Biennial Report 2015 – 2016
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The Czech Academy of Sciences INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY BIENNIAL REPORT 2015 –2016 BRNO 2017 BIENNIAL REPORT INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY the Czech Academy of Sciences 2015–2016 BRNO 2017 BIENNIAL REPORT 2015–2016 A periodical continuation of the Institute’s previous bulletins: Vertebratologické Zprávy (1969–1987), Zprávy ÚSEB (1988–1991) and the ILE Biennial Report (1993–1994). Edited by Josef Bryja, Alena Fornůsková, Jan Zima, Hana Slabáková, and Marcel Honza Published by the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the CAS, v. v. i., Brno English correction by Kevin Roche Layout and pre-press by Jiří Kaláček Printed by H.R.G. Litomyšl © Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v. v. i. Front cover: Smooth newt, Lissotriton vulgaris, as a model system for behavioural thermoregulation research in ectothermic vertebrates. (Photo by L. Gvoždík) Back cover: a) Aerial respirometry system for measuring energy metabolism in small vertebrates. (Photo by L. Gvoždík) b) Water temperature measurements over an aquatic thermal gradient, photographed using a thermal imaging camera. (Photo by L. Gvoždík) ISBN 978-80-87189-22-1 CONTENTS PREFACE . 5 1. BASIC FACTS ........................................................................... 7 | STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY OF THE CAS ................... 7 | STAFF AND BUDGET ................................................................... 8 Addresses ...............................................................................11 | HEADQUARTERS......................................................................11 | RESEARCH FACILITIES ................................................................11 | FIELD STATION .......................................................................11 | MANAGEMENT AND SERVICES ........................................................11 | BOARD OF THE INSTITUTE.............................................................12 | SUPERVISORY BOARD.................................................................13 | RESEARCH STAFF .....................................................................13 2. RESEARCH PROJECTS ..................................................................19 Projects supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GA ČR) . 19 Projects supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA ČR) . 21 Projects supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic . 21 Projects supported by the Ministry of Enviroment of the Czech Republic . 21 Projects supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport . 21 International projects . 22 3. SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ...................................................................23 | SUMMARY OF PUBLICATION OUTPUT . .23 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . 25 Geographical distribution of selected research activities abroad . 26 Most important research collaborations . 28 Complete list of publications . 29 Books, textbooks, edited proceedings . 29 Chapters in books . 30 Papers in journals included in the databases Web of Science . 30 Papers in other refereed journals . 46 Papers in proceedings . 47 Book reviews . 47 Popularization books and articles . 47 SELECTED SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS ....................................................49 EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY . 52 BIODIVERSITY . 66 PARASITES AND DISEASES . 78 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES .....................................................................87 | POPULARISATION ACTIVITIES AND COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITIES AND HIGH SCHOOLS ...................................................................... 87 | MEETINGS ORGANISED BY THE INSTITUTE .............................................91 | MEMBERSHIP IN EDITORIAL BOARDS ..................................................95 | EDUCATION AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES ...............................................96 Teaching at universities . 96 PhD students working at the Institute and/or supervised by the Institute’s fellows . 97 PhD theses defended over 2015–2016 and supervised by the Institute’s fellows . 99 | EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES ...............................................................100 | AWARDS ............................................................................101 achievements of a more applied character. It is my wish here to express a vote of heartfelt thanks to all the research teams for their excellent results over the past two years. In addition to our sci- entific output, I am also pleased to announce the successful completion of our new state-of-the-art breeding facility in 2016, which we now plan to open in summer 2017. Probably the most significant event for the IVB over the past two years was the international eval- uation of the Institute for 2010-2014. I am happy to say that the Institute was evaluated very posi- tively, which is reflected in an increase in the Insti- tute budget of cca 10 % for 2017. Of course, these funds are never enough to cover all our expenses, especially when it comes to funding research pro- PREFACE jects. As ever, thanks must go to all our scientists who proved highly competitive and successful in obtaining research grants. These grants contribut- Dear reader, ed significantly to the IVB budget, representing an You have just opened the Biennial report, which is additional 45.8 and 49.7 million CZK in 2015 and traditionally published every other year by the In- 2016, respectively. stitute of Vertebrate Biology (IVB). The purpose Finally, I would like to express once again what of this report is to provide information on the sci- a personal pleasure it has been to work at the IVB. entific results published by the Institute’s staff -be I always feel that the pleasant and constructive at- tween 2015 and 2016 and important events that mosphere that is so typical at our Institute is one occurred over that time, both in a style that is ac- of the primary prerequisites for our ongoing suc- cessible to the interested layperson. cess and will allow us to reach even greater heights I believe that the information contained in this over the coming years. report will be of interest not only to our co-work- ers but also to colleagues from other institutions and to the general public. What is more, it should Dear reader, I wish you pleasant reading. also stimulate our potential new students and post-doctoral researchers in deciding where to di- rect their professional career. Finally, I believe that the information provided in this and previous re- ports on the development of the Institute and the milestones that have influenced the direction of the Institute over time could prove an inspiring and useful resource to writers and contributors. At the IVB, we focus on groundbreaking re- search in fields such as evolutionary biology, bio- diversity and medical zoology. These research ac- tivities are primarily of a fundamental nature and focus on observation and experiment in order to Marcel Honza gain a better understanding of the processes that Director of the Institute of Vertebrate Biology affect the fascinating world of the animal king- dom. Such studies have produce around 110 sci- April, 2017 entific publications per year in peer-reviewed journals. Also of note is the growing number of 5 6 BASIC FACTS 1. BASIC FACTS | STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY OF THE CAS Supervisory Board Director Board of the Institute Deputy Directors Scientific Secretary Research Sector * Services (Brno) Research Team 1 Administrative Department (headed by group leader 1) Research Team 2 Scientific Information (headed by group leader 2) Centre and Library Research Team 3 Secretariat (headed by group leader 3) Research Team … X (headed by group leader … X) * dispersed at three research facilities – Brno, Studenec, Valtice The Institute of Vertebrate Biology (IVB) is a relatively small institute (ca 22-25 permanent researchers) of the Czech Academy of Sciences and, as such, is not structured to separate research departments. Senior researchers are usually the principal investigators of national and international projects and are responsible for creating and maintaining their teams, predominantly from external funds. Principal in- vestigators (group leaders) of projects are directly subordinated to the Director. Research teams are very flexible and are composed of junior researchers, post-doctorates, research assistants, technicians and pre- and post-graduate students (most paid from project grants). Research subjects can be divided into three main domains: evolutionary ecology, biodiversity, and pathogens and diseases (see below). Indi- vidual projects, however, can cover more topics and researchers often use interdisciplinary approaches. 7 INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY | THE CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES BIENNIAL REPORT 2015–2016 | STAFF AND BUDGET While the IVB is relatively small based on number of employees and budget, it is important as regards scientific output and other activities. Eighty-two people were employed in 2015, a number that rose to 89 in 2016 (full- time equivalents). Staff structure was similar in both years. While a significantly decreasing trend in the number of institutional employees was stopped, the number of people (mainly post-doctorate students, PhD students and technicians) employed on the basis of (unpredictable) external project funding rose to 54 %. 31 % 69 % 54 % 46 % Supporting Staff Researchers Projects Institutional Staff structure of the IVB between 2015 and 2016 (mean values for both years recalculated to full-time jobs) . Number of employees Number of employees (recalculated