The spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) is one of the most problematic invasive crayfish species in Europe. Here we report the first occurrence of spiny-cheek crayfish in ...Slovenia, 300 km upstream from the previously known records in the mouth of Drava River in Croatia. The species was not expected to colonize this area for at least two decades. This new isolated population will significantly alter our predictions of the ongoing colonization of the Drava River basin in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
Mountain butterfly species are often restricted in their distribution and under threat from habitat destruction and climate change. Due to the inaccessibility of their habitats the distributions of ...many such species are unknown. We have investigated whether information on the habitat requirements of the Alpine endemic species Erebia calcaria could be used for modelling its potential distribution. We surveyed part of its range using transects and recorded habitat and environmental parameters. The most important parameters determining the presence of the species were average height of the vegetation, maximum height of the vegetation, percentage area of bare ground, number of food plants and slope. Furthermore, the abundance of E. calcaria is strongly affected by site exposure and grazing intensity. Using these results we modelled the potential distribution of the species in its known historical range in Slovenia. In the region covered by the model 70% of the records of E. calcaria were within the predicted distribution. It is reasonable to propose that such a high detection rate justifies the use of distribution models for predicting a species range and providing important additional information for their conservation. In the case of E. calcaria, we have shown that endemic mountain butterflies can be strongly threatened by fragmentation of their habitat, overgrazing and succession, which could be further amplified by changes in climate. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
We present recent records of sturgeons and paddlefishes from the rivers in Danube basin in Slovenia after 2000. Strictly, only confirmed and unambiguous records (specimen, picture) were taken into ...account. The sterlet and the Siberian sturgeon have been occasionally found in rivers and Russian sturgeons in gravel pits, while sterlets, Siberian sturgeons, Russian sturgeons and the paddlefish are still farmed in some ponds. The Siberian sturgeons were released in the Mura and Sava River in 2016, but the species is as »exotic pet fish« present in more water bodies. The presence of sturgeons in gravel pits is unknown. The Siberian sturgeon can be relatively easily misidentified with the sterlet, so the catches in the Mura and Sora Rivers in 2009 were misidentified as sterlet, while the Siberian sturgeon was actually captured. The last sterlet in Slovenian rivers was captured in the Drava River in 2001, and even this individual had probably been released in Austria. The occurrence of sturgeons in Slovenian rivers in the last eighteen years does not seem to be connected with migration and revival of natural populations in the lower part of the Drava and Sava Rivers.
Isopods are a diverse peracarid crustacean group with marine, freshwater and terrestrial representatives. Isopod species lists were typically prepared according to different habitats, which was true ...also for Slovenia. Here, we prepared the first unified overview of isopod species for Slovenia, which is also the first list of marine isopods in the country. We examined scientific publications, research reports and institutional databases. A total of 126 species have been recorded in Slovenia, of which 31 are marine, 21 are found in freshwater, and 74 are terrestrial. Of these, we report on seven marine and one terrestrial species for the first time. A major part of freshwater isopod richness is linked to the subterranean environment, where most endemic species for the country can be found. Among marine species, many are parasites, with potential economic impact, and two species are considered introduced. When the new species list is considered with valid national legislation, only 41 species retained the same taxonomic status. Many synonyms and invalid taxa according to recent taxonomy point out the need for revision the national red list of Malacostraca as well as other nature protection acts.
Enakonožci so pestra skupina rakov valilničarjev z morskimi, sladkovodnimi in kopenskimi predstavniki. Seznami vrst enakonožcev so običajno predstavljajo posamezne habitate, kar drži tudi za Slovenske. V tem prispevku smo pripravili prvi skupni pregled vrst enakonožcev v Sloveniji, ki je tudi prvi pregled morskih vrst enakonožcev v državi. Nekateri, zlasti morski paraziti, imajo lahko tudi negativen ekonomski učinek. Pregledali smo predhodno zbrane podatke o pojavljanju enakonožcev na ozemlju Slovenije v znanstvenih in strokovnih prispevkih, poročilih raziskav ter podatkovnih bazah sodelujočih ustanov. Skupno je bilo v Sloveniji zaznanih 126 vrst, od tega 31 morskih, 21 sladkovodnih in 74 kopenskih. V tem prispevku prvič poročamo o pojavljanju sedmih morskih in ene kopenske vrste. Velik delež vrstnega bogastva enakonožcev je vezanega na podzemlje, kjer lahko najdemo tudi večino sladkovodnih in kopenskih slovenskih endemitov. Med morskimi vrstami je mnogo parazitov, ki imajo lahko ekonomski vpliv, ter dve tujerodni vrsti. Če prenovljeni seznam vrst primerjamo z veljavno varstveno zakonodajo, zgolj 41 vrst ohrani enake taksonomske statuse. Številni sinonimi in neveljavni taksoni glede na trenutno taksonomijo skupine kažejo na potrebo po reviziji nacionalnega rdečega seznama višjih rakov ter drugih varstvenih aktov.
