FROV

Ve dnech 21. a 22. srpna 2024 proběhla 21. toxikologická konference pod názvem Toxicita a biodegradabilita odpadů a látek významných ve vodním prostředí, která se konala v přednáškovém sále na MEVPIS. Konference se zúčastnilo 40 odborných a vědeckých pracovníků a bylo předneseno 22 referátů. Tradiční součástí konference je od roku 2005 soutěž mladých vědců O cenu prof. RNDr. Vladimíra Sládečka, DrSc., do které se letos přihlásilo 11 soutěžících. Čtyřčlenná odborná komise složená z vědeckých pracovníků z FROV, VFU Brno, RECETOX Brno a ČZU Praha udělila první místo studentce doktorského studijního programu z Přírodovědecké fakulty JU – Ing. Lucii Kotrbové za příspěvek „Identifikace bakteriálních taxonů degradujících makrolidová antibiotika v půdách obohacených produkty čističky odpadních vod“.Druhé místo bylo uděleno Mgr. Martině Poncarové, rovněž studentce doktorského programu z Přírodovědecké fakulty JU a na třetí příčce se umístila MVDr. Vendula Stoklasová z Veterinární univerzity v Brně.

The 21^st Toxicological Conference "Toxicity and Biodegradability of Matters Important in Aquatic Environments" was held at the MEVPIS Centre on 21-22 August. The conference was attended by 40 researchers and academics and 22 lectures were presented. Since 2005, the student competition "Prof. Vladimír Sládeček Prize" has been a part of this conference. This year the evaluation committee awarded the first place to Ing. Lucie Kotrbová (Faculty of Science, USB) with the contribution " Exploring macrolide-degrading bacterial microbiome in soils treated with wastewater treatment plant products ", the second place went to MSc. Martina Poncarová (Faculty of Science, USB) and the third place to MVDr. Vendula Stoklasová (University of Veterinary Sciences Brno).

It’s great you are here! We're glad you're going to join ABC 2024. So don't forget, USB will be participating in the challenge in June 2024.

The Academic Bicycle Challenge is a cycling competition for universities and higher education institutions around the world that not only helps to raise the international prestige of participating universities but most importantly promotes a healthy lifestyle. (RULES)

Throughout the month, we can give a chance to MOVING, RESTORING HEALTH and THE ENVIRONMENT, RELAXINGand what's more – HELPING PEOPLE AND FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM. All mileage counts and will support the overall USB result, whether you ride your bike for fun or any other reason.

What’s new in ABC 2024?
Great prizes
USB CYCLING JERSEYS from KALAS during the competition – for the first 60 riders (30 women and 30 men) who cover 150 km (details in the rules below)

The best riders (male and female), and the best team will be announced as the main winners of ABC 2024, and we have prepared cool gifts for them:

• MASSAGE AND HEALTH PARAMETER MEASUREMENT VOUCHERS for the winning riders of ABC 2024
• INBODY DIAGNOSTICSfor the winning team
• CYCLING TROPHIES
• PACKAGE OF PRACTICAL CYCLING ITEMSfor riding including travel first aid kit. And if that's still not enough, we will also add something GREAT TO DRINK (a pack of Budvar and Čtyrák beer)

Calling all students!
STUDENTS! Your participation is also important to us, get involved and take the chance to beat your professors ߘꮠWe have a personal challenge prepared for you by the USB Rector – if the student team wins, they will get a 'KEG' of BEER (more in the rules below)

Changes in USB rules

• The most important new addition to the rules for the ABC Challenge 2024 is that all riders will log in to Naviki viaUNIVERSITY EMAIL (if you already have an account, the email can be easily changed).
• Teams: this year we would like to keep the teams as balanced as possible, so we’d like to ask you to form teams with as many members as possible (maximum 25 riders). Teams can be made up of riders from different departments, areas, types of study or faculties. Please challenge your colleagues and friends and join forces for a good cause.
• The TEAM NAME must be entered to best represent the faculty, USB unit or group (see rules below for details).

