Carpathians Endemics Project

About me

My current positions are the Principal Research Fellow and Curator Adviser at the Natural History Museum in Belgrade and Corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. My fundamental research interests are phytotaxonomy, nomenclature, karyology, phylogeny and phylogeography, floristics, phytogeography and phytoecology, analyses of biodiversity and conservation biology, museology (collection, professional and scientific analysis, presentation and publication, the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, natural history) and phytopharmacology. Also, my additional interest are on: software programming (Visual Basic) and databases analysis, GIS cartography and analyses, and natural photography. I have many years of field experience and knowledge of the Balkan Peninsula flora and vegetation. The long-lasting field activities resulted in several flora monographs and contributions to the knowledge of plant taxa belonging to various groups (e.g. Hieracium, Cerastium, Silene etc.).

Role in the project:
Coming soon

Relevant publications:

Niketić, M., Đurović, S. Z., Tomović, G., Schönswetter, P., Frajman, B. (2022): Diversification within ploidy-variable Balkan endemic Cerastium decalvans (Caryophyllaceae) reconstructed based on genetic, morphological and ecological evidence. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 10.1093/botlinnean/boab037.
Đurović, S. Z., Temunović, M., Niketić, M., Tomović, G., Schönswetter, P., Frajman, B. (2021): Impact of Quaternary climatic oscillations on phylogeographic patterns of three habitat-segregated Cerastium taxa endemic to the Dinaric Alps. Journal of Biogeography 48(8): 2022-2036.
Conti F., Bartolucci F., Bacchetta G., Pennesi R., Lakušić D., Niketić M. (2021): A taxonomic revision of the Siler montanum group (Apiaceae) in Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. Willdenowia 51(3): 321-347.
Niketić, M., Tomović, G. (2018). An annotated checklist of vascular flora of Serbia 1. Lycopodiopsida, Polypodiopsida, Gnetopsida, Pinopsida and Liliopsida. Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, 294 pp.
Đurović, S., Kuzmanović, N., Tomović, G., Niketić, M. (2018): Nomenclatural notes and typification of the names related to Silene saxifraga group (Caryophyllaceae). Phytotaxa 344(3): 201-214.
Đurović, S., Schönswetter, P., Niketić, M., Tomović, G., Frajman, B. (2017): Disentangling relationships among the members of the Silene saxifraga alliance (Caryophyllaceae): Phylogenetic structure is geographically rather than taxonomically segregated. Taxon 66(2): 343-362.
Niketić, M., Siljak-Yakovlev, S., Frajman, B., Lazarević, M., Stevanović, B., Tomović, G., Stevanović, V. (2013): Towards resolving the systematics of Cerastium subsection Cerastium (Caryophyllaceae): a cytogenetic approach. - Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 172(2): 205-224.
Lakušić, D., Niketić, M., Rakić, T., Stevanović, V. (2013): Edraianthus canescens (Campanulaceae), a new species from the Central Balkan peninsula. Phytotaxa 118(1): 22-28.
Niketić, M., Tomović, G. (2008): Taxonomy and nomenclature of the Linaria genistifolia complex (Plantaginaceae-Antirrhineae) in S.E. Europe and Anatolia. Taxon 57(2): 619-629.
Niketić, M., Stevanović, V. (2007): A new species of Heliosperma (Caryophyllaceae) from Serbia and Montenegro. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 154(1): 55-63.

About me

I am Professor of Biogeography and Flora of the Balkan Peninsula at the Department of Plant Ecology and Geography of the Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden “Jevremovac”, Faculty of Biology University of Belgrade. My fundamental research interests are phytogeography, chorology, floristics, and I am skilled in analysis of the plant diversity, richness and endemism. My interest for plant endemics originated during my PhD, when I first started the study of the areas of endemism in Serbia. Within the study of endemics, I have focused mainly on evaluation of endemic status of vascular plants considered as endemic (first within the territory of Serbia, later in the central parts of the Balkan Peninsula), as well as on the study of their distribution in Serbia and the Balkans. I have years of field experience and knowledge of the Balkan Peninsula flora and vegetation. The systematic field activities resulted in some flora monographs and contributions to the knowledge of plant taxa belonging to various groups.

