ACTA BIOLOGICA SLOVENICA 
 LJUBLJANA 2021              Vol. 64, Št. 2: 5–8
The issue of Acta Biologica Slovenica honouring Professor Jože Štirn
Številka revije Acta Biologica Slovenica posvečena prof. Jožetu Štirnu
Jadran Faganeli 
Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornače 41, 6330 Piran, Slovenia
Correspondence: jadran.faganeli@nib.si
Figure 1:  Professor Jože Štirn (1934-2011)
Slika 1:   Profesor Jože Štirn (1934-2011)
This issue of Acta Biologica Slovenica is 
dedicated to the memory of Professor Jože Štirn, a 
retired senior scientist at the National Institute of 
Biology and retired Full Professor at the Univer-
sity of Ljubljana, and to honour his contributions 
to the field of marine phytoplanktology and the 
broader field of marine ecology. Professor Štirn 
passed away in August 2021; throughout his career 
as a researcher, teacher, mentor, colleague, and 
institute administrator, he greatly influenced the 
lives of all of those around him. We hope that 
this volume will serve not only as to honour the 
memory of Professor Štirn, but also as a way to 
recognize his major influences and contributions 
to the fields of coastal marine ecology and related 
marine pollution.
Professor Štirn received his BSc from the 
University of Ljubljana in 1965, and his Ph.D. 
from the University of Ljubljana in 1968, both 
in Biology. Before being awarded his BS, he 
founded the Centre for Underwater Research 
and organised in 1960-61 an echoed biological 
and diving expedition to Ethiopia and Red Sea. 
Later, he founded the first Slovene Marine Re-
6Acta Biologica Slovenica, 2021, 64 (2), 5–8
search Institution in Portorož. In 1968 he moved 
to the Department of Benthic Invertebrates at 
the Smithsonian Institution in Salambo (Tunis) 
and was an institution-member there until 1970. 
From that time onward he served as a head of 
the Marine Biology Station in the frame of the 
Institute of Biology of the University of Ljubljana. 
In 1980 he moved to IOC UNESCO as a head/
member of the educational/research missions in 
Yemen, Cameroun and Aden. Professor Štirn was 
acting as a professor at the University of Nice 
in the period from 1988 to 1990 and later as an 
emeritus at the International University of Marine 
Studies in Cagne-sur-mer (France). He moved to 
the University of Sultan Qaboos in Oman in 1990. 
In Slovenia, he won awards (1972, 2012) for his 
research prowess and in 1992 he was elected an 
associate member of the European Academy of 
Environmental Affairs in Tubingen. 
Professor Štirn was an internationally 
recognized scientist in the field of biological 
oceanography and marine ecology. He published 
approximately 50 peer-reviewed journal articles 
and book chapters. The majority of these papers 
were published in international journals and 
proceedings. Professor Štirn was one of the first 
to extensively study the pelagic system of the 
northern Adriatic Sea, including basic physical 
and chemical oceanographic data, markedly 
influenced by riverine nutrient input, particularly 
from the Po River. This work later resulted in his 
Ph.D. thesis published by the Slovene Academy 
of Science and Arts. Later, he began a complex 
research project on the biological, physical and 
chemical aspects of coastal waters in the north-
ern Adriatic Sea and particularly in the Gulf of 
Trieste, including riverine inflows, affected by 
wastewater pollution. He was one of the Medi-
terranean leaders investigating the consequences 
of anthropogenic eutrophication and chemical 
pollution of coastal waters, particularly by metals 
and pesticides. Professor Štirn was interested in 
just about everything that touched on the impact 
of marine eutrophication in the Adriatic area. He 
co-organised and participated in several Trans-
Adriatic research expeditions conducted by the 
Yugoslav RV Andrija Mohorovičić sixty years 
after the first Austrian-Italian Adriatic expedition. 
He was known for his innovative experimental 
approach and design particularly evident in the 
mesocosmos pollution experiment in the Lagoon 
of Strunjan. He was not only innovative but also 
meticulous with regards to his experimental and 
field endeavour. Due to his relevant scientific 
publications, UNEP/FAO engaged him to prepare 
a research project dealing with the ecological 
consequences of marine pollution in the Medi-
terranean Sea. Later, he did similar research in 
Oman studying biological oceanography and 
fishery biology of the Arabian Sea mostly in the 
frame of his Tethys project. A new genus of red 
algae Stirnia prolifera was dedicated to him. 
Professor Štirn was not only a good scientist and 
researcher, but also a teacher and mentor of young 
scientists. He organised (1971-74) the International 
Summer School of Marine Ecology in Strunjan 
sponsored by IOC UNESCO. He taught Ocean-
ography, Marine Ecology and Fishery Biology at 
the University of Ljubljana for many years. His 
later educational endeavours were in universities 
in France and Oman. Professor Štirn served on 
numerous national and international committees, 
working groups, review panels and workshops 
over the years. He was a member of the editorial 
board of the Revue internationale d›océanographie 
médicale for many years.  