RULES SUMMARY, DETAILS FOR TEAMS – ENTERING NAMES

A sincere thank you to our partners for their support: BUDVAR, ČEZ, ČSOB, KALAS

Let's not forget that South Bohemia is a place that holds true love for all categories of bicycle touring. There is an extensive network of marked cycle paths and České Budějovice, an active cycling city, views nature protection as a matter of great importance. The University of South Bohemia is part of it all and we are ready to show our activity to the whole world.

If you have any questions, please contact Mgr. Diana Kocábková at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Admission procedure for Bachelor's study programmes in Fisheryand Protection of Watersis opened!Applications can be submitted by March 31, 2025.Bachelor's study programmes are taught only in Czech language. 
Admissions for PhD programs in Fishery and Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems are open until May 5, 2025.

More information about admission procedure to all offered study programmes you can find here. 

Visit us as during the Univeristy of South Bohemia Open Day on January 24, 2025. 

Within the long-term cooperation of the Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters USB with Turkish colleagues in crayfish research and colleagues from Charles University in Prague, we developed a method of artificial incubation of crayfish eggs to reduce the transmission of crayfish plague from infected females to their offspring. In Turkey, the commercial harvesting of crayfish, namely the narrow-clawed crayfish, is a significant part of commercial aquaculture. They are mainly exported and represent an important source of income. These exports grew until the mid-1980s when the accidental introduction of the crayfish plague caused dramatic declines in crayfish populations. Although crayfish densities in some Turkish lakes have recovered to levels where fishing is economically viable, persistent chronic crayfish infections have not allowed full recovery of the local populations. Consequently, considerable financial resources have been invested in developing alternative methods of crayfish farming in closed aquaculture systems.  

However, the development of these farms has been hampered by the high mortality rates of both wild-caught broodstocks and juveniles. This is caused by the onset of crayfish plague symptoms. We have focused on solving this problem. We have shown that the artificial incubation of separated eggs from females held in a flow-through system with plague-free water, in a possible combination of egg disinfection in formaldehyde or peracetic acid, reduces the transmission of infection from mothers to their offspring.

The utilization of this method has significant potential in commercial crayfish farms in regions with crayfish plague presence, potentially resulting in the disease transmission- via infected broodstocks or infected water. This is another particular success of the FFPW USB scientists in protecting native crayfish species and mitigating the negative impacts of the spread of non-native crayfish species and crayfish plague.

More detailed information can be found in the original article: Kozák, P., Erol, K.G., Uzunmehemtoglu, O.Y., Tangerman, M., Mojžišová, M., Özkök, R., Kouba, A., Cinar, S., Petrusek, A., 2023. Short-term artificial incubation before hatching limits vertical transmission of Aphanomyces astaci from chronically infected females of a host species susceptible to crayfish plague. Aquaculture 569: 739373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739373

Written by: prof. Pavel Kozák

The series of autumn catches at the Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters USB ended with the catch of the Pond Velká Okrouhlice on 3^rd December 2024.

The main catch was a selection of carp, common carp and bighead carp intended for this year's market. The carp and grass carp at hatchery weight will be used for the planned stocking of broodstock next year.

Predatory fish were stocked with zander, pike and catfish. In addition to the "common" fish species, our PhD students who participate in the catches as part of their practicum and visitors to the catches saw part of a stock of generational American paddlefish. This cartilaginous fish, related to sturgeon, is native to the Mississippi River basin and is kept by our faculty for the research activities of colleagues in our laboratories.

This year's production season at the faculty has been successful and without the breeding adversity of significant water shortages in ponds to supplement losses through evaporation or, conversely, the threat of flood conditions that have affected some of the ponding areas of our country.

Thank you for your support of our faculty and best regards "Petrův zdar."

The Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters USB has prepared another in a series of educational programmes for children's students, this time focusing on the topic "Fungi we know." Before our juniors became real mycologists, they had to collect stickers for the "mushroom pupils" from different fungi on their journey of discovery. In addition to basic identification and classification of mushrooms, into edible and inedible, the children learned what parts mushrooms are made up of and what these parts are called. From the mycological vocabulary, we included the mysterious mycelium, mycorrhiza, or forest internet, and information about the zombie fungus, which controls the behavior of ants of the genus Camponotus. Like good researchers, we examined fungi and moulds in detail and under the microscope.  We also included art activities, with children creating pictures from spore impressions or their own mushroomarium. Among the outdoor activities we can mention forest basketball, magic with mushrooms or truffle hunting. Our Fall Children's University was successfully completed by 22 graduates who took home certificates, crocheted pop-it mushrooms and toasted with real homemade kombucha.

