A new publication: genetic analysis of the Balkan minnow

A new paper has been recently published in MPE, in which we studied phylogeography of minnow (genus Phoxinus) populations in the Balkan Peninsula - not in the Western Europe, but in the Balkan Peninsula, using molecular methods.

Some highlights of the paper:

• Highly divergent genetic clades of Phoxinus were detected in the western Balkans.
• The two species view (Danubian P. phoxinus and Adriatic P. lumaireul), proposed by morphologists, was not supported.
• Revision of Phoxinus classification in the studied area is suggested.
• The clades extend along the Adriatic area crossing the main watershed boundaries.
• Specific genetic signatures point to the possibility of underground fish dispersion.

>Minnow from the Skadar drainage (Rijeka Crnojevića, Montenegro)

In the field…

On Tuesday I joined Alain Crivelli, who is currently in Slovenia, Dušan Jesenšek and other members of RD Tolmin on the field. I collected some skin samples of hybrids downstream, where the populations of marble trout have been hybridizing with brown trout, while they were monitoring the pure populations of marble trout upstream. Their study, with the purpose of observing population dynamics, has been already a long collaboration between the groups and is still going on.
Even if I needed to sample hybrids for the pigment pattern study I’m happy to say that there were not so many of them but when we moved upstream, there were plenty of marble trouts.

 >Boys catching trouts

 >Measuring and collecting samples

>A pure marble trout

The 1st Slovene Microscopy Symposium

Ida attended the 1st Slovene Microscopy Symposium, which took place this May in Piran, Slovenia. She presented the results of our research on the ultrastructure and position of pigment cells in the skin of marble and brown trout that was made in collaboration with the Institute of Cell Biology.

>Ida presenting her poster to a symposium participant during the poster session.

A pleasant visit

In April Ákos Horváth with his colleagues and Elsa Cabrita came for a one-week visit to Slovenia in the framework of research activities connected to COST project Aquagamete (http://aquagamete.webs.upv.es/). We joined them for two days on the field. In river Sava we caught a beautiful male huchen (Hucho hucho) and grayling (Thymallus thymallus). We collected the sperm for cryopreservation and stored it for later use. Apart for field work we discussed our future collaboration plans and projects and had a pleasant and tasteful social event.

>Tasting local cuisine 

>Observing the Sava river

>The huchen being caught

>Toni Strgar from RD Bled and the huchen posing together

>Sperm collection

>Cryopreservation of sperm

Show your support...

If you care about trout and want to aid the conservation of their rare and endangered populations, buy a fancy outdoor T-shirt and contribute to funding for the research.

For more information please visist Wild Trout T-shirt or Wild Webshop.

Summer refreshment (nepotistic publicity)

Matija Snoj, a promissing fly-fisherman and guitar player singing on the concert with Pavle Kavec and Oko, Rožnik (Ljubljana), at the age of 15.

If you like this, you can also listen to two other numbers from this concert, Come on and La Grange. Enjoy!

New publications…

A comprehensive review on Rainbow Trout in Europe (introduction, naturalization and impacts)-a side product of David's PhD work-has been recently published in Reviews in Fisheries Sciences and Aquaculture. David did a great job; I am not sure if I know anyone else, who would be persistent and motivated enough to produce such a … paper.

I would like to present another, not so freshly published paper in JFB, about genetic and morphological variation of Umbra krameri in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The paper has finally got pagination details and thus fulfilled the last condition to be posted on the blog.