Projects and work opportunities

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The project proposal “Functional species pools: shedding light on the ‘dark diversity’ and its functions” for the Czech Academy of Sciences was recently accepted, for a period of 5 years (2012-2016).


What is ‘dark biodiversity’?

The number of species that we can find in a given location represents only a portion of all species that can potentially inhabit those ecological conditions. The species that are absent/missing, but could inhabit the site, constitute its ‘dark biodiversity’. To know more about dark diversity have a look at this very interesting paper by Meelis Pärtel (Partel-Tree-2011.pdf). Here another nice (?) paper showing the functions of the dark diversity.


Objectives of the project

How to estimate this dark diversity? Which are its ecological functions? Why some species are missing from ecosystems? How to bring them back?


WE ARE LOOKING FOR MOTIVATED, and crazy enough, STUDENTS (Bachelor, Master and PhD) to join the project.


Prospective students will deal with modern plant biodiversity modeling techniques, based on field measurements from grassland vegetation and data from the Czech phytosiological database. The project is coordinated by my self and Petr Šmilauer. Students will collaborate together with us and with key European partners including the group led by Meelis. In Czech the team includes mainly Jan šuspa Leps and Jitka Klimešová and various other researchers in the Institute of Botany in Třebon.








 

Shedding light on

‘dark biodiversity’

Bachelor, Master and PhD positions available: come to the ‘dark side’!!