About the Seminar Series Environment & Biodiversity
In the seminar series “Environment & Biodiversity”, current research results from the fields of evolutionary biology, ecology, climate change effects and environment and biodiversity trends are presented. This seminar series is a public event and is suitable for both university staff and students, as well as for all interested non-university guests. We cordially invite you to participate!
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Winter term 2024.25
Missing details will be updated gradually
Friday, October 4, 2024
3 P.M., Room 435 (3rd floor)
The Plastisphere and Plastic Pollution
Linda Amaral-Zettler und Erik Zettler
Prof. Dr. Linda Amaral-Zettler und Dr. Erik Zettler
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research – Department of Microbiology and Biogeochemistry / Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The discovery that ~8 million metric tons of plastic litter finds its way from land to the ocean per year, with the largest measured concentrations ending up in the very remote reaches of the ocean’s “garbage patches”, has mobilized the scientific, citizen science, government, NGO, and media communities to action in search of solutions to prevent further waste mismanagement in the future. Attention has focused on the smallest of marine organisms – the microbes – some of which call this plastic pollution „home” as a potential solution to this growing global problem. Collectively, we refer to this collection of life on plastics as the „Plastisphere“. Broadening interest in the topic has extended to plastic debris in rivers and other freshwater environments. Our research team has been studying microbial interactions with PMD using a multiphasic approach including high-throughput amplicon and metagenomics sequencing, culturing, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and more recently Combinatorial Labelling and Spectral Imaging – Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (CLASI-FISH). Over the past several years, our laboratory has been invested in understanding the relationship between microbial diversity and biodegradation in the marine environment, including performing respirometry experiments following established standard test methods. This lecture will review what is known about diversity in the „Plastisphere“ to date and discuss the advantages and disadvantages different technologies present in addressing some of the most urgent questions regarding this newest of marine habitats
Language: Englisch
To the profile of Linda Amaral-Zettler
To the profile of Erik Zettler
Host: Univ. Prof. Dr. Ulrike-Gabriele Berninger und Assoz. Prof. Dr. Stephen Wickham
Friday, November 8, 2024
2 P.M., Room 424 (2nd floor)
Interplay of micro- and macroclimate on different facets of biodiversity in the Bavarian Alps (Berchtesgaden National Park)
Dr. Sebastian König
Technical University of Munich/National Park Berchtesgaden – Department Life Science Systems
Abstract: With ongoing climate change, species face challenges such as altered temperature regimes. While this may interact with changes in land use, we can still learn a lot about these natural dynamics in protected areas. Throughout the last decades, we gathered information on butterflies, wildbees, and Orthoptera in the Berchtesgaden National Park, the only Alpine Park in Germany. Most recently, we established a network of research sites in our study area to observe and monitor changes in (multi-)diversity through time. I will present some case studies, which either highlight results from re-surveys and space-for-time designs, including field- and remote-sensing-based approaches, to assess the drivers of diversity in mountain forests and open habitats of the National Park Berchtesgaden. A focus will be on my work with Orthoptera, their interactions with plants, as well as assembly mechanisms along micro- and macroclimatic gradients.
Language: English
To the profile of Dr. Sebastian König
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan Christian Habel
Friday, November 15, 2024
2 P.M., Room 436 (3rd floor)
Conservation measures to promote wild bees – Key results of the BienABest project
Dr. Hannah Burger
Universität Ulm – Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics
Abstract: Wild bees are amongst the most important pollinators of flowering plants, but have suffered severe declines in recent years. A major driver of the recent pollinator decline is the shortage of food plants. To counteract the lack of floral resources, the establishment of new habitat structures such as the establishing of flower strips have become a popular measure to support wild bees However, many seed mixtures for environmental focus areas promote only few abundant crop pollinators, as the conditions do not match the needs of diverse bee species. Besides floral nutrition, the availability of nesting resources influences the persistence and survival of bee populations. Nesting aids are regularly provided for aboveground-nesting but not for underground-nesting bees which form the majority of bee species. Beside local food and nesting resources, bee communities are driven by the quality of the surrounding landscape and climatic conditions.
To promote the species diversity and abundance of wild bees, the project “Standardisierte Erfassung von Wildbienen zur Evaluierung des Bestäuberpotenzials in der Agrarlandschaft” (BienABest) was initiated. Wild bee populations were examined by a systematic monitoring at 20 study locations in Germany for five consecutive years (2018-2022). In total, we recorded ca. 130,000 bee individuals of 390 species and their interactions with flowers.
