Selected publications

No life has yet been found on Mars, but it is exciting to explore under what circumstances it might be possible. The authors have studied the cellular processes that regulate the adaptation of microorganisms to perchlorates. If microorganisms could genetically adapt their stress response to this salt, their survival on the red planet might be possible.

In both time and space, the observed differentiation in trait values among populations and communities can be the result of interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes. The authors extended methods to quantify ecological and evolutionary contributions to trait changes to account for empirical studies that document trait differentiation among populations structured in space.

The authors assessed the invasion dynamics of the New Zealand mud snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum, one of the most damaging freshwater invaders. They observed that the snail abundance increased through time with 59% of populations following the proposed pattern, providing insights into large-scale invasion dynamics to inform management actions to mitigate impacts on ecosystems and economies.

The authors developed indices to quantify the urban affinity of species by using publicly available occurrence data and examined the performance of these indices using a global dataset of bats. The results show that simple indices are appropriate and most practical for producing quantitative assessments of species’ urban affinity.

This newly discovered family of satellite DNAs is present in 15 examined species of amphibians of the systematic family of True toads (Bufonidae). It is formed by monomers of 807 bp, organized in tandem arrays, and has an AT-content of 57.4 Percent.

The Prussian carp or Gibel carp is considered one of the most successful invasive fish species in Europe. Its ability to reproduce asexually gives it a major advantage over competing fish. The authors have for the first time described the complete genome of the Prussian carp.This also provides a much better understanding of its unusual reproductive method and to improve its management. 

The authors have shown for the first time that the moon plays a key role in the reproductive behaviour of male moths: when the moon rises on the horizon, they find females better and faster. Fortunately, they are not bothered by low levels of light pollution.

First study on the fungal diversity in Antarctic benthic habitats along a salinity gradient to determine the co-occurrence of fungal parasites with their algal hosts dominated by benthic diatoms. Ascomycota and Chytridiomycota are the most abundant fungal taxa. Salinity shapes the fungal and the whole eukaryotic community composition, whereby fungal diversity increases with decreasing salinity.