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782) in the Eastern Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28: 15-21. Čikeš Keč, Vanja; Zorica, Barbara; Sinovčić, Gorenka. 2012. Diet of the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 53 (1): 89-94. Davenport, John; Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Peharda, Melita; Skejić, Sanda; Ninčević-Gladan, Živana; Matijević, Slavica. 2012. Sizedifferential feeding in Pinna nobilis L. (Mollusca: Bivalvia): exploitation of detritus, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 92 (2): 246-25. 39 Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Peharda, Melita; Richardson, Chris A.; Kuzmanić, Marina; Vrgoč, Nedo; Isajlović, Igor. 2011. Age, growth, and population structure of the smooth clam Callista chione in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Helgoland Marine Research, 65 (4): 457-465. Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Rinaldi, Alessandro; Peharda, Melita; Prusina, Ivana; Montalto, Valeria; Niceta, Natalia; Sarà, Gianluca. 2011. An energy budget for the subtidal bivalve Modiolus barbatus (Mollusca) at different temperatures. Marine Environmental Research, 71 (1): 79-85. Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Najdek, Mirjana; Peharda, Melita; Blažina, Maria. 2012. Seasonal fatty acid profile analysis to trace origin of food sources of four commercially important bivalves. Aquaculture, 334: 89-100. Krstulović Šifner, Svjetlana; Peharda, Melita; Vrgoč, Nedo; Isajlović, Igor; Dadić, Vlado; Petrić, Mirela. 2012. Biodiversity and distribution of cephalopods caught by trawling along the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 52 (3): 291-302. Mladineo, Ivona; Petrić, Mirela; Hrabar, Jerko; Bočina, Ivana; Peharda, Melita. 2012. Reaction of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia) to Eugymnanthea inquilina (Cnidaria) and Urastoma cyprinae (Turbellaria) concurrent infestation. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 110 (1): 118-125. Morton, Brian; Peharda, Melita; Petrić, Mirela. 2012. Functional morphology of Rocellaria dubia (Bivalvia: Gastrochaenidae) with new interpretations of crypt formation and adventitious tube construction, and a discussion of evolution within the family. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 104 (4): 786804. Piccinetti, Corrado; Vrgoč, Nedo; Marčeta, Bojan; Manfredi, Chiara. 2012. Recent state of demersal resources in the Adriatic Sea. Acta Adriatica, Monograph Series no.5, 220 pp. Peharda, Melita; Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Davenport, John; Bojanić, Natalia; Vidjak, Olja; Ninčević-Gladan, Živana. 2012. Differential ingestion of zooplankton by four species of bivalves (Mollusca) in Mali Ston Bay, Croatia. Marine Biology, 159 (4): 881-895. Peharda, Melita; Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Radman, Margita; Sinjkević, Nela; Vrgoč, Nedo; Isajlović, Igor. 2012. Age, growth and population structure of Acanthocardia tuberculata (Bivalvia: Cardiidae) in the eastern Adriatic Sea. Scientia Marina, 76 (1): 59-66. Tugores, Maria Pilar; Giannoulaki, Marianna; Iglesias, Magdalena; Bonanno, Angelo; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Leonori, Iole; Machias, Athanassios; Tsagarakis, Konstantinos; Díaz, Núria; Giráldez, Ana; Patti, Bernando; De Felice, Andrea; Basilone, Gualtiero; Valavanis, Vasilis. 2011. Habitat suitability modelling for sardine Sardina pilchardus in a highly diverse ecosystem: the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 443: 181205. Zorica, Barbara; Sinovčić, Gorenka; Čikeš Keč, Vanja. 2011. Reproductive cycle, size at maturity and fecundity of garfish (Belone belone, L. 1761) in the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Helgoland Marine Research, 65 (4): 435-444. Selected links Skejić, Sanda; Ninčević Gladan, Živana; Ezgeta-Balić, Daria; Peharda, Melita. 2012. Differences in phytoplankton accumulation between Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 and European flat oyster Ostrea edulis Linneaus, 1758 after natural exposure to toxic Dinophysis bloom. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 53 (2): 189-195. Šegvić-Bubić, Tanja; Grubišić, Leon; Karaman, Nikola; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Mišlov Jelavić, Krstina; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Damages on mussel farms potentially caused by fish predation - self service on the ropes? Aquaculture, 319 (3/4): 497-504. Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Grubišić, Leon; Tičina, Vjekoslav; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Temporal and spatial variability of pelagic wild fish assemblages around tuna fish farms in the Eastern Adriatic. Journal of Fish Biology, 78 (1): 78-97. Tičina, Vjekoslav; Grubišić, Leon; Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Katavić, Ivan. 2011. Biometric characteristics of small Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Linnaeus, 1758) of Mediterranean Sea origin. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27 (4): 971-976. Tičina, Vjekoslav; Grubišić, Leon; Šegvić Bubić, Tanja; Katavić, Ivan. 2012. Biometric characteristics of small Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Linnaeus, 1758) of Mediterranean Sea origin. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27 (4): 971-976. Tičina, Vjekoslav; Matić-Skoko, Sanja. 2012. Age, growth and mortality of scaldfish (Arnoglossus laterna Walbaum, 1792) from the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 28: 836841. 40 http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/ribarstvo_uvod http://www.izor.hr/web/guest/pelmon http://jadran.izor.hr/pelmon/hr/index.htm Laboratory of Plankton and Shellfish Toxicity Head of the laboratory Ivona Marasović, Ph. D., Senior research scientist (marasovic@ izor.hr) - Biology and taxonomy of phytoplankton, primary production, eutrophication and shellfish toxicity Staff Živana Ninčević Gladan, Ph. D., Senior research scientist ([email protected]), Deputy Head of Laboratory – Biology and taxonomy of phytoplankton, primary production, cyanobacteria, eutrophication, shellfish toxicity Frano Kršinić, Academician ([email protected]) – Ecology and taxonomy of protozoa and micrometazoans, taxonomy of planktonic fauna from an anchialine cave Ivana Ujević, Ph. D., Senior research associate (ujevic@izor. hr) – Shellfish toxicity, biological and chemical methods of phycotoxins determination, traces metals in sediment and marine organisms Natalia Bojanić, Ph. D., Senior research associate (bojanic@izor. hr) – Ecology and taxonomy of microzooplankton Olja Vidjak, Ph. D., ([email protected]) Research associate – Ecology and taxonomy of mesozooplankton, sampling tools, taxonomy of Copepods Sanda Skejić, Ph. D., Research associate ([email protected]) – Biology and taxonomy of phytoplankton, primary production, eutrophication, shellfish feeding Jasna Arapov, Research fellow ([email protected]) – Determination of phycotoxins in shellfish and phytoplankton, ecology of toxic phytoplankton Mia Bužančić, Research fellow ([email protected]) – Biology and taxonomy of phytoplankton, primary production Nikša Nazlić, ([email protected]) Associate Heliodor Prelesnik, ([email protected]) Associate Roman Garber, ([email protected]) Associate Ana Jelačić, ([email protected]) Associate Romana Roje, ([email protected]) Associate 41 Overview of the laboratory activities Activities within the Laboratory encompass the ecological and taxonomical research of phyto- and zooplankton, the investigations of the primary production process and investigation of toxic phytoplankton species, toxin production and phycotoxins analysis. Taxonomical research is directed towards microzoo-, mesozoo- and microphytoplankton, while the ecological research focuses on the investigations of fluctuations of phytoplankton and zooplankton dynamics caused by the anthropogenic and natural impact. These investigations are greatly facilitated by the existence of longterm data sets on phytoplankton and zooplankton population structure, chlorophyll a concentrations and primary production, available from the early days of the Institute’s activities, which today present the special value of the Institute and this particular Laboratory. The specialized and more recent activities of the Laboratory are linked to the basic investigations of toxic phytoplankton species, which gave rise to the applied investigations through regular monitoring of shellfish toxicity events along the Adriatic coast. Since, phytoplankton was considered as the main food source for bivalve, research of bivalve feeding was conducted. Fundamental research of toxic phytoplankton species and secondary metabolites of phytoplankton is one of the most important activities of the Laboratory. Since, these topics is closely related to human health, applied investigations as shellfish toxicity analysis are arose from these fundamental research. Bivalves are tested on presence of PSP, DSP, YTX and ASP toxins. Results obtained through these analyses were used in our effort to get answers on influence of eutrophication process, antrophogenic activity and climate changes of the frequency and distribution of toxic shellfish event. The most significant lab activities Based on the publications of the Laboratory’s researchers and their participations in international intercalibrations in the field of phytoplankton toxicity and toxin analyses, in 2008 this Laboratory gained the ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation Certificate in the field of qualitative and quantitative determination of phytoplankton community structure in seawater and determination of phycotoxins in shellfish. In 2011 Laboratory was nominated as National Reference Laboratory for Shellfish Toxicity by Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishery. Laboratory employees are included in international calibration exercise for phycotoxin analyses conducted by QUASIMEME and phytoplankton identification and abundance determination conducted by BEQUALM –IOC. Ongoing laboratory projects Role of plankton communities in the energy and matter flow in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Science Project Leader: Nada Krstulović HPLC-FLD chromatogram of PSP toxins in mixture of standard solution on the reverse column after oxidation with peroxide solution: dcGTX2,3 - decarbamoylgonyautoxins 2, 3; GTX gonyautoxin 1,4; dcSTX decarbamoil saxitoxin; GTX2,3 - decarbamoylgonyautoxins 2, 3; GTX5 – gonyuatoxin 5; STX-e - saxitoxin Ecological studies of toxic phytoplankton and shellfish toxicity Financed by: Ministry of Science Project Leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan sesame Southern European Seas: Assessing and Modelling Ecosystem Changes Financed by: EU FP6 National Coordinator: Ivona Marasović PERSEUS Policy-orientated marine Environmental Research for the Southern European Seas Financed by: EU FP7 National Coordinator: Ivona Marasović EMBOS – Development and implementation of a pan-European Marine Biodiversity Observatory System Financed by: COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) National Coordinator: Natalia Bojanić 42 HPLC-FLD chromatogram of PSP toxins in the shellfish Acanthocardia tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758). These cockles accumulated and stored PSP toxins, particulatly the saxitoxin (STX). PSP toxins have been retained for a long time (up to 12 months) after toxic phytoplankton species occurred in the community. PSP toxin profile analyses were performed in the cocles A. tuberculata collected at estuary of Cetina River in the period from March, 2009. to February 2010. Measured concentrations were up to 100 μg STX eq. kg-1, what is significantly lower than maximum allowed concentration (800 μg STX eq. kg-1 ) according to National and EU Regulation. MED POL Financed by: UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) Coordinator for National Report: Živana Ninčević Gladan Determination of transitional and coastal shellfish waters under Directive 2006/11/EC Financed by: Hrvatske vode Project Leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Biological Baseline Survey in Croatian Ports Financed by: Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Project Leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Quality control of the Coastal Adriatic Sea (Pag-Konavle Project) Financed by: Water Protection Division, Hrvatske vode Project Leader: Grozdan Kušpilić The oldest and also one of the basic methods of phytoplankton community investigation used in Laboratory is sedimentation method by Utermohl. The method allows insight into the community, monitoring the changes in the community under the influence of climate change and the various human activities. The method allows monitoring of introduction of alien and invasive species. Coastal Cities Water pollution Control Project, APL 7226/HR Financed by: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection Project Leader: Vladimir Andročec Analysis of the impact of petroleum product storage and ballast waters to the marine environment and the living resources of the Kaštela Bay Financed by: HANDA Project leader: Ivona Marasović Publications Arapov,J., Ezgeta-Balić, D., Peharda, M, Ninčević Gladan, Ž. (2010) Bivalve feeding- How and what they eat? Ribarstvo, 68 (3): 105-116. Berline, L., Siokou-Frangou,I., Marasović, I., Vidjak, O., Luz Fernández de Puelles, M., Grazia Mazzocchi, M., Assimakopoulou, G., Zervoudaki, S., Fonda Umani, S., Conversi, A., Garcia-Comas, C., Ibanez, F., Gasparini, S., Stemmann, L., Gorsky, G. (2012) Intercomparison of six Mediterranean zooplankton time series. Progress in Oceanography, 97-100: 76–91. Dinoflagellates cysts. The number of cysts producing species is low. From about of 2000 dinoflagellates about 80 marine and 15 freshwater species have the ability of creating a cyst. The cysts allow them survival in adverse conditions environment. Cysts are dormant stage in their life cycle. Knowing the composition of cysts in the sediment it is possible to predict the dinoflagellate bloom in a particular area when favorable condition for its growth appeared. 43 Bojanić, N., O. Vidjak, M. Šolić, N. Krstulović, I. Brautović, S. Matijević, G. Kušpilić, S. Šestanović, Ž. Ninčević Gladan and I. Marasović (2012) Community structure and seasonal dynamics of tintinnid ciliates in Kaštela Bay (middle Adriatic Sea). J. Plankton Res., 34(6): 510-530. Carić, Marina; Jasprica, Nenad; Kršinić, Frano; Vilibić, Ivica; Batistić, Mirna. (2012) Hydrography, nutrients, and plankton along the longitudinal section of the Ombla Estuary (southeastern Adriatic). JMBA UK 92: 1227-1242. Čustović, S., Orhanović, S., Ninčević-Gladan, Ž., Milandri, A., Pavela-Vrančić, M. (2012) The presence of yessotoxins and gymnodimine in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from the southern part of Adriatic Sea (Dubrovnik area, Croatia). Fresenius Environmental Bulletin. 21: 3842-3846. Jasprica, Nenad; Carić, Marina; Kršinić, Frano; Kapetanović, Tatjana; Batistić, Mirna; Njire, Jakica (2012). Planktonic diatoms and their environment in the lower Neretva River estuary (Eastern Adriatic Sea, NE Mediterranean). Nova Hedwigia. 141: 405-429. Kršinić, F. (2010) Tintinnids (Tintinnida, Choreotrichia, Ciliata) in the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Part II. Ecology. Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, (monograph). Kršinić, F. (2010)Tintinnids (Tintinnida, Choreotrichia, Ciliata) in the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Part I. Taxonomy. Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, (monograph). Kršinić, F. (2012) Description of Stephos boettgerschnackae sp. nov., a new copepod (Calanoida, Stephidae) from an anchialine cave in the Adriatic Sea. Crustaceana (Leiden). 85: 1525-1539 . Ljubešić, Z., Bosak, S., Viličić, D., Kralj Borojević K., Marić, D., Godrijan, J., Ujević, I., Peharec, P. and Đakovac, T. (2011) Ecology and taxonomy of potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species in Lim Bay (north-eastern Adriatic Sea) Harmful Algae 10: 713-722. Marić, D., Ljubešić, Z., Godrijan, J., Viličić, D., Ujević, I. and Precali, R. (2011) The potentially toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia callianta Lundholm, Moestrup & Hasle forms blooms in coastal waters of the Northern Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 92: 323-331. Ninčević Gladan, Ž., I. Ujević, A. Milandri, I. Marasović, A. Ceredi, S. Pigozzi, J. Arapov,S. Skejić. (2011) Lipophilic toxin profile in Mytilus galloprovincialis during episodes of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) in the NE Adriatic Sea in 2006. Molecules, 16: 888-899. Skejić, S. Ninčević Gladan, Ž., Ezgeta-Balić, D., Peharda, M. (2012) Differences in phytoplankton accumulation between Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck,1819 and European flat oyster Ostrea edulis Linneaus,1758 after natural exposure to toxic Dinophysis bloom. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 53,189-195. Skejić, S., I. Marasović, O. Vidjak, G. Kušpilić, Ž. Ninčević Gladan, S. Šestanović and N. Bojanić (2011) Effects of cage fish farming on phytoplankton community structure, biomass and primary production ina n aquaculture area int he middle Adriatic Sea. Aquacult. Res., 42: 1393-1405. Ujević, I., Ninčević-Gladan, Ž., Roje, R., Skejić, S.. Arapov, J., Marasović, I. (2010) Domoic acid – a new toxin in the Croatian Adriatic shellfish toxin profile Molecules, 15:6835-6849. Ninčević Gladan, Ž., Ujević, I., Milandri, A., Marasović, I., Ceredi, A., Pigozzi, S., Arapov, J., Skejić, S., Orhanović S. and Isajlović, I. (2010) Is Yessotoxin the Main Phycotoxin in Croatian Waters? Marine drugs. 8: 460-470. Ujević, I., Roje, R., Ninčević-Gladan, Ž., Marasović, I. (2012) First report of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from eastern Adriatic Sea (Croatia). Food control. 25: 285-291. Peharda, M., D. Ezgeta-Balić, J. Davenport, N. Bojanić, O. Vidjak and Ž. Ninčević-Gladan (2012) Differential ingestion of zooplankton by four species of bivalves (Mollusca) int he Mali Ston Bay, Croatia. Mar. Biol., 159(4): 881-895. Vidjak, O., N. Bojanić, S. Matijević, G. Kušpilić, Ž. Ninčević Gladan, S. Skeić, B. Grbec and I. Brautović (2012) Enviromental drivers of zooplankton variability in the coastal eastern Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea). Acta Adriat., 52(2): 159-172. 44 Library of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries Head of the Library: Ingrid Čatić, prof. ([email protected]) Staff: Vlatka Kamber, technician ([email protected]) History of the Library The specialized Library within the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split was founded in 1930. The first scientists at the Institute personally took care of completing the Library fund with the most important books on oceanography and fisheries. Ever since the beginning the Library has been receiving periodicals and other library material mostly by exchange with other countries across Europe and all over the world. Since 1932 the Institute has been publishing the journal Acta Adriatica. Library’s fund and activities The Library offers scientific and professional literature in oceanography, fisheries, biology, chemistry, physics and environmental sciences to the Institute’s scientists, researchers all over Croatia and students. The very rich Library’s fund includes also more than 6000 titles of books and journals, as well as theses, studies of the Institute and a very rich reference collection (e.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica, and many other encyclopaedia, specialized lexicons, dictionaries, atlases …) Within this fund especially valuable are the collections of the very important maritime expeditions, for example the Expedition “Hvar“, “Pola“ Expedition, “ Princess Alice“- Monaco Expedition, Voyage of H.M.S. “ Challenger“ and so on. Old and rare books take a special place in the Library’s fund, with more than 200 titles from the period 1750 – 1910, and the oldest book in the Library of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries is: Donati V., Sesler L., Della storia naturale marina dell’ Adriatico: saggio, from 1750. There are many more interesting titles, such as: - Olivi G., Zoologia Adriatica: ossia catalogo ragionato degli animali del Golfo e delle Lagune di Venezia, from 1792. - Faber, G.L., The Fisheries of the Adriatic and the Fish thereof, from 1883. - Lorini, P., Ribanje i ribarske sprave: pri istočnim obalama Jadranskog mora, from 1903. 45 The Library holdings and services meet the needs of scientists and all the parties involved. The activities and services of the Library include as follows: book loan service, interLibrary loan and information exchange, as well as photocopying and printing of materials. Membership in various relevant organizations The Library is a part of the Institute, the largest and oldest Croatian scientific institution for the marine research involved in the international scientific cooperation, and consequently it is the Central Croatian Marine Research Library. As a part of its services to Member States, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission has agreed to supply one officially designated IOC Depository Centre in each country with copies of its publications and main documentation. So, the Library of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split is the IOC / UNESCO Depository Centre for Croatia. This Library is also a member of European Association of Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres - EURASLIC, which is a network linking European aquatic sciences libraries and information centres and a regional group of IAMSLIC the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centres. The 14th Biennial Meeting of EURASLIC, Caught in the “fishing net” of information, was held in Lyon, France, 17‐20 May 2011 and the Head of the Library Ingrid Čatić participated representing the Library of the Institute by the poster created in co-operation with Anita Marušić, Technical Editor of Acta Adriatica. Joint ODINECET (Ocean Data and Information Network for European Countries in Economic Transition) /ODINBlackSea Workshop was held in Sevastopol (Ukraine), from 12 to 14 September 2011. Twenty two persons from eight countries participated at the ODINECET Workshop, one of them being the head of our Library. Computing Center Head of the computing center Damir Ivanković, ([email protected]) data manager - database programming, web programming, data visualizations, web oriented GIS, system administrator Staff Stipe Muslim, ([email protected]) system administrator - local network development and management, real time automatic measurements systems development and management, oceanographic instrumentation Overview of the center main activities - Maintenance of server computers (3 database servers, 2 numeric modeling servers, 2 web and mail servers, 2 data storage servers) - Maintenance of local computer network (120 network ports in two buildings, 8 network routers) - Maintenance of personal IT equipment (about 100 PC computers) - Development and Management of oceanographic databases with network interface - Development and maintenance of real-time data collection applications with automatic verification and database recording - Application and development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - Development and maintenance of oceanographic data measuring systems 46 Main activities in the last two years Development of mobile version of “Sea bathing water quality on beaches in the Republic of Croatia” - web application. This is first web application developed on the Institute especially for small screen devices – smart phones and tablets. (http://www.izor.hr/bathing) For web oriented GIS we choose GeoServer 2.2, because of its good references, open source and easy implementation. GeoServer is running under Tomcat 5 application server. GeoServer can store geospatial data in two basic ways: onto file system as files and into external database. We use both ways to produce web interfaces for displaying and management of GIS layers. 47 New production database server DELL PowerEdge R720 (32Gb RAM, 2x Intel Xeon 2.3GHz 6 cores, 8x300Gb SAS HD) is recently installed. Oracle database 11.2 and Oracle Application server 11.2 are used onto this server (migration from previously used 10.2 version). Further development of basic Institute multiparameters database. For web interface new modern techniques are used (Javascript, CSS, Jquery, AJAX). Institute Core Projects ADRIJA- state of demersal resources along the eastern Adriatic coast and recommendations for the sustainable management and protection Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč This research project was implemented in the framework of a bilateral Croatian-Montenegro cooperation for 2011 and 2012. Project was conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Marine Biology in Kotor, Montenegro and the project leader was Dr. Aleksandar Joksimović. Main objective of this project was to make a review of previous research on demersal resources in the Adriatic Sea and to create common database of it. Further on, we wanted to perform evaluation and standardization of collected data and to asses a recent state of demersal resources along the eastern Adriatic coast that occurred as a consequence of longterm intensive exploitation. Special attention was devoted to analysis of populations of commercially most important species including the analysis of biomass trends and demographic population structure. On the basis of collected data and assessment of resources we prepared recommendations for future mesaures related to regulation of and protection with the aim of seting long term sustainable management. 48 Benthic research in area of Blitvenica Island. Biodiversity of the benthos in the middle Adriatic Sea Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Boris Antolić Composition and distribution of endemic species, geomorphological and climatic characteristics make the Middle Adriatic one of 10 biogeographic areas of the Mediterranean. Middle Adriatic is divided in coastal, island and open areas with classification of transitional, coastal, channel and open waters that result in diversity of benthic species and their communities. Littoralisation of the coast, over fishing and aquaculture are the main reasons of decreased biological diversity. Changes which occur in the Adriatic benthos and coastal water quality should be measured by universal metric methods developed for the whole Mediterranean (WFD). Particularly important areas and species should be protected (Natura 2000, CroNEN) and public needs to be educated in this matter. Here are the hypotheses of the project: 1) Biodiversity of Middle Adriatic benthos is increasing from coast towards open seas; 2) Human impact, non indigenous and invasive species lead towards measurable changes of benthos in the Middle Adriatic; 3) Methods of water quality evaluation of coastal waters developed for Mediterranean Sea (WFD) are applicable for Middle Adriatic; 4) Education of public and global availability and application of scientific data help to preserve the benthos in the Adriatic Sea. Expected results are the following: creation of algae check list from taxa Rhodophyta and Phaeophyta in the Middle Adriatic and creation of check list of Porifera from Croatian part of the Adriatic; standardization of coastal water quality assesment methods (WFD); a new contribution to the knowledge of the marine and brackish seagrasses; analysis of epifauna on rhizome and leaves of seagrass P. oceanica and composition of macroalgae in the upper infralittoral on investigated transect coast-open sea in the Middle Adriatic; taxonomic revision of some algal taxa; human impact, non indigenous and invasive species impact on benthic communities and species; development of control methods for invasive species (genus 49 Caulerpa); completion of herbarium collection Ercegović/Špan; preparation of red list and book of the marine flora; education of public through brochures and internet. Results of this research will be the base for further fundamental scientific research and will have important role in education and nature protection (red book, marine flora database, internet presentations on invasive species, legislative regulations, etc.). Biodiversity and management of pelagic and demersal resources of the Adriatic Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč During 2011 and 2012 we continued research activities on project Biodiversity and management of pelagic and demersal resources of the Adriatic that started in year 2008. We investigated reproductive characteristics, feeding, population structure, age and growth of several marine species including fish chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and garfish (Belone belone). Studied bivalve species includes mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), horse bearded mussel (Modiolus barbatus), smooth clam (Callista chione), noble fan shell (Pinna nobilis) and cockle (Acanthocardia tubercolata). Besides research targeting certin species, we investigated biodiversity and distribution of cephalopods in north and middle Adriatic, as well as demersal community composition in the deep Adriatic. Due to variations in community composition and distribution of renewable, commercially important pelagic and demersal species in the Adriatic, we continued their systematic monitoring. Another research object was commercially very important large pelagic fish – Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus, especially specimens in cage culture. During two year period Laboratory staff members published total of 22 papers in journals indexed in Current Contents database and six papers in journals with international peer-review. During this period three PhD thesis were successfully completed as well as seven graduate thesis. Dynamic and pathology of parasitofauna in the cage-reared fish system Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Ivona Mladineo Ecological studies of toxic phytoplankton and shellfish toxicity Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan Parasite population in cage-reared fish and shellfish is shaped by external (environment) and internal factors of the host organisms. Assessing the appearance of parasite population month by month, we gain an insight of the dynamic of community increase or decrease. Correlating this with the external and internal factors, we can define those factors that have the greatest impact in shaping of parasite populations. The organisms near the cages (wild fish, cage biofouling) are possible parasite resources for reared fish. Determining their parasite populations, we could distinguish at which extent they affect the invasion of reared fish or if the process runs in opposite direction. The most interesting is the population of Myxosporidia, which we suspect contains developmental stages in the polychaetans from cage fouling. The range of pathological effects on host depend of the host status (condition, physiological state), although it is conditioned by environmental factors (salinity, temperature, organic matter). Thus under the specific conditions parasite invasions could pass unnoticeable, while under the others could cause disturbance of the existing equilibrium in the host–parasite relationship and disease breakout. By correlating the seasonal parasite dynamic with the onset of fish mortalities on the farm, would indicate the most sensitive period in the rearing cycle, and conclusively would aid in the planning of appropriate zoo-prophylactic measures. Increased frequency of shellfish toxicity in our farms, obligate us to participate in international investigation with data obtained through the national research. This project encompasses biological and chemical research of shellfish toxicity as well as investigation of life cycle of determined phytoplankton species and its ecological features. At the same time the examination of shellfish toxicity level fluctuations in response to various biotic and abiotic factors were performed through the statistical analyses of obtained data. The main goal is to determine the key mechanisms that are responsible for blooming of certain species, particularly for those species that belong to the same ecological niche. Better knowledge of environmental strategy of some toxic species indicates the possibility of the prediction of these phenomena and to take measures to mitigate adverse effects. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) CY3 labeled 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA probe (red signals) on metaphase chromosomes (a, b) and interphase of the fish nuclei (c-d). 50 sea living resources. In order to determine the dynamics of target population in coastal area, the modern methods of fishery biology will be applied. A significance of the proposed project lies in research that enable reasonable and sustainable fishery management of Croatian coastal area and it adequate protection, as well as in better acquaintance with dynamic processes within fish populations. Investigation and monitoring systems for the unusual Adriatic dynamics Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Ivica Vilibić Management and biodiversity of sea living resources in Croatian coastal area Project leader: Jakov Dulčić Financed by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of Republic of Croatia A coastal fishery on the Croatian part of the Adriatic is of enormous importance for all fishery activities in the Republic of Croatia and according to statistical estimates of the catch quantities takes second place. On the basis of 35 years of research of composition and abundance of coastal fish communities, cephalopods and crustaceans, we have established that their catch has been constantly decreasing with increased fishing effort since 1960 in the Croatian coastal area, while the catch quality is also lower and accompanied by different phenomena related to catch composition. High exploitation of the Adriatic coastal resources has influenced the state and changes in many fish populations according to their biology, ecology and catch sensitiveness. The aim of proposed project is systematic research of state and changes in coastal areas, through studies of population dynamics of commercially important fish, cephalopod and crustacean species. An additional aim is obtaining the new biological knowledge in order to enable realiation of reasonable and sustainable fishery management, together with protection of ichthyo-communities. Target fish species will be those suggested by Croatian Fishery Strategy, although other characteristic, important and dominant coastal species will also be studied. The assumption is that the coastal communities have significantly declined in number or even are overfished, thus their efficient protection is needed. Due to unreasonable exploitation, intra- and interspecies relationships in habitats are violated and detailed knowledge of population dynamics is a necessary prerequisite for sustainable management and effective protection.One of the major criteria for sustainable exploitation and efficacious protection is the detailed acquaintance with population dynamics. The expected project results will be used as necessary scientific support to reasonable and sustainable management of coastal 51 The purpose of this project is to broaden the knowledge about unusual and extraordinary dynamics occurring in the Adriatic Sea, as well as the development of the monitoring, communication and alarming systems for the mitigation of these phenomena which may be of real danger for the coastal regions, infrastructure and population. The investigation of particular problems will be conducted in the project, including: (i) unusual atmospheric phenomena and their manifestation in the sea, (ii) historical records and instrumental measurements of the seismic and other tsunamis in the Adriatic Sea, (iii) extraordinary baroclinic waves (trapped waves and internal tides), (iv) dense water currents and rapid changes of deep biogeochemical properties, (v) design and building of the data acquisition systems in real or near-real time, including those being useful for the alarming systems for the destructive dynamic phenomena (e.g. tsunami), and (vi) development and upgrading of numerical models, including those being capable for the hindcasting and forecasting in real or near-real time. The outcome of the research includes new findings about the unusual and extraordinary Adriatic dynamics, Characteristic distribution of surface currents (white) and wind at 10 m (black) (as Aladdin’s) of the Bora strong blowing, isolated by using a method of self-organizing fields. which may have an impact to the quality of the coastal and ocean management, to the coastal infrastructure and human activities in the coastal regions. In addition, technological research and development will be a significant part of the project, including the development of monitoring and communication systems in real time, which is an essential component for the mitigation of any destructive dynamic process (e.g. tsunami). The usefulness of these systems became undoubtedly obvious after the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, when tens of thousands of human lives could have been saved by such a system, which was not available at the time. Furthermore, the investigations of unusual dynamical phenomenon in the Adriatic should be implemented in any applied study dealing with the sea and the coast, such as engineering of any hydrotechnical object in the sea (e.g. oil and water pipelines, piers, bridge towers, oil platforms) as well as for the investigations of accidental spreading of a pollutant in the surface (oil spills) and bottom (sewage discharges) layers. used in numerical models. Novel statistical methods will be used to detect fast reorganisation of the ecosystem from one relatively stable state to another. The ecosystem regime control will be developed as a basis for timely alert at the beginning of new climate regime in the atmosphere and sea. The goals of this project are: (1) Building a robust European standardized system for handling a large number of various data collected from oceanographic research vessels and automatic measurement systems. (2) Connecting the oceanographic data centers in a unique network via the Internet, thus enabling easy search, selection and retrieving of the oceanographic data regardless of the location of the national data center. The system will enable retrieving of various oceanographic data and the analysis from all the seas surrounding Europe. Co-oscillations of atmosphere and the sea important for the Adriatic ecosystem Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project leader: Mira Morović The studies and discussions about the climatic changes and their influence to the ecosystem assume a steady increase of the air temperature, as a consequence of increasing anthropogenic contribution to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In addition to these slow and long-lasting climatic changes, there occur abrupt changes which do not always have global character. A new paradigm about abrupt climatic changes assumes different regional regimes of shorter duration (decades). It is important to investigate climatic shifts for their influence to climate but also for influences that they can cause in the marine ecosystem. The main scope of the project is defining the stable climatic states and climatic indices with the purpose of prediction of the future states. Climate indices will be investigated from analysis of atmospheric fields like pressure, temperature, precipitation, heat and water fluxes, surface wind stress at spatial scales larger than the Adriatic that influence circulation, boundary layer conditions and thermohaline properties. The conditions in the sea will be monitored with systematic measurements at stations in the Middle Adriatic. Numerical models will be used for simulations on the decadal scales, to reveal response of the Adriatic to climatic variability of the atmospheric forcing. With results of numerical simulations we’ll try to interpret the causes of abrupt changes in the ecosystem within the last 50 years, and to give predictions of the future climate states and their influence to the ecosystem. Measurements of light attenuation and incoming radiation will allow better definition of parameters 52 Vertical distribution of temperature, salinity and density of sea water at profile Split-Gargano during September, 2011. Research of zootechnical and environmental conditions for fish and cephalopods farming Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Ivan Katavić Role of plankton communities in the energy and matter flow in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Nada Krstulović Insufficient involvement of scientific investigation is one of the major problems in mariculture sector. Consequence of that is orientation towards culturing of only two fish species, relatively low technological level of production, lack of automation, high food conversion factor and in general low competitiveness. Further on, there is increasing concern for the ecological aspects of mariculture as consequence of insufficient knowledge about impacts of culturing on marine communities. Therefore, proposed project will aim to support sustainable, profitable and ecologically acceptable development of national mariculture. Activities on the project will be directed towards gaining new knowledge and optimization of zootechnology of mariculture, evaluation and introduction of new species into mariculture, cultivation based on catch (tuna, octopus), as well as evaluation of mariculture impacts on natural ichthyopopulations. Investigations will result in new findings that will enable establishing of brood stocks and adaptation of new species to conditions in captivity. Investigation of biological response of new species to changing environmental conditions will enable justified estimation of their introduction to mariculture. We will define optimal methods for species whose cultivation is based on catch as well as for species that are cultivated during their entire life cycle. Biotechnological experiments will be directed towards gaining monosex and sterile juvenile populations that are characterized by better growth rates and in case of escape from culturing facilities will not have impact on natural biodiversity. Through monitoring of reproductive biology of cultured tuna, we will collect data on gametogensis in cage conditions that will facilitate eventual induction of spawning and cultivation of different development stages. Project will also encompass investigations on impacts of fish cage culturing on natural ichthyopopulations that form assemblages near culture installations. Investigations and results will be verified in experimental hatchery on the basis of collected samples and compared with similar studies published in journals dealing with aquaculture. The project investigates the role of plankton communities in the energy flow and organic matter cycling in the coastal and open Adriatic Sea, with particular reference to the spawning areas of small pelagic fish , mariculture areas and other areas under significant antropogenic influences. Special attention will be paid to the Palagruža Sill area, since it is of key importance for the functioning of the Adriatic ecosystem, where waters originating from the continental shelf encounter those from deep layers and therefore all the processes are best observed. Plankton communities, including bacterioplankton, phytoplankton and zooplankton, represent the fundamental component of pelagic food webs Therefore the study of the structure and functioning of each of them, as well as their interactions, is highly important, especially since such data provide the basis for establishing the production capacity of an area. One of the central questions regarding functioning of marine ecosystems is the fate of primary production, namely significance of different pathways of carbon, from its fixation in the photosynthesis to higher trophic levels. Relationship between primary and secondary production, biomass and species composition of different plankton components at lower trophic levels determine the main characteristics of trophic web at higher levels. These interactions will be studied by analysing factors regulating the size and dynamics of populations in plankton communities. The project will investigate the cycling of nutrients and metals essential for the normal susteinance, growth and reproduction of plankton populations («bottomup» control) as well as factors affecting their elimination (mortality, predation, viral activity) («top-down» control). By studying «bottomup » and «top-down» controls of plankton communities we will attempt to determine main mechanisms and control paths of characteristic phytoplankton blooms as well as likely causes of the unusual occurrences («red tide», «mucilage»). Special attention will be given to the analysis of response of plankton organisms to physical changes, on both, short and long term time scales that is to the ways in which these changes are reflected upon the different levels of food chains and consequently the energy flow and cycling of matter. 