First fieldwork of the year in Brijuni NP
Dear readers, the new field trip season has officially begun! Since September, we have been busy processing last year’s data, tending to new ant queens and preparing for the 2026 season, but it is finally time to head back to the islands.
From April 13th to 18th, we visited the islands of Veliki Brijun, Mali Brijun, Gaz, Galija, Vrsar, and Obljak. We’re now experienced enough to expect rain and wind on Veliki Brijun, but despite this, we managed to sail to at least one island every day. The aim of this first field trip was to check the condition of last year’s temperature data loggers, which, unfortunately, was often bad, so we replaced them with new ones. In the rain and in the sun, on meadows and in the macchia, we got our hands dirty and set up a new set which looks really promising. Additionally, the Park staff helped us protect the new collectors from deer, rabbits and rats, so we look forward to long-term data on temperature and humidity.
In addition, we collected some familiar ant species and checked the colonies of the harvester-ant Messor wasmanni, whose activity we monitored in May last year. Since temperatures were just starting to be suitable for ants’ activity above ground, we found most of them in the stage of cleaning the nest surface, but we are also happy to report that they have started collecting seeds.
We spent most of the week hanging out with seagulls, peacocks and deer, but on Saturday, April the 18th, we spent the day talking to Istrian children at the educational event “Brijuni na dlanu” (more on that in another blog).
All in all, we are glad to finally start with the fieldwork and, as always, grateful for the support of the Brijuni National Park staff. Check in soon for the next field reports!
