Vol
12, No. 4 (2003) - abstracts
Peh, Z., Miko, S. & Bukovec, D.: The
geochemical background in Istrian soils. Nat.
Croat., Vol. 12, No. 4.,
195-232, 2003,
Zagreb.
The
geochemical background is postulated for two major groups of soils of
the Istrian
Peninsula,
depending
on the type of bedrock, or parent material as one of the main
soil-forming
factors. An effort is made to combine conceptual fundamentals of
non-linear
dynamic theory with the principles, methods and practical application
of basic
statistics in order to elucidate the nature and origin of elemental
subpopulations hidden in the original geochemical data of Istrian
topsoils. In
this sense, the 4s-outlier
test and iterative 2s-statistical
technique are utilized, by which the outliers and anomalous values are
removed
from the total data and assigned to the consequences of non-linear
system
dynamics, which prevents the development of a simple cause-and-effect
relationship between geochemical variables. The geochemical background
is then
defined as the normal range of data of the remaining data set. As
confirmed by
the study, the carbonate-derived soils have a higher natural or
geogenic
baseline and are also more strongly loaded with heavy metals and other
trace
elements, in some places critically. On the other hand, flysch-derived
soils,
except for higher Ca contents, are actually depleted in many elements
and also
devoid of outliers. Such behaviour implies “dilution” due to the
characteristic
nature of the weathering of the underlying parent material and other
soil-forming
processes controlling their fate. In a general sense, the character of
the
probability distribution curves among chemical elements in the topsoil
(or
soils in general) can be used as reliable indicator of their
evolutionary
trends, that is, their enrichment or depletion, or, as regards the
geochemical
background, the equilibrium between the two, which in the case studied
depends
principally upon the contrasting Istrian bedrock lithology.
Key words:
geochemical
background, topsoil, parent
material, geogene influence, human impact, normal distribution, normal
range,
Istria, Croatia
Logan, A.: Marine fauna of
the Mljet National Park (Adriatic Sea, Croatia). 3. Brachiopoda. Nat. Croat., Vol. 12,
No. 3., 233-243,
2003, Zagreb.
Six brachiopod
species (1 inarticulate and
5 articulates) are identified and briefly described from Mljet National
Park.
All are known from the Mediterranean Sea and eastern North Atlantic.
The number
of taxa is lower than that for the Adriatic Sea (11 species) as a
whole,
suggesting that further discoveries might be expected in Mljet.
Megerlia
truncata, usually found between 50 - 350 m elsewhere, occurs
occasionally
in shallow caves at one locality in the Park, supporting the
«bathyal
island» hypothesis advocated by French investigators in the
Mediterranean.
Key words: marine
fauna, Brachiopoda, Mljet, Adriatic Sea
Legac, M. &
Hrs-Brenko, M.: Rhomboidella
prideauxi
(Leach, 1815) (Mollusca, Bivalvia) first occurrence in the eastern Adriatic
Sea.
Nat. Croat., Vol. 12, No. 3., 245-247,
2003, Zagreb.
Four
valves of the bivalve species Rhomboidella
prideauxi (Leach, 1815) (Mytilidae)
were collected
by Mr. F. Velkovrh in the Kornati archipelago. This is the first
finding of the
species in the eastern Adriatic
Sea. Earlier the
species was
recorded in the Mediterranean
Sea
and in the eastern Atlantic
Ocean.
Key words: Bivalve, Rhomboidella
prideauxi, Adriatic Sea
Dolenec,
Z.: Significant growth of nesting pairs of the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) in the river of
Krapina valley (NW Croatia). Nat.
Croat., Vol. 12, No. 3., 249-251,
2003, Zagreb.
We followed the
population growth of
the species grey heron in the river Krapina valley from 1992 till 2002.
This
area is the part of the village Mokrice (46°00’N,15°55’E;
Hrvatsko Zagorje region). While only 1 pair of grey heron nested in
1992, the number of
nestings pairs had gradually risen to 54
in 2002 (Pearson’s
correlation coefficient: 0,98; p<0.001; n=11).
Key words: grey
heron, nesting pairs,
river Krapina valley, NW Croatia
Veronica peregrina
L. and Veronica
scardica Griseb. (Scrophulariaceae), new species in
Croatian flora.
Nat.
Croat., Vol. 12, No. 3., 253-258, 2003, Zagreb.
Veronica peregrina L.
originates from America and has been spreading in Europe since 18th
century. We found it in August, 2003, on the bank of a Danube oxbow
(Dunavac) in Batina, where it grows in the amphibian community of the
alliance Nanocyperion.
Veronica
scardica Griseb. is a native European species distributed in
Eastern and South Eastern Europe. We found it on wet fine gravel on the
bank of te Kupa river at Ozalj, downstream from the HE power station.
Specimens of both species have been deposited in the ZA Herbarium.
Key
words: Veronica peregrina L., Veronica
scardica Griseb., Croatia
Library
/
Knjiznica Croatian
Natural History Museum / Hrvatski prirodoslovni muzej