Southern Montenegro Research Articles

Aegean-style extensional deformation in the contractional southern Dinarides: incipient normal fault scarps in Montenegro

Abstract. We describe two 5–7 km long normal fault scarps (NFSs) occurring atop fault-related anticlines in the coastal ranges of the Dinarides fold-and-thrust belt in southern Montenegro, a region under predominant contraction. Both NFSs show well-exposed, 6–9 m high, striated, and locally polished fault surfaces, cutting uniformly northeastward-dipping limestone beds at high angles and documenting active faulting. Sharply delimited ribbons on free rock faces show different colors, varying karstification, and lichen growth and suggest stepwise footwall exhumation, which is typical of repeated normal faulting during earthquake events. Displacements, surface rupture lengths, and geometries of the outcropping fault planes imply paleoearthquakes with Mw≈6 ± 0.5 and slip rates of ∼ 0.5–1.5 mm yr−1 since the Last Glacial Maximum. This is well in line with (more reliable, higher-resolution) slip rates based on cosmogenic 36Cl data from the scarps for which modeling suggests 1.5 ± 0.1 mm yr−1 and 6–15 cm slip every 35–100 years during the last ∼ 6 kyr. The total throw on both NFSs – although poorly constrained – is estimated to ∼ 200 m and offsets the basal thrust of a regionally important tectonic unit. The NFSs are incipient extensional structures cutting (and postdating emplacement of) the uppermost Dinaric thrust stacks down to an unknown depth. To explain their existence in a region apparently under pure contraction, we consider two possibilities: (i) syn-convergent NFS development or – less likely – (ii) a hitherto undocumented propagation of extensional tectonics from the hinterland. Interestingly, the position of the extensional features documented here agrees with geodetic data, suggesting that our study area is located broadly at the transition from NE–SW-directed shortening in the northwest to NE–SW-directed extension to the southeast. While the contraction reflects ongoing Adria–Europe convergence taken up along the frontal portions of the Dinarides, the incipient extensional structures might be induced by rollback of the Hellenic slab in the southeast, whose effects on the upper plate appear to be migrating along-strike of the Hellenides towards the northwest. In that sense, the newly found NFSs possibly provide evidence for a kinematic change of a thrust belt segment over time. However, with a significantly higher probability, they can be regarded as second-order features accommodating geometrical changes in the underlying first-order thrust faults to which they are tied genetically.

THE MIDDLE SMITHIAN (EARLY TRIASSIC) AMMONOIDS OF GORNJI BRČELI (SOUTHERN MONTENEGRO)

A rich Early Triassic (Smithian) ammonoid fauna discovered near the village of Gornji Brčeli (southern Montenegro) is unique for the Early Triassic of the western Tethys. The Smithian there is represented by a series of several tens of meters thick brown-red to grey-green marls and clays with intercalated, mica-rich, thin dark grey sandstones, and subordinate occurence of redeposited oolitic limestone. The fossils have been collected as scree material over a few square meters but are considered as contemporaneous since no unnatural association (condensation) was detected. The ammonoid assemblage is represented by 15 species, belonging to the genera Aspenites, Cordillerites, Dieneroceras, Abrekites, Owenites, Pseudaspenites, Pseudosageceras, Truempyceras, Wyomingites, Hanielites, Galfettites, Parahedenstroemia, Lingyunites and Pseudoflemingites, and can, by the presence of Owenites zitteli Smith, be correlated with the late Middle Smithian Nyamalites angustecostatus beds of the southern Tethys, the upper Owenites koeneni beds of South China or the Owenites beds of North America. Taxonomic composition of the ammonoid assemblage shows great similiarity with those of Spiti (India), NW Guangxi (China) and Nevada (USA), but also some with those of Salt Range (Pakistan) and Timor. A markedly dominance of involute, oxycone and platycone morphologies distinguishes the Gornji Brčeli fauna from other contemporaneous faunas and points to specific palaeoecological environmental conditions. Previously, three new species were described from this locality and in the present paper one more is added (Parahedenstroemia? tatjanae). Two species hitherto considered as synonyms (Abrekites arthaberi and Owenites zitteli) are revised and treated as valid based on new material from Gornji Brčeli.

