Marko Rakovic

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Bird curator at University of Belgrade

We conducted ornithological surveys of Tafelberg mountain, Suriname, in November-December 2005 and August-September 2008 and also surveyed the adjacent lowlands in both forest and savanna habitats around the Kappel Airstrip. We recorded a total of 283 species, including 27 Guianan endemics and 2 tepuian endemics (Heliodoxa xanthogonys and Hylophilu...

Phylogeographic studies of Holarctic birds are challenging because they involve vast geographic scale, complex glacial history, extensive phenotypic variation, and heterogeneous taxonomic treatment across countries, all of which require large sample sizes. Knowledge about the quality of phylogeographic information provided by different loci is cruc...

In this study we investigated the phylogenetics of the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), a forest passerine with a wide Palaearctic range including Corsica, using three mitochondrial genes and three nuclear introns, and its phylogeographic history using the COI gene. Our phylogenetic results, including eight of the ten sub-species currentl...

The Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita is an abundant, polytypic Palearctic bird.

We examined the characteristics of a colony of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster), Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and Common Swifts (Apus apus) in a loess bank located within the Protected habitat "Glinara", Belgrade, Serbia. Using video observations recorded during the 2023 breeding season, we documented 305 active bee-eater nests, 127 st...

Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle & Manceaux, 1908) is a highly prevalent zoonotic protozoan parasite found globally in various bird and mammal species, including humans. Migratory birds play an important epidemiological role by facilitating the spread of pathogens, including T. gondii, to new regions. Armenia is particularly significant in this context b...

Life in urban areas may alter the gut microbiota and host physiology, leading to a higher susceptibility to pathogens. In contrast, specific members of the gut microbiota community have been shown to mitigate the intensity of malaria infection. House sparrows, living in close proximity to humans, are exposed to a unique environment with human-shape...

Simple Summary Global warming represents a threat to all boreal plant and animal species on the Balkan Peninsula, such as the Three-Toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus. As a cold-adapted bird species whose presence on the Balkan Peninsula is limited to mountain forests, certain effects of climate change on its distribution can be expected. Therefo...

The present study provides data on early, late and out-breeding season bird singing of the following songbird species: Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula), Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) and ed in the period 2013-2023 (one decade) at the total of 10 sites in Serbia. Also field notes on some other songbird species singing are given in the pre...

The study aimed to provide data on three faunistic groups (Hemiptera, Orthoptera and birds) used as indicators of climate change as well as to formulate area-specific climate change index (the Serbian Climate Change Index-SCCI). Based on the data obtained, a total of 56 indicator taxa (10 hemipteran, 21 orthopteran and 25 bird species) belong to 17...

New distributional data on 43 aquatic beetle species of Serbia from 17 sampling sites, mainly for Vojvodina (the part of Pannonian Plain) are provided. The field research was carried out in 2013-2023 (one decade). The rarity of findings particularly expressed in small lowland streams, such as those for Vojvodina revealed some aquatic beetle species...

Parasites from the Phylum Apicomplexa (genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon) are the vector-born blood parasites distributed worldwide. This group of parasites has been the subject of extensive study in passerines, but less so in other groups of birds, such as owls. Four haemosporidian species have been discovered in the Long-eared Owl...

We examined the nest loss due to predation of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) during the period their colony was frequented by Caspian Whipsnakes (Dolichophis caspius). In 12 out of 38 previously identified active nests, we did not record any nestlings after observing snake activity. Both the relative nest position and the total bank height w...

Identifying geographic areas with habitats suitable for the presence of priority species is of essential importance in conservation planning. A useful tool to identify these areas is a species distribution modelling (SDM), which is a method that defines statistical relationship between species records and environmental variables in the localities w...

Alarm signals have evolved to communicate pertinent threats to conspecifics, but heterospecifics may also use alarm calls to obtain social information. In birds, mixed-species flocks are often structured around focal sentinel species, which produce reliable alarm calls that inform eavesdropping heterospecifics about predation risk. Prior research h...

