This study will be the first investigation into Orthoptera diversity and habitat associations in the Park and the results will be added to the national park website (http://www.np-krka.hr/stranice/invertebrates/68/en.html). Incidental observations have shown the large Spiked Magician Cricket, which is predatory on other insects and grasshoppers, to be present, but little is known about these grassland cricket and grasshopper communities. This study will use sweep net surveys over a wide range of grassland and scrub habitats with transects selected to incorporate similar habitat throughout their length. After collection of the Orthoptera the transect will then need to be characterised (e.g. height of grass sward, percentage of bushes, slope, dominant floral species and others) so that Principal Component Analysis can be used to determine community patterns of Orthoptera. In addition, marking and release of crickets and grasshoppers could enable population densities to be determined.
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).
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