Role in the project:
Coming soon

Relevant publications:

Jakovljević, K., Tomović, G., Đorđević, V., Niketić, M., Stevanović, V. (2020): Steppe flora in Serbia – distribution, ecology, centers of diversity and conservation status. Folia Geobotanica 55(1): 1-14.
Buzurović, U., Tomović, G., Niketić, M., Bogdanović, S., Aleksić, J. M. (2020): Phylogeographic and taxonomic considerations on Goniolimon tataricum (Plumbaginaceae) and its relatives from south-eastern Europe and the Apennine Peninsula. Plant Systematics and Evolution 306(2): 29, 1-22.
Niketić, M., Tomović, G. (2018). An annotated checklist of vascular flora of Serbia 1. Lycopodiopsida, Polypodiopsida, Gnetopsida, Pinopsida and Liliopsida. Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, 294 pp.
Buzurović, U., Bogdanović, S., Brullo, S., Niketić, M., Tomović, G. (2018): Goniolimon africanum (Plumbaginaceae), a new endemic species from North Africa. Phytotaxa 349(3): 287-297.
Tomović, G., Niketić, M., Lazarević, M., Melovski, Lj. (2016): Taxonomic reassessment of Viola aetolica and Viola elegantula (V. sect. Melanium, Violaceae), with descriptions of two new species from the Balkan Peninsula. Phytotaxa 253(4): 237-265.
Brković, D. L., Tomović, G. M., Niketić, M. S., Lakušić, D. V. (2015): Diversity analysis of serpentine and non-serpentine flora – or, is serpentinite inhabited by a smaller number of species compared to different rock types? Biologia 70(1): 61-74.
Vuksanović, S., Tomović, G., Niketić, M., Stevanović, V. (2016): Balkan endemic vascular plants in Montenegro – critical inventory, chorological and life forms analyses. Willdenowia 46(3): 387-397.
Tomović, G., Niketić, M., Lakušić, D., Ranđelović, V., Stevanović, V. (2014): Balkan endemic plants in Central Serbia and Kosovo regions: distribution patterns, ecological characteristics and centres of diversity. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 176(2): 173-202.
Tomović, G., Kuzmanović, N., Barina, Z., Đurović, S., Jakovljević, K., Vukojičić, S. (2013): Nomenclatural notes on three names in Viola Sect. Melanium (Violaceae). Phytotaxa 123(1): 56-60.
Stevanović, V., Vukojičić, S., Šinžar-Sekulić, J., Lazarević, M., Tomović, G., Tan, K. (2009): Distribution and diversity of Arctic-Alpine species in the Balkans. Plant Systematics and Evolution 283(3-4): 219-235.

About me

I am a freshwater expert of WWF Hungary, previously I was a researcher of Hungarian Natural History Museum for 20 years. My main focus is on the plants of the Balkan and Carpathian areas, including their biogeography, taxonomy, nomenclature, phenology and conservation. My field activities cover most areas of Hungary and Albania, remarkable areas in the Balkans and Carpathians and some areas out of them. The systematic field activities resulted in some flora monographs and contributions to the knowledge of plant taxa belonging to various groups.
Field activities are improved by herbarium studies, achieved in a number of Europaean herbaria and by the knowledge of actual and historical botanical literature.

Google Scholar:
ORCID
Full list of publications

Role in the project:
Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Romanian Carpathians, by using multiple available data sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys.

Relevant publications:

