BioBlitz citizen science workshop

On the 111th anniversary of the discovery of Cerovačke špilje caves, 30 October 2024, in cooperation with the Velebit Nature Park, we held an educational workshop at Center of excellence Cerovac Caves. The workshop was attended by pupils of the 6th grade of the Nikola Tesla Gračac Elementary School, pupils of the Gračac High School, and employees of the Velebit Nature Park.

The pupils first listened to a lecture about caves, Dinaric cave fauna, cave fauna of Cerovac Caves, and about the importance of genome sequencing for the purpose of studying and protecting cave fauna. After the lecture, they had the opportunity to see preserved cave animals and to study and compare them with surface species. At the end, they took a tour of the Donja Cerovac cave where we prepared live cave animals which they observed in their natural environment.

This workshop was the final part of the CroGen project, which is carried out under the leadership of dr. sc. Martina Pavlek at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. It is part of the large pan-European project Biodiversity Genomics Europe funded by the European commission. The goal of the project was to collect cave animals for genome sequencing, and to educate the public about the role of genomic data in protecting biodiversity. In the last six months, members of the CBSS have participated in many field trips for the CroGen project.