241. Molecular analysis of scats revealed diet and prey choice of grey wolves and Eurasian lynx in the contact zone between the Dinaric Mountains and the AlpsElena Bužan, Hubert Potočnik, Boštjan Pokorny, Sandra Potušek, Laura Iacolina, Urška Gerič, Felicita Urzi, Ivan Kos, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: A comprehensive understanding of the dietary habits of carnivores is essential to get ecological insights into their role in the ecosystem, potential competition with other carnivorous species, and their effect on prey populations. Genetic analysis of non-invasive samples, such as scats, can supplement behavioural or microscopic diet investigations. The objective of this study was to employ DNA metabarcoding to accurately determine the prey species in grey wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) scat samples collected in the Julian Alps and the Dinaric Mountains, Slovenia. The primary prey of wolves were red deer (Cervus elaphus) (detected in 96% scat samples), European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (68%), and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (45%). A smaller portion of their diet consisted of mesocarnivores, small mammals, and domestic animals. In contrast, the lynx diet mostly consisted of European roe deer (82%) and red deer (64%). However, small mammals and domestic animals were also present in lynx diet, albeit to a lesser extent. Our findings indicate that the dietary habits of wolves and lynx are influenced by geographical location. Snapshot dietary analyses using metabarcoding are valuable for comprehending the behaviour and ecology of predators, and for devising conservation measures aimed at sustainable management of both their natural habitats and prey populations. However, to gain a more detailed understanding of wolf and lynx dietary habits and ecological impact, it would be essential to conduct long-term genetic monitoring of their diet.
Keywords: dietary analysis, non-invasice samples, scats, metabarcoding, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx
Published in DiRROS: 10.02.2025; Views: 132; Downloads: 73
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242. Primernost ostankov mlete kave za proizvodnjo peletovDominika Gornik Bučar, Peter Prislan, Dejan Verhovšek, Bojan Gospodarič, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Za doseganje cilja evropske energetsko-podnebne politike, da do leta 2050 dosežemo podnebno nevtralnost s prehodom na obnovljive vire energije, je potrebno aktivirati različne razpoložljive obnovljive vire, vključno z biološkimi ostanki oz. odpadki. Eden od takih bioloških odpadkov, ki nastaja v velikih količinah in se večinoma nepredelan odlaga v okolje, so ostanki mlete kave. Ker ostanke mlete kave sestavljajo celuloza, hemiceluloza, lignin in proteini, predstavljajo velik potencial tudi kot biogorivo, ki lahko delno nadomesti lesno biomaso pri proizvodnji peletov. V raziskavi smo v laboratorijskih pogojih izdelali pelete iz ostankov mlete kave, ki smo jim dodali različne deleže (0 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 %) žagovine. Izdelanim peletom smo določili lastnosti in jih glede na izmerjene vrednosti razvrstili v kakovostne razrede po standardu SIST EN ISO 17225-6:2021. Ugotovili smo, da imajo peleti z večjim deležem ostankov mlete kave višjo kurilno vrednost, večjo vsebnost pepela ter nižjo mehansko obstojnost. Peleti, izdelani iz ostankov mlete kave in dodatkom žagovine (50 % ali več), izkazujejo obetavne lastnosti kot vhodna surovina za proizvodnjo peletov.