His passion for science was equal to his enthu-
siasm for life. He had a well-known gift for story-
telling and his ability to find something humorous 
in every situation. In describing Professor Štirn, 
he was a man of many talents: a naturalist, ocean-
ographer, limnologist, marine phytoplanktologist 
and ecologist as well as scuba diver, and he could 
have been successful in almost any endeavour he 
undertook. The papers in this special issue were 
written by his colleagues and former students and 
cover a wide range of topics, many of which were 
central to the work he was involved in over his 
lifetime. The science contained in these papers 
is a reflection of his scientific legacy especially 
in the fields of biological oceanography, marine 
ecology and fishery biology of the northern Adriatic 
Sea, and in particular related to anthropogenic 
eutrophication of coastal waters. 
7Faganeli: Honouring Professor Štirn
Selected bibliography of Professor Štirn
Štirn, J., 1961. General report on results of Yugoslav Expedition to Ethiopia and Red Sea. University 
Haile Selassie Press, Addis Abeba, E2/23, pp. 12-21.
Štirn, J., 1968. The pollution of Lake Tunis. Revue internationale d‘océanographie médicale, 19, 99-1056. 
Štirn, J., 1968. The consequence of increased sea bioproduction caused by organic pollution and the 
possibilities of the protection. Revue internationale d‘océanographie médicale, 10, 123-129. 
Štirn, J., Kralj, Z., Richter, M., Valentinčič, T., 1969. Prilog poznavanju jadranskog koraligena. Tha-
lassia Jugoslavica, 5, 369-376.
Štirn, J., 1969. Pelagial severnega Jadrana: njegove oceanološke razmere, sestav in razpodelitev bio-
mase tekom leta 1965 = The north Adriatic pelagial: its oceanological characteristics, structure and 
distribution of the biomass during the year 1965. Razprave, 12/2, 41-132.
Štirn, J., 1969. The distribution of the pelagic organic matter in North Adriatic. Rapports et Proces 
Verbaux des Réunions - Commission Internationale pour l›Exploration Scientifique de la Mer 
Méditerranée, 19, 755-758.
Štirn, J., 1971. Modifications of some Mediterranean communities due to marine pollution. Thalassia 
Jugoslavica, 7, 401-413.
Štirn, J., 1971. The general planktonological characteristics of the North Adriatic during 1965. Rapports 
et Proces Verbaux des Réunions - Commission Internationale pour l›Exploration Scientifique de 
la Mer Méditerranée, 20, 425-426.
Štirn, J., 1971. Ecological consequences of marine pollution. Revue internationale d›océanographie 
médicale, 24, 13-46.
Štirn, J., 1972. The general oceanological characteristics of the North Adriatic during 1965. Rapports 
et Proces Verbaux des Réunions - Commission Internationale pour l›Exploration Scientifique de 
la Mer Méditerranée, 20, 631-634.
Štirn, J., 1973. Plankton biomass of the Mediterranean during late spring 1969. Rapports et Proces 
Verbaux des Réunions - Commission Internationale pour l›Exploration Scientifique de la Mer 
Méditerranée, 21, 541-544.
Štirn, J., Kubik, L., 1974. Prispevki k poznavanju migracij in obsega populacij sardele in inčuna v 
Severnem Jadranu = Contributions to the knowledge of migrations and the volume of the pilchard 
and anchovy populations in the Northern Adriatic. Acta Adriatica, 16, 401-422.
Štirn, J., Keržan, I., Kubik, L., 1974. Možnosti za razvoj industrijskih marikultur ob uporabi fertiliza-
cije primarnih producentov z organskimi odpadnimi vodami = The possibilities of development 
of industrial maricultures by using the organic waste waters for the fertilization of primary produ-
cers. Acta Adriatica, 16, 423-434.
Keržan, I., Lenarčič, M., Štirn, J., 1974. Recycling of organic pollutants in maricultures III : mass-
cultures of selected phytoplankters fertilized by sewage and utilization of crops in secondary 
productivity. Revue internationale d›océanographie médicale, 34, 73-94. 
Štirn, J., Avčin, A., Ceneclj, J., Dorer, M., Gomišček, S., Kveder, S., Malej, A., 1974. Pollution pro-
blems of the Adriatic Sea: an interdisciplinary approach. Revue internationale d›océanographie 
médicale, 35/36, 21-78.
Štirn, J., 1975. Obstacles to adequate treatment due to the presence of biologically active, sewage-borne 
compounds. In: Pearson, E.A., Frangipane, E.F. (eds.): Marine pollution and marine waste disposal, 
(Progress in Water Technology). Pergamon, Oxford, New York, pp. 147-153.