Akademie fyzikálních a matematických věd Národní společnosti věd, literatury a umění v Neapoli udělila cenu pro mladé vědce "Umberto Pierantoni" 2024 našemu kolegovi Paridu Balzani, z Laboratoře sladkovodních ekosystémů, za výzkum v oblasti "Biodiverzita, ochrana, obnova přírodních ekosystémů a mikrobiom. K úspěchu gratulujeme!

The Academy of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the National Society of Sciences, Letters and Arts in Naples awarded the "Umberto Pierantoni" 2024 Young Scientist Award to our colleague Paride Balzani, from the Laboratory of Freshwater Ecosystems, for his research in the field of "Biodiversity, conservation, restoration of natural ecosystems and microbiome. Congratulations on his success!

A one-off exceptional scholarship will be awarded to the best presenting students of the PhD seminars in the academic year 2024/2025, who are:

Seminar RP4, 4^th February 2025:

• M.Sc. Augusto Frederico Huber
• M.Sc. Ismael Soto Almena
  
  

Seminar RP2, 6^th February 2025: 

• M.Sc. M. Phil. Gayani Kapukotuwa
• Ing. Helena Hinterholzová
  
  

Seminar RP3, 11^th February 2025:

• Ing. Václav Kučera
• M.Sc. Anil Axel Tellbüscher
• M.Sc. Essaikiamal S. M. Konar
  
  

Seminář RP1, 13. února 2025:

• M.Sc. João Ferreira
• M.Sc. Laurine Mule Mueni
• M.Sc. Abhipsha Dey

Congratulations to all the awardees on their success.

The Danube River is full of freshwater scaly wanderers, which constantly move during the year, upstream and then back downstream, to their breeding, feeding and wintering sites. Sturgeons, a group of prehistoric cartilaginous fish, are among the largest, lifelong wanderers. Although sturgeons do not have bones, they do have armor on their bodies - dozens to hundreds of calcified scutes and plates that look like medieval armor. Their skull is as hard as a helmet and extends into a rostrum (snout) resembling a short sword. Overall, sturgeons look like medieval knights in full armor riding somewhere to fight. And indeed. They are going to fight. To fight for your own life, for the survival of your species, for the survival of the entire group of sturgeon species. Despite their great travel courage, sturgeons belong to a group of fish whose future lies in the stars thanks to adverse human activities. One of them is the straightening of streams, the construction and operation of barriers on streams, such as weirs, dams, etc. These activities disrupted or completely interrupted the natural migration of rheophilic (current preferring) fish species, including sturgeons.Sturgeons need tens to hundreds of kilometers of free water to live - without weirs, dams or other barriers. Without free-flowing waters, the sturgeons are lost and silently await their end. The biggest migration record holder is without a doubt the beluga (Huso huso), which in the past regularly migrated over a distance of almost two thousand km (Black Sea-Slovakia/Austria). The construction of a system of dams in the Iron Gate Valley on the border of Romania and the former Yugoslavia (today's Serbia) completely stopped the beluga migration. Currently, beluga is waiting for a miracle under the turbines of the Iron Gate hydropower plants. But even the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), the last surviving species of sturgeon in the middle section of the Danube (including Slovakia), is not left behind. This species usually needs 100 km of free-flowing water to live, but it can be as much as 300-500 km. After birth (hatching), sturgeon larvae drift downstream tens to hundreds of kilometers to the localities where they will grow, and then in a few years adult sturgeons return home upstream to reproduce. But it doesn't end there. During the year, the sturgeon undertakes regular migrations to search for food, in autumn sturgeon moves to the deepest parts of the stream to overwinter there. And in the spring, it moves back to the spawning grounds to breed. In short, sterlet is always moving, traveling, swimming and is never at rest. Unfortunately, even the sterlet, together with its relatives - e.g. the Russian sturgeon (A. gueldenstaedti) or the stellate sturgeon (A. stellatus) - received a huge blow more than 30 years ago in the form of the construction and operation of the Gabčíkovo barrage system (the Nagymáros part was not completed). The Russian and stellate sturgeons have completely disappeared from the Slovakian-Hungarian section of the Danube, the sterlet is still around, but it is not doing very well here.

