With over 40 species including the Natura 2000 protected scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) observed regularly, Krka National Park is a true hot spot for European butterflies. New Park records for butterflies are still being recorded and in the 2019 season a further six new species were discovered on the Opwall surveys. This project is centred around butterfly ecology to improve conservation of butterflies in Krka National Park. The complex habitat mosaic and successional stages from naturally burned Juniper dominated grassland and disturbed forests transitioning to mixed forests of holm oak and flowering ash (Orno-Quercetum ilicis), mixed forests of downy oak and white hornbeam (Querco-Carpinetum orientalis), and black hornbeam forests with autumn moor grass (Seslerio-Ostryetum), support diverse and different butterfly communities. This project will concentrate on completing Pollard counts of butterfly communities in different vegetation communities and habitats. All butterflies along the Pollard count will be recorded and analysis can compare usage of different habitats/vegetation communities and a wide range of environmental variables. More focussed projects could examine the habitat preferences of specific species, as well as determine population sizes through mark-recapture analysis or density through distance sampling, observations of food plants (caterpillars), flight height, and timings of daily activity, amongst other possibilities.
If you would like to do a dissertation or thesis with us but your university hasn’t started dissertation planning or the project selection process, that’s no problem. You can cancel your expedition with zero cancellation charges up until the 15th of April of if you provide documentation from your university saying that they won’t support completing a dissertation project with us.
The Krka Valley runs from the Dinaric mountains bordering Bosnia to the Adriatic and is only 77km in length. However, since the river runs through limestone there are some spectacular gorges and this is one of the most scenic river valleys in Europe. It is also important from a biodiversity viewpoint containing nine Croatian and three Krka endemic fish species and spectacular cave systems containing a number of potentially new species to science. Opwall together with Biota (a Croatian biodiversity research organisation) has built a research centre in the central part of the Krka valley with easy access to the whole park. The centre is based in a restored house and grounds within 100m of the park boundary and has access to all the habitats throughout the park and surrounding countryside. The National Park Authority have requested we perform baseline surveys to increase the known inventory for the Park, as well as collect long-term monitoring data to answer a series of their management questions.
Tourist visits to Krka National Park are heavily concentrated towards the lower stretches of the river and very few people visit the central and northern parts of the valley. The Biota/Opwall research centre is based within a rural community that has suffered from significant depopulation and land abandonment in recent years. The centre is designed to give benefits to the local community from the visits (e.g. provision of employment etc). Whilst the main research effort each year from this centre comes through the Opwall programme, the centre will remain open year round in an attempt to attract some of the many visitors to the Croatian coast further inland, increasing revenue for the Park and local communities.
Most of our volunteers fundraise for their expedition costs. Find out more.
Climate
Croatia is hot during this time of the year! In both Krka and Silba the daytime temperature rarely drops below 30 degrees and can reach 40 degrees.
Fitness level required
Moderate. Whilst there are not many steep hikes in the forest, the hikes are still quite long and the temperature can make them tiring.
Creature comforts
At Krka you will either be staying in dormitories or in shaded tents with shared western style bathrooms and toilets. There is also some limited phone signal in Krka (but not reliable for a data connection).
Find out all about how you could fundraise for an expedition.
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More information on how the dissertation/thesis projects run within Opwall and what you will need to do
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