Research Professor
Marija Smederevac-Lalić
PhD in environmental sciences
Research area
- Ichthyology,
- hydrobiology,
- sustainable utilization of natural resources,
- invasive fish species, ecology,
- socio-economic aspects of the use of natural resources
Skills
- Basic fisheries sampling techniques for qualitative and quantitative fish surveys (net fishing and electrofishing),
- hydroacustic technique (SIMRAD and ARIS),
- telemetry technique,
- SPSS,
- Statistica,
- FishStat, Microsoft office, languages: English, Italian, Russian.,
- Microsoft office,
- languages: English, Italian, Russian.
Work experience:
- University of Belgrade – Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Biology and Inland Waters Protection, Research Professor, 2024 – present.
- University of Belgrade – Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, Department of biology and inland waters protection, senior research fellow, 2020-2024.
- University of Belgrade – Institute of Multidisciplinary Research, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, research fellow, 2014-2020.
- University of Belgrade – Institute of Multidisciplinary Research, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, research assistant, 2007-2014.
- Centre for multidisciplinary studies of the Belgrade University, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, research trainee, 2006-2007.
- ‘’Focal point” for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the State Union Serbia and Montenegro, 2003-2006.
- Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia – Directorate for Environmental Protection, 2004-2006.
- Ministry for the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Serbia, expert associate, 2003-2004.
- Independent Agency for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development “Ecolibri-Bionet”, Belgrade, project coordinator, 2002-2003.
Education:
- D. degree (2013) University of Belgrade “Socio-economic and biological characteristics of commercial fishery on Danube”
- Magisterial degree (2007) in Environmental management, University of Belgrade, thesis title “Socio-economic character and importance of fisheries on part of the Danube River Gornje Podunavlje in the Serbia”
- Bachelor degree (2002) in Ecology and environmental protection, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, thesis title ‘’The survey of the knowledge of fish resources by fisherman users’’
Awards and recognitions (trainings):
- STSM 2016. Short scientific visit to the Czech Republic (under the auspices of Kost action FA1304) – using the hydroacoustics method
- course Welfare of Experimental Animals AWFVM-OŽ, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade (certificate no. AWFVM-OŽ_2021_1)
Other professional activities
- – 2023. COST Action CA18102 The European Aquatic Animal Tracking Network, Management committee.
- 2018 – 2022. COST Action CA 17122 Increasing understanding of alien species through citizen science, Management committee substitute.
- – 2022. COST Action CA 16229 ENEC (European Network for Environmental Citizenship).
- 2018 – 2019. Developing an E-learning tool for Environmental Education for Primary and Secondary School in the Lower Danube Region – ELEDAN, project is partly financed by the Danube Strategic Project Fund (DSPF), European Unionand and the City of Vienna.
- 2015 – 2018. COST Action FA1304 FITFISH – Swimming of fish and implication for migration and aquaculture.
- 2012 – 2016. COST Action ES1201 NETLAKE Network Lake Observations in Europe.
- National Metaregister for Environmental Information – Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia and the Environmental Protection Agency of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
- 2012 – 2013 BioFresh Project – Compilation of geo-referenced distribution data of Serbian freshwater fishes, ЕU.
- 2012 – 2013. Harmonization of methods for monitoring the qualitative and quantitative composition of fish populations in large rivers (680-00-140/2012-09/02), Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Slovak Academy of Sciences.
- 2012 – 2013. Investigation of the status and valorization of fishery resources in the Danube and Sava on the territory of Belgrade – basis for the development of monitoring programs – Secretariat for Environmental Protection.
- 2006-2007. Spent in Italy at the University of Messina, Sicily, where she attended the program of the study of marine biology as a form of cooperation and collaboration
- Environmental Education in the Formal Schools of SEE – Needs Achievements, Partnerships, Perspectives, ”Ecolibri-Bionet”, project coordinator.