53 Residence time of bacteria Escherichia coli in seawater and marine organisms Financed by: Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports Project Leader: Mladen Šolić Fecal origin wastewaters that enter into the sea directly or through sewage system discharge are one of the main sources of allochthonous microorganisms in marine environment. Some of these microorganisms are pathogen, and as such can cause different infections and diseases in humans and warm-blooded animals. Allochthonous microorganisms can accumulated in different marine organisms, especially in those that feed by filtration of sea water (filter feeders). One of the most important groups of filter feeders in marine environment is Bivalvia. Since bivalves can accumulated all types of pollutants present in sea water including pathogen bacteria, they are, from the aspect of human health, a high-risk group of organisms. Proposed investigation is designed to test following two hypothesis: (1) Residence time of allochthonous microorganisms in marine environment is a direct function of their survival after they enter the sea, what is in turn result of synergic impact of number of environmental factors out of which the most important are sunlight intensity, temperature and salinity, and (2) Concentration of allochthonous microorganisms in bivalves is a result of concentration of these organisms in the sea where bivalves live, sea water filtration rates, habitat in which they live, bivalve species, size, and life cycle, as well as synergic impact of number of environmental factors out of which the most important is temperature. Main objective of this project is providing answers to the following questions: (1) How long is the survival time of bacteria Escherichia coli, as the most important indicator of faecal pollution, in marine environment in conditions of different sunlight intensities, temperature and salinity, (2) Is there a synergic action of investigated factors, (3) In which way survival time of bacteria E. coli changes with sea depth, (4) At which rate different bivalve species accumulate bacteria E. coli, and (5) In which way concentrations of E. coli in the sea, bivalve size, phase of the life cycle and temperature impact the above mentioned processes. We expect that results of this project will be very important for estimating impacts of sewage discharges and other sources of faecal pollution on sanitary quality of the sea, and will represent valuable entrance parameter for calculations related to design of underwater discharge systems. Moreover, these results may help in solving professional issues related to legislation. Further on, determination of factors that influence rate of concentration of marine microorganisms in bivalves will significantly improve technology of bivalve aquaculture. 54 Period of intense top-down and bottom-up control of bacteria. Changes in microbial community structure in relation to the area trophic status. AQUAMED: Future research Mediterranean region Financed by: EU FP7 Project leader: Ivona Mladineo of aquaculture in the The rapid development of Mediterranean aquaculture is increasingly confronted with a set of difficulties such as inadequate production systems and competition with other users. Aquaculture development in the Mediterranean countries is characterized by diverse levels of maturity in respect to research and development structures and capacities. Coastal zones are of strategic importance to the EU. Many European citizens live, holiday and work in these areas and they are a major source of our food and raw materials. Consequently, a knowledge-based strategy for the sustainable development of Mediterranean aquaculture has to be implemented using a flexible and concerted approach. AQUAMED will promote innovative Mediterranean research and focus on the most relevant issues needed to sustain aquaculture in the region. It will strengthen the EU-Mediterranean partnership in developing common projects, and in planning for the challenges Mediterranean aquaculture faces, now and into the future. AQUAMED will develop a cross-functional strategy for aquaculture research in the Mediterranean region. It will develop a multi-stakeholder platform to orchestrate research activities, and it will publish a revolving implementation plan aimed at the sustainable development of aquaculture. The AQUAMED project will be based on a four step approach: a) Database and map relevant policies, research activities and socio-economic characteristics for each partner country; b) Identify common situations and constraints between countries; c) Group countries with similar driving forces, allowing for their engagement and to formulate scientifically-backed recommendations; d) Initiate a multi-stakeholder platform to promote research organization, shared objectives and a revolving implementation plan. Reakcija tkiva dagnje Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia) na istovremenu infekciju hidrozoom Eugymnanthea inquilina (Cnidaria) i virnjakom Urastoma cyprinae (Turbellaria). CREAM: Coordinating research in support to application of Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) and management advice in the Mediterranean and Black Seas Financed by: EU – FP7 (KBBE20101.4.08 – Contract no. 265648 – 20112014) Responsible scientists at IOF: Nedo Vrgoč and Vjekoslav Tičina The aim of the project is to establish network for future active collaboration of research organizations in order to organize well coordinated research and eventually enabling efficient practical implementation of the Ecosystem Approach in the management of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries. 55 PARASITE: Risk analysis of parasite and tool integration in EU fish production value chains Financed by: EU FP7 Project leader: Ivona Mladineo Despite many efforts to ensure that only high-quality and safe products are put on the market, fish-borne parasites continue to pose risks to human health, with zoonotic infections and allergic reactions mainly following consumption of raw, lightly cooked, or marinated seafood. The PARASITE proposal is presented by a multidisciplinary consortium of 12 European and 3 Asian research institutions and 6 European SMEs. It aims to provide new scientific evidence and technological developments to detect, monitor, and mitigate impacts of zoonotic parasites, mainly anisakid nematodes but also trematode metacercariae, occurring in European and imported fishery products. The Project will address the research needs identified by EFSA regarding the risk of seafood-borne parasites. It also will facilitate close cooperation between scientists and end-users to produce new technological solutions and management tools for both European and imported fishery products. The Work Plan has been organized in 9 work packages, each covering different stages of a risk assessment framework, providing new epidemiological data, monitoring tools, development and implementation of parasite detection devices, technological tools for their mitigation, and dissemination of key results to all the stakeholders and the general public. Risk assessment of zoonotic parasites will ensure significant progress beyond the state of the art. This will be achieved by improving molecular hazard identification, antigen/allergen characterization, parasite exposure, assessment, detection methods and treatments for industrial and other end-users, and an integrated quantitative risk analysis based on powerful statistics and modelling. The main results will impact by (1) contributing to enhanced seafood safety, with consequent benefits for public health and consumer confidence, (2) strengthening the competitiveness of European seafood, from the net to the plate and (3) improving EU food safety policies. Tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins TNFα1 Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus created by using SWISS MODEL Workspace (Arnold et al., 2006) server for homologous modeling: a) superposition assumed TNFα1 monomers bluefin tuna (blue) to human TNF injection moldings (green); (b) monomer TNFα1 bluefin tuna (c) the likely quaternary structure of the trimer TNFα1 Bluefin tuna: chain trimers are shown in different colors, spherical shapes represent disulfide bridges between chains. 56 PERSEUS - Policy-oriented marine Environmental Research for the Southern European Seas Financed by: EU FP7 National coordinator: Ivona Marasović The overall scientific objectives of the project PERSEUS are to identify the interacting patterns of natural and human-derived pressures on the Mediterranean and Black Seas (SES), assess their impact on marine ecosystems and, using the objectives and principles of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive as a vehicle, to design an effective and innovative research governance framework based on sound scientific knowledge. Well-coordinated scientific research and socio-economic analysis will be applied at wide-ranging scale from basin to coastal. The new knowledge will advance our understanding on the selection and application of the appropriate descriptors and indicators of the MSFD. New tools will be developed in order to evaluate the current environmental status by way of combining monitoring and modelling capabilities and existing observational systems will be upgraded and extended. In particular, it should develop the science-base needed to understand how the natural land-ocean processes that are characteristic of semi-enclosed basins (peculiar role of air-sea fluxes and fresh water fluxes, specific water mass ventilation rates, hydraulic control of flows across straits) and the anthropogenic processes (effects of large cities, coastal development, pollution, recreational activities, fishing and aquaculture activities) interact in these two basins In view of reaching Good Environmental Status (GES), a scenariobased framework of adaptive policies and management schemes will be developed. Scenarios of a suitable time frame and special scope will be used to explore interactions between projected anthropogenic and nature pressures. A feasible and realistic adaptation policy framework will be defined and ranked in relation to vulnerable marine sectors/groups/regions in order to design management schemes for marine governance. Finally, the project will promote the principles and objectives outlined in the MSFD across the SES. Within the PERSEUS Project IOF will also organize an international expedition across the Adriatic Sea by the research vessel BIOS II, in which with the Croatian scientists also the scientists from Italy, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina will participate. 57 During this expedition the IOF and Italian scientists will conduct the training activities for the other participants, with the aim of joint implementation of MSFD in Adriatic waters. In addition, through this project Croatia is included in the Mediterranean Global Ocean Observing System, since within the PERSEUS Project there is the network of the oceanographic buoys of Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Turkey and Bulgaria. SeaDataNet-II (Pan-European infrastructure for Ocean & Marine Data Management) Financed by: EU (FP-7) Responsible scientists at IOF: Vlado Dadić SeaDataNet FP7 project (2011-2015), that continues to FP6 (2006-2011), within which is evolving operational pan-European infrastructure for managing, indexing and access to data sets and information on the marine environment (e.g. physical, chemical, geological and biological properties), and their longterm storage and preservation. Data are checked and managed in distributed data centers that are interconnected via SeaDataNet infrastructure so users access them through an integrated portal: http://www.seadatanet.org. Data centers are mostly National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs), which are part of oceanographic research institutes involved in the IOC / Iode network. Given that the data originate from various sources can impose large demands on the quality, removal of duplicate data and the overall coherence of the integrated data set, what has been achieved within the project SeaDataNet by establishing and maintaining a unified directory metadata and data access services, as well as the use the adopted standards. Towards a meteotsunami warning system along the U.S. coastline (TMEWS) Financed by: NOAA/NWS, USA Duration: 1.11.2011-30.6.2013. Project leader: Ivica Vilibić SESAME - Southern European Seas: Assessing and Modeling Ecosystem changes Financed by: EU FP6 National coordinator: Ivona Marasović The general scientific objectives of SESAME are to assess and predict changes in the Mediterranean and Black Sea ecosystems as well as changes in the ability of these ecosystems to provide goods and services. The Mediterranean and Black Sea will be approached as a coupled climatic/ecosystem entity, with links and feedbacks to the world ocean. The assessment of ecosystem changes will be based on the identification of the major regime shifts in ecosystems that occurred during the last 50 years. Mathematical models, validated and upgraded using existing and new observations, will be used to predict ecosystem responses to changes in climate and anthropogenic forcings during the next five decades. SESAME will also study the effect of the ecosystem variability on key goods and services with high societal importance like tourism, fisheries, ecosystem stability through conservation of biodiversity and mitigation of climate change through carbon sequestration in water and sediments. The innovative character of SESAME is reflected in the close merging of economic and natural sciences to study the changes in the western and eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea within the period from 50 years in the past to 50 years in the future. SESAME will stimulate and strengthen international cooperation in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions through the participation of research organizations from Member States, Associated States, Associated Candidate countries, non-EU Mediterranean and NIS countries as well as international organizations. The scientific objectives of SESAME are: - To assess changes in the SES ecosystems over the last 50 years. - To assess the current status of the SES ecosystems through analysis of existing and newly collected data at basin scale as well as through model simulations - To predict changes in the SES ecosystems, using existing and new observations at a regional and basin scale in order to construct scenarios of the ecosystem responses to likely changes in climate and anthropogenic forcings during the next five decades. 58 Meteotsunamis, or meteorological tsunamis, are atmospherically induced ocean waves in the tsunami frequency band that are found to affect coasts in a destructive way in a number of places in the World Ocean. The waves are not related to any seismic activity, volcanic explosions, submarine landslides or meteorite impacts but to atmospheric forcing, including atmospheric gravity waves, pressure jumps, frontal passages, squalls, and tropical cyclones. Meteotsunami waves has been observed and intermittently studied along the U.S. coastline, but no comprehensive and interdisciplinary studies have been performed, especially on the source of meteotsunami waves. Therefore, the first objective of the TMEWS project is to improve our understanding of the sources and atmospheric properties of U.S. meteotsunamis, their interaction with coastal waters, and their amplification when approaching and impacting the shoreline. Historical U.S. meteotsunamis, such as that at Daytona Beach FL in 1992 and Booth Bay MA in 2008, will be investigated by analyzing all available atmospheric and oceanic data, and by reproducing the events with atmospheric and oceanic numerical models. The acquired knowledge will be used for the assessment of the processes, and for determining the parameters and variables that can be used in a timely detection of meteotsunamis. An assessment of the NWS/NOAA observing facilities will be performed, and the applicability and necessary modifications will be proposed in order to fulfill the requirements for the timely detection of meteotsunamis. The final objective of the TMEWS project is to develop a decisionmaking meteotsunami matrix that will include associated operational protocols and procedures, and a flowchart of the meteotsunami warning system from its detection on the observational network to the issuing of meteotsunami alerts. As part of the overall objective of the TMEWS project to build an efficient meteotsunami warning system, the project will incorporate different groups of users (scientists, coastal engineers, coastal management authorities, etc.) and raise public awareness in high-risk meteotsunami areas, resulting in an increased safety level of coastal population and in decreased potential damage to property, goods and service along the U.S. coastline. Bivalve feeding, competition and predation – what is at play? Financed by: Unity through Knowledge (www.ukf.hr) Project leader: Melita Peharda Uljević In the first half of 2011, project dealing with feeding ecology of commercially important bivalves, that lasted for a total of 18 months, was successfully completed. Main objective of this project was to determine if there is competition for food sources between different species of bivalves, what is the extent of these relationships and in which way they impact bivalve seed collection and aquaculture production. We analyzed seasonal changes in plankton communities as well as stomach contents of selected bivalve species (Figure 6). Project included investigation of four bivalves including mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) from commercial aquaculture, and Noah’s ark shell (Arca noae) and Horse beaded mussel (Modiolus barbatus) from natural populations and experimental aquaculture. Scientists from several IOF laboratories participated in implementation of this project including those from Laboratory of Fisheries Science and Management of Pelagic and Demersal Resources, Laboratory of Plankton and Shellfish Toxicity and Physical Oceanography Laboratory. Further more, scientists from the Institute Ruđer Bošković in Rovinj and University College Cork (Ireland) have give a significant contribution to this project. Project results and recommendations for sustainable bivalve aquaculture were prepared in written form and distributed to stakeholders, while scientific results were published in five papers in journals indexed in Current Contents data base, one paper published in IOF journal Acta Adriatica, as well as presented at four international conferences. The extraction of stomach contents: (a) 70% ethanol injection, (b) measurement of specimens prior to extraction of the stomach, (c) opening the shell, and (d) extraction of the stomach using Pasteur pipettes. 