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Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Split Scientists Discovered a Rare Example of Evolution in Cetina River

(photo: Dalmacija News)

Algae made it from the sea to the Cetina river and adapted to the life there, reports Dalmacija News.

An international team of sceintists, leb by Ph.D. Ante Žuljević from Split institute of Oceanography and Fisheries discovered a type of coralline algae, that has come out of the sea to the river and adapt to the life there.Their findings were presented at the prestigious journal Scientific Report from the Nature group and the algae got its name after the Cetina river, where it was discovered - Pneophyllum cetinaensis. Among Croatian experts, Italian, Spanish, French and Belgian scientists participated in the research.

To explain what the coralline algae actually is, we can say, that they are among the most important components of the shallow sea bottom. One of their distinguishing features is, the incorporation of calcium carbonate in the body of the algae. Therefore, they are strong, resistant to most herbivore organisms, essential architectural types and when they die, they contribute to the deposition of ash at the seafloor.

The evolutionary transition from sea to fresh water is an extremely rare event. It is believed that there were only about 40 crossings of snails from the sea to fresnwater species, but they still diverged into more than four thousand species. In addition, most of the crossings occurred in ancient geological times. All this makes Pneophyllum cetinaensis special among algae species in general.

"For the last two years, an international team worked on a study about a very special algae that belongs to the so-called coralline algae. There are more than 700 types of coralline algae to live in the sea. The Cetina algae is the first and so far the only coralline algae, which lives in freshwater. What is interesting is, that the evolutionary transitions from sea to freshwater is extremely rare and that this shift occured just in the Cetina river. The reason for this were certainly biological and chemical characteristics of the river. It seems, that the relocation of the one coralline algae, which incorporates calcium carbonate into her tissue could only happen in a karst river. All the other rivers of the world have not satisfactory chemical conditions to be able to support an algae from the coralline group", said about this discovery Ph.D. Ante Žuljević.

As he said, the algae relocated from the sea to the river before 20.000 to 100.000 years. This is what makes it unique. Most crossings occurred in geologically ancient times.

Read the whole article (in Croatian) here.

Friday, 21 August 2015

6th Boat Race on the Cetina River in Trilj on Sunday

Although it says Boat Race, the actual boat race is only one of the races that will take place on the Cetina river this Sunday (August 23, 2015) in Trilj. Rope climbing, swimming race in the Cetina river and fly-fishing will be again entertaining guests and locals of this year´s Boat Race on the Cetina river organized by the Trilj tourist board.

For a taste of what you can expect at a boat race in Trilj, watch the video below from the Zemlja Cudesa youtube channel (all photos: snapshots from the video).

The event will start at 15:00 and will end around 19:00 with a delicious fish stew - all welcome!!

 

 

 

 

Sunday, 16 June 2013

Discover the Secrets of the Source of the Cetina River

I was recently the guest of the fabulous Sinj Tourist Board for the 3rd Cetina Adventure Race, and my superb guide for the day was top snapper Ilija Veselica. He wanted me to see as much of the area as possible while still covering the race, and it was a pleasure seeing such pride and love of his natural environment. 

One particular highlight for me was seeing the source of the mighty Cetina river, home of white water rafting and other activities. As you can see from the photo above, it looks like a small pond, and I found it hard to believe that it went down 110 metres, until I saw this spectacular video (explanation below). Inland Dalmatia - full of surprises. I am not sure if it is possible to organise cave diving, but am sure the Sinj Tourist Board will know. www.visitsinj.com/en 

Cetina has its source in the northwestern slopes of Dinara. Rising from a spring at Milasevo near a small village called Cetina, located 7 km north from Vrlika, it flows a distance of 105km to the Adriatic Sea. A large artificial lake begins near Vrlika, the Peruća Lake, which was created by a dam some 25 km downstream. Cetina then passes into the lower portion of the Sinj karst field, through the city of Sinj. After that it runs eastward, through the city of Trilj and then back westward around the Mosor mountain, before flowing into the Adriatic in the city of Omiš.

The source of the Cetina river is -110 m deep and maybe even more.

It was a great experience diving in a crystal clear water that you can drink when you get thirsty.

Divers in the video: Drazen Goricki cameraman and Damir Mlinaric. Max.depth of diving: -109m. Both divers are diving with a CCR Megalodon and the video was filmed with an Amphibico Phenom - Sony Z1.

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