- Freshwater fisheries on bordering rivers – pilot study with a holistic regional approach – Ministry of science and environmental protection Republic of Serbia and Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies University of Belgrade (cooperation between Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic Srpska and Norway)
- 1994 – 2005. activities in the non-governmental sector: member of Biological Society “Josif Pančić” (BID), Young Researchers of Serbia (MIS), Young Researchers of Belgrade (MIB), EH 21, Student Union of Serbia (SUS), Student Union of Biological Faculty of the University of Belgrade (SUBF), Danube Environmental Forum (DEFYU), Ecological society “Endemit”; Assistant for ecology and environment, children’s research camps “Tepca 2002”, Durmitor, Montenegro, Ražana 2002, in organization of Young researchers of Valjevo; Organizer and coordinator, BIB 2002 (Born in Born), international conference of environmental students “Sustainable development, environment in the process of transition from scientific and political, economic aspects”, Belgrade.
Courses taught:
- Member of the committee for the master’s thesis of candidate Natalija Pajović “Spring dynamics of phytoplankton of Markovac Lake”, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, defended in 2021. 1971.
- member of the committee for the review, evaluation and defense of the doctoral dissertation of the candidate Tamara A. Kanjuh ”Genetic diversity of brown trout (Salmo trutta L., 1758) of the Danube basin in the territory of Croatia”, defended in 2023. 1971.
- Member of the doctoral committee, Katarina Zorić, entitled “Invasiveness of allochthonous species of macroinvertebrates and fish of the Danube” was defended in 2015. 1971.
- члан комисије доктората Милице Јаћимовић под називом “Популациона динамика и екотоксикологија црног патуљастог америчког сома (Ameiurus melas, Rafinesque 1820) у Савском језеру“ одбрањен 2015. 1971.
- Member of the doctoral committee of Milica Jaćimović entitled “Population dynamics and co-mentor of the master’s thesis entitled “Length-weight ratio and fitness factor in bream, Abramis brama (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Danube near Belgrade (1168-1170 rkm)”, candidate Erzsebet Frej, defended in 2015. Black dwarf American catfish (Ameiurus melas, Rafinesque 1820) in Sava Lake” defended in 2015. 1971.
- member of the commission for the master’s thesis of candidate Dušan Nikolić entitled “Seasonal variability of abundance and diversity of fish in the Danube River near Belgrade (1168 – 1170)”, defended in 2015
- member of the committee for the preparation of abstracts on the candidates applied for election to the position of assistant professor in the narrow scientific field of Morphology, systematics and phylogeny of animals at the Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Belgrade (2018).
- member of the doctoral application committee at the Department of Morphology, Systematics and Phylogeny of Animals at the Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade (2020).
Editorial and Reviewer’s activity (journals, books, projects):
- Ad hoc reviewer: Science of The Total Environment, Fisheries Management and Ecology, Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Croatian Journal of Fisheries, Archives of Biological Sciences, Croatian Journal of Fisheries, Sustainability, European Journal of Ecology, Journal for Nature Conservation, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, PLOS ONE.
- Project reviewer for the National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary.
Memberships:
- Member of the Management Committee (MC) in CA18102 – The European Aquatic Animal Tracking Network. Within the COST Action CA18102, she served as Grant Awarding Coordinator (ITC and STSM).
- Member of the Executive Committee (DSTF) of the international organization Danube Sturgeon Task Force.
- Member of the Steering group member of the HORIZON project “DANUBE4all.”
- Erasmus contact person at the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade.
- Member of the Associationof Italian-Serbian scientific andresearch cooperation ”Association ofSerbianandItalianScientistsand Scholars(AIS3)”.
