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, environment and biodiversity trends are presented. This seminar series is a public event and is suitable for both scientific staff and students, as well as for non-university guests. We cordially invite you to participate!
That was our seminar series in the summer semester 2023!
There will be new dates in the winter semester 2023.24.
We would like to thank all speakers and everyone who was there as a listener and we wish everyone a pleasant and relaxing summer!
Past dates in summer semester 2023:
Friday, March 3, 2023
Instead of a lecture, we will take the streets together to show that climate protection is important at the global climate strike!
Does such a strike bring anything at all? A study of the content of Climate Change Acts in some European countries over the past decade showed that after the rise of the climate protests of the Fridays For Future movement, the ambitions of countries’ climate targets became stronger. Article: Climate Change Acts in Scotland, Austria, Denmark and Sweden: the role of discourse and deliberation.
Therefore, Scientists4Future (S4F) AT encourages all students, staff and colleagues at Austrian universities, universities of applied sciences and other academic institutions to participate in the climate movement in order to show together how many people want active climate protection, stand behind (climate) science and support the peaceful protest of the FridaysForFuture movement.
Friday, March 10, 2023
MSc. Eva Paulus
Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Department Environment & Biodiversity
Topic: The Population and spawing of tropical eels in the Indo-Pacific
Abstract: Freshwater eels of the genus Anguilla are well-known for their mysterious life history and economic value throughout the world. Anguillids live most of their life in freshwater and migrate thousands of kilometers into the open ocean to their spawning grounds when they mature.
A lot of research has been conducted on the two species of Anguilla in the Atlantic, the American and European eel; in comparison little information is known on the eels found in the Indo-Pacific. Using whole-genome genetic data, I will be able to answer questions on the evolutionary biology of this genus.
First, I will build a phylogeny of all 19 species and subspecies of Anguilla, which will help answer questions on the origins of this genus. Secondly, I will focus on the most widely distributed species, Anguilla marmorata, which is found from South Africa to French Polynesia.
As they are so widely distributed, this species does not have a common spawning ground, so I will be able to find out more on their population genetics in different areas of the world.
The third part of my project will focus on the hybridization of eels in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar, an area where four species of Anguilla are likely spawning and the potential for finding hybridization is high. Using the genetic data in combination with tracking the migration of adult eels to their spawning grounds will yield interesting results that will enable us to give guidelines on which areas are important for the survival of eels in this region.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 421, NLW-Faculty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 2nd floor
Host: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Jana Petermann
Friday, March 24, 2023
Dr. Daniel Remias
Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Department Environment & Biodiversity
Topic: Ecophysiology and Diversity of cryoflora: extremophilic microalgae in snow and ice
Abstract: Wie kann man sich Leben in schmelzendem Schnee und auf Gletschern vorstellen? Welchen photosynthetischen Mikroorganismen ist es gelungen diese „ewig kalten“ Lebensräume zu besiedeln?Wer viel während des Sommers in den Alpen unterwegs ist, dem wird roter Schnee oder „Blutschnee“ bereits aufgefallen sein. Tatsächlich handelt es sich um Blüten einzelliger Grünalgen, und nicht etwa um Saharastaub. Der organische Ursprung der auffälligen Färbung wird durch einen an Wassermelone erinnernden Geruch unterstrichen. Der häufigste Organismus ist dabei Sanguina nivaloides. Optisch unauffälliger, aber ebenso in allen Gebirgen und in den Polargebieten verbreitet sind Gletschereisalgen aus der Gattung Ancylonema, deren Kultivierung im Labor unlängst das erste mal gelungen ist.
Der Vortrag gibt einen Überblick über ökophysiologische Strategien dieser bei uns aufgrund des Klimawandels bei uns gefährdeten Algen. Dabei werden Themen wie Photosynthese, Pigmentierung oder Biodiversität angeschnitten.