59 EMBOS – Development and implementation of a panEuropean Marine Biodiversity Observatory System Financed by: COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) National coordinator: Natalia Bojanić Marine biodiversity varies over large scales of time and space, and requires a research strategy beyond the tradition/ capabilities of classic research. Researches that cover these scales require a permanent international pan-European network of observation stations with an optimized and standardized methodology. In EMBOS the needed large-scale network of research locations in Europe will be installed to assess long-term changes in marine biodiversity and their possible causes taking into account natural as well as anthropogenic gradients. EMBOS will also extend and optimize this observatory system, including novel interdisciplinary approaches for research. Laboratory of plankton is contributing to Project through the fundamental taxonomical research of microphytoplankton, ciliates, micrometazoa and mesozooplankton components, as well as with investigations regarding the impact of trophic gradient on changes in plankton community dynamics and structure. Additional efforts will be dedicated to the occurrence of toxic phytoplankton species and dynamics of tintinnid and copepod communities. HyMex (HYdrological cycle in the Mediterranean EXperiment) Financed by: French guvernment National coordinator: Branka Picek (DHMZ) Coordinators at IOF: Branka Grbec and Mira Morović The Mediterranean basin has quite a unique character that results both from physiographic conditions and historical and societal developments. The region features a nearly enclosed sea surrounded by very urbanized littorals and mountains from which numerous rivers originate. This results in a lot of interactions and feedbacks between oceanic-atmospherichydrological processes that play a predominant role on climate and ecosystems and highly imact the weather as well. In the Mediterranean area concentrated are high imact weather events associated to hydrology cycle, including severe cyclogenesis, extreme events that produce heavy damages up to human losses; heavy precipitation and flash flooding during the fall season, severe cyclogeneses associated with strong winds and large swell or heat waves and droughts accompanied by forest fires during summer, highly impacting the population in the area. The capability to predict such dramatic events remains weak because of the contribution of very fine scale processes and their non-linear interactions with the larger scale processes. Water is a critical resource for a large part of the Mediterranean. Fresh water is scarce and unevenly distributed in time and space with a few short periods of heavy rainfall and long periods of drought. Such situation, with increasing demand for water is worsening with climate changes. 60 Mediterranean regions have been identified as one of the two main „hotspots” of the climate changes which means that the climate of this area is particularly sensitive to global changes. Expected is a strong drop in average rainfall and increased rainfall variability during the dry (warm) season, as well as a large increase in temperature. The evolution of the climate in the Mediterranean is however still largely uncertain. This region is characterized by high population growth and urbanization, putting increasing pressure on water resources. Required is progress in monitoring and joint Modelling of the Mediterranean climate system (atmosphere-soil-sea) to quantify the changes, better predict their future development and gave guidance for the development of adaptation measures. This social and scientific issues are motivations for HyMeX program (Hydrological cycle in the editerranean Experiment, http://www. hymex.org/). The goal of HyMeX is a better quantification and understanding of the water cycle in the Mediterranean, with an emphasis on intense events. HyMeX proposed monitoring and associated modeling of air-soil-sea in the Mediterranean, and monitoring of social vulnerabilities associated with water resources and extreme events. The variability of the system from individual events over seasonal to interannual scale will be monitored as well as characteristics of the system during a decade (2010-2020) in context of global changes. Brown algal biodiversity and ecology in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Financed by: TOTAL Foundation Project leader: Prof. Christos Katsaros National coorinator: Ante Žuljević and Vedran Nikolić A 4-year international project “Brown algal biodiversity and ecology in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea” is funded with € 300,000 by TOTAL Foundation. It aims to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the Eastern Mediterranean seaweed biodiversity and its role in the functioning of the marine ecosystem. The project is a multinational effort – even though it is centered in Greece, it has major contributions by scientists from Croatia (IOF-Split), Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, California, France, Germany, Japan and Scotland. Key objectives include pioneering studies of the largely unexplored Eastern Mediterranean’s deep-water flora, with the aid of submersible and ROVs and molecular-genetic research with the aim to resolve uncertain taxonomic classification of some species. This project will be a great opportunity to focus on the effects of climate change, pollution and invasive species on the Mediterranean Ecosystem. During the spring 2010 deepwater algal communites in the central Adriatic were surveyed with the use of R/V BIOS DVA and fully equipped ROV Pollux II in cooperation with Italian scientists from ISPRA institute. A very rare deepwater alga Laminaria rodriguezii was recorded near Palagruža island. Rare deep alga Laminaria rodriguezii found near Palagruža Island at 95 m depth. Brown algae Dictyota dichotoma collected in the Ionian Sea for the purpose of herbarium collections as part of the research of brown algae. HAZADR (Strengthening common reaction capacity to fight sea pollution of oil, toxic and hazardous substances in Adriatic Sea Financed by: EU (IPA) Responsible scientists at IOF: Vlado Dadić Summary: The main objective of the Project HAZADR Project (2012 - 2014) is to establish a common system for cross-border risk prevention and management of emergencies in order to preserve the environment, and to strengthen the capacity of joint rapid response in case of an environmental crisis in the Adriatic Sea. In fact, the Adriatic Sea is under heavy environmental pressure because of relatively high population density and concentration of industry and other economic activities, including maritime traffic. Particularly important is transportation of large quantities of oil through the Strait of Otranto to the embarkation ports that are mostly located in the northern part of the Adriatic. On the other side, the Adriatic Sea is relatively small and closed, for the most part shallow and goes deep into the European continent so it is ecologically very sensitive. Because of its relatively small dimensions occurrence of ecological problems in one region can easily cause the 61 immediate and long term effects in the environment of the whole Adriatic, with profound socio-economic consequences for all coastal communities.Institute participates in the HAZADR Project through the acquisition of two high-frequency radars and their location in the central Dalmatia with objective to measure surface currents in the Hvar and Vis channel. The radars will have a operating frequency 13 MHz to enable measurement of surface currents in the area and up to 3600 km2.After placing the radars on the predicted position the Institute specialists will manage their operational work, and will check the measurement data, analyze and store them in a specially developed data warehouse and shall deliver them in real time to other participants in the project via network server: http :/ / www.izor. com / hazadr. It is foreseen that this system will be used as operational system after completion of the project. OPP - Data Collection Framework in Fisheries (DCF) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč SOLEMON Evaluation of stock of common sole (Solea solea) in the northern Adriatic using different fishing gears Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč (National coordinator) In a framework of multi-annual project on data collection in fisheries of the Republic of Croatia (2012-2013) collection of biological data for most important métiers in commercial fishery was initiated in accordance with DCF (EU regulations) (EC 199/2008, EC 665/2008, EC 949/2008). Sampling methodology and dynamics were set up taking into account the above mentioned regulations as well as recommendations provided by international expert team that was engaged by the Directorate of Fisheries and that had a task to develop National plan for data collection in fisheries of the Republic of Croatia. Having in mind that IOF has a long term record of participation in monitoring of fisheries, these experiences have also been used for determining sampling dynamics and modes of data collection. During year 2012 complete data collection was initiated in accordance to the above mentioned DCF. PELMON-MEDIAS: Acoustic survey on small pelagic fish – harmonization with DCF requirements Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina The basic aim of the Project PELMON-MEDIAS is assessment of overall resources needed for full harmonization of previous national pelagic monitoring project PELMON (2002-2010) with future implementation of these research activities fully harmonized with requirements as defined within EU Data Collection Framework (DCF). In addition, the aim of the Project is direct assessment of abundance and spatial distribution of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) resources in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, independently from the data from commercial fisheries. The project was carried out during 2011 year. Field research for the project SOLEMON. 62 This project was initiated in 2004 and it includes participation of three neighbouring countries: Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Project objective is assessment of population of common sole (Solea solea) and all other flat fish in the Adriatic Sea. Sampling is conducted once a year using beam trawl in the area north of Jabuka pit. In addition, along Italian coast data on commercial catch of this group of marine organisms are collected. On board analysis includes qualitative and quantitative catch composition of the beam trawl (including analysis of macrozoobenthos), demographic population structure (length, age, sexual maturity) of all target species (common sole, all flat fish, angler fish), and genetic population structure of common sole. This project also provides annual estimate of common sole population in GSA 17 that is presented at GFCM. Project has been suggested to STCEF to be included in list of compulsory project of the EU DCF. AdriaMed Deep Sea Survey Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Igor Isajlović (National coordinator) This project is organized as a part of FAO AdriaMed (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) regional project and it includes investigation of the deepest parts of south Adriatic pit. Its objectives include collecting fisheries biological data, description of bathyal fauna biodiversity (Figure 1), assessment of exploitation potential and preparation of measures for protection of deepest parts of the Adriatic Sea. Additional objectives of this project include determination of most appropriate fishing gear and method for sampling at great depths, and their improvement. In the south Adriatic pit total of four expeditions were organized in 2008 and 2010, using specially modified bottom trawl net, pelagic trawl net, surface and bottom long lines and traps for crustaceans and fish. During 2011 and 2012 we worked on the analysis of collected samples, statistical analysis and preparation of reports. Deep-sea organisms were recorded during the study South Adriatic Pit at depths of 1200 within project FAO AdriaMed Deep Sea: A) Dipturus nidarosiensis B) Notacanthus bonapartei C) Chaliodus sloan, D) Nemichthys scolopaceus E) Ancistroteuthis Lichtenstein, F) Chiroteuthis veranyi. 63 UWTV Survey in Central Adriatic Jabuka Pit Financed by: FAO AdriaMed Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč (National coordinator) MED POL Financed by: UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan This project is conducted in the framework of FAO AdriaMed project with the objective of introducing alternative methodology for assessment of demersal resources, primarily Norwegian lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in the Jabuka Pit area. Participating institutions are IOF (Split, Croatia) and CNR (Ancona, Italy). The objective of this project is assessment of Norwegian lobster biomass in the Jabuka Pit with the use of underwater camera, and comparison of such data with data obtained by bottom trawling net (though projects MEDITS, FAO AdriaMed Trawl survey, GRUND, DCR and DemMon). For the protection and monitoring of the marine environment of the Mediterranean Sea, cooperation between the Mediterranean countries and the European Union›s have been established through the Plan of action in the Mediterranean (MAP - Mediteranean Action Plan), which is part of the United Nations Convention on the protection of the environment (United Nations Environmental Program, UNEP). Program evaluation and control of pollution in the Mediterranean area started in 1975 as part of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), which is now in phase III (2006-2013). In line with the Barcelona Convention (Article 12) all member states are obliged to implement national monitoring program and determine the persons responsible for pollution monitoring. Land-Based Source Protocol (Article 8) provides systematic evaluations of pollution in the coastal zone with particular emphasis on the areas affected by various human activities, and evaluate the effectiveness of the action plan, and measures contained in the Protocol on reducing the impact of pollution on the marine environment as the main objectives of the program payment for. Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) filmed with underwater towed. camera in their habitats during the project UWTV LME-EAF - Strategic partnership for the Mediterranean Large Marine Ecosystem (Ecosystem approach to fisheries) Financed by: FAO Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč MEDITS (Mediterranean International Bottom Trawl Survey) Financed by: EC Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč MEDITS project is systematic and permanent monitoring of state of demersal communities in the Mediterranean Sea, including the Adriatic Sea. Project is partially financed by European Commission and in part by participating countries. Up to now following countries have been involved in this project: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Malta and Cyprus. Croatia joined MEDITS project in 1996. Since 2001, participation in MEDITS project is mandatory for all EU member countries and methodology of data collection and their analysis is standardized for all participants. Data collected through this project make up the basis for assessment of state of commercially most important species in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, as well as for creation of national and international management plans for demersal resources. 64 Main objective of this project is development of human potentials related to ecosystem approach in fisheries. Through workshops, technical support and individual training targeting staff and scientists involved in fisheries, project creates presumptions for strategic partnership between stakeholders in fisheries. Global trends demand approach that includes simultaneous analysis of all fishing gear, all species, ecosystem characteristics as well as socioeconomic aspects of fishery to gain a complete insight into complex fisheries issues. Marine Reference Centre Customer: Government of the Republic of Croatia / Environmental Protection Agency Project leader: Vlado Dadić After several years of very good cooperation with the Institute in reporting on the state of the marine environment, fisheries and mariculture, and after the invitation to tender by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Croatian Government appointed the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split the Marine Reference Centre of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the period from 2012 to 2015 pursuant to the Decision issued at the 15th Government Session on 15 March 2012 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia, No. 34/12). The Stated Marine Reference Centre is determined on the basis of Article 123 of the Environmental Protection Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia No. 110/07) with the purpose of providing professional and scientific support to the EPA in collecting and analysing the data on the state of the sea and its environment, fisheries and aquaculture, development and calculation of parameters (including the National List of Indicators), development and use of the marine information system (ISM) as part of the Environmental Information System (EIS), and for fulfilling the obligation to report on the state of the marine environment as per the national and international requirements (special regulations and international agreements). According to the Government Decision, the Marine Reference Centre performs for the EPA the following tasks: It collects, compiles, analyzes and verifies data on monitoring the state of the marine environment, fisheries and mariculture effected by the competent bodies and institutions as per the special regulations and international agreements, and participates in suggesting and establishing a network of monitoring the mentioned state and developing the plans for conducting the monitoring of the state; in collaboration with the EPA it maintains and updates the indicators on the state of the marine environment, fisheries and mariculture, including the National List of Indicators, and prepares for them the analysis of trends and develops and manufactures new features; it provides technical assistance to the implementation of the regulations, offering a framework for the implementation of the Community acquis of the European Union in the field of marine environmental protection, fisheries and mariculture, and it participates in the activities of professional bodies and working groups of the EPA in the preparation and implementation of conservation projects for the marine environment; it provides scientific, professional, and technical assistance for the preparation, development and validation of the reports and prepared assessments of the state of marine environment for 65 reporting purposes, in accordance with special regulations and international agreements; it provides support in developing and establishing the Marine Information System, which is an integral part of the Environmental Information System, including the establishment of relevant databases and georeferenced browsers, with the development of technology, and it develops models, analytical methods and predictions as tools to support the development of the marine monitoring programs, plans and measures to protect the marine environment, national and regional strategies; it participates in the work of professional bodies and working groups within the European Topic Centre on Sea and Water, as well as for the European Information and Observation Network and European Information System for Water. The annual work programs are made taking into account the requirements of the Government Decision, the obligations contained in the annual work plan of the EPA and the obligations under the relevant national regulations and international obligations assumed in connection with monitoring and reporting on the state of the marine environment under the jurisdiction of the Agency. This especially applies to reporting to the European Environment Agency (EEA) within the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) and the European Information System for Water and Sea (WISE) and the mandatory reporting to the European Commission (EC). Therefore, the EEA guidelines are also taken into consideration, respectively its Information and Observation Network EIONET, since EEA established, in order to ensure the quality of data, reports and other services, the corresponding European topic centres (ETC-European Topic Centres) helping in the realisation of the annual work program. Herewith we should also note the activity of the Reference Centre for fulfilling the obligations set out in the MSFD and WFD Directives, like making the proposal of dividing the Adriatic Sea into 5 areas, development of descriptors, indicators and parameters as per each type of waters and completing of DIKE tables by the descriptors on the initial state of the environment, more data and information concerning that being available on the website: http:/ / www.izor.hr / azo. Initial assessment of the state and pressures on Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection Project leader: Nada Krstulović In the framework of the implementation process of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EZ) and preparation of Strategy for marine environment protection, document „Initial assessment of the state and pressures on Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea“ is the first step in determination of the environmental targets in the achieving good environmental status and preservation of marine environment. Document was prepared taking account of existing data where available and comprising the following: - an analysis of the essential features and characteristics, and current environmental status of Adriatic waters, based on the indicative lists of elements set out in Table 1 of Annex III of MSFD (2008/56/EZ), and covering the physical and chemical features, the habitat types, the biological features and the hydro-morphology; - an analysis of the predominant pressures and impacts, including human activity, on the Adriatic environmental status. Quality control of the Coastal Adriatic Sea (Pag-Konavle Project) Financed by: Department for Water Protection, Croatian Waters Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić The program “Quality Control of the Coastal Sea (Pag-Konavle Project)” is carried out for the “Water Protection Department of Croatian Waters” to gain insight into the quality of the Adriatic coastal sea from the Island Pag to Cavtat. The purpose of the investigation is to identify possible changes caused by natural processes or anthropogenic activities through systematic monitoring of sea water quality. Analyses include investigation of the most important indicators of sea water quality: physical, chemical and biological properties of sea water, characteristic contaminants and climate characteristics of the area as well as water mass dynamics. Special attention is given to potential changes in the composition of plankton communities caused by anthropogenic factors in waters near urbanized areas along the coastline. The Laboratory is involved in investigation of spatial and temporal distribution of trophic state chemical indicators (oxygen concentration, inorganic and organic forms of nutrients, pH values) in coastal waters. Moreover, the Laboratory is also engaged in investigation of sediment and shellfish to determine the levels of contamination by hazardous compounds (heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons) in the coastal area from Pag to Konavle. 66 Classification of the Area and Making a Program Proposal and Implementation of Monitoring of Transitional and Coastal Waters of the Adriatic Sea, according to the Requirements of the Water Framework Directive of EU (2000/60/EC) Financed by: Croatian Waters Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić The aim of the project is to design a proposal of a monitoring plan and program for transitional and coastal waters according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The acceptance of the program proposal is followed by the implementation of monitoring of transitional and coastal waters and by the establishment of the national classification system for “ecological status” assessment. The project is divided into two phases: (Phase I): Analysis of the impacts and influences on the status of transitional and coastal waters, assessment of the risk of failing to achieve a good status, and development of the monitoring plan and program proposal adapted to the requirements of WFD are planned based on the existing and available data and expert evaluation of the status of transitional and coastal waters. (Phase II) includes monitoring of chemical and ecological status of transitional and coastal waters, formation of a proposal for national “ecological status” classification system, and development of the initial assessment of ecological and chemical status of transitional and coastal waters. Trophic index TRIX at studied stations during 2011. Systematic Investigation of Transitional and Coastal Waters Quality during the period 2012.-2013. Financed by: Department for Water Protection, Croatian Waters Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić The program “Systematic Investigation of Transitional and Coastal Waters Quality in 2012. and 2013.” is conducted for the “Water Protection Department of Croatian Waters”, to determine the ecological quality status of water bodies in the area of transitional and coastal waters of the Adriatic basin. Through the surveillance monitoring ecological and biological quality elements are investigated: - Phytoplankton (including the related physico-chemical indicators), - Macroalgae, - Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica in coastal waters and Cymodocea nodosa in transitional waters), - Benthic invertebrates, - Fish (only in transitional waters), and the assessment of the ecological status of water bodies is developed. In water bodies of transitional and coastal waters, where an unsatisfactory ecological status had been previously determined, by means of this program the level of monitoring has been elevated from basic (surveillance) to higher level (operational) which includes a higher monitoring frequency and a higher number of additional indicators. Beside the implementation of the surveillance and operational monitoring, this program serves as a foundation for determination of ecological potential in waters proposed as candidates for heavily modified water bodies. Monitoring stations for biological quality of phytoplankton (including the related physical-chemical parameters) in the project “Systematic review of the quality of transitional and coastal water in 2012 and 2013”. Field research for the assessment of ecological status of transitional waters using CYMOX. Field research for the assessment of ecological status of transitional waters using POMI. 67 MEDIAS: Acoustic survey (echo-monitoring) for the assessment of spatial distribution and abundance of small pelagic fish populations in the Adriatic Sea. Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina Assess of ecological status of water bodies of transitional and coastal waters in 2011. Project MEDIAS is a scientific research at sea performed with research vessel „BIOS DVA“ within national framework of fisheries data collection (OPP), made in accordance with EU Data Collection Framework (DCF). The aim of the Project is direct assessment of abundance of commercially important pelagic fish in the Adriatic Sea, i.e. anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus), independently from the data from commercial fisheries, by means of acoustic survey. Acoustic sampling covers entire continental shelf within territorial waters and Protected Ecological-Fishery Zone (ZERP) of Republic of Croatia, that in the open sea is carried out along 30 parallel transects perpendicular to the coast line, in direction of 43°-223°, from the coast up to mid-line of the Adriatic Sea and randomly positioned transects in the inner sea (Figure 3.). Acoustic data are collected by calibrated scientific echo-sounder SIMRAD EK-60 (38 kHz) as echograms (Figure 4). EDSU (Elementary Distance Sampling Unit) for analysing echo integrals value, so called NASC (Nautical Acoustic Scattering Coefficient) in m2/Nm2, is one nautical mile. Additional sampling with aim to enable identification of echo traces and collect fish samples for further biological analyses is made with mid-water trawl. OPP DemMon – Data collection framework for demersal fisheries Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč Sampling in the benthos for the purpose of Biological Baseline Survey project in Ploče harbour. Biological Baseline Survey Financed by: Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Project leader: Živana Ninčević Gladan In the frame of this project, composition of biological communities of plankton, nekton and benthic organisms have been determined according to CRIMP protocol. Besides biotical, abiotical parameters and sediment composition have been determined in Harbor Bakar, Harbor Omišalj, Harbor Raša, Harbor Rijeka, Harbor Split and Harbor Ploče. The main objective of the project is to develop a baseline list of species in an area and to provide the basis for possible early detection of invasive species in the Adriatic ports. 