A record number of participants – more than 3,100 from 97 countries – made the Aquaculture Europe 2025 conference, held in Valencia (Spain) on 22–25 September, the largest event of this kind in Europe. Organized by the European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and the Torre de la Sal Aquaculture Institute, the conference brought together science, industry, education, and society under the slogan “Aquaculture for Everyone.”

This year’s conference presented and discussed the main trends shaping the future of aquaculture. Sustainability and regenerative aquaculture are becoming the key tools for preserving and restoring the health of the oceans. Advances in genetics and selection used in aquaculture, as well as analysis of global market and consumer trends show how science is linked to real economic and social processes.

The conference revealed a technological transformation – from classic aquaculture to artificial intelligence, biosensors, and automated monitoring systems. Much attention was also paid to inclusion and education initiatives: workshops were held by the NOWA women’s network, forums for young scientists, and educational programmes for students.

More than 1,200 presentations were given at the event, covering topics such as animal welfare and health, sustainable production and regenerative aquaculture, feed and nutrition innovations, the application of omics methods, the effects of climate change and environmental pollution, and ecosystem restoration.

At the Aquaculture Europe 2025 conference, a team of scientists from the Nature Research Centre, including Danguolė Montvydienė, Živilė Jurgelėnė, Renata Butrimienė, Jūratė Karosienė, Brigita Gylytė, and Diana Miškelytė presented reports reviewing the results of research obtained through projects funded under the NATO program Science for Peace and Security (RestoAqua, No. G6085), RCL Young Scientists Group Project (NanoBioTox, No. S-MIP-24-92), and RCL Postdoctoral Fellowship (No. S-PD-24-179).

Last week, postdoctoral fellow Michal Šujan and chief researcher Albertas Bitinas from the Laboratory of Quaternary Research had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Freek Busschers from the Geological Survey of the Netherlands. The visit focused on a joint field trip to outcrops of Early Pleistocene river sediments near Anykščiai in eastern Lithuania. These layers were likely deposited by tributaries of the vast Eridanos paleoriver—a river that once flowed from the Baltic region to the North Sea, draining a substantial part of Europe. The valuable insights gained during discussions in the field, including observations on past river dynamics and the first ice sheet advances, will be instrumental for the progress of Michal Šujan’s postdoctoral project, CosmoLith.

In 2021, UNESCO declared 6 October as the International Geodiversity Day. This year’s theme is “One Earth, Many Stories”.

This is our story: A new conglomerate deposit was discovered in a local quarry near the village of Jankūnai, Akmenynė municipality, Šalčininkai district. These conglomerates were discovered on 19 July 2021 by Lt. Dr Vytautas Račkauskas, geologist, KASP 810 company soldier, volunteer, who was performing border protection duties at the time.

On 21 September 2025, participants in the 15th National Geological Heritage Day visited these conglomerates, measured them, and discussed their origin. By mutual agreement of the event participants, this natural creation was named after its discoverer, Vytautas.

In Lithuania, conglomerate outcrops on the earth’s surface are a relatively rare phenomenon, which is why most of them are natural heritage sites – the Šeimyniškiai cliffs, the Šventoji (Skališkiai) cave near Vilnius, the Dovainoniai and Žiegždriai outcrops on the shores of the Kaunas Lagoon, the Stakiai cliffs (Dieveniškės), and Ožkų Pečius near Verknė.

This rock consists of sediments of various sizes, ranging from fine sand grains to large boulders bound together by cementing material, usually calcite. The name conglomerate comes from the Latin word “conglomeratus” meaning “glued together” or “pressed together”.

Conglomerates form in two stages: first, a layer or coarse, water-permeable material forms; second, dissolved hydrocarbonates that have entered the layer with groundwater crystallize due to concentration and turn into calcite or aragonite.

All magmatic and metamorphic rocks are erratic, i.e. “imported” from the north during the ice ages, whereas conglomerates are rocks that were definitely formed in Lithuania.

Dr Jonas Satkūnas
NRC Laboratory of Climate and Water Research

Vytautas conglomerates. Photos by I. Baumilaitė-Čeponė

On 3 October 2025, Agnė Baranauskaitė-Lengvinienė successfully defended her doctoral dissertation “Optimization and application of molecular methods for the identification of Sarcocystis spp. in natural environmental samples” (field of science – Biology N 010).

Scientific supervisor – Dr Živilė Strazdaitė-Žielienė (Nature Research Centre, Natural Sciences, Biochemistry N 004)
Scientific consultant – Dr Petras Prakas (Nature Research Centre, Natural Sciences, Ecology and Environmental Sciences N 012)

Dissertation Defence Council:

Chairperson

Prof. Dr (HP) Algimantas Paulauskas (Vytautas Magnus University, Natural Sciences, Biology N 010)

Members:

Dr Vaidas Palinauskas (Nature Research Centre, Natural Sciences, Zoology N 014)

Dr Donatas Šneideris (Nature Research Centre, Natural Sciences, Biology N 010)

Dr. Rasa Sabaliauskaitė (Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre, Natural Sciences, Biology N 010)

Dr med. vet. Gastón Moré (Bern University, Bern, Switzerland, Agricultural Sciences, Veterinary Sciences A 002)

Congratulations on this significant achievement and our best wishes in your future scientific endeavours!

