Marine litter accumulates on sandy beaches and is an important environmental problem, as well as a threat to habitat types that are among the most endangered according to EU legislation. We sampled ...120 random plots (2 × 2 m) in spring 2017 to determine the distribution pattern of beach litter along the zonation of habitat types from sea to the inland.
The most frequent litter items were plastic, polystyrene and glass. A clear increase of litter cover along the sea-inland gradient is evident, and foredunes and pine forests have the highest cover of litter. Almost no litter was present in humid dune slacks. Shoreline and recreational activities are the major source of beach litter, while ocean/waterway activities are more important in the aphytic zone and strandline.
•The amount of litter significantly changes across different sandy beach habitat types.•The cover of litter is highest in foredunes and almost zero in humid dune slacks.•Plastic fragments, drink/food packaging and cigarette butts are the commonest litter items.•Artificial polymer items are by far the most common litter material found on the beach.
Although very rare, the existing research on the biological education of blind people indicates that teaching content is not fully in line with the sensory perception of that content by the blind. ...The aim of this study is to analyse the morphological details which the blind can register in multisensory plant research and to harmonise the sequencing of these descriptions by the blind with the sequencing of the morphological descriptions used in the botanical education of partially sighted people in Montenegro and Austria. The research uses a descriptive-analytical and comparative method. The research technique is observation. The study included 100 blind people from Montenegro and Austria, with an average age of 25. It is necessary to harmonise the sequence of general description and the description of each vegetative plant organ in the previous botanical education of the blind, as well as to implement new descriptions of those morphological characteristic that are perceived by the blind, which are absent in the current botanical education of the blind. The proposed changes would contribute to the improvement of the botanical education of the blind.
Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is a well-known aromatic and medicinal Mediterranean plant that is native in coastal regions of the western Balkan and southern Apennine Peninsulas ...and is commonly cultivated worldwide. It is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Knowledge of its genetic diversity and spatiotemporal patterns is important for plant breeding programmes and conservation. We used eight microsatellite markers to investigate evolutionary history of indigenous populations as well as genetic diversity and structure within and among indigenous and cultivated/naturalised populations distributed across the Balkan Peninsula. The results showed a clear separation between the indigenous and cultivated/naturalised groups, with the cultivated material originating from one restricted geographical area. Most of the genetic diversity in both groups was attributable to differences among individuals within populations, although spatial genetic analysis of indigenous populations indicated the existence of isolation by distance. Geographical structuring of indigenous populations was found using clustering analysis, with three sub-clusters of indigenous populations. The highest level of gene diversity and the greatest number of private alleles were found in the central part of the eastern Adriatic coast, while decreases in gene diversity and number of private alleles were evident towards the northwestern Adriatic coast and southern and eastern regions of the Balkan Peninsula. The results of Ecological Niche Modelling during Last Glacial Maximum and Approximate Bayesian Computation suggested two plausible evolutionary trajectories: 1) the species survived in the glacial refugium in southern Adriatic coastal region with subsequent colonization events towards northern, eastern and southern Balkan Peninsula; 2) species survived in several refugia exhibiting concurrent divergence into three genetic groups. The insight into genetic diversity and structure also provide the baseline data for conservation of S. officinalis genetic resources valuable for future breeding programmes.
We explored the diversification of the southern European Euphorbia verrucosa alliance applying molecular (amplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting AFLP, sequencing of the nuclear ...ribosomal internal transcribed spacer), karyological (relative genome size estimations, chromosome counts) and morphometric methods. The AFLP data inferred four main phylogenetic lineages corresponding to western‐southern Balkan E. montenegrina, central Balkan E. serpentini, northern Balkan‐central European‐north Italian E. verrucosa and Iberian‐southern French E. flavicoma. Genetic diversification is strongest within the Iberian and the Balkan peninsulas, suggesting Pleistocene persistence of the species in different micro‐refugia. In contrast, weak genetic structure in E. verrucosa suggests Holocene (after last glacial maximum) expansion to central and western Europe, likely from a northern Balkan refugium. Karyological data provide evidence for tetraploidisation events in E. flavicoma and E. montenegrina, but not in E. verrucosa and E. serpentini. By integrating phylogenetic data with multivariate morphometric analyses, we propose a new taxonomic treatment for this group, mainly by recognising the Balkan endemics E. montenegrina and E. serpentini as independent species and by redefining the distributions of E. flavicoma and E. verrucosa. Our study underlines the importance of the Balkan and Iberian peninsulas as major Pleistocene refugia.
General education of visually impaired individuals is a significant challenge for educators, policymakers, and researchers. This study investigates the specificity with which people with blindness or ...ultra-low vision (acronym PU is used for the purpose of this paper) perceive the characteristics of reproductive plant parts (spore-bearing parts of mosses and ferns and seed-bearing parts of conifers and flowering plants) during their multisensory exploration. One hundred participants with visual acuity worse than 3/60 from Austria and Montenegro participated in the research. This research uses descriptive and mixed methods of content analysis. The results of this study have shown that PU can perceive the characteristics of reproductive plant parts, which is necessary for both their primary and secondary biological education. There is a discrepancy in the sequencing of the learning content in the biological textbooks from which PU are taught about plants and the sequencing of the descriptions based on the multisensory exploration of the participants. The descriptions of reproductive plant parts in learning material for students with visual impairment should be aligned to their multisensory perceptions through both macro and micro adaptation.
