Preliminary Study of Scent Rolling in Captive Wolves ( L. 1758) in Response to Olfactory Enrichment.

Scent rolling, a behaviour observed in various large carnivores like wolves, entails the animal lowering its chin and neck towards a scent, followed by rubbing the head, neck, shoulders, and back into it. This behaviour is prevalent among wolves exposed to diverse scents, though its exact purpose remains uncertain. In this study, captive wolves at Osijek Zoo responded differently to odours during olfactory enrichment sessions.

A DNA barcode reference library of Croatian mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): implications for identification and delimitation of species, with notes on the distribution of potential vector species.

Background: Mosquitoes pose a risk to human health worldwide, and correct species identification and detection of cryptic species are the most important keys for surveillance and control of mosquito vectors. In addition to traditional identification based on morphology, DNA barcoding has recently been widely used as a complementary tool for reliable identification of mosquito species. The main objective of this study was to create a reference DNA barcode library for the Croatian mosquito fauna, which should contribute to more accurate and faster identification of species, including cryptic species, and recognition of relevant vector species.

White Stork Pellets: Non-Invasive Solution to Monitor Anthropogenic Particle Pollution.

The present study applied a non-invasive method to analyse anthropogenic particles and prey items in white stork () pellets. Pellets ( = 20) were obtained from white stork nests during the 2020 breeding season from two sites in Croatia. In total, 7869 anthropogenic particles were isolated.

Noninvasive Fibrosis Assessment in Chronic Hepatitis C Infection: An Update.

Liver biopsy is historically the gold standard for liver fibrosis assessment of chronic hepatitis C patients. However, with the introduction and validation of noninvasive tests (NITs) to evaluate advanced fibrosis, and the direct-acting antiviral agents for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), the role of NITs have become even more complex. There is now need for longitudinal monitoring and elucidation of cutoff values for prediction of liver-related complication after sustained virological response.

Rapid spread and population genetics of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in southeastern Europe (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia).

The Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901), a potential vector of several pathogens, has recently established in North America and Central Europe. In 2013, it was found on the Slovenian-Croatian border, and during the following years, it emerged in more and more counties of northwestern Croatia. Surveillance of Ae.

Updated checklist of the mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of Croatia.

Improvement of morphological and molecular identification methods allows the detection of new species of mosquitoes. The mosquito fauna of Croatia currently includes 52 species, belonging to eight genera, including Anopheles (12 species), Aedes (24 species), Coquillettidia (one species), Culex (seven species), Culiseta (six species), Orthopodomyia (one species), and Uranotaenia (one species). This is an updated checklist, which includes five new species found in Croatian mosquito fauna.

Environmentally Dependent Density-Distance Relationship of Dispersing Culex tarsalis in a Southern California Desert Region.

The direct inclusion of environmental factors into the empirical model that describes a density-distance relationship (DDR) is demonstrated on dispersal data obtained in a capture-mark-release-recapture experiment (CMRR) with Culex tarsalis conducted around the community of Mecca, CA. Empirical parameters of standard (environmentally independent) DDR were expressed as linear functions of environmental variables: relative orientation (azimuthal deviation of north) of release point (relative to recapture point) and proportions of habitat types surrounding each recapture point. The yielded regression model (R(2)  =  0.

Mosquito survey during West Nile virus outbreak 2012 in northeast Croatia.

During the August and September 2012, seven human cases of the West Nile neuro-invasive disease were reported in Croatia. Medical entomology research on a potential vectors during the outbreak was supported by the Ministry of Health. A mosquito survey has been done in 64 sites in three eastern Croatian counties (Osijek-Baranja County, Vukovar-Srijem county and in Brod-Posavina county).

Equine seroprevalence rates as an additional indicator for a more accurate risk assessment of the West Nile virus transmission.

The West Nile Virus (WNV) is a zoonotic arbovirus that has recently been causing outbreaks in many countries in southern and Central Europe. In 2012, for the first time, it caused an outbreak in eastern Croatia with total of 7 human clinical cases. With an aim of assisting public health personnel in order to improve survey protocols and vector control, the high risk areas of the WNV transmission were estimated and mapped.

West Nile virus outbreak in humans in Croatia, 2012.

During August and September 2012, seven cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease were identified in three north-eastern counties of Croatia. Four cases were reported in Osijek-Baranja County, two in Brod-Posavina County and one in Vukovar-Srijem County. The median age of the patients was 62.

Spatiotemporal monitoring of floodwater mosquito dispersal in Osijek, Croatia.

This paper demonstrates the possibility of using geostatistics to monitor the dispersal of mosquitoes for mosquito control programs at the municipal level. The case study objective was to quantify the dispersal of floodwater mosquitoes from the natural marshland Kopacki rit into the city of Osijek, Croatia, and to analyze the main factors controlling it. Fifty thousand adult Aedes vexans, Ochlerotatus sticticus, and Ochlerotatus caspius mosquitoes were marked with a powdered fluorescent pigment and released from the southern part of Kopacki rit on April 28, 2004.