New Pliensbachian rhynchonellide (Brachiopoda) from Livari, (Rumija Mountain, Montenegro): the taxonomic implications of microstructure to disentangle cases of homeomorphism

ABSTRACT An interesting case of close external similarity (homoeomorphy) is revealed by the study of an Early Jurassic rhynchonellide brachiopod from Livari, Rumija Mountain, southern Montenegro. Shell microstructure was used as the primary diagnostic tool, applied before serial sectioning to study internal characters. Sepkoskirhynchia sphaerica gen. et sp. nov. is erected based on the presence of coarse fibrous shell microstructure and hamiform crura. Because of these primary diagnostic characters, the new genus is placed in the rhynchonellide family Basiliolidae. The shell microstructure of the new taxon is characterised by a differentiated secondary layer of coarse fibrous type. The fibres are rhombic or subquadrate in cross-section, in the external sublayer they are 55–60 μm wide and 40–50 μm thick, internally other sublayers are thinner with fibres 35–40 μm wide and 20–25 μm thick. The main character that distinguishes the new genus is that the secondary layer is differentiated into several sublayers, while in externally homoeomorphic Soaresirhynchia it is built of a single layer. The new taxon was found in the brachiopod and crinoidal limestones from the periplatform facies of the Dinaric Carbonate Platform.

New brachiopod family Arzonellinidae (Terebratulida) from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of Montenegro, southern Europe, Mediterranean Province

ABSTRACT The systematic position of the Early Jurassic brachiopod genus Arzonellina (Sulser) based on new material from Montenegro assigned to Arzonellina stachei (Bittner) and the type species Arzonellina exotica (Sulser), known from southern Switzerland, are discussed. Based on the unusual internal characters, hitherto unknown in detail, the new family Arzonellinidae is erected within the order Terebratulida. An emended diagnosis for the genus Arzonellina is given. The external and internal characters of Arzonellina stachei (Bittner) are described; the specimens came from talus blocks of white recrystallised limestone (rudstones) from Smokovac, southern Montenegro. Arzonellina was originally described from Arzo in the Southern Swiss Alps; the Dinaric Carbonate Platform of Montenegro can now be added to its palaeobiogeographic distribution, with both occurrences located on the Apulian microplate. Associated fauna at both Arzo and Smokovac point to a Sinemurian age for Arzonellina.

Phytoremediation potential of the naturally occurring wetland species in protected Long Beach in Ulcinj, Montenegro

Long Beach, situated in southern Montenegro, is subject to considerable biogenic and abiogenic influences. Thus, analyzing total heavy metal content in soil and plants in this region is, while challenging, highly important in order to assess the level for determining the soil degradation level and the phytoremediation potential of naturally growing salt marsh species. This area together with a Bojana river and backshore forms a real vegetation mosaic where habitats of various types coexist. Therefore, it represents good model system. In the present study, the levels of As, Al, B, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn in coastal soils as well as in eight salt marsh plants: Bolboschoenus maritimus, Juncus acutus, Juncus anceps, Juncus articulatus, Juncus gerardii, Juncus maritimus, Scirpus holoschoenus and Schoenus nigricans, were investigated in order to identify the plant species that can be used for the remediation of polluted sites, especially those located along the coastline. The obtained results show that species J. gerardii, J. articulatus and B. maritimus can be clearly separated from J. acutus, J. anceps, J. maritimus, S. holoschoenus and Sh. nigricans based on the degree of heavy metal accumulation in various organs. Moreover, analyses revealed that the bioaccumulation factor of underground organs is significantly higher relative to that of the aboveground parts for almost all investigated metals and species. The bioaccumulation factor had the highest value in the underground organs of J. gerardii and B. maritimus, where a value of 3.37 was measured for B and 2.54 for Hg, respectively. Hence, as all investigated species are “underground accumulators” for most of the analyzed metals, they could be useful for phytostabilization and phytoremediation of B and Hg in particular. Moreover, each plant species can be used in the phytoremediation process targeting specific heavy metals.

Long neglected diversity in the Accursed Mountains (western Balkan Peninsula):Ranunculus bertisceusis a genetically and morphologically divergent new species

AbstractSouthern European mountain ranges have long been recognized as important hotspots of genetic diversity and areas of high endemism. Reflecting the geographical complexity of these mountain ranges, many European high-mountain species exhibit disjunctions on a variety of geographical scales. One of the long-neglected, poorly investigated and unresolved taxonomic problems concerns Apennine and Balkan members of Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. According to the most recent taxonomic treatment, this section includes Ranunculus crenatus, distributed predominantly in siliceous massifs of the Carpathians and the Balkan Peninsula, but with a highly disjunct partial distribution area in the eastern Alps, and Ranunculus magellensis, which is usually considered a calcicolous endemic of the central Apennines. However, R. magellensis has also been suggested to occur in the carbonate ranges of the Albanian Alps, which would render this species amphi-Adriatic. We used complementary molecular methods (sequences of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and of plastid DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphisms), relative genome size measurements and morphometric analyses to elucidate the relationships in Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. Specifically, we asked if it comprises only a single, widespread and morphologically variable species or several narrowly distributed species with constant morphology. The results of our study showed that populations growing on limestone in the Albanian Alps in northern Albania and southern Montenegro are divergent and should be recognized as a new species, Ranunculus bertisceus Kuzmanović, D.Lakušić, Frajman & Schönsw., sp. nov. These populations differ not only from R. crenatus s.s., which grows on silicates, but also from the calcicolous Apennine endemic R. magellensis. The eastern Alpine populations of R. crenatus, which occur very locally in the Niedere Tauern area, originate from immigration from the Bosnian mountains.