The aim of the large monitoring initiative was to evaluate the established flower strips and nesting hills, identify key-plant species, reveal drivers of bee decline, and determine pollination success of wild bees. I will present the key results in the announced talk.
Language: English
To the profile of Dr. Hannah Burger
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Biol. Dr. Stefan Dötterl
Friday, November 22, 2024
2 P.M., Room 414 (1st floor)
Sex roles in coucals – a unique model system to answer Tinbergen’s four questions
Dr. Wolfgang Goymann
Max Planck Institute Seewiesen – Behavioral Neurobiology
Abstract: Female-biased investment into zygote formation (anisogamy) often leads to ‘Darwinian sex roles’ with stronger male competition and larger female choice. Often, this also comes with larger female investment into parental care. In some species, however, these sex roles are ‘reversed’ with females competing more strongly, and males providing more care. In birds, this occurs in about 1% of all species, most of which are precocial, that is the young are covered with feathers at hatching and leave the nest, immediately. So far, the only known group of altricial birds (where young hatch naked and need to be warmed and fed in the nest) in which sex roles are reversed are coucals (Centropodinae). At least one species – the black coucal (Centropus grillii) – has evolved a classical polyandrous mating system with large females competing for access to small males. A female forms a ‘harem’ with up to five males, each of which tends his own nest and young without help from the female. In south-western Tanzania, black coucals share their habitat with white-browed coucals (C. superciliosus), which are socially and genetically monogamous and provide biparental care, allowing me to study close relatives with different mating systems in the same habitat. I ask how and why sex roles in coucals evolved, attempting to explore the phenomenon from all four angles of Tinbergen’s questions. Specifically, I wonder which mechanisms drive sex roles, how do sex roles develop during ontogeny, what are the benefits of reversed sex roles, and which life-history and ecological factors led to their evolution?
Language: Englisch
To the research website of Dr. Wolfgang Goymann
To the personal website of Dr. Wolgang Goymann
Host: Dr. Beate Anna Apfelbeck
Friday, November 29, 2024
2 P.M., Room C.3.006 (3rd floor)
The heartbeat of the forest: ecological drivers and consequences of mast-seeding
Mario Pesendorfer, Ph.D.
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) – Institute of Forest Ecology (IFE)
Abstract: In temperate forests, tree populations tend to show highly synchronized variation in annual seed production, so-called mast-seeding. The resulting bumper crops or years of crop failure, in turn, determine population dynamics of seed predators and dispersers, their predators, and parasites. This hearbeat of the forest even drives tick densities and the rate of zoonotic disease transmission to humans. In this talk, I will describe our search for the internal (resource dynamics, size) and external (weather, competition) drivers of seed production in trees and what we have learned about the effects of masting on seed fate and recruitment in old-growth forests. Finally, I will describe the ongoing breakdown in reproductive synchrony of beech and oaks, and how we try to use forecasting and other tools to help practitioners to use the forest’s heartbeat to their advantage.
Language: Englisch
To the profile of Mario Pesendorfer, Ph.D.
Host: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Jana Petermann
Friday, December 6, 2024
2 P.M., Room C.3006 (3rd floor)
PD Dr. Sebastian T. Meyer
Technische Universität München, Chair for Terrestrial Ecology
To the profile of PD Dr. Sebatian T. Meyer
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan Christian Habel
Friday, December 13, 2024
2 P.M., Room 424 (2nd floor)
High-altitude research station Sonnblick Observatory
Dr. Elke Ludewig
Geosphere Austria, Salzburg – Head of the Sonnblick Observatory
Abstract: The Sonnblick Observatory is a high-tech climate and environmental research station at an altitude of over 3,000 meters. Data is collected 24/7 according to international standards for research, the international climate report IPCC, as well as for numerous monitoring programs. Established in 1886, the Sonnblick Observatory paved the way for modern meteorology and now has the world’s longest climatological time series at high altitudes. The director of the Sonnblick Observatory, Dr. Elke Ludewig, will highlight the international tasks and focal points of this fascinating research station and the state of the climate in the Alps. There will be room for discussion and exchange, especially with a focus on ecosystem research at Mt. Hoher Sonnblick.