Z. Barina, G. Somogyi & D. Pifkó (2020): Typification of names in the Dianthus plumarius group in the Carpatho‐Pannonian region. – Taxon 69(1): 161–169.
Z. Barina & D. Pifkó (2020): Development of the Herbarium Carpato-Pannonicum collection in the Department of Botany, Hungarian Natural History Museum (2000–2019). – Annales Musei Historico-Naturalis Hungarici 111: 115–144.
Z. Barina (2018): Kitaibel Pál a botanikus, és a Kitaibel-herbárium. – Botanikai Közlemények 105: 163.
B. Hurdu, Z. Barina, P. Mráz, A. Novikov, M. Pușcaș, M. Ronikier & J. Šibík (2018): Endemic flora of the Carpathians: the importance of digitally integrating scientific information of major Carpathian Region herbaria. – Visnyk of the Lviv University Biological Series 78: 56–59.
D. C. Albach, D. Pifkó & Z. Barina (2017): Typifications and taxonomic notes for Veronica subgen. Pseudolysimachium (Plantaginaceae) based on material from the Hungarian Natural History Museum Budapest (BP). – Phytotaxa 331(1): 35–50.
Z. Barina, K. Buczkó, L. Lőkös, B. Papp, D. Pifkó, E. Szurdoki (2016): 11th International Conference "Advances in research on the flora and vegetation of the Carpato-Pannonian region": Book of abstracts. – Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Budapest, 255 pp.
Bartha D., Király G, Schmidt D., Tiborcz V., Barina Z., Csiky J., Jakab G., Lesku B., Schmotzer A., Vidéki R., Vojtkó A. & Zólyomi Sz. (2015): Magyarország edényes növényfajainak elterjedési atlasza / Distribution atlas of vascular plants of Hungary. – Sopron: Nyugat-magyarországi Egyetem Kiadó, 329 p.
M. Niketić, P. Cikovac, Z. Barina, D. Pifkó, L. Melovski, Š. Duraki & G. Tomović (2015): Viola chelmea and Viola jooi (Violaceae), new species for the flora of Serbia and their distribution in the Balkan Peninsula and the Carpathians. – Bulletin of the Natural History Museum in Belgrade 8: 49–74.
Barina Z., Somogyi G. & Pifkó D. (2014): Proposal to reject the name Dianthus hungaricus (Caryophyllaceae). – Taxon 63: 940–941.
Barina Z., Csiky J., Farkas S., Jakab G., Király G., Lájer K., Mesterházy A., Molnár V. A., Nagy J., Németh Cs., Pál R., Pifkó D., Pinke Gy., Schmotzer A., Somlyay L., Sramkó G., Vidéki R., Vojtkó A; Editor: Király G. (2008): Vörös lista : a magyarországi edényes flóra veszélyeztetett fajai [Red list of the vascular flora of Hungary]. – Sopron: private editio, 73 p.

About me

I am a researcher at the A. Borza Botanical Garden, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. My research areas cover species and ecosystem functioning, alpine monitoring and remote sensing. During the last 10 years I worked as a botanist in different inventory projects, including nature conservation. An important part of my work was focused on using species composition data in dry grasslands to explain patterns of diversity at small scales.
During my PhD I studied the role of fine-scale environmental drivers in explaining alpha- and beta-diversity in forest openings and xero-mesophilous grasslands in the Transylvanian Plain. I was supported by a national scholarship to work at the Biozentrum Klein Flottbek und Botanischer Garten, University of Hamburg (Germany) for five months, under the supervision of dr. Jürgen Dengler. Then I worked as a researcher in the ODYSSEE project which aimed at sampling the biodiversity of subalpine and alpine grasslands across the major European mountain ranges. The expertise gained within this project paved the way to new areas of research, such as bioclimatology, ecosystem functioning and remote sensing. I spent three months at Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine in Grenoble (France) to explore the ODYSSEE data on species functional traits, under the supervision of dr. Philippe Choler. Currently I am the principal investigator of the MEMOIRE project, in collaboration with dr. Mihai Pușcaș, which is focused on the functioning of the Carpathian grasslands across an elevational gradient.
I am also in charge of the Systematic and Economic sections of the botanical garden.

Google Scholar:
Researcher ID

Role in the project:
(1) Conservation of endangered and endemic taxa from the Carpathian region by involvement in the seed collection activities at A. Borza Botanical Garden, Babeș-Bolyai University
(2) Contribution to the study of endemic species diversity and functioning

Relevant publications:

Djukic I, Kepfer-Rojas S, Schmidt IK, Larsen KS, Beier C, Berg B, Verheyen K & TeaComposition. Early stage litter decomposition across biomes. Science of the Total Environment 628–629: 1369–1394
Jiménez-Alfaro B, Girardello M, Chytrý M, Svenning JC, Willner W, Gégout JC, (…) & Wohlgemuth T (2018) History and environment shape species pools and community diversity in European beech forests. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2: 483–490
Willner W, Jiménez-Alfaro B, Agrillo E, Biurrun I, Campos J.A, Čarni A, Casella L. (…) & Chytrý M (2017) Classification of European beech forests: a Gordian Knot? Applied Vegetation Science 20: 494–512
Indreica A, Turtureanu PD, Szabó A & Irimia I (2017) Romanian Forest Database: a phytosociological archive of woody vegetation. Phytocoenologia 47: 389–392
Chytrý M, Hennekens SM, Jiménez-Alfaro B, Knollová I, Dengler J, Jansen F, Landucci F, Schaminée JHJ (…) & Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive (EVA): an integrated database of European vegetation plots. Applied Vegetation Science 19: 173–180
Loss J, Turtureanu PD, von Wehrden H, Hanspach J, Dorresteijn I, Frink JP & Fischer J (2015) Plant diversity in a changing agricultural landscape mosaic in Southern Transylvania (Romania). Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 199: 350–357