At the same time, the sterlet has become the flagship fish species of the Danube River basin, on which, along with the beluga, is the focus of intense international attention. After all, if the life requirements of sturgeons are solved, the whole Danube will be "healed". The Danube can thus become a living river again. And precisely "Living Rivers", a ten-year integrated LIFE project (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers), one of the goals of which is to draw attention to the necessity of adjusting the living conditions of rheophilic fishes (including sturgeon) in the Slovak-Hungarian part of the Danube and further to propose and realize changes in the morphology and passability of rivers for fish migration and to monitor the effectiveness of these changes.

That is why the project partner - the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Fisheries and Water Conservation (FFPW USB), started in April 2024 a telemetric study of the migration passability of the Slovakian-Hungarian part of the Danube in the Bratislava-Medveďov section for fish. In total, more than 60 sterlet were tagged, got acoustic transmitter, and released back to the stream to continuously "report" their position in the stream for more than two years. This is made possible by the created net of underwater signal receivers, which are installed on the water structures, but also in free-flowing parts of the Danube. The goal of the activity is to find out as much information as possible about the movement of sturgeons through the project area. To find out where the fishes swim, where they stay, where they cannot swim because they have encountered an impassable migration barrier. Among other things, the "bleeping" sturgeons will thus help us to show how big a problem for their life is the presence and operation of significant migration barriers located in the Slovak-Hungarian section of the Danube - the Čunovo, Gabčíkovo and Dunakiliti water works. No one knows for sure if and where sturgeons could overcome these water structures. In the near future, the “bleeping knights" should be joined by more of their relatives, not only from sturgeons, but also other rheophilic fish species – common barbel and asp.

Written by: RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D. – coordinator of the LIFE Living Rivers project at FFPW USB

From June 10th till 14th, Anıl Tellbüscher participated in the Irish Summer School on Anaerobic Digestion of Biomass at the University of Galway. The event was hosted by the School of Engineering under Prof. Xinmin Zhan.

During the Summer School, Anıl attended lectures related to the theory, application, latest trends and developments in anaerobic digestion, such as the production of hydrogen and volatile fatty acids, cost- and environmental impact considerations in anaerobic digestion processes and the application of machine learning in environmental research. Implementing those technologies in aquaculture could pose a considerable benefit for society by providing energy and affordable fertilizer in regions with costly transportation or limited access to fossil fuels, while decreasing the environmental impact of aquaculture.

The summer school was supported by the EU COST Action CA20133 “FULLRECO4US” - Cross Border Transfer and Development of Sustainable Resource Recovery Strategies Towards Zero Waste.

The AQUA 2024 conference was held in five days, 26^th – 30^th August 2024, in Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference's theme was “Blue Food and Green Solutions,” which emphasized the importance of sustainable practices in aquaculture, focusing on various aspects of aquaculture research. The event featured both oral presentations and poster sessions. I presented a poster entitled “Preliminary Insight into the Incorporation of Common HopHumulus lupulus L. into Fish Feed: Effect on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemical and Antioxidant Properties of CarpCyprinus carpio L. I attended several oral sessions related to fish nutrition. These sessions offered valuable insights into the updated overview of topics in aquaculture nutrition. The conference was well-organized, allowing me to connect with fellow researchers and professionals and I was very pleased with all that I received at that conference. This business trip was financially supported byRVO CENAKVA FROV JU VP3 (NS:090032) andGAJU 098/2022 (NS:090191). 

I attended the international conference - AQUA 2024, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from the 26th to the 30th of August. I had an oral presentation.

• Ning Zhang*, Katerina Grabicová, Pavel Horký, Zuzana Toušová, Karel Douda, Zuzana Linhartová, Jan Turek, Martin Pšenicka, Klára Hilscherová, Roman Grabic, Tomáš Randák. Effect of sewage treatment plant's effluent on early life stages development and sex determination of brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario).