Abschließend wird betrachtet welche künftigen Schwerpunkte in der Erforschung von Kryoflora an der Uni Salzburg geplant sind.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 435, NLW-Faculty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd floor
Friday, April 21, 2023
Peter Kaufmann
Haus der Natur, Salzburg
Topic: City Nature Challenge 2023 – Citizen Science and biodiversity data collection in Salzburg
Abstract: From April 28th to May 1st 2023, Salzburg will be taking part in the City Nature Challenge for the second time. Together with 400 other cities from all over the world we will try to make as many nature observations as possible. Last year we managed to document more than 13,000 observations of 2,200 different species all over Salzburg. This was the second best result in Europe and 19th worldwide!
The highlights and results of last year’s challenge will be presented and the features of Observation.org and its image recognition Apps (especially ObsIdentify) will be introduced briefly.
Citizen Science and nature observations have a long-standing tradition in Salzburg, resulting in the Biodiversity database of Salzburg containing over 2 million records of animals, plants and fungi. Data that has been collected by Citizen Scientists to a significant extent. The importance of this data and how it is utilized will be exemplified through practical application examples and current research.
By participating in the City Nature Challenge, we not only show the world how diverse Salzburg’s nature is, but also collect essential data for research and nature conservation.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Grüner Hörsaal (Lecture Hall 403), NLW-Fakultät, Hellbrunner Str. 34, Ground floor
Hosts: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Jana Petermann und Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gabriele Berninger
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Dr. Johan Faust
Universität Bremen/MARUM
Topic: Carbon preservation in Arctic marine sediments
Abstract: Ongoing climate change and global warming require a detailed knowledge of the carbon cycle to better understand feedback mechanisms and the main amplifiers of large-scale climatic changes. The Arctic region currently experiences significant warming, a dramatic loss of sea ice and an increase of primary productivity. Thus, the transformation from seasonally ice-covered into a permanently open ocean forces the Arctic marine ecosystem to adapt and restructure. This has important repercussions on the Arctic carbon cycle, including atmospheric CO2 uptake by photosynthetic algae, the deposition of their organic remains to the seafloor, and long-term sequestration into sediments.
Time: 4 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 413, NLW-Faculty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd floor
Host: Dr. Daniel Remias
Friday, May 12, 2023
Univ.-Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Martin Kainz
Universität für Weiterbildung Krems
Danube University Krems, Krems an der Donau and WasserCluster Lunz – Biologische Station Lunz am See, AT
Topic: Discerning dietary organic matter sources and their ecophysiological fate in aquatic consumers
Abstract: I will present upcoming research avenues about dietary energy sources and their physiological implications for aquatic consumers, and will focus on sources of dietary carbon, lipids, and fatty acids in organisms of various ecosystems. Lipids and some polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are considered essential for consumers, yet in certain aquatic ecosystems their dietary provision may be too low to meet the consumers’ physiological demand. It is thus important to understand how consumers within various trophic networks utilize and rework lipids of allochthonous and autochthonous sources to meet their physiological requirements. Current research on fatty acids and compound-specific stable isotopes of leaf litter, algae, invertebrates, and in fish muscle tissues and organs (liver, gonads, brain, eyes) shows that consumers retain dietary energy preferably from autochthonous sources (algae), whereas long-chain saturated fatty acids, used as indicators of allochthonous dietary diet sources, decrease with increasing trophic levels and remain isotopically unchanged. The combined use of fatty acids and their stable isotopes reveals that fishes convert dietary PUFA to the highly unsaturated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their liver and, based on lighter del13C and del2H values of DHA in fish brain and eyes than in fish liver, neural tissues can further synthesize essential DHA from precursor PUFA. The supply of dietary energy appears to get steadily reworked within aquatic consumers and in fish organs to satisfy the consumers’ physiological demands. This presentation will round up with some perspectives for nutritional aquatic ecology in a world that faces unprecedented challenges during ongoing climate change.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 435, NLW-Faculty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd floor
Hosts: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gabriele Berninger und Assoz. Prof. Dr. Stephen Wickham
Friday, June 2, 2023
Dr. Leopold Slotta-Bachmayr
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
Department of Environment & Biodiversity
Topic: Limitations of person detection dogs
Abstract: Person detection dogs follow the individual scent of a person. This unique scent bouquet is formed by volatile components as well as particles of the human skin. There are a bunch of reports and stories about the ability of this dogs but only a hand full scientific studies about this topic. The main question is, about what time span dogs are able to identify, find and follow human scent in an urban environment. Therefore, we investigated together with the Austrian and Bavarian police the possibility of person tracking dogs to identify humans by aged scent samples in the lab as well as in reality by laying trails along crossing with an age between one and 64 weeks. We also compared the efficiency of dogs trained differently to follow human tracks.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 414, NLW-Faculty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd. floor
Host: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gabriele Berninger
Friday, June 9, 2023
Nathan Mucchala
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Department of Biology – Evolutionary ecology of pollination systems
Topic: Actinomorphy to zygomorphy: effects of floral symmetry on pollination, diversification and abundance
Abstract: Ongoing climate change and global warming require a detailed knowledge of the carbon cycle to better understand feedback mechanisms and the main amplifiers of large-scale climatic changes. The Arctic region currently experiences significant warming, a dramatic loss of sea ice and an increase of primary productivity. Thus, the transformation from seasonally ice-covered into a permanently open ocean forces the Arctic marine ecosystem to adapt and restructure. This has important repercussions on the Arctic carbon cycle, including atmospheric CO2 uptake by photosynthetic algae, the deposition of their organic remains to the seafloor, and long-term sequestration into sediments.