The forging and forgetting the cult of St. Jovan Vladimir in contemporary montenegro

ABSTRACT After the fall of Communism, the Serbian Orthodox Church has experienced a significant revival, part of which has been the recollection of past events, personas, sites and shrines in order to re-establish its position in the post-Yugoslav republics. One of these processes of recollection is devoted to the cult of St. Jovan Vladimir (d.1016) and the sites associated with him in southern Montenegro. This article analyzes the forging of this memorialisation in its material form in the Serbian Orthodox Church as well as the erasure of rival processes of memorialisation. The reconstruction of memories and re-consecration of shrines is taking place across Eastern Europe today and the purpose of this study is to identify the key factors that determine the success or otherwise of such projects. It is focussed, in particular, on the ‘consecrating’ of four key sites closely related to the cult, all of which have been trans-national and trans-religious.

Volatile profile of Italian and Montenegrine pomegranate juices for geographical origin classification

In the present study, we have characterized for the first time the volatile fraction of 20 pomegranate juices from fruits harvested in Northern Italy and southern Montenegro, by means of headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique (GC–MS). The volatile profile accounted for 57 compounds belonging mainly to three chemical classes: alcohols, aldehydes and terpenes. Thanks to advance chemometric analysis, the samples were clusterized according to the geographical origin, and the volatiles responsible for differentiation were identified, indicating that the use of volatile profile for discriminating between pomegranate ecotypes grown in different geographical areas is a promising approach. Overall, the chemical information acquired represents a very relevant tool for the retrieval and exploitation of minor varieties and in support of biodiversity of these promising geographical areas for pomegranate cultivation.

Another Isolated Relic Population of the Alpine Salamander (<i>Salamandra atra</i> Laurenti, 1768) (Amphibia: Caudata: Salamandridae) in the Balkans

We provide information on an isolated locality of Salamandra atra on Mt. Orjen in southern Montenegro that fills in a large gap in the species distribution on the Balkan Peninsula. Eco-geomorphic characteristics of a newly found site of the Alpine Salamander indicate that it is a refugium of glacial relics.

Language Contact in Social Context: Kinship Terms and Kinship Relations of the Mrkovići in Southern Montenegro

The purpose of this article is to study the linguistic evidence of Slavic-Albanian language contact in the kinship terminology of the Mrkovići, a Muslim Slavic-speaking group in southern Montenegro, and to demonstrate how it refers to the social context and the kind of contact situation. The material for this study was collected during fieldwork conducted from 2012 to 2015 in the villages of the Mrkovići area. Kinship terminology of the Mrkovići dialect is compared with that of bcms, Albanian, and the other Balkan languages and dialects. Particular attention is given to the items borrowed from Albanian and Ottoman Turkish, and to the structural borrowing from Albanian. Information presented in the article will be of interest to linguists and anthropologists who investigate kinship terminologies in the world’s languages or do their research in the field of Balkan studies with particular attention to Slavic-Albanian contact and bilingualism.

Une nouvelle perspective dans l'étude des crinoïdes (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) : Un exemple du Jurassique inférieur du Monténégro

Lower Jurassic (Hettangian-Pliensbachian) shallow-marine ooidal limestones of southern Montenegro contain a large number of isocrinid ossicles. They are assigned to the following taxa: Isocrinus psilonoti (Quenstedt), Isocrinus sp., and Pentacrinites cf. fossilis Blumenbach. The echinoderm assemblage also yields cyrtocrinid ossicles (Cotylederma sp., Cyrtocrinina indet.) and echinoid spines (only spotted in thin sections); however, these elements are rare. Given the fact that the recorded assemblage comes from a single locality, there is a growing need for further research that will require intense sampling to compile and complete the faunal list of crinoids and other echinoderm taxa.

