3rd ZIMO Young Meeting
After numerous international conferences, it was time to participate in a domestic one, at our own Institute. On January 30th 2026, Antonia, Marko and Lina presented their work to colleagues from the Division of Marine and Environmental Research at the 3rd ZIMO Young Meeting.
This meeting is organised annually so that assistants and senior assistants at our Institute have the opportunity to present their work, meet colleagues and exchange ideas. Since ZIMO comprises laboratories covering diverse topics, we had the opportunity to listen to lectures on microplastics in aquatic organisms, wastewater epidemiology, physical-chemical research of Croatian lakes, the impact of heavy metals on aquatic organisms, and many more.
Marko gave a lecture entitled “Cooling potential: Drone thermal mapping reveals temperature heterogeneity around ant nests” in which he presented the methodology and analysis of thermal heterogeneity of colonies of the species Messor wasmanni at two Croatian islands.
Antonia presented her research on the topic of “Heavy metal bioaccumulation and physiological defences in urban and rural ants”, which was focused on the physiological response of urban and rural ants to heavy metals.
Lina presented the results of last year’s field research on the effect of thermal microclimate on the activity of the species Messor wasmanni under the title “Microclimate as a driver of activity and thermal tolerance in harvester ant”.
In addition to a total of 27 lectures, we also participated in a social gathering of assistants and senior assistants, where we had the opportunity to meet new colleagues, but also to talk to those we usually only meet in the hallways and offices, and about whose work we don’t know as much as we would like. With feedback from colleagues, we have concluded this year’s conference and are looking forward to the 4th ZIMO Youth Conference.
