Marine phanerogams are considered biological sentinels or indicators since any modification in seagrass meadow distribution and coverage signals negative changes in the marine environment. In recent decades, seagrass meadows have undergone global losses at accelerating rates, and almost one-third of their coverage has disappeared globally. This study focused on the dynamics of seagrass meadows in the northern Adriatic Sea, which is one of the most anthropogenically affected areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Seagrass distribution data and remote sensing products were utilized to identify the stable and dynamic parts of the seagrass ecosystem. Different seagrass species could not be distinguished with the Sentinel-2 (BOA) satellite image. However, results revealed a generally stable seagrass meadow (283.5 Ha) but, on the other hand, a stochastic behavior in seagrass meadow retraction (90.8 Ha) linked to local environmental processes associated with anthropogenic activities or climate change. If systemized, this proposed approach to monitoring seagrass meadow dynamics could be developed as a spatial decision support system for the entire Mediterranean basin. Such a tool could serve as a key element for decision makers in marine protected areas and would potentially support more effective conservation and management actions in these highly productive and important environments.

After mosquitoes, ticks are the most important vectors of infectious diseases. They play an important role in public health. In recent decades, we discovered new tick-borne diseases; additionally, those that are already known are spreading to new areas because of climate change. Slovenia is an endemic region for Lyme borreliosis and one of the countries with the highest incidence of this disease on a global scale. Thus, the spatial pattern of Slovenian Lyme borreliosis prevalence was modelled with 246 indicators and transformed into 24 uncorrelated predictor variables that were applied in geographically weighted regression and regression tree algorithms. The projected potential shifts in Lyme borreliosis foci by 2050 and 2070 were calculated according to the RCP8.5 climate scenario. These results were further applied to developing a Slovenian Lyme borreliosis infection risk map, which could be used as a preventive decision support system.

The human population is increasing. The ongoing urbanization process, in conjunction with climate change, is causing larger environmental footprints. Consequently, quality of life in urban systems worldwide is under immense pressure. Here, the seasonal characteristics of Maribor’s urban thermal environment were studied from the perspectives of surface urban heat island (SUHI) and urban heat island (UHI) A remote sensing thermal imagery time series and in-situ measurements (stationary and mobile) were combined with select geospatial predictor variables to model this atmospheric phenomenon in its most intensive season (summer). Finally, CMIP6 climate change scenarios and models were considered, to predict future UHI intensity. Results indicate that Maribor’s UHI intensity maximum shifted from winter to spring and summer. The implemented generalized additive model (GAM) underestimates UHI intensity in some built-up parts of the study area and overestimates UHI intensity in green vegetated areas. However, by the end of the century, UHI magnitude could increase by more than 60% in the southern industrial part of the city. Such studies are of particular concern, in regards to the increasing frequency of heat waves due to climate change, which further increases the (already present) heat stress in cities across the globe.

A specimen of a sixgill bluntnose shark, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre, 1788), was caught 1.5 NM north of Cape Ronek (Izola, Slovenia) in a fishing net for large-sized flatfish (such as turbot) on 28 January 2018. Three other older cases of catch of sixgill bluntnose sharks were recorded in Slovenia and the Gulf of Trieste. Among these, the finding of the specimen in the Lagoon of Marano and Grado is unusual although there are reported cases of sixgill bluntnose sharks in rivers. An analysis of the available data on the bluntnose sixgill shark in the Adriatic Sea, obtained from different published papers, social media and other sources, was done to understand whether the occurrence of H. griseus in the northern Adriatic differs from other parts. A generalised linear model (GLM) approach revealed that larger specimens are more frequently sighted across the Adriatic Sea, while in the Northern Adriatic part, significantly smaller specimens (juveniles) were recorded in comparison to the Central and Southern parts. It seems that the bluntnose sixgill shark is not in conjunction with a common large shark decreasing trend across the whole Mediterranean Sea.

Pridelava oljk je ranljiv kmetijski sistem, primeren za študije vpliva podnebnih sprememb zaradi dolge življenjske dobe oljčnega drevesa, njegove občutljivosti na sušo in visoke temperature ter vse večje vloge oljčnih nasadov v gospodarstvu sredozemskih območij. S pomočjo prostorske analize smo ugotavljali, kakšna je podnebna ustreznost za gojenje oljk v Sloveniji in na Hrvaškem. Ocenjujemo vpliv bioklimatskih spremenljivk na razširjenost oljčnikov na tem območju, vrednotimo prihodnje podnebne pogoje za gojenje oljk, zaznavamo variabilnost modelnih podnebnih napovedi na primeru oljčnikov in identificiramo prihodnja ustrezna in neustrezna območja za gojenje oljk v Sloveniji in na Hrvaškem. Obravnavana podnebna scenarija RCP4.5 in RCP8.5, v primeru oljke, kažeta različen razvoj ustreznih površin za gojenje na raziskovanem območju. Model Mahalanobisove tipičnosti (MT) napoveduje krčenje ustreznih pogojev v severnem predelu območja. Model Podnebne ustreznosti pridelka (CCS) pa kaže največje razlike v podnebni ustreznosti za gojenje oljk na območju Dalmacije, kjer bo lahko v prihodnosti več ustreznih površin tudi v notranjosti celine. Dolgoročne podnebne napovedi so lahko na lokalnem nivoju dokaj nezanesljive. Za natančnejše napovedi ustreznih pogojev za gojenje oljke bi bile potrebne bolj poglobljene analize na regionalni ravni. Prav gotovo bo oljkam v prihodnosti ustrezalo toplejše ozračje, vendar je problematika večplastna.