68 This project started in year 2012 as a continuation of DemMon project. Samples are taken on board from commercial catches as well as on landing sites. Targeted species include hake, red mullet, Norwegian lobster, musky and horned octopus. Sampling methodology is completely in accordance with EC-DCF. Collected data serve as scientific base for assessment of state of demersal resources in Adriatic and preparation of measures for regulation of fisheries and protection of renewable demersal resources in the fishing sea of the Republic of Croatia. Monitoring of pelagic commercial fishery (PERIMON) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vanja Čikeš Keč The fact that Croatian fishing fleet mainly consist of purse seiners, which are generally used for exploitation of small pelagic fish species, and that its catches comprised an average of 85.4 % (2009) of total Croatian catches, indicates that sardine and anchovy are the most important commercially exploited fish species in Croatian part of Adriatic Sea. Therefore necessity for qualitative and quantitative monitoring of sardine and anchovy catches obtained with purse seiners occurred. In 2011 monitoring of purse seiners commercial catches started. Main goals of this monitoring were: (i) describe qualitative and quantitative catch composition obtained by purse seines; (ii) describe length and age structure of two commercially most important pelagic fish, precisely sardine and anchovy, and provide information concerning their lengthweight relationship ; (iii) describe the purse seine selectivity; (iv) describe qualitative and quantitative bycatch composition obtained by purse seines; (v) to critically review existing legal regulation measures in relation to the state of the pelagic resource; (vi) describe sardine and anchovy biomass trends and indexes; (vii) according to all collected and analysed data provide some recommendation that should provide more responsible and sustainable exploitation as well as better protection of these renewable resources. OPP PERIMON – Data Collection framework for purse seiners Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vanja Čikeš Keč Area of echo monitoring with the position of transects along which were performed hydroacoustic samplings. Echogram of small pelagic fish school. From 2012 Croatia started a program DCF (Data Collection Framework) by which Croatia tend to collect biological data from purse seine fishery in accordance with EU regulations (EC 199/2008, EC 665/2008 i EC 949/2008). Furthermore, in accordance with EU regulations as well as the guidelines set out by an international expert team committed to help Croatia to develop a National Plan for data collection in fisheries the scheme was set up by the dynamics and sampling methodology in order to monitor purse seine fishery that should be as far as possible in accordance with the regulations of DCF. Target species for which biological samples will be collected were determined according to their amount in the total Croatian fishery catches (annual catch of over 200 tons), as well as responsibility for the collection of data for individual stock due to DCF (group G1 according to EC 949/2008). During 2012 throughout this monitoring scheme samples of two pelagic fish species determined as target ones - sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) were collected. 69 Sardine and anchovy samples were collected from commercial purse seiners on board or at the landing sight. All collected samples are analysed in the Laboratory. Total length (TL) (±0.1 mm) and total body weight (W) (±0.01 g) of each specimen were measured. The length-weight relationship for both species was calculated and allometric growth parameters were determined. Sex was macroscopically determined. Age was determined by reading the otoliths. Throughout this monitoring collected data are: (i) metier-related variables, (ii) stock-related variables, (iii) transversal variables. TUNE-CPUE: Analyses of purse seiners fishing activities and their effectiveness in bluefin tuna fishery in the Adriatic Sea (CPUE) Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Vjekoslav Tičina The aim of this Project is to analyze the quantities of fish captured by individual fishing vessels (CPU) in bluefin tuna purse seine fishing in the eastern part of Adriatic Sea, taking into account the fishing effort applied in this fishery (CPUE). Detection of main spawning grounds of sardine and anchovy in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Barbara Zorica Despite long-term investigations of the Adriatic Sea in general and research done on sardine and anchovy as ecologically and economically important fish species, knowledge concerning their spawning ecology is still incomplete. This specially referees to their spawning grounds. Therefore necessity for intense investigations of this issue occurred in order to upgrade existing protection measures that should enable sustainable development as one of the main Croatian strategically goals. The purpose of this research project is to determine the spawning grounds of the most commercially important small pelagic fish species (sardine and anchovy) in Adriatic Sea, so that fragmented knowledge of their spawning ecology could be completed. Determination of species reproduction cycle, size at maturity and sex ratio with its area of spawning should insure better purse seine fishery regulation concerning the time and the area of fishing. 70 DemMon – Assessment of distribution and abundance of demersal fish species and other marine organisms in the Adriatic Sea Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Fisheries Project leader: Nedo Vrgoč Staring from year 2002, members of this Laboratory set up a permanent monitoring of demersal fisheries with the objective of describing recent state of this type of fishery and creating recommendations for establishing a long term sustainable management. Demersal monitoring includes collection of fisheries, biological and socioeconomic data on demersal fishery in the Republic of Croatia. Sampling is conducted on commercial fishing vessels in the entire fishing sea of the Republic of Croatia, as well as on main landing sites. Collected data are used as scientific background for creation of regulation measures for fisheries and protection of this potentially renewable marine resource. This projected was conducted through year 2011. Monitoring of tuna fishing and farming Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Leon Grubišić Project Monitoring of tuna farming, which in recent years has been transformed into a project named Monitoring of tuna fishing and farming is conducted continuously since 2005. During the last period, the staff of Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split collected data of tuna fishing and farming which were guided by the requests and recommendations of the International Organization for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the applicable regulations of the Croatian government. Therefore, in accordance with the recommendations of ICCAT (Rec 06-07 and 10-04) and EU regulations (EC Council Regulation (EC) No. 1559/2007 of 17 December 2007 establishing a multi-annual recovery plan for bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and amending Regulation (EC) No. 520/2007), and based on the Regulations of the catch, farming and trade of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and Mediterranean spearfish (Tetrapturus belone) (NN 26/11 and 29/11) it is necessary to proceed further scientifically accurate monitoring of farming and fishing tuna. The data obtained from monitoring are systematized and recorded for each farm. Collected, analyzed and updated information of tuna farming are verified by Fisheries Management before the ICCAT. In this way, the data provide insight into the mariculture production and statistically salves tuna fishing quotas approved by ICCAT, imports of live tuna and tuna quantities harvested after the farming. MikroTuna – new diagnostic tool for monitoring of diseases on tuna farms. Financed by: Croatian Business and Innovation Center BICRO Project Leader: Ivona Mladineo Interaction of wild tuna with purse seine catch Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Ivan Katavić The task of the project is to monitor tuna behavior and predation interactions with purse seine catch i.e. small pelagic fish and to estimate direct and indirect damages of fishing gears and distracted fishing operations. In period when tuna fishing is not allowed, using direct method of echo-detection, data about tuna presence and aggregations during fishing operations are systematically collected in different areas of the eastern Adriatic. The information are also collected by conducting questionnaires among purse seine fishermen investigating unwanted tuna catches, sizes and direct and indirect damages preformed during fishing operations on small pelagic fish. Using a stereoscopic camera in assessing farmed tuna Financed by: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Fisheries Directorate Project Leader: Leon Grubišić The aim of the project is to optimize the method of stereoscopic cameras with accompanying analytical software package for assessing the number and individual weight of tuna caught by purse seine and intended for further farming. For the project purposes, which aims to estimate the size of live tuna using noninvasive method, stereoscopic cameras AQ1 SYSTEMS manufacturers will be used. Stereoscopic camera AQ100 that measures and counts fish allows innovative approach to noninvasive, and however, rapid sampling size of the fish and other marine organisms. 71 Losses that emerge in aquaculture caused by diseases and environmental stress are estimated to reach half a million of US$ per year, whilst therapy is usually based only on zootechnical principles. Therapy is rarely efficient when the disease already manifests itself clinically, which greatly affects economic moment of the farm production. Since export of the cage-reared bluefin tuna attributes to 50% of total fish export in Croatia (~60.000.000 USD), it is necessary to ensure optimal factors for tuna undisturbed cage rearing, which in intensive farming conditions can be afflicted by sudden and economically devastating diseases. The aim of MikroTuna is development of a sensitive and novel diagnostic tool, capable of early signalization of fish response to preclinical pathogen proliferation that would enable prompt farmer’s action in order to attenuate or completely eradicate the disease source before fish mortality occurs. Institute Studies Report on the Hydrographic and Chemical Characteristics of the Marine Environment along the Wider Area of Dugovača Bay (Locality Drage, Municipality Pakoštane) Financed by: Municipality Pakoštane Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić For the purpose of constructing a public port and a special purpose port in Locality Drage, Municipality Pakoštane, an investigation of the state of hydrographic and chemical characteristics of the marine environment was carried out. Basic hydrographic properties of sea water (transparency and termohaline characteristics) as well as chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen and nutrients) were investigated during two sampling trips in the summer and winter season. Beside the investigation of the water column state, analyses of heavy metal content in surficial sediment layer were carried out. 72 Monitoring of the Marine Environment in the Tuna Farm Area in Grška Bay, Island Brač, during the period 2011.-2012. Financed by: Sardina d.o.o. Project leader: Grozdan Kušpilić Monitoring program to assess the impact of the tuna farm on the marine environment in the area of Grška bay on the island Brač, started in 2003. During the period from 2011. to 2012. sediment and sea water samples were taken at two sampling sites in the area of the tuna farm in the Grška bay and at the referent site in the Kruščica bay. Monitoring included investigation of the state of physico-chemical parameters in water column (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrients) and sediment (redox-potential, mass fraction of organic carbon, total nitrogen and phosphorus). Biological properties of the area were monitored by investigation of the composition and biomass of phytoplankton community as well as by investigation of the state of benthic communities. Population-genetic assessment of fish species interested to sport - recreational fishing and aquaculture long the eastern Adriatic (greater amberjack, common dentex, sea bass and sea bream) Financed by: Croatian association for angling at sea Project Leader: Ivan Katavić Over the last decade, catch of economically important fish species is in significant decline. Amberjack, common dentex, sea bass and sea bream, recognized as excellent candidates in mariculture, are important catch for both commercial and recreational fishing. However, intensive fishing is causing the decline of natural populations in the environment which directly affects the genetic diversity of species. Possible outcomes of the new situation are related to the reduction of inter-population and intra-population polymorphisms, mutation, hybridization and increased expression of recessive alleles, which ultimately affects the reduced ability for species survival. Therefore, it is necessary to know the genetic structure of commercially important species in order to preserve local biodiversity and to provide the basis for monitoring of potential genetic erosion that can become outcome of intensive exploitation. 