In this study we investigated genetic variability of the riffle beetle Elmis maugetii Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera: Elmidae) in Europe and North Africa. The samples barcoded in the present study cover the following countries: the Netherlands, Croatia, Serbia, and Greece. The analysis also includes additional data from Austria, Germany, France, Spain...

The masked shrike Lanius nubicus (Lichtenstein, 1823) (Aves: Laniidae) is recorded in Serbia for the first time. On the 7th and 24th May and 26th June 2021, one pair and three individuals of the species were observed near village Slavujevac, Preševo Municipality, south Serbia. The occurrence of several birds of both sexes in the two consecutive mon...

Various species from family Laniidae have been widely studied for the presence of haemosporidians. However, temporal and geographical distribution of the blood parasites in the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio has been studied partially. We investigated the presence and distribution of the blood haemosporidians in adult Red-backed Shrikes during a...

Birds, as mobile organisms, do not know about political borders. Moving from north to south and vice versa, each year birds undertake exhausting seasonal migrations, that are worthy of admiration. During migration, birds are using energy reserves stored in the form of fat deposits that are used as fuel. For many species continuous flying is impossi...

Deep phylogeographic structure in mitochondrial DNA not reflected in morphological variation has been uncovered in a number of species over the past few decades. However, inferred phylogeographic structure solely based on mitochondrial DNA can be misleading and might not reflect the true history of evolutionary lineages. Consequently, such cases sh...

The combined actions of climatic variations and landscape barriers shape the history of natural populations. When organisms follow their shifting niches, obstacles in the landscape can lead to the splitting of populations, on which evolution will then act independently. When two such populations are reunited, secondary contact occurs in a broad ran...

The combined actions of climatic variations and landscape barriers shape the history of natural populations. When organisms follow their shifting niches, obstacles in the landscape can lead to the splitting of populations, on which evolution will then act independently. When two such populations are reunited, secondary contact occurs in a broad ran...

A multidisciplinary research method was employed with the intention to create a series of bio-inspired flattened airfoils, observe their aerodynamic characteristics, and analyse their applicability to small devices or to designs of high-speed trains, within the shortest period in the conceptual stage. A research specimen of a kingfisher, selected f...

We use multilocus molecular data and species distribution modelling to investigate the phylogenetics and the phylogeography of the White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), a bird species widely distributed over the entire Palaearctic. Our phylogenetic results reveal three well-supported clades within D. leucotos: the Chinese endemic subspeci...

We document recent sightings of European Goldcrest Regulus regulus and European Serin Serinus serinus during the breeding season in Armenia. Although singing males of both species were present, their breeding in Armenia requires confirmation.

In the times of significant development of high-speed train transportation and taking the primacy over the others, one of the major designing tasks is to predict accurately and fast the vehicle’s main performances, especially aerodynamics. Motivated by the bionic design of representative Japan’s train Shinkansen, the presented bionic design was bas...

We revise the taxonomy of the Sylvia cantillans complex, a group of phenotypically distinct warblers with mainly parapatric distributions around a large part of the Mediterranean basin. We redefine the species limits using a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear markers and we objectively link available names to the genetically defined lineages...

We document recent sightings of European Goldcrest Regulus regulus and European Serin Serinus serinus during the breeding season in Armenia. Although singing males of both species were present, their breeding in Armenia requires confirmation.

Each year, billions of songbirds cross large ecological barriers during their migration. Understanding how they perform this incredible task is crucial to predict how global change may threaten the safety of such journeys. Earlier studies based on radar suggested that most songbirds cross deserts in intermittent flights at high altitude, stopping i...

By analysing the deuterium concentration in the scapulars and rectrices (δ²Hf) of breeding and spring migrating Ortolan Buntings (Emberiza hortulana), we found a high correlation attesting that spring body and central rectrices have grown in similar isotopic environments. Furthermore, we failed to find a correlation between δ²Hf of the rectrices an...