In September, Vykintas Matuzevičius, agate collector from Kaunas, once again donated 10 impressive specimens to the Museum of Minerals. Vykintas mentioned more than once that he would no longer collect minerals and would not donate specimens to the museum. However, his passion for collecting has not disappeared. He continues to visit fairs, buy online, and after keeping specimens at home for a while and enjoying them donate them to the museum. This time, the museum’s collections were supplemented with agates from the world-famous sites of Morocco (Asni,  Kerrouchen), Argentina (San Rafael), and an exceptionally beautiful Fluorapophyllite crystal accented by Stilbite from the Jalgaon quarry in India, famous for some of the most beautiful Fluorapophyllite crystals in the world.

V. Matuzevičius has already donated 1,150 specimens to the Museum of Minerals, most of which are agates from various parts of the world.

The Nature Research Centre (NRC) received a unique find from the Karpėnai limestone quarry (north-western Lithuania). This is possibly the largest piece of Jurassic wood ever found in Lithuania. It was found and presented to the NRC by Algirdas Rimkus, director of AB Kalcitas and honorary member of the Geological Society of Lithuania.

Description of the find: Papilė suite, Kelovė stage (lower), Middle Jurassic, 166–163 million years old. It probably belongs to conifers or ginkgoes.

During the Jurassic period, the territory of Lithuania was almost entirely covered by sea lagoons, and finding land plants or animals from that period is an exceptional event. This tree find is important evidence that there were areas of land where rivers flowed, vegetation flourished, and most likely reptiles and birds lived, although we still have no real evidence of their existence.

This find will be examined, preserved, and exhibited. If you are interested in this rare exhibit, please contact the NRC Collections Department.

Indrė Satkūnienė
NRC Collections Department

The data collected by scientists from Nature Research Centre (NRC) were used in the works exhibited at the upcoming international exhibition “Migration” created by American artist and professor Timothy Frerichs. The exhibition will be displayed at the Vilnius Academy of Arts Gallery “Akademija” in Vilnius.

The works created for this exhibition include graphic prints and artist’s books exploring bird migration. They focus on the White Stork, Lithuania’s national bird, and its long journey to South and Central Africa.

Cartographic images based on scientific data from NRC constitute an important highlight of the exhibition. Dr Mindaugas Dagys, Head of the Laboratory of Bird Ecology, provided access to White Stork migration tracking data collected on the Movebank platform. These scientifically based maps will become part of an artistic interpretation conveying migration processes in graphic works and in the artist’s books.

The cartographic images on display at the exhibition, as well as the flight routes of birds are integrated into Prof. Timothy Frerichs’ book.

This exhibition is a unique dialogue between science and art, revealing how scientific research can become a source of creative inspiration.

More information about the exhibition is available at: Timothy Frerichs | Migration | Graphic Art (LT, EN) | Vilnius Academy of Arts

More information about the artist is available at: Migration Fold book – Timothy Frerichs Artwork

Dr Raimondas Mozūraitis and Dr Rasa Čepulytė from NRC Laboratory of Chemical and Behavioural  Ecology  participated in the Joint Conference of the International Society of Chemical Ecology and the Asia-Pacific Association of Chemical Ecologists (ISCE-APACE 2025, 18–22 August) in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Dr R. Mozūraitis gave an oral presentation and introduced the audience to the search for natural chemical compounds to modify the behaviour of cherry fruit flies and to reduce the damage they cause. Dr R. Čepulytė presented the chemical compounds of natural origin that were identified in the Laboratory of Chemical and Behavioural Ecology for the first time as affecting the behaviour of entomopathogenic nematodes and as able to increase the effectiveness of these nematodes in combating economically important insect pests.

The ISCE-APACE 2025 conference brought together renowned chemical ecology researchers from around the world. It provided an excellent opportunity to share the latest scientific achievements and advanced research methodologies and became an important platform for further cooperation and exchange of ideas among scientists working in the fields of chemical ecology.

On 15–19 September 2025, the 17th International Symposium on Aquatic Plants: Back to the Future of Aquatic Plants and the Way Forward was held in Lisbon, Portugal. Researchers from the Laboratory of Flora and Geobotany participated in the conference.

Dr Lukas Petrulaitis made an oral presentation on improving the macrophyte index of Lithuanian rivers and on new methods for modernizing and optimizing the index.

Doctoral student Liucija Kamaitytė-Bukelskienė delivered a poster presentation on research on the bank of rare aquatic plant seeds and how they contribute to species conservation.

During the symposium, a meeting was also held with colleagues from the early career network EUPHORIA (European Plant Phenology Research In Aquatic Systems), which includes researchers from the Laboratory of Flora and Geobotany. This initiative collects phenological data on aquatic plants from across Europe.