Language: English
To the profile of Dr. Elke Ludewig
Host: Assoz.-Prof. Dr. Jana Petermann
Friday, January 10, 2025
2 P.M., Room 435 (3rd floor)
Biodiversity Monitoring – The Example of the Viel-Falter Butterfly Monitoring
Dr. Johannes Rüdisser
University of Innsbruck – Department of Ecology
Abstract:The advancing biodiversity crisis urgently requires more comprehensive and precise biodiversity data, particularly long-term information on population trends of selected animal groups. The Austrian butterfly monitoring program (viel-falter.at) aims to systematically record butterfly populations and document their distribution and population trends. Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), of which around 4,000 species are found in Austria, represent an important subgroup of the approximately 40,000 insect species – an animal group that makes up three – quarters of the total native fauna. Butterflies, in particular, are highly suitable as indicators for biodiversity monitoring in agricultural landscapes for several reasons and can be effectively observed through citizen science approaches.
The Viel-Falter monitoring program combines observations by volunteers (citizen science) with professional scientific surveys. This synergistic approach merges the strengths of both methods, enabling the collection of high-quality and reliable data. Based on over ten years of experience with butterfly monitoring, the lecture provides a comprehensive insight into the strengths, challenges, and future potential of this integrative approach, introduces current methodological developments, and presents key results from past monitoring years.
Language: English
To the profile of Dr. Johannes Rüdisser
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan Christian Habel
Friday, January 17, 2025
2 P.M., Room 421 (2nd floor)
Thema 1: A multi-proxy analysis of lake sediments reveals plant and animal dynamics in the Eastern European Alps over the last 14.000 years
Thema 2: From myth to reason: Progress towards unravelling the mysteries of Indian Ocean Anguillid eels
Mag. Dr. Robert Schabetsberger
Paris Lodron University Salzburg – Department Environment & Biodiversity
To the profile of Mag. Dr. Robert Schabetsberger
Friday, January 24 2025, 2 P.M., Room 424 (2nd floor)
Pestizide in der Agrarlandschaft und ihre Auswirkung auf die Biodiversität mit einer besonderen Betrachtung der Insekten
apl. Prof. Dr. Carsten Brühl
RPTU Kaiserslautern Landau – Fachbereich Natur- und Umweltwissenschaften
Abastract: Der Rückgang von Insekten in landwirtschaftlichen Landschaften ist ein alarmierendes Phänomen, das in den letzten Jahren zunehmend dokumentiert wurde. Die Biomassenreduktion von Insekten stellt eine ernsthafte Bedrohung dar, da Insekten eine Vielzahl von Ökosystemdienstleistungen erbringen, die für die Aufrechterhaltung einer gesunden Umwelt und für die landwirtschaftliche Produktion von entscheidender Bedeutung sind. Unter anderem sind sie für die Bestäubung von Nutzpflanzen und die biologische Schädlingsbekämpfung unverzichtbar.
Die Intensivierung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion hat zu einer Reihe von Veränderungen in den Landschaftseigenschaften geführt. Dazu gehört auch der flächendeckende Einsatz von Pestiziden. In diesem Vortrag werden nicht nur die verschiedenen Arten von Pestiziden und ihre Wirkung erläutert, sondern auch die räumlichen Anwendungsmuster analysiert. Aktuelle Messungen in verschiedenen Landschaften liefern ein detailliertes Bild von der Verbreitung der Pestizide.
Durch die Zusammenführung von Daten aus Labor- und Feldstudien können die potenziellen Auswirkungen der Pestizide auf die Umwelt und die biologische Vielfalt besser bewertet werden. Dies ermöglicht eine Risikobewertung, die im Kontext der bestehenden Regulierungsverfahren in der Europäischen Union betrachtet und diskutiert wird. Es ist von entscheidender Bedeutung, die Herausforderungen im Zusammenhang mit dem Einsatz von Pestiziden anzuerkennen und Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um die Biodiversität in landwirtschaftlichen Landschaften langfristig zu erhalten.
Language:
Zum Profil von apl. Prof. Dr. Carsten Brühl
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan Christian Habel
Friday, January 24, 2025
9 A.M.-5 P.M., Room C3.006 (3rd floor)
Lecture program in the context of the doctoral seminar 796.300 (Ecology and Evolution) and the Master’s thesis seminar 230.340
We will make the detailed program available for download here.
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