In France, illegal hunting of the endangered ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana has been defended for the sake of tradition and gastronomy. Hunters argued that ortolan buntings trapped in southwest France originate from large and stable populations across the whole of Europe. Yet, the European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice of t...

Maps of all recoveries of ringed birds and bats ringed in Serbia or recovered in Serbia from 1908-2016.

The Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita is an abundant, polytypic Palearctic bird. Validity of some of its subspecies is controversial and birds from some parts of the species range remain unclassified taxonomically. The relationships among populations from different geographic areas have not been sufficiently explored with molecular data. In...

Phylogenetic relationships of mtDNA CytB haplotypes. Bayesian tree representing relationships among CytB clades of Common Chiffchaffs and other chiffchaff species. GenBank accession numbers and inferred subspecies assignment are listed on the right. Numbers next to branches indicate their posterior probability values. (PDF)

All sampled individuals used in this study with GenBank accession numbers. (XLSX)

Avian haemosporidians are vector-transmitted blood parasites that are distributed worldwide, abundant in many bird families and well studied across Europe and North America. Since avian haemosporidians have been poorly examined in the Palearctic migratory flyways of the Western Balkans, the goal of this study was to investigate which species of thr...

Hewitt's paradigm for effects of Pleistocene glaciations on European populations assumes their isolation in peninsular refugia during glacial maxima, followed by re-colonization of broader Europe during interstadials. This paradigm is well supported by studies of poorly dispersing taxa, but highly dispersive birds have not been included. To test th...

Deforestation, urban development, and global climate change can lead to dramatic changes of ecological communities and increase prevalence of infectious diseases at higher latitudes and altitudes. Identification of factors responsible for the prevalence of parasites is of crucial importance to understand the dynamics of parasite distribution in a c...

Diversity and prevalence of Haemosporidian blood microorganisms in wild birds are rather well studied across Western Europe from Sweden to Spain, while little has been known about the distribution and the ecology of avian blood parasites across the Balkan Peninsula. Contemporary data were published for Bulgaria but researches on avian malaria have...

Prevalence and morphology of Haemosporidian blood microorganisms in wild birds are rather well studied across Western Europe from Sweden to Spain, while little has been known about the distribution and the ecology of avian blood parasites across the Balkan Peninsula. Recent data were published just for Bulgaria but research on avian malaria have ne...

The genus Physa (= Physella) includes the most abundant and diverse freshwater gastropods native to North America. Due to their invasive nature, many species occur throughout the world. The most abundant species, Physa acuta, has been introduced to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia by human commerce and migrating birds. This species is widely dist...

The presented data refers to the Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) singing out of the breeding season. In the period of 2013 and 2014, the “untimely” song of the species was recorded at the total of 7 sites in Serbia (the additional information is provided in table).

The glacial refugia hypothesis indicates that during the height of the Pleistocene glaciations the temperate species that are today widespread in Paleartic survived in small and climatically favourable areas located on the southern limits of ice sheets. Refugial populations that evolved in allopatry are expected to have accumulated independent gene...

During 2007 and 2008, an Orphean Werbler Sylvia hortensis was registered in two localities in the Pčinja river valley. On 17 April 2007, at Cvetkov Grob, around 20 km far from Trgovište (42°23' N, 21°57' E, 742 m a. s. l.; breeding or late migration), a male was registered in a high bush, where it sang occasionally. A singing male was observed in t...

The article presents compilation of all available published and unpublished data on the findings of Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus) in Serbia. This species for now was confirmed on Kopaonik, Tara, Zlatar and Željin Mts. The only confirmed nesting site is Kopaonik where it was found two nests (1988 and 2010 year). The species was recorded only in...

During May of 2008, 8 records on the stay of flocks of Rosy Starlings Sturnus roseus were collected in Serbia. They flocks contained 3-150 individuals. It is possible that the invasion in Serbia happened simultaneously with the invasion in Hungary, as well as in Macedonia, where a massive breeding of this species was recorded in 2008.