- Member of ETN (European Telemetry Network)
- Member of the Ethics Committee for the Protection of Welfare of Experimental Animals of the Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic” – National Institute of Republic of Serbia
- Member of DSTF (Danube Sturgeon Task Force)
Current:
- DANUBE4all – Restoration of the Danube River Basin for ecosystems and people from mountains to coast European Commision, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 101093985 (2023-2027), https://www.danube4allproject.eu/
- DANUBElifelines– Safeguarding Migratory Fish and Their Habitats in the Danube River Basin and Beyond. A Danube River Basin Lighthouse Horizon Europe Project, Grant Agreement No. 101213836 (2025–2029), https://danubelifelines.eu/
- MonStur – Establishing, testing and launching a transboundary system for Monitoring Sturgeons, to manage and safeguard migratory fish in the Danube River Basin – DRP0301251 Interreg Danube Region Programme (2025-2028), https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/monstur-in-the-danube
- COST Action CA23133, Large-scale Interdisciplinary Alliance on Nature-based SoLutions and Health: Indicators, InequalitY and Innovation (LILY), (2024-2028), https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA23133/
- COST Action CA24170 “Building resilient rural communities through synergy of traditional knowledge and technological innovation” (SMART-RURAL), (2025-2029), https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA24170/#tabs+Name:Description
Past:
- 2021 – 2024. We Pass 2 – Pilot Project: Making the Iron Gates dams passable for Danube sturgeon, финансијер European Union (Contract No. 07027756/2021/844774/ETU/ENV.C.1).
- 2019 – 2023. COST Action CA18102 The European Aquatic Animal Tracking Network (https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA18102/).
- 2018 – 2022. COST Action CA 16229 ENEC European Network for Environmental Citizenship (https://enec-cost.eu/)
- 2020 – 2021. Mass removal of the black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) – Possibilities for self-sustaining commercial farming in Serbia, Funded by Rufford Foundation, UK (2nd Rufford Small Grant).
- 2019-2021. 2019-2021. EU project We Pass – facilitating fish migration and conservation at the Iron Gates (https://www.we-pass.org/).
- 2018 – 2021. Managing and restoring aquatic EcologicAl corridors for migratory fiSh species in the danUbe RivEr baSin (MEASURES), Interreg Danube Transnational Programme (http://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/measures)
- 2011 – 2019. Fish as bioindicators of the state of open waters in Serbia, Pr. No. 173045, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia.
- 2011 – 2019. Measurement and modeling of physical, chemical, biological and morphodynamic parameters of rivers and water reservoirs, Pr. No. TR 37009 Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia.
- 2018 – 2019. Operational monitoring of freshwater and groundwater of the Republic of Serbia. Part 1 – Operational monitoring of surface waters. Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia and Consortium of the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Biology and Institute for Multidisciplinary Research and University of Novi Sad – Faculty of Science.
- 2015 – 2016. Fish behavior preparatory study at Iron Gate Hydropower dams and reservoirs, European Investment Bank.
- 2006 – 2010. Studies on diversity, protection, and sustainable use of the fish fauna as key components in developing the strategy for the integral management of water resources in Serbia, Project 143045, Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia.
- Smederevac-Lalić M., Paraschiv M., Cvijanović G., Havn T.B., Hont S., Lenhardt M., Iani M., Lennox R.J., Nikolić D., Økland F., Paterson R.A., Thorstad E.B. (2025). Preliminary insights into fish movements beyond the massive Iron Gate dams on the Danube River using acoustic telemetry. Journal of Fish Biology, DOI: 10.1111/jfb.70204
- Smederevac-Lalić M., Špelić I., Đug S., Pengal P., Çobani M., Mrdak D., and Piria M. (2023). Political and Socio-Economic Aspects of Fisheries in Inland and Coastal Waters of the Western Balkan. In: Simić, V., Simić, S., Pešić, V. (еds) Ecological Sustainability of Fish Resources of Inland Waters of the Western Balkans. Fish & Fisheries Series, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36926-1_18
