Projects / Programmes
Proteus (proteus anguinus, amphibia, caudata) in biological and functional-morphological studies
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 1.03.01 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Biology |
Zoology and zoophysiology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B260 |
Biomedical sciences |
Hydrobiology, marine biology, aquatic ecology, limnology |
| B210 |
Biomedical sciences |
Histology, cytochemistry, histochemistry, tissue culture |
Proteus anguinus, Amphibia, Caudata, Proteidae, Dinaric Karst, microelements accumulation, heavy metals, target organs, digestive tract, sensory organs, inner ear, hair cells orientation, hearing abilities, rudimentary eyes, pineal organ
Researchers (9)
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
0106 |
Jožef Stefan Institute |
Ljubljana |
5051606000 |
90,706 |
Abstract
The project “Natural Heritage Conservation” deals foremost with ecotoxicological and functional-morphological studies of our endemic cave salamander, Proteus anguinus. It is the sole species of the European cave salamander and the most remarkable cave dweller of underground waters in the Dinaric Karst.
Much of Slovenia situated between the Ljubljana Marsh and the Adriatic sea is classical Karst with almost seven thousand caves of considerable geographic and biological importance.
Water resources in the Karst are extremely sensitive to all kinds of pollution. Among the most serious chemical pollutants are the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found at the source of the river Krupa, and metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and beryllium. All of these substances persist in the environment, being slowly, if at all, degraded by natural processes. All are toxic to life if they accumulate in any appreciable quantity.
Copper, zinc, mercury, arsenic and selenium contents were measured in the liver, kidneys, integument, and muscles of Proteus and their concentrations in water and sediments were determined in individual cave ecosystems. Mercury in river sediments was four times smaller than in tissues, reaching the values of other amphibians from uncontaminated habitats.
Starvation in amphibians is frequent and they can survive long periods without food. We were interested in how starvation influenced the morphology and histochemistry of the digestive tract, above all the liver.
We focused part of our investigations on those sensory organs of Proteus anguinus that have not undergone retrogression due to cave life and for which we expect adequate stimuli in the underground habitat. Audiograms of underwater hearing were estimated by psychoacoustical methods. The total audible range covered frequencies between 10 Hz and more than 10 kHz.
The question of preservation of the circadian rhythm led us to investigate the structure and function of the pineal. We studied it using light and transmission electron microscopy, and recently immunocytochemical labelling of the pineal and rudimentary eyes for light microscopy.
