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The Czech Academy of Sciences INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY BIENNIAL REPORT 2017 –2018 BRNO 2019 BIENNIAL REPORT INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY the Czech Academy of Sciences 2017 –2018 BIENNIAL REPORT 2017–2018 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 Alena Fornůsková, Josef Bryja, Hana Slabáková and Marcel Honza Published by the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 2019 English editing 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. Front cover: The cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus), the only obligatory brood parasite species among fishes. (Photo by R. Blažek) Back cover: The Institute’s new cuckoo catfish breeding facility, with 24 breeding and 32 experimental tanks housing hundreds of cuckoo catfish and their cichlid hosts. (Photo by M. Vrtílek) ISBN 978-80-87189-26-9 CONTENTS PREFACE . 5 1. BACKGROUND ......................................................................... 7 | STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY ............................. 7 | STAFF AND BUDGET.................................................................. 8 | HEADQUARTERS ....................................................................11 | RESEARCH FACILITIES ...............................................................11 | FIELD STATION......................................................................11 | MANAGEMENT AND SERVICES.......................................................11 | BOARD OF THE INSTITUTE...........................................................12 | SUPERVISORY BOARD...............................................................12 | 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 Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic . 21 International projects . 22 3. SCIENTIFIC RESULTS...................................................................23 | SUMMARY OF PUBLICATION OUTPUT................................................23 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . 24 Geographical distribution of selected research activities . 26 Geographic distribution of the most important international cooperation activities . 28 Complete list of publications . 29 Books, textbooks, edited proceedings . 29 Book chapters . 29 Papers in journals included in the Web of Science Database . 30 Papers in other refereed journals . 45 Papers in proceedings . 45 Book reviews . 46 Popular books and articles . 47 Patents, utility models, function samples, verified technologies, certified methodologies . 48 | SELECTED SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS................................................49 EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY . 52 BIODIVERSITY . 66 PARASITES AND DISEASES . 80 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES ....................................................................89 | POPULARISATION ACTIVITIES .......................................................89 Science exposition 2017 and 2018 . 90 Open door days . 90 | THE INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY AND STRATEGY AV21 ......................93 | NATIONAL ANIMAL GENETIC BANK OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC.........................94 | IVB EXPERIMENTAL BREEDING FACILITIES ...........................................97 Studenec experimental breeding facility . 97 Brno fish breeding facility . 98 | COMMERCIALISATION OF RESEARCH OUTPUTS ......................................98 | OUTREACH PROJECTS...............................................................99 Project ATHENE – The Little Owl in danger . 99 The 2nd European Mammal Atlas (2017–2023) . 100 | MEETINGS ORGANISED BY THE INSTITUTE ..........................................101 “ Zoological days” Conference 2017 (Brno) and 2018 (Prague) . 101 The Czech Congress of Herpetology . 103 Hybrid zone workshop . 104 Rybikon 2018 – XVI Fisheries and ichthyological conference . 104 Lynx and wolf in the Western Carpathians: current population status, ecology and conservation . 105 Evolutionary workshop for PhD students . 106 | MEMBERSHIP OF EDITORIAL BOARDS ..............................................106 | EDUCATION AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES ............................................106 Teaching at universities and supervision of students . 106 PhD students working at the Institute and/or supervised by the Institute’s fellows . 107 PhD theses defended over 2017–2018 and supervised by Institute fellows . 110 | EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES – FOLIA ZOOLOGICA ........................................111 | AWARDS ...........................................................................112 OBITUARY..............................................................................113 post-graduate students (more than 100) studying with us is strong evidence of our Institute´s im- portant position in the Czech educational system, particularly in the fields of zoology, ecology, evo- lutionary biology and biodiversity. Our staff are extremely competitive and have had great success, both in obtaining research grants and in fund-raising from both national and foreign sources. These research grants and other contract funds contributed significantly to the IVB budget, representing an additional 48 and 47 million CZK in 2017 and 2018, respectively. At this point, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all fellows who successfully applied for research grants and to express a vote of heartfelt thanks for the truly excellent results achieved over the past PREFACE two years. It also gives me great pleasure to announce that, over the past two years, we have completed the Dear reader, construction of a new modern breeding facility at It is my great pleasure to introduce what has already Studenec, at a cost of cca 40 million CZK. become a traditional publication of the Institute of Vertebrate Biology (IVB), the Biennial report. Dear reader, The major goal of this report is to provide both I will finish my 10 year period as Director of the a representative overview of the extensive range Institute in mid-June 2019 and I believe that the of research activities undertaken at the IVB and to new Director will bring new ideas and challenges inform the reader about the most important news for the future progress of the IVB. I sincerely hope and events occurring at the IVB over 2017–2018, that our work will continue to be guided by a spirit all in a style that is fully accessible to the interested of mutual understanding and collaboration. layperson. Finally, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to all Each chapter in this report provides a detailed the colleagues that supported and helped me over summary of the results of work completed over my tenure as Director. the previous two years. The majority of scientific papers were published in high ranking journals With my very best wishes, covered by the Web of Science. Of particular note is the impressive range of international coopera- tion and wide distribution of study sites through- out the world that is now characteristic of our re- search activities. Despite the majority of studies addressed by our fellows being primarily focused toward basic science, I must stress that the results of our work have also significantly contributed to ap- plied problems in the areas of nature conservation, fisheries, forestry, agriculture and epidemiological surveillance. The solid number of foreign students involved in our research is a clear indication that the In- Marcel Honza stitute has a good reputation abroad. In addition, Director of the IVB our huge participation in education at Czech Uni- versities and the amazing number of graduate and March, 2019 5 6 BACKGROUND 1. BACKGROUND | STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY 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 * dispersed at three research facilities – Brno, (headed by group leader … X) Studenec, Valtice The Institute of Vertebrate Biology (IVB) is a relatively small institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and, as such, is not structured into separate research departments. Senior researchers are usually the Principle Investigators of national and international projects and are responsible for creating and main- taining their teams, predominantly from external funds. Principle Investigators (group leaders) of projects are directly subordinated to the Director. Research teams are highly flexible and are composed of junior researchers, post-doctorates, research assistants, technicians and pre- and post-graduate students (mostly paid from project grants). Research subjects can be divided into three main domains: evolutionary ecology, biodiversity and pathogens and diseases (see below). However, individual projects can cover more topics and researchers often use interdisciplinary approaches. 7 INSTITUTE OF VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY | THE CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
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