- Cvijanović G., Đikanović V., Galambos L., Pengal P., and Smederevac-Lalić M. (2023). Past and Future of Sturgeon Species (Acipenseridae) in Western Balkans: Case for Permanent Conservation or Sustainable Management. In: Simić, V., Simić, S., Pešić, V. (еds) Ecological Sustainability of Fish Resources of Inland Waters of the Western Balkans. Fish & Fisheries Series, vol 43. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36926-1_10
- Lenhardt M., Smederevac-Lalic M., Spasic S., Hont S., Paraschiv M., Iani M., Nikcevic M., Kimley P., Suciu R. (2021). Seasonal changes in depth position and temperature of European catfish (Silurus glanis) tracked by acoustic telemetry in the Danube River. International review of hydrobiology, 1434-2944, https://doi.org/10.1002/iroh.202002049
- Lenhardt M., Smederevac-Lalić M., Hegediš A., Skorić S., Cvijanović G., Višnjić-Jeftić Ž., Djikanović V., Jovičić K., Jaćimović M., and Jarić I. (2020). Human Impacts on Fish Fauna in the Danube River in Serbia: Current Status and Ecological Implications. In: Bănăduc, D., Curtean-Bănăduc, A., Pedrotti, F., Cianfaglione, K., Akeroyd, J. (eds) Human Impact on Danube Watershed Biodiversity in the XXI Century. Geobotany Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37242-2_13
- Smederevac-Lalić, M., Finger, D., Kovách, I., Lenhardt, M., Petrović, J., Djikanovic, V. Conti, D. & Boeve-de Pauw, J. (2020). Knowledge and Environmental Citizenship. In: Hadjichambis A. et al. (eds) Conceptualizing Environmental Citizenship for 21st Century Education. Environmental Discourses in Science Education, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20249-1_5.
- Jaćimović M.L., Smederevac-Lalić M.M., Nikolić D., Cvijanović G.D., Spasić S.Z., Višnjić-Jeftić Ž.V., Skorić S.B., Krpo-Ćetković Ј. (2023). Changes to fish assemblage following the selective removal of black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 33(9), 981–994. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3986
- Jarić I., Bronzi P.,Cvijanović G., Lenhardt M., Smederevac-Lalić M., Gessner J. (2019). Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) in Europe: An aquaculture species and a potential invader. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 35(1), 267-274.
- Smederevac-Lalić M., Kalauzi A., Regner S., Navodaru I., Višnjić-Jeftić Ž., Gačić Z., Lenhardt M. (2018). Analysis and forecast of Pontic shad (Alosa immaculata) catch in the Danube River. Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences, 17(3), 443-457.
- Smederevac-Lalic, M., Kalauzi, A., Regner, S., Lenhardt, M., Naunovic, Z., Hegedis, A. (2017). Prediction of fish catch in the Danube River based on long-term variability in environmental parameters and catch statistics, Science of The Total Environment, 609, 664 – 671
- Horvatić S., Malavasi S., Parmentier E., Marčić Z., Buj I., Mustafić P., Ćaleta M.,Smederevac-Lalić M., Skorić S., Zanella D. (2019). Acoustic communication during reproduction in the basal gobioid Amur sleeper and the putative sound production mechanism. Journal of Zoology, 309(4): 269-279.
- Jarić I.,Smederevac-Lalić M., Jovičić K., Jaćimović M., Cvijanović G., Lenhardt M., Kalauzi A. (2016). Indicators of unsustainable fishery in the Middle Danube. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 25(1), 86-98. doi: 1111/eff.12193
- Lenhardt M., Navodaru I., Vassilev M.,Kalauzi A., Regner S., Višnjić-Jeftić Ž., Tošić K., Smederevac-Lalić M. (2016). Model of the Pontic Shad Alosa immaculata (Bennet, 1835) and Anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1785) Catch in the Danube River and Black Sea for the Period 1920-2008. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 68(4), 557-561.
- Djikanović, V., Skorić, S., Lenhardt, M., Smederevac-Lalić, M., Višnjić-Jeftić, Z., Spasić, S., Mićković, B. (2015) Review of sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus L. 1758) (Actinopterygii: Acipenseridae) feeding habits in the River Danube, 1694-852 river km. Journal of Natural History, 49(5-8), 411-417.
- Smederevac-Lalić M., Pešić R., Cvejić S., Simonović P. (2012). Socio-economic features of commercial fishery in the bordering upper Danube River area of Serbia. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 184(5), 2633-2646.