Lecture at the Croatian Ecological Society Assembly

On 16 December, Lea Ružanović gave a lecture at the assembly of the Croatian Ecological Society. The lecture was entitled “Dispersal and community composition of spiders during the drying of intermittent rivers.”

15^th Croatian Biological Congress

Project leader Andreja Brigić presented a poster at the 15^th Croatian Biological Congress, held in Zagreb from 20 to 23 November 2025. The poster was entitled “Mediterranean intermittent watercourses as habitats of freshwater Oligochaeta.” The presentation showcased research on oligochaete communities (species richness, diversity, and abundance) during the lotic phase of four karst intermittent rivers (Krčić, Čikola, Guduča, and Miljašić Jaruga), as well as the physical and chemical water-quality parameters that have the greatest influence on shaping Oligochaeta communities.

SEFS 14

Members of the project team, Zuzana Redžović and Nera Vuić, participated in the symposium “14^th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences”, held from 20 to 25 July 2025 in Bolu, Turkey. Zuzana presented an oral presentation entitled “Energy-related biomarkers reveal stress responses in macroinvertebrates from intermittent Mediterranean karst rivers”, in which she discussed the effects of drying of two karst intermittent watercourses and oxidative stress on biomarkers of anaerobic capacity in the larvae of the caddisfly Micropterna nycterobia and the isopod Asellus aquaticus. Nera also contributed to the symposium with an oral presentation entitled “Shell morphometrics, growth and spatio-temporal distribution of the terrestrial gastropod Pomatias elegans (O. F. Müller, 1774) from the karst intermittent Mediterranean river”, reporting on the influence of the intermittent karst river Krčić on the morphometrics and distribution of the terrestrial snail Pomatias elegans.

Festival of Science 2025

Andreja Brigić, Fran Rebrina, Lea Ružanović, Nera Vuić, Zuzana Redžović, and Marina Vilenica conducted two workshops for children entitled “Between Water and Land: Food Webs of Intermittent Rivers” and “Whose Lunch Am I? – Create Your Own Food Web” as part of the Festival of Science 2025. During the workshops, students explored the food webs of intermittent rivers and how they are affected by drying events. They studied food webs across different hydrological phases of a river and, using a constructed food-web model, identified various organisms and placed them in their appropriate positions within the network. In addition, older participants observed organisms from intermittent watercourses under stereomicroscopes and took part in a quiz, while younger students played a memory game featuring different animals that form food webs.

9^th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium

Lea Ružanović participated in the 9^th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium, held from 28 to 29 April 2025. Through a poster presentation entitled “Dry but alive! Spatial variability in spider assemblages of Mediterranean intermittent rivers”, she presented part of the results from the DinDRY project. She reported on differences in the composition of spider communities in two intermittent Mediterranean rivers, Miljašić Jaruga and Krčić, across four habitat types: karst, riparian, habitats around intermittent pools, and the dry riverbed.

Phd café

On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, a lecture was held at the Crni Mačak café as part of the 35^th PhD Café, organized by the Croatian Science Foundation. Along with other PhD candidates, Lea Ružanović gave a lecture entitled: “What do invertebrates do when intermittent rivers of the dinaric karst dry up?”. This event helps connect PhD candidates from different scientific fields, allowing them to get to know one another and to learn about the research carried out by colleagues from other disciplines. Additional photos from the event can be viewed at: https://hrzz.hr/odrzan-zagreb-phd-cafe-35/.

Where are you going? To college

Within the project "Where are you going? To college," initiated by the ZEPS association (Scientific Educational Programs for High School Students, a nonprofit association for the popularization of science and the development and promotion of education), the first workshop with students from Zagreb high schools (XV and XVIII Gymnasiums) that had expressed an interest in scientific research in the field of natural sciences, particularly biology, was held on November 28, 2024. 
The project's idea and goal were to connect high school students with professors from the University of Zagreb, involving them in ongoing research projects. This approach aims to familiarize students with the skills needed for work in a scientific-research environment, giving them a clearer picture of whether this field aligns with their future aspirations.
The students were introduced to intermittent rivers and the aquatic world of macroinvertebrates inhabiting these ecosystems. The initial activity was a workshop led by Associate Professor Andreja Brigić (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology), the principal investigator of the HRZZ-funded research project DinDRY (UIP-2020-02-5385), and her collaborator Assistant Professor Marina Vilenica (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education). The workshop, titled "Can aquatic insects live in Mediterranean intermittent streams?" included an introductory lecture called "Intermittent streams – challenges for animals and scientists in the future."
After the lecture, students were introduced to organisms collected during the DinDRY project, examining the morphology of larvae (nymphs) and adult specimens, learning to use species identification keys, and participating in sorting organisms to higher taxonomic levels.

Day and Night at the Faculty of Science

Postdoctoral researcher Zuzana Redžović held an engaging workshop as part of the event "Day and Night at the Faculty of Science" on May 10, 2024. During the workshop, she presented a model of intermittent rivers and shared her knowledge about the animals inhabiting them. Through the workshop, children and parents learned about biodiversity and the importance of these ecosystems.

8th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium

Members of the DinDRY team, Zuzana Redžović and Lea Ružanović, participated in the 8th Faculty of Science PhD Student Symposium held on April 26-27, 2024. Lea presented the results of a part of the DinDRY project research with an oral presentation titled "Should I stay or should I go? The use of newly formed intermittent river habitats by terrestrial invertebrates". At the same time, Zuzana was involved in organizing the symposium.

Festival of Science

Members of the DinDRY team participated in the Festival of Science held on April 25, 2024, at the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum. They led a workshop for children titled "Adaptation School: Invertebrates in Extreme Habitats." Through the workshop, students learned about the types of invertebrates inhabiting terrestrial and aquatic environments of intermittent rivers and how they adapt to challenges such as drying out and sudden water flow return. Children, as well as team members, had fun at the workshop, crafting caddisfly casings, observing animals under the stereomicroscope, and comparing human inventions with invertebrate adaptations!

Field course for students of Queen Mary University of London

Our team members, Fran Rebrina and Zuzana Redžović, participated in a field course for undergraduate biology students from Queen Mary University of London. They held a field exercise on " The concept of ecotone" (developed by Associate Professor Andreja Brigić, Ph.D.) at the Krčić River and the Vrlika Ecological Station, where students learned about the riparian habitat of intermittent rivers as an ecotone between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and what terrestrial organisms can be found in it.

The DinDRY team participated in The International Scientific-Expert Conference titled "The Importance of Protected Areas for Preserving Natural and Cultural Values and Sustainable Development of the Local Community". The event took place on October 18th and 19th in Šibenik. Andreja Brigić, Fran Rebrina, Marina Vilenica, and Lea Ružanović presented three talks and a poster addressing riparian zones, spiders, dragonflies, and orthopterans in the intermittent rivers of Šibenik-Knin County. The conference offered us a chance to learn about all the exciting research being conducted in this area, as well as explore Šibenik and meet other researchers. We had a great time and hope to return for the next conference!