The number of tree species in local ecosystems is a key measure of biodiversity. A well-known ecological rule states that species numbers increase from the poles to the equator. But why is this trend not completely universal, and what can…
A call for a Ph.D. student in our group!
For a project entitled Latitudinal patterns in specialization of wild bees: Metabarcoding of pollen loads along a cross-continental gradient, we are seeking a highly motivated Ph.D. student. It combines modern Next Generation Sequencing metabarcoding of pollen loads from wild bees,…
Sampling of plant-pollinator networks in Milovice
After many months of computer work, we have enjoyed almost the entire May in the field. We have started a large project recently supported by the Czech Science Foundation (Junior Star project, PI-ed by Rob), focused on latitudinal trends of…
Three new doctors in our group!
In the past two weeks, three of our members defended their Ph.D. theses! (Isn’t this some kind of record?!) First, Sylvain defended his thesis on biodiversity of Afrotropical butterflies and moths at the University of South Bohemia, Czechia. The next…
Popularising of our research
In the past months, our research has repeatedly appeared in media, especially in Český rozhlas Plus, the Czech public radio focused on science and society. Our last sampling trip to Kruger NP was accompanied by a journalist Ondřej Novák who…
Sampling in Kruger NP
In late March, just before the covid lock-down, we have arrived from South African Kruger NP. Rob and Sylvain did the last sampling of insects for the large collaborative research on the role of large herbivores and water availability for…
New publication on a butterfly pollination system
Our case study of the butterfly pollinated Scadoxus cinnabarinus has just been published in the Arthropod-Plant Interactions journal. Our so far unique system of flowers video recording system was developed on a few case studies on the slopes of Mount…
New publication on Afrotropical butterflies
In the last days of 2019, our new publication on understudied Afrotropical butterflies has been published in SHILAP Revista de lepidopterológia, the pdf can be downloaded here. In this study, Rob has participated on the description of unknown females of…
Work in the Krakow museum
After some time, we have continued to process our moth material curated in collections of the Nature Education Centre of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The main aim was to introduce our material to Fotini, our new Erasmus intern. For…
A sampling trip to Kruger
Pajá and Sylvain have spent the past three weeks in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. They continued sampling of moths and recording of bats for the project led by Petr Pysek and David Storch focused on the role…