Revision of the subterranean genus Spelaeodiscus Brusina, 1886 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Spelaeodiscidae).

The Balkan genus Spelaeodiscus Brusina, 1886 is revised based on museum collections and newly collected samples from Montenegro and Albania. The following species and subspecies are introduced as new to science: Spelaeodiscus albanicus edentatus Páll-Gergely & P. L. Reischütz, ssp. n. (southern Montenegro and northern Albania), Spelaeodiscus densecostatus Páll-Gergely & A. Reischütz, sp. n., Spelaeodiscus hunyadii Páll-Gergely & Deli, sp. n., Spelaeodiscus latecostatus Páll-Gergely & Erőss, sp. n. (all three from southern Montenegro), Spelaeodiscus unidentatus acutus Páll-Gergely & Fehér, ssp. n., and Spelaeodiscus virpazarioides Páll-Gergely & Fehér, sp. n. (both from northern Albania). For all species and subspecies diagnoses and suggestions for conservation status assessments according to IUCN criteria are provided. An overview is given regarding the habitat preference of Spelaeodiscus species, and the “scratch and flotate” method to collect subterranean gastropods.

New Early Triassic (Smithian) ammonoids from Gornji Brčeli (southern Montenegro)

New Early Triassic (Smithian) ammonoids from Gornji Brčeli (southern Montenegro)

Ichnofossils from Cretaceous-Paleogene flysch of Mide locality (Budva zone, Southern Montenegro)

Cretaceous-Paleogene flysch represents the youngest formation in the Budva Zone. Although the Maastrichtian-Lower Eocene age of these rocks has been well documented in the literature, trace fossils are only mentioned as abundant and not described. In the present paper, only a small number of ichnotaxa from Mide locality has been described, including Lorenzinia carpathica (ZUBER), Nereites irregularis (SCHAFHAUT), Scolicia plana KSI??KIEWICZ and Paleodictyon latum VIALOV & GOLEV. They confirm deepsea environment.

Use of geometric morphometrics to differentiate selected lines of Carniolan honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica) in Serbia and Montenegro

In a selection of honeybees from autochthonous ecotypes, different lines must be identified. Honeybee lineages are usually distinguished by classical morphometrics and molecular markers, but these approaches are both costly and time-consuming to implement. Recognition of the purity of races is very important for regional and country regulations to allow a sustainable conservation of the huge variety of local honeybees. A geometric morphometric approach has been frequently used. In this work, honeybee samples were collected from stationary apiaries (belonging to the centers for honeybee queen selection) from two different Serbian areas: Vrsac (northeastern Serbia, mostly flatland) and Vranje (southern Serbia, mostly mountainous), and two different Montenegrin areas: Bijelo Polje (northern Montenegro, mountainous region) and Sutomore (southern Montenegro, coastal region). Each sample consisted of 150 honeybee workers, collected from 10 hives (15 specimens each). On the honeybee left forewings, a total of 19 vein intersections were used to determine the differences among the honeybees using MorphoJ 1.4a software. Canonical variate analysis (CVA) slightly separated the honeybee lines into one overlapping cloud of specimens at the individual level. The first canonical variable (60.57% of the total variability) discriminated mainly between Bijelo Polje and Sutomore honeybee lines. Therefore, on the colony level, CVA separated all four groups of breeding honeybee lines. The results show that geometric morphometrics are reliable in the discrimination of honeybee lines within subspecies only at the colony level.

Essential oil of Eucalyptus gunnii hook. As a novel source of antioxidant, antimutagenic and antibacterial agents.

The present study describes radical scavenging capacity (RSC), antimutagenic and antibacterial properties of the essential oil (EO) of the leaves of Eucalyptus gunnii Hook. (Southern Montenegro). Chemical composition was evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In oil, 1,8-cineole (67.8%) and α-pinene (14.12%) were the major compounds comprising almost 82% of total EO. EO exhibited moderate DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity, with IC50 value of 7.19 µL/mL. The antimutagenic properties were assayed against the spontaneous and t-BOOH-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli IC202 oxyR mutant strain, deficient in removing radical oxygen species (ROS). Reduction of the spontaneous mutagenesis in the presence of E. gunnii EO was only slight, up to 12% at the highest concentration tested. However, when the oxidative mutagen was used, EO displayed more significant reduction of mutagenesis (maximum 23%) in a concentration dependent manner. Antibacterial activity was tested against the selected strains from ATTC and NCIB collections: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus flavus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and the two Escherichia coli strains from our laboratory collection (SY252 and IB112) using both the disk-diffusion and MIC assays. The greatest sensitivity was shown by M. flavus, K. pneumoniae and E. coli lpcA (MIC = 0.83 mg/mL), while the highest resistance was shown by E. coli (ATTC 25922) and S. epidermidis. This study represents the first report on chemical composition and biological activity of the Eucalyptus gunnii in the South Balkan region and beyond.

