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BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

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Nest predation experiment to survey survival probabilities of larger bodied ground-nesting birds (ducks) was carried out on Lake Kuti in May 2006. From 25 artificial ground nests on the floating reedbed islands and 25 nests on the grazed islands, 8 and 1, respectively, were depredated. On the contrary to our expectations, the daily survival rate of artificial nest on the reedbed islands i.e. closed habitats was significantly lower (95.06%) than in the open habitat islands being grazed by sheep and cattle (99.43%). Broken chicken eggs and the marks left behind on plasticine eggs suggested that the predators were probably small mammals and birds. Such predators do not pose serious threat to real nests and clutches, thus they are unlikely to have had significant influence on the dramatic decrease of nesting bird populations in the area.

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The breeding range of the Spanish sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis, in Croatia is rapidly expanding. We studied the size of the nesting population and selection of nest site in an area partially included in the Krka National Park. Our results confirm that between 2004 and 2007 in the wider area of the Krka National Park the Spanish sparrow had occupied new localities, and that the number of 160 pairs recorded in 2003 had more than doubled (300–350) by 2007. In the study area, Spanish sparrows nest most commonly in the canopies of introduced planted trees (e.g. Morus alba, Platanus occidentalis, Populus nigra cv. italica). This strategy, with a good access to and diversity of potential nesting sites, enables a further expansion of the species.

Croatia, as a Mediterranean country in the south-eastern part of Europe, is an area with a characteristic flora and fauna. The omithofauna of Croatia reflects that it is a breeding area for some of the globally endangered bird species, as we//as a site for the spring/autumn passage and the wintering of European migratory birds. Many ornithologically significant localities are designated and there are 20 ornithological reserves and four wetland sites that are on the list of the Ramsar Convention.In Croatia, there are four governmental organizations dealing with scientific research on birds of which the Institute for Ornithology of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is that with the longest tradition. There are also many non-governmental organizations dedicated to the protection of environment, but only the Croatian Society for Bird and Nature Protection is dedicated mostly to bird protection. There are not many sources of funding for research and the protection of birds; the chief source being the Ministry of Sciences and Technology of the Republic of Croatia. Croatia has to establish new legislation according to European criteria and The Hunting Law, The Nature Protection Law and The Environment Protection Law have been recently accepted in Parliament. International Conventions, such as Bern, Bonn and Washington, have yet to be adopted. Foreign, hunting tourism, especially organized by fishpond authorities, is believed to be kilting large numbers of protected water birds. A red data book exists only for plants and mammals and this makes biological assessments difficult.With the end of military operations and the reintegration of the occupied areas of Croatia, an assessment of the damage to the national parks and nature reserves, and to nature in genera/, will be necessary. Bird and nature conservation in Croatia remains promising, provided the legal control of the Croatian government over the occupied parts of the country is restored soon and international organizations give assistance.