Exploring diatom diversity in Serbian lakes through microscopy and metabarcoding
From the first semester of my studies, I knew I wanted to work on algae, and during the classes I chose, I focused more and more on diatoms. That led to my Master’s degree in the study program Biology, module Biology of Algae, where I examined diatom diversity in waterfalls on the Stara Planina mountain in Serbia.
The first part of my doctoral research is conducted as part of the BIOLAWEB project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. I focus on comparing diatom communities in freshwater and saline lakes in Serbia. The study integrates traditional light microscopy and DNA metabarcoding techniques to assess species diversity and ecological patterns. The main goal is to assess water quality using both microscopy and metabarcoding, to evaluate whether metabarcoding can be effectively applied to the lakes I studied. The second part of my research will focus more on biogeography, where I plan to deep further into the genomics of the recorded taxa, including the comparison with the same taxa from other similar ecosystems in Europe.
To other young researchers, remember that every challenge you face is shaping you into the scientist you’re becoming—and in the end, hard work always pays off. Being a young researcher in this field can sometimes make you feel stuck in a problem, but once you work through it, you begin to truly see the beauty of nature’s creation. It’s not always easy, but the journey is worth the wonder that waits on the other side of knowledge.
Contact: ljubica.vlaovic2507@gmail.com
My name is Ljubica Vlaović, and I am a second-year PhD student at the University of Belgrade working under the supervision of Dr Danijela Vidaković and Prof. Dr Jelena Krizmanić. I am currently funded by a scholarship from the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia.
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