73 Sampling of benthic organisms for the purposes of tuna farms monitoring. Measuring of currents in the Dugovača Bay (Draga, Municipality of Pakoštane) (2011) Financed by: Municipality of Pakoštane Project Leader: Vlado Dadić Summary: According to the plan of Pakoštane Municipality, in the Dugovača Bay, a village Drage intends to build more infrastructure facilities including landing ports, moorings for local residents and rental and regulate beaches in its eastern part. Therefore it was necessary to investigate dynamic properties in the wider area of the bay (currents and sea level), which would serve as a basis for assessing the potential negative impact of the planned facilities on the marine environment. Currents were measured during the summer which is from an ecological point of view the most unfavorable period, and during the winter time when occurs the strongest influence of dynamic phenomena on infrastructure facilities in the sea. Monitoring of the environmental impact of the submarine outfall Stobreč Financed by: Water and Sewage Company of Split Project Leader: Nada Krstulović The purpose of this research is to gain insight into the state of sea water quality in the area of the Brač Channel near the submarine outfall, in order to monitor and assess the possible influence of the submarine outfall sewage system Stobreč on the environment. Investigations include the most important indicators of the water quality: physical properties of the atmosphere and sea, chemical properties and biological characteristics of the investigated area, marine sediment and characteristic pollutants. Environmental Impact Assessment “Hotel and apartment complex with mooring Vela Borovica, community Marina” Financed by: Vela Borovica koncern d.o.o. Project Leader (Part: Marine Environment): Mladen Šolić In this EIA Study the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the studied area, the review of the potential impacts on marine environment, and the measures to mitigation influences were analyzed. Report on indicators of the marine environment, fisheries and aquaculture sector in 2010 and 2011 Financed by: Environmental Protection Agency Project Leader: Vlado Dadić Summary: During the nine-year collaboration with the Agency for Environmental Protection our Institute has regularly drafted annual reports on indicators of the marine environment, fisheries and aquaculture in the Croatian part of the Adriatic, and has also provided data on the indicators (EIONET table) to the European Environment Agency. So in the last two years the IOF has consecutively developed and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency report for the year 2010 and 2011. Final annual report is automatically created from the input data and the text of the annual report on the state of each active indicator for the current year. A data warehouse is constructed in a network environment to facilitate data entry and preparation of reports from any computer connected to the Internet, which is very important because in the preparation of annual reports were involved collaborators from Split, Zagreb, Rijeka and Rovinj. Synthesis Report for 2010 has been prepared on the basis of individual reports on the status of 31 indicators, while the report for the year 2011 was made on the basis of 35 state indicators. In preparing the annual report took part 19 experts from the Institute and 9 colleagues from other Croatian institutions. 74 Field research in the area of the Smrka Bay. Exploring the physical, chemical and biological properties of the sea near the Smrka Bay (Brač Island) (2012) Financed by: Municipality of Nerežišće Project Leader: Vlado Dadić Summary: For the Municipality of Nerežišće were examined physical, chemical and biological properties of the sea near the Smrka Bay area within the preparation of the Environmental Impact Study of nautical tourism on the port, which is planned for construction in this bay. In order to give a response to the potential impact of the planned facilities on the marine environment, among other things, it is necessary to know both the dynamical, chemical and biological characteristics of the waters of Smrka Bay wider area including the channel waters between the islands of Hvar and Brač. Given that previous research in the broad area of Smrka Bay showed that environmental conditions during the winter season are favorable for preparation of the EIS substrates, there were examined physical, chemical and biological properties of the wider area of Smrka Bay during the summer period that is environmentally the most unfavorable. Studies have shown that the current ecological condition of Smrka Bay is good. Analysis of the impact of petroleum product storage and ballast waters to the marine environment and the living resources of the Kaštela Bay Financed by: HANDA Project leader: Ivona Marasović In the framework of this study was carried out an assessment of potential impact of ballast waters and petroleum products to the area Vranjic (immediate area coverage) and the area of the Kaštela Bay (wider area coverage). The assessment was conducted based on an analysis of long-term series of physical, chemical and biological data, using hydrodynamic flow models within covered area. Educational Activities of the Institute Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries is actively involved in organizing and/or performance of university academic programs at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels: DESCRIPTION OF UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC PROGRAMS: 1. Undergraduate university programs: The program of Marine biology and ecology educates the professionals for working in the field of biological oceanography, which includes a wide range of biological researches from diversity of marine organisms to their distribution, characteristics, mutual relations and interactions with the marine environment. Due to the increasing problem of disposal of a large number of harmful and hazardous substances into the sea, and the irrational use of marine resources, special attention is given to protection of endangered species and ecologically vulnerable areas. For better understanding of biological processes in the sea, it is necessary to become familiar with the functioning of the entire marine ecosystem. That requires an extremely high degree of multidisciplinarity, which is achieved through the program of this study. Marine biology and ecology program, organised by Department of Marine Studies of the University of Split is performed as an undergraduate and graduate study. Duration of undergraduate study of Marine Biology and Ecology is three years or 6 semesters, and by it at least 180 ECTS points are acquired. Upon completion of undergraduate study a title of a Bachelor/Bachelorette (baccalaureus / baccalaurea) of Marine Biology and Ecology is acquired. 1.1. 1.2. MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY MARINE FISHERIES Organizer of academic programs: Department of Marine Studies of the University of Split Performer of academic programs: University of Split, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries 2. Graduate university programs: 2.1. 2.2. MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY MARINE FISHERIES Organizer of academic programs: Department of Marine Studies of the University of Split Performer of academic programs: University of Split, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries 3. Postgraduate university programs: 3.1.INTER-UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN APPLIED MARINE SCIENCES Organizers and performers of academic programs: University of Split, University of Dubrovnik, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries 3.2.INTERDISCIPLINARY POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN OCEANOLOGY Joint performers of academic programs: Faculty of Natural Science of the University of Zagreb, Institute Ruđer Bošković - Rovinj/Zagreb, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries - Split, Institute for Marine and Coastal Research of the University of Dubrovnik Undergraduate university program: MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY Head of Study: Prof. Sanja Matić Skoko, PhD, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 385 21 408 030 Fax: 385 21 358 650 More information on the studies in Oceanology on: http://geol.gfz.hr/poslijediplomski/doktorski_studij.htm 75 Graduate university program: MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY Graduate program of Marine Biology and Ecology is multidisciplinary in its content. During this study, the basic knowledge of the natural sciences is widened into more specific knowledge related to issues in biology, ecology and protection of the sea. Interaction of course contents with modern scientific knowledge, already established at the undergraduate level, becomes more pronounced during graduate study and thus represents the logical continuation on a higher level of education. Upon completion of graduate study a title of Master (Magister) of Marine Biology and Ecology is acquired. Head of Study: Prof. Mladen Šolić, PhD, Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 385 21 408 006 Fax: 385 21 358 650 Undergraduate university program: MARINE FISHERIES For the proper and responsible management and protection of renewable marine resources and development and progress of fisheries activities, farming, conservation, processing and marketing of fish and other marine organisms, it is important to educate professionals necessary for successful operation of marine fisheries. These professionals are educated at the undergraduate Marine fisheries program, which is the only study in our country educating highly qualified personnel for working in the field of marine fisheries. Marine fisheries, as a theoretical and applied scientific discipline, includes methods and activities of fishing, farming, processing and marketing of fish and other marine organisms, as well as methods, management, protection and exploitation of living marine resources. Consequently, the undergraduate Marine fisheries program, which educates highly qualified professionals to work in this area, covers issues in marine biology and fisheries biology, exploitation, management and conservation of renewable marine resources, use of fishing gears, fishing vessels and fishing ports, fish farming and farming of other marine organisms, processing technology and the prevention of sea products decay, marketing of fish and other marine organisms and economics and organization of marine fisheries. Considering that the professionals who are studying at this university study are rare not only in Croatia, but in Europe as well, they will certainly have a prominent role in all administrative bodies dealing with issues of marine fisheries, in economic and commercial chambers, in the inspection services of the fishing activities and in companies involved in fishery, farming, processing and marketing of fish and other marine organisms, decay prevention, management and protection of living marine resources. The need for such professional staff will be even more pronounced after organizing the Coast Guard, but also after our country joins the European Union. Study of Marine fisheries, organized by the Department of Marine Studies of the University of Split is performed as undergraduate and graduate study. Undergraduate study of Marine Fisheries lasts three years or 6 semesters, and by it at least 180 ECTS points are acquired. Upon completion of undergraduate study a title of a Bachelor/Bachelorette (baccalaureus/baccalaurea) of Marine Fisheries is acquired. Head of Study: Prof. Ivona Mladineo, PhD., Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 385 21 408 047 Fax: 385 21 358 650 Information for future students (enrollment criteria and procedures, etc.) Graduate university program: MARINE FISHERIES Graduate Study of Marine Fisheries provides expert and scientific widening of knowledge acquired through undergraduate studies and thus represents the logical continuation of education on higher level. The program is multidisciplinary, in which on the basis of knowledge of natural and biotechnical sciences, knowledge of specific areas related to the issues of fisheries, aquaculture, and management of living marine resources as well as on the use of fisheries products is acquired. Upon completion of graduate study a title of a Master (Magister) of Marine Fisheries is acquired. Head of Study: Prof. Ivan Jardas, PhD. University of Split, Center of Marine Studies, Split, Livanjska 5/III. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 385 21 558 253 Fax: 385 21 558 257 76 Inter-University Postgraduate Studies in Applied Marine Sciences The Adriatic Sea is of the utmost economic importance for Croatia, but it is also important for its historical, social and cultural heritage. Connection with the sea continuously improves the quality of our lives and our identity. Sea area over which the Republic of Croatia achieved full sovereignty (territorial sea) and sovereign rights (exclusive economic zone) is approximately equal to its land area. A substantial share of material goods comes from maritime activities and services related to the sea, however, resources are much larger than the present use. There are many priorities and possibilities of using the marine environment, its living and non-living resources, and especially its unexplored and unused resources, both renewable and non-renewable. In order to use the undeniable potential of resources of the sea and seabed and its living wealth in a reasonable and long-term sustainable way, it is necessary to become familiar with the environment, particularly with the functioning of marine ecosystems. Only science can initiate the development and provide practical application of that knowledge in both social sciences and in the natural and biotechnical marine sciences, in order to use new and better solutions for economic purposes. For this purpose, highly educated professionals are needed, who, in close contact with European and world science, shall seek the best solutions for research and rational use of marine resources, providing a reasonable management of marine resources, directing regional development through comprehensive planning and coordination of interests and needs of different users in the area (tourism, transport, aquaculture, fishing, etc.). Some of these activities are not in harmony with one another and can be harmful to one another. Therefore, the development of a country needs experts who will exploit the sea in a sustainable manner for the benefit of its population and marine ecosystems. This task can be achieved through systematic education with the following basic objectives: (1) acquiring basic knowledge of social sciences of the sea so the legislation could be properly created and applied, (2) becoming able to predict changes in marine ecosystems in response to various influences, (3) exploiting marine resources in controlled and sustainable manner, and (4) developing biotechnological processes for exploiting the potential of renewable marine resources. Postgraduate university studies in Applied Marine Sciences is markedly multidisciplinary in its content, because the basic knowledge of the natural sciences, especially biological, chemical and physical oceanography, is widened by the specific knowledge necessary for the design of proper (or sustainable) management and protection of the Adriatic Sea. The Study is organized on the basis of the latest scientific knowledge and skills based on it, in cooperation with scientific institutions involved in marine research, such as the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split and the Institute for Marine and Coastal Research of the University of Dubrovnik, which provides great opportunities of practical training for students. Research programs of the above mentioned institutions enable student involvement in the areas of scientific work that is precisely the basis for the applied marine sciences. Duration of study: Postgraduate study in Applied Marine Sciences lasts three years or 6 semesters, and by it at least 180 ECTS points are acquired. Academic title: Upon completion of postgraduate study a title of Doctor of Science (Dr. sc.) in the field of Biology is acquired. Competencies acquired upon completion of the study: • Experience gained through participation in research projects in scientific institutions and university departments, • Knowledge gained from a particular branch of marine science, depending on student’s interests, • Interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that allow critical analysis and creative solutions for the integral management of the sea and the coastline, • Development of biotechnological processes of exploiting potentially renewable marine resources, • Ability to apply specific knowledge in practice, • Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams for solving the specific problems within protection and management of the sea and the coastline. Head of Study: Prof. Nada Krstulović, PhD., Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split, Šetalište I. Meštrovića 63. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 385 21 408 006 Fax: 385 21 358 650 77