Keywords: peleti, ostanki mlete kave, žagovina, biološki odpadki, kurilna vrednost, kakovost peletov
Published in DiRROS: 10.02.2025; Views: 120; Downloads: 62
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243. No future growth enhancement expected at the Northern edge for European beech due to continued water limitationStefan Klesse, Richard Peters, Raquel Alfaro-Sánchez, Vincent Badeau, Claudia Baittinger, Katarina Čufar, Jožica Gričar, Maks Merela, Peter Prislan, Tom Levanič, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: With ongoing global warming, increasing water deficits promote physiological stress on forest ecosystems with negative impacts on tree growth, vitality, and survival. How individual tree species will react to increased drought stress is therefore a key research question to address for carbon accounting and the development of climate change mitigation strategies. Recent tree-ring studies have shown that trees at higher latitudes will benefit from warmer temperatures, yet this is likely highly species-dependent and less well-known for more temperate tree species. Using a unique pan-European tree-ring network of 26,430 European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees from 2118 sites, we applied a linear mixed-effects modeling framework to (i) explain variation in climate-dependent growth and (ii) project growth for the near future (2021–2050) across the entire distribution of beech. We modeled the spatial pattern of radial growth responses to annually varying climate as a function of mean climate conditions (mean annual temperature, mean annual climatic water balance, and continentality). Over the calibration period (1952–2011), the model yielded high regional explanatory power (R2 = 0.38–0.72). Considering a moderate climate change scenario (CMIP6 SSP2-4.5), beech growth is projected to decrease in the future across most of its distribution range. In particular, projected growth decreases by 12%–18% (interquartile range) in northwestern Central Europe and by 11%–21% in the Mediterranean region. In contrast, climate-driven growth increases are limited to around 13% of the current occurrence, where the historical mean annual temperature was below ~6°C. More specifically, the model predicts a 3%–24% growth increase in the high-elevation clusters of the Alps and Carpathian Arc. Notably, we find little potential for future growth increases (−10 to +2%) at the poleward leading edge in southern Scandinavia. Because in this region beech growth is found to be primarily water-limited, a northward shift in its distributional range will be constrained by water availability.
Keywords: climate change, climate sensitivity, drought, Fagus sylvatica, growth projection, leading edge, trailing edge, tree rings
Published in DiRROS: 10.02.2025; Views: 121; Downloads: 67
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245. A new cave-dwelling hadzioid amphipod (Senticaudata, Hadzioidea, Melitidae) from sulfidic groundwaters in IranMohammad Javad Malek-Hosseini, Traian Brad, Yaser Fatemi, Matjaž Kuntner, Cene Fišer, 2024, original scientific article Keywords: caves, extreme environments, Amphipoda
Published in DiRROS: 10.02.2025; Views: 90; Downloads: 65
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250. Liquid-copper infiltration and characterization of additively manufactured W-lattice structuresAljaž Iveković, Gokula Krishna Muralidharan, Andrei Galatanu, Guichuan Li, Kim Vanmeensel, Jef Vleugels, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Tungsten-copper (W-Cu) composites have a wide range of engineering applications, from arc-resistant electrodes and high-voltage electrical contacts to heat sinks for integrated circuits and plasma-facing components for fusion reactors. They combine high corrosion and erosion resistance, very good thermal and electrical conductivity, low thermal expansion, with good mechanical properties. However, the fabrication of such materials is limited in terms of shape complexity and the internal distribution of the individual phases. Furthermore, the dissimilar thermo-mechanical properties (melting temperature, thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion) of the constituent phases impose severe constraints on the fabrication and use of W-Cu composites. To overcome the challenges of component design and enable greater freedom in terms of composition, W-Cu composites were produced by a combination of additive manufacturing and liquid-melt infiltration (LMI). Porous W-lattice structures were manufactured by laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) followed by infiltration with molten Cu. A series of composites was produced with Cu contents from 3 to 75 vol% and evaluated in terms of thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties. The LPBF-LMI W-Cu composites exhibited comparable thermo-mechanical properties to W-Cu materials manufactured using powder-metallurgical processing, but with an expanded composition range and shape complexity. Lower thermal expansion coefficients (4.5–5.8 × 10−6 K−1) and an improved thermal stability of the Young’s modulus, only a 27–33 GPa decline in the range 27–827 °C, were observed for all the compositions, which was ascribed to the W-phase connectivity in all the W-Cu composites, independent of the volume fraction of Cu.
Keywords: termomechanical properties, liquid-metal infiltration, laser powder-bed fusion, metal-matrix composites
Published in DiRROS: 07.02.2025; Views: 141; Downloads: 28
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