Ve dnech 28.-30.4. 2024 jsem byl pozván vedením Ústavu biologie Krétské univerzity (Dept. of Biology, University of Crete) v Heraklionu, abych přednesl v rámci výuky kurzu „Aquaculture, Environment and Society“ přednášky tematicky věnované chovu kapra („Principles of common carp rearing and pond aquaculture“). Mé prezentace sestávaly ze čtyř přednášek. Dept. of Biology, který kurz zaštiťuje, se věnuje především fyziologii a welfare ryb a mořské hydrobiologii, proto jsem byl požádán o specifickou část věnovanou chovu kapra. Veškeré náklady spojené s cestou byly kompletně hrazeny přijímající stranou.

RNDr. Zdeněk Adámek, CSc.

Internship in the office of the Permanent Representative of Czech Republic to FAO and WFP

During February to April i spend three months as intern in the office of the Permanent Representative to FAO and WFP in Rome. I assisted the Permanent Representative in his responsibilities concerning FAO and WFP by attending and reporting on expert or governance meetings of both organizations, such as the WFP Executive Board, the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM), the European Humanitarian Forum, and the Committee on Phytosanitary Measures. Additionally, I actively participated in preparing for the Permanent Representative's attendance at the FAO European Regional Conference and Ministerial meeting of The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). I was deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the Permanent Representative's office, attended various workshops and seminars related to international cooperation and humanitarian aid, particularly in the context of food security, and was responsible for drafting reports and monitoring communication among relevant UN bodies. Thanks to the numerous meetings I attended during my internship, I gained insight into the operations of the major United Nations agencies headquartered in Rome.

Actively participating in the daily tasks of the Permanent Representative allowed me to enhance my communication and organizational skills considerably. Additionally, I had the chance to refine my language proficiency and broaden my professional knowledge through participation in various professional workshops and events. This opportunity was supported by Erasmus+ programme and by Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters USB.

On October 20^th–29^th, 2024, FFPW USB staff (Bořek Drozd, Filip Ložek, Pavel Staněk, Martin Šindler) together with students of the faculty, employees of the Slovak Angling Union and members of the Slovak Fishing Club caught and tagged 3 rheophilic fish species for a telemetry study aimed at determining the current migratory passability of Slovak - Hungarian parts of the Danube for fish. The target fish species are: sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) as the flagship fish species of the Danube basin, as well as barbel (Barbus barbus) and asp (Leuciscus aspius). The activity took place within the framework of fulfilling the goals of the integrated project LIFE Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers).

RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

On August 26-29, 2024, FFPW USB staff (Bořek Drozd, Jan Kubec, Martin Vlk) performed dowmloading of data from telemetry gates installed on water structures and in free-flowing passages in the Slovak-Hungarian part of the Danube in order to determine the migration activity of the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) in the project area of ​​the integrated LIFE project Living Rivers (101069837/LIFE21-IPE-SK-Living Rivers). Furthermore, maintenance, service and repair of the installed telemetry equipment was carried out.

Written by: RNDr. Bořek Drozd, Ph.D.

Business Visit to MAT-KULING and Future Fish Asia Exhibition & Conference (Izmir, Turkey October 9th – 13th, 2024)

The purpose of this business trip was to visit Future fish Asia exhibition and conference and MAT-KULING factory, a leading equipment manufacturer for Recirculating Aquaculture Systems. Visit aimed to strengthen relationships, explore opportunities, and attend seminars and presentations focused on the future of RAS technology.

The seminar sessions were highly informative, covering topics such as:

• Growth Potential for RAS in the US presented by Edward Aneshansley (Eda-Aquatic Design Services).
• Innovative Technology Development at Nofima Norway focusing on CO2 degassing and electrical biofiltration, presented by Kevin Torben Stiller (Nofima).
• Combining RAS with Outdoor Pond Fish Culture: Advantages and Risks, where I had the opportunity to present the ongoing research.
• Closing the Knowledge Gap in the RAS Industry by Jonas Junker  (Bengtsen, Founder, IfAqua ApS)
• BalticWaters Fish Lab: A New Cold Water Fish Laboratory by Konrad Stralka (BalticWaters)
• Improvements in Fish Production with MAT-KULING Products by Simon Durejka (Swiss Lachs).

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Vít Profant, Team Leader at MAT-KULING AS in Bodø, Nordland, Norway, for kindly inviting and hosting me during this event.