Recent trends in daily temperature extremes over southern Montenegro (1951–2010)

Abstract. Montenegro so far has been poorly investigated in terms of climate extremes. The aim of this paper was to analyse the extreme ETCCDI (Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices) temperature indices in the Mediterranean region of Montenegro for the period of 1951–2010. Four stations in the coastal area of Montenegro have been analysed: Herceg Novi, Ulcinj, Budva and Bar. Two periods (before 1980 and after 1980) were separately investigated in this study due to a well-known climate shift that occurred in the late 1970s. Seven indices of temperature extremes have been chosen. The trend was analysed using a Mann–Kendall non-parametric test, while the slope was estimated using Sen's slope estimator. A negative trend has been calculated for cold nights and cold days at almost all stations. The most significant positive trends were obtained for warm conditions. The two separately investigated periods have shown contrasting temperature trends.

Moderate earthquakes in Albania during 2009 and their associated seismogenic zones

In 2009, moderate earthquakes occurred in the Lezha-Ulqini and Lushnje-Elbasani-Dibra seismogenic zones in Albania. The earthquake of 21 August 2009 (ML 5.0) occurred in the Adriatic Sea near the town of Ulqini at the Albania-Montenegro border.The mainshock was located 9 km southeast of the epicentre of the 15 April 1979 Ms 7.1 earthquake that caused loss of life and considerable damage to buildings in Montenegro and Albania. The earthquake of 6 September 2009 (ML 5.4) occurred in Gjorica, at the eastern Albania- the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) border, south of the city of Peshkopia, Albania. The mainshock of the 6 September 2009 earthquake was located 12 km northeast of the epicentre of the 30 November 1967, Dibra/Debar earthquake (Ms=6.7) that caused loss of life and considerable damage to buildings in Albania and FYROM. For this analysis, the local and regional data concerning the epicentral locations, focal mechanisms, macroseismic data of the mainshocks, and their aftershock activity were used. Based on the focal mechanisms, the motion of the 21 August 2009 earthquakes was pure thrust with compressional axes NE-SW, and the 6 September 2009 earthquake occurred on a normal fault with a NW-SE strike direction of tensional stress. The region affected by the August 2009 sequence, together with the seismogenic region of the 1979 Ulqini event, forms a roughly NW-SEtrending active seismotectonic zone in western Albania and continues through southern Montenegro. The region affected by the September 2009 sequence, together with the seismogenic region of the 1967 Dibra event, forms a roughly NE−SW-trending active seismotectonic zone in eastern Albania that continues in the western FYROM. Both zones present a threat to the nearby urban areas in Albania, Montenegro and the FYROM.

Contribution to the knowledge of the slugs (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Limacidae and Milacidae) from Montenegro

In this paper we have recorded five slug species of the genera Limax Linnaeus, Limacus Lehmann, and Tandonia Lessona & Pollonera for the first time in Montenegro: Limax graecus Simroth, 1889, Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758), Tandonia kusceri (Wagner, 1931), T. budapestensis (Hazay, 1880), and T. lagostana (Wagner, 1940). Representatives of the genus Limacus are registered for the first time for the country. The slug material was collected from northern, central, and southern Montenegro.

The genus Gymnospermium (Berberidaceae) in the Balkans

A revision of the genus Gymnospermium (Berberidaceae) in the Balkan Peninsula is carried out. Three species are recognised. Gymnospermium maloi is described as a new species from Mt. Picari in Gjirokastra district, southern Albania. It is compared with the closely related G. scipetarum which has a different habitat and distribution in central Albania and southern Montenegro. The chromosome number and karyotype features of G. maloi are provided for the first time. The chromosome formula of 2n = 2x = 14 (1 metacentric, 1 meta-submetacentric and 5 submetacentric chromosome pairs) is unusual as 2n = 16 has been reported for other members of the genus. The nuclear DNA content (2C-value) of all three species was determined. The genome size of G. maloi is 29.44 (+/- 0.47) pg, for G. scipetarum (chromosome number still unknown) 29.55 (+/- 1.35) pg, and for G. peloponnesiacum (2n = 2x = 16) 31.93 (+/- 2.38) pg. These values are the first genome size measurements for the genus. All three species are mapped and fully illustrated. A key to the European species is also presented.