While the ancestral symmetry of angiosperm flowers is actinomorphic (radial symmetry), hundreds of lineages have independently evolved zygomorphic flowers (bilateral symmetry). Such shifts are associated with more specialized pollination systems, and lead to significant increases in diversification rates. But what are the actual benefits of zygomorphic flowers for a plant? We performed flight cage experiments with nectar-feeding bats and artificial flowers, testing how floral symmetry and orientation affect pollen removal and transfer. Nearly twice as much pollen was transferred between zygomorphic flowers, but only when angled at 45°, causing pollen to be consistently placed on the tops of bats’ heads. When flowers were positioned flat (pointed upwards), bats approached from many different angles, and zygomorphic flowers performed no better than actinomorphic ones in terms of pollen transfer. Results suggest that shifts to zygomorphy allow more specialized pollination systems which, with the correct floral orientation, maximize pollen transfer success. In the final part of the talk, I explore why such specialized pollination is associated with increased diversification rates, presenting evidence that in fact zygomorphy acts to decrease extinction rates rather than (as often assumed) acting to increase speciation rates.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Online-Lecture
Hosts: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Biol. Dr. Stefan Dötterl und Thomas Rupp, MSc
Participation via WEBEX
Friday, June 9, 2023 2:00 PM | 1 hour | (UTC+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
Meeting number: 2731 468 7155
Password: Bats
Participation via Video System
You can also dial 62.109.219.4 and enter your meeting number.
Participation via Telefon
+43-720-815221 Austria Toll
+49-6196-7819736 Germany Toll
Access code: 273 146 87155
Friday, June 16, 2023
Qin Qi
Macquarie University, Sydney
School of Natural Sciences
Topic: Uncovering bacterial hosts of class 1 integrons in urban aquatic environments with a single-cell fusion-PCR technology
Abstract: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key driver of bacterial evolution via transmission of genetic materials across taxa. Class 1 integrons are genetic elements that correlate strongly with anthropogenic pollution and contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. In my presentation, I shall introduce you to a modified version of epicPCR (emulsion, paired isolation and concatenation PCR) that we developed to link class 1 integrons amplified from single bacterial cells to their taxonomic markers. Using this single-cell genomic approach and Nanopore sequencing, we successfully assigned class 1 integron gene cassette arrays to their hosts in coastal and creek water samples that were affected by urban pollution. We also identified the environmental bacterial genus Rhizobacter as novel hosts of class 1 integrons and gained new insights into the evolution of integron gene cassettes at these locations.
Time: 2 PM
Place: Lecture Hall 435, NLW-Fakulty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd floor
Host: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Anja Hörger
Friday, June 23, 2023
Diss./MSc-Seminar
Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Department Environment & Biodiversity
Download full-day lecture program
Time: 9 AM – 6 PM
Place: Lecture Hall C-006, NLW-Fakulty, Hellbrunner Str. 34, 3rd floor