Due to its nutritive and medicinal properties, berries of some Sorbus species are used for the preparation of jams and jelly as well as in traditional medicine. On the other hand, their chemical ...composition is not much studied especially of those grown in Balkan Peninsula. We have analyzed individual phenolics, tocopherols, carotenoids and chlorophylls using HPLC in berries from Sorbus aucuparia and Sorbus aria collected in different localities in Serbia and Montenegro together with the amounts of total phenolics and proanthocyanidins as well as their radical scavenging activity against DPPH radical. Berries of S. aucuparia were richer source of polyphenolics in comparision with S. aria and, regardless the species and locality, caffeoylquinic acids such as neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid were the most abundant compounds. Among analyzed tocopherols the most abundant in all samples was α‐tocopherol (0.48 – 19.85 μg/g dw) as it was β‐carotene among carotenoids (mean concentration of 0.98 μg/g dw in S. aucuparia and 0.40 μg/g dw in S. aria, respectively). Correlation between total phenolics and DPPH radical scavenging activity was noticed. Our study represents comprehensive report on chemical composition of S. aucuparia and S. aria which could contribute to a better understanding of their quality.
Amphoricarpos Vis. is an early diverging genus within tribe Cardueae (Carduoideae, Asteraceae), which is disjunctly distributed in the Balkan Peninsula, Anatolia and the Caucasus; the Anatolian and ...Caucasian taxa are sometimes treated as separate genus Alboviodoxa. We focus on the monophyletic Balkan populations, which have been treated very inconsistently in previous taxonomic accounts (one polymorphic species with or without varying sets of intraspecific taxa vs. two species, one of them with two subspecies). In order to disentangle relationships among populations across the entire distribution area of Amphoricarpos on the Balkan Peninsula, we employed amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) as well as nuclear and plastid DNA sequences (ITS and rps16–trnK) to a dense sampling of populations. ITS was also used to reconstruct the genus’ spatiotemporal evolution. In addition, we contrasted the genetic results with morphological data to provide a sound taxonomic revision of Amphoricarpos on the Balkan Peninsula. The split between the Balkan populations and the Anatolian A. exsul took place in the late Miocene or early Pliocene, whereas diversification within the Balkan lineage is much younger and likely started in the Pleistocene. The deepest splits seen in AFLPs and/or ITS separate the geographically disjunct northern- and southern-most populations. Divergence within the continuous distribution area in the centre is shallower, but allowed recognition of three largely allopatric clusters. Morphometric data, however, were neither in line with previous multi-taxon treatments nor with patterns of genetic divergence. We therefore refrain from recognising any of the genetic groups as a distinct taxonomic entity and rather suggest treating all Balkan populations as a single, genetically, morphologically and ecologically variable species, Amphoricarpos neumayerianus (Vis.) Greuter, without intraspecific taxa.
The aim of the research is to examine the contribution of applying author-generated dichotomous keys (digital key - DDK and print key - DPK) to the quality and durability of the knowledge of eighth ...grade students about the Systematic and classifications of plants (Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms), as compared to traditional teaching. The study included 180 eighth grade students from Montenegro (12-13 years old) divided into three groups: E
1
(where content was learned through DPK), E
2
(where content was learned through DDK) and K (where content was learned through the verbal-textual method). Dichotomous keys contributed to increasing the quality and durability of the knowledge acquired in comparison to traditional teaching at the cognitive levels of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. DDK contributed to the higher quality and durability of student knowledge in comparison to DPK at the cognitive levels of evaluation and synthesis.
The Balkan Peninsula is a hotspot of European biotic diversity. One of its biogeographically most peculiar but poorly explored regions are the Albanian Alps (Alpet Shqiptare/Prokletije/Accursed ...Mountains) on the border between Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, characterised by a high number of endemic species. A poorly known taxon from the Albanian Alps is Cerastium hekuravense, which was described from Mt. Maja Hekurave (Albania) in 1921, but later usually merged with C. dinaricum, a widespread endemic of the Dinaric Mountains, or connected with the arctic-alpine C. alpinum. Here, we used amplified fragment length polymorphisms to explore the phylogenetic position of C. hekuravense and particularly its relationship to C. dinaricum. Our data show that both species are genetically well differentiated, but their relation to other taxa remains unclear—they are either closely related to Alpine species of C. ser. Latifolia or to species co-occurring on the Balkan Peninsula, such as C. banaticum and C. decalvans. In addition, multivariate morphometric analyses show that C. dinaricum and C. hekuravense are morphologically well differentiated. Also their relative genome sizes, estimated using flow cytometry, differ. We propose a taxonomic treatment with lectotype designation for both taxa and provide descriptions and an identification key. Last but not least, these cold-adapted species mostly growing on northerly exposed humid screes are highly threatened due to the global warming and should be ranked endangered according to IUCN criteria. Cerastium hekuravense known only from three localities is likely one of the most endangered mountain plant species of the Balkan Peninsula.
In this work we analysed the essential oils (EO) obtained by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of five Artemisia species (A. arborescens L., A. campestris L., A. lobelii All., A. annua L. and ...A. absinthium L.) originated from Serbia, Montenegro, and Libya, by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. In total, 126 compounds were detected, and 120 were identified. Even though a high number of compounds were detected, each individual sample had only 25 to 50, attesting to a great diversity of compounds between taxa. Depending on the species and the locality (geographical origin), EO was dominated by either monoterpenes or sesquiterpenes, with β-pinene, chamazulene, germacrene D, camphor, pinocarvone and thuja-2,4(10)-diene being the dominant compounds. The chemophenetic value of the EO compositions was discussed in relation to the results of the multivariate statistical test, including the detailed survey of the available literature data.
Display omitted
•Essential oil of five Artemisia species was analysed.•Essential oil composition varied greatly between the studied taxa.•Depending on the taxon and locality different groups of terpenes dominated.•Results of chemophenetic analyses are in concordance with the molecular data.
PDF