First data on the host ant use of the scarce large blue Phengaris teleius in Ljubljansko barje are presented herewith. A survey was carried out in 2021 in the vicinity of the Bevke village. ...Altogether, 59 Myrmica ant nests were surveyed for the presence of scarce large blue caterpillars, 58 of M. scabrinodis and one of M. rubra. We found four caterpillars of the scarce large blue in three M. scabrinodis ant nests. Our results indicate that M. scabrinodis is probably the main host of Phengaris teleius in Ljubljansko barje, the same as in other regions of Europe.
Slovenia has one of the most extensive Natura 2000 networks in Europe with 259 SAC’s covering 31.4% of the country. To determine how well does the current network cover the areas of high butterfly ...diversity and/or aggregation of the butterfly species of conservation concern, the data from the recent survey for a distribution atlas were used. Altogether 99,423 records of 173 species collated after 1979 were used. The data distribution is slightly biased towards SAC’s, with 44.8% of localities within them, most likely due to sparsely sampled urban areas and intensive farmland areas which are found only outside SAC’s. The diversity and distribution of red listed species was evaluated at a 5 × 5 km grid square level. Additionally the importance of the size of the SAC’s was compared to their butterfly species diversity. In general the high diversity areas also hold the largest aggregation of red listed species with core areas concentrated in SW Slovenia. The SAC’s cover majority of areas with high diversity and the distribution of all but one threatened butterfly species. That species is
Colias myrmidone
, which is now considered extinct in Slovenia with no records after 1993. The most prominent areas with high conservation value in Slovenia not included in the SAC’s network are the Koroška region, Goriška Brda region, lower Sava River valley and Slovenske Gorice region. The butterfly diversity in small SAC’s is relatively high with increases in size only gradually increasing the species numbers, thus emphasizing the importance and conservation value of small SAC’s for sustaining high butterfly diversity in Slovenia.
Amphipods are among the most species-rich orders of peracarid crustaceans, inhabiting marine and fresh waters, including subterranean waters, as well as semi-terrestrial environments. Data on ...amphipods from Slovenia are scattered among published and unpublished references. We gathered all available data on amphipods in the country, using published and unpublished records from two databases, supplemented by additional published information and unpublished records from two collections of two institutions. All data were critically evaluated and species names updated to the latest taxonomically valid name. In total, we listed 198 species, belonging to 85 genera and 41 families. About two thirds of the species are marine, while the rest are semiterrestrial, brackish and freshwater species. Among the latter, subterranean species dominate. In total, 26 species endemic to Slovenia were identified, one of which lives in surface freshwater, and the rest in groundwaters. Surprisingly, no presence of invasive freshwater amphipod species has currently been confirmed. We provided critical comments on nine amphipod species that were listed erroneously for the country. Our work revealed two major knowledge gaps. Marine species records come from occasional sampling campaigns, and we suggest that this group calls for a more systematic research. More work has been done on freshwater species, which revealed many taxonomic uncertainties that cannot be resolved at present and call for additional taxonomic research.
The ecology of the eastern eggar (Eriogaster catax) in Slovenia has not been well characterized to date. Within the framework of this study, focusing on the larval habitat of the species, a total of ...489 caterpillar webs found in different areas of Slovenia were recorded and a number of important variables documented. These included the host plant species, the size of the web, the height of the web from the ground, the height of the host plant, the trunk diameter at ground level, the web aspect and the general habitat characteristics. The most important host plants turned out to be blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), with one web found on Pyrus pyraster and one on Amelanchier ovalis. The web sizes varied largely, with the median size reaching 54 cm2. The position and height of the web from the ground was correlated with the height of the plant. Most caterpillar webs (67.4%) were oriented to the south, south-west or south-east. 61.5% of caterpillar webs were recorded in temperate heath and scrubs, with the majority of them found in sub-Mediterranean blackthorn-privet scrub (25.4%), followed by Atlantic and medio-European blackthorn-privet scrub (18.0%) and shrub woodland (13.1%). The present study provides the first insight into the ecology of the eastern eggar in Slovenia, focusing on larval habitat. The characterization of the larval habitat is of particular importance for the conservation of the eastern eggar and its potential habitat in Slovenia.
The freshwater bivalve Microcondylaea bonellii is classified as Vulnerable according to the last IUCN Red List assessment and also listed in Annex V of the Habitats Directive. According to more than ...one hundred years old data, the species was present in Slovenia in a restricted section of the Vipava River and its tributary the Lijak Stream, which is also the species’ type location. We surveyed all previously known as well as new potential localities for M. bonellii. Live mussels were found only in the lower part of the Vipava River, but not in the Lijak Stream. Nevertheless, the population in Slovenia is isolated from other populations and restricted only to 16 km of the Vipava River. Unfortunately, key sections of the Vipava River have been subjected to habitat destruction in the past and are threatened by ongoing engineering works and developments. Thus the legislation should be taken into strict consideration immediately if we want to preserve this protected species and its habitat.
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