Fish sampling in the Ibar River in Kosovo
Late August 2023
The Ibar, also known as the Ibër and Ibri (in Albanian), is a large upland river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of 272 km . The river begins Montenegro and enters northern Kosovo, where it leads back into southern Serbia to flow into the West Morava river a major tributary of the Danube. The Ibar's drainage area is 7,925 square km. We studied it this summer in Kosovo.
In late August 2023 we were invited to participate in a mini-project to research the ecological quality of the Ibar and we concentrated on its fishes. Of course conditions in the river and its tributaries were extremely degraded, incredible severe pollution problems were documented and they obviously affect the fish. Urban, industrial, farming and other forms of pollution and the destruction of habitats, the many barriers to fish movement and lack of any real love for the river is very sad. Some speceis we thought we'ed encounter were missing, although we did record at least 20 taxa. And, I hope one day we can see a cleaner Ibar, more fish and a people in peace.
These are some snapshots from our mission - incomplete since they are only from my camera. More photos may soon be added. We thank our friends from the University of Pristina for a wonderful collaboration.
THE FISHES
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Squalius cephalus |
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Squalius cephalus
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Squalius cephalus
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Lepomis gibbosus |
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Salmo trutta (below Ujmani/Gazivoda Dam) |
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Salmo trutta (main stem tributary of the Ibar, several kms north of Mitrovica). |
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Phoxinus sp. An adult from cold waters. Minnows in this area could be the native species, perhaps Phoxinus csikii, or some translocated species. |
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Phoxinus sp.
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Phoxinus sp.
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Barbus cf. balcanicus |
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Gobio obtusirostris |
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Romanogobio uranoscopus |
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Cobitis elongatoides |
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Cobitis sp. |
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Sabanejewia balcanica |
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Barbus balcanicus |
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Perhaps Vimba vimba
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A definate Chondrostoma nasus |
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Rutilus rutilus |
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Rutilus rutilus |
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Rhodeus amarus |
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Crayfish species |
THE PLACES
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Mitrovica and the Ibar |
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Ibar in Mitrovica
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Sitnitsa in Mitrovica
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Trying to find the river in a Mad Max landscape, Mitrovica.
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City trash tipped into the river, Mitrovica. |
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Ibar near Mitrovica |
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Ibar near Mitrovica |
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Ibar in Mitrovica |
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Ibar in Mitrovica |
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Ibar in Mitrovica |
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Llapi tributary in Central Kosovo, near Balshaj - also very polluted. |
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Mountain tributary near Ujmani/Gazivoda Dam. |
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The field team included Dimitris Zogaris (Univ. Thessaly) and our good friends Linda Grapci-Kotori and Donard Geci from University of Pristina. |
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Main stem of the Ibar upstream of Mitrovica (river-side restaurants near Koshtovë ) . |
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Main stem of the Ibar, many kilometers north of Mitrovica (near Ibarska Slatina). |
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Main stem of the Iber in the north of Kosovo, near Rëvatskë, the northernmost surveyed site.
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Small tributary in the north of Kosovo.
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Landscape in the south of Kosove, near one of the Sitnitsa tributaries. |