Štirn, J., 1975. Criteria for marine waste disposal in Yugoslavia. In: Pearson, E.A., Frangipane, 
E.F. (eds.): Marine pollution and marine waste disposal, (Progress in Water Technology). Pergamon, 
Oxford, New York, pp. 57-66.
Štirn, J., Avčin, A., Keržan, I., Marcotte, B.M., Meith, N., Vrišer, B., Vukovič, A., 1975. Selected 
biological methods for assessment of marine pollution. In: Pearson, E.A., Frangipane, E.F. (eds.): 
Marine pollution and marine waste disposal, (Progress in Water Technology). Pergamon, Oxford, 
New York, pp. 307-327.
8Acta Biologica Slovenica, 2021, 64 (2), 5–8
Matjašič, J., Štirn, J., Avčin, A., Kubik, L., Valentinčič, T., Velkovrh, F., Vukovič, A., 1975. Flora in 
favna Severnega Jadrana, Prispevek 1 = The flora and fauna of the North Adriatic, Contribution 1. 
Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Ljubljana, 54 pp.
Kosta, L., Ravnik, V., Byrne, A.R., Štirn, J., Dermelj, M., Stegnar, P., 1978. Some trace elements in the 
waters, marine organisms and sediments of the Adriatic by neutron activation analysis. Journal of 
Radioanalytical Chemistry, 44, 317-332.
Malej, A., Avčin, A., Faganeli, J., Fanuko-Kovačić, N., Lenarčič, M., Štirn, J., Vrišer, B., Vukovič, A., 
1979. Modifications of an experimentally polluted ecosystem in the Lagoon of Strunjan, North 
Adriatic. In: 4es journees d’etudes sur les pollutions marines en Mediterranee, Antalya 24-27 
Novembre 1978, Rapports et Proces Verbaux des Réunions - Commission Internationale pour 
l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée, pp. 423-429.
Salihoglu, I., Faganeli, J., Štirn, J., 1980. Chlorinated hydrocarbons (pesticides and PCBs) in some 
marine organisms and sediments in an experimentally polluted ecosystem in the lagoon of Strunjan 
(North Adriatic) and its surroundings. Revue internationale d’océanographie médicale, 58, 3-9.
Štirn, J., 1981. Manual of methods in aquatic environment research. Part 8: Ecological assessment of 
pollution effect. FAO Fisheries Technical Reports, 209, Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations, Rome, 70 pp. 
Vučak, Z., Škrivanić, A., Štirn, J., 1982. “Andrija Mohorovičić”: 1974-1976: izvještaj i rezultati ocea-
nografskih istraživanja Jadranskog mora = reports and results of the oceanographic investigations 
in the Adriatic Sea: osnovni fizički, kemijski i biološki podaci = basic physical, chemical and 
biological data. Hidrografski institut jugoslavenske ratne mornarice, Split, 175 pp.
Štirn, J., Edwards, R., Piechura, J., Ghaddaf, M., Mutlaq, F., Sabih, Q., Savich, M., Shaher, S., Zu-
bairi, Z., 1985. Oceanographic conditions, pelagic productivity and living resources in the Gulf 
of Aden. In: IOC/UNESCO workshop on regional co-operation in marine science in the central 
Indian Ocean and Adjacent Seas and Gulfs, Colombo, 8-13 July 1985, IOC Workshop Report 37 
Supplement, Paris, pp. 255-297. 
Štirn, J., 1988. Eutrophication in the Mediterranen Sea: Scientific background for the Preparation of 
Guidelines on the Assessment of Receiving Capacity for Eutrophying Substances. UNESCO Report 
Marine Science, 49, 161-187. 
Aubert, M., Revillon, P., Štirn, J., Pincemin, J.M., Aubert, J., Fanuko, N., Ogorevc, B., Magazzu, G., 
Cortese, G., Decembrini, F., Publicano, G., Arena, G., 1989. Mers d›Europe: etudes hydrologiques, 
chimiques et biologiques. 1er tome, Detroit de Messine. Revue internationale d’océanographie 
médicale, 95-96, 1-88. 
Gray, J.S., McIntyre, A.D., Štirn, J., 1992. Manual of methods in aquatic environment research. Part 
11, Biological assessment of marine pollution, FAO Fisheries Technical Reports, 324. Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 49 pp.
Štirn, J., Al-Hashmi, K.A., 1996. Contributions to the knowledge of the biology of the Arabian Abalone 
Haliotis mariae W. Wood, 1828. Agriculture Science (Oman), 1, 33-40. 
Štirn, J., Bressan, G., Ghirardelli, L.A., Babbini, L., 2000. Calcareus structures built by the coralline 
alga Pneophyllum confervicola (Kützing) Chamberlain (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in a marine cave 
in the Gulf of Oman. Annales: anali za istrske in mediteranske študije, Series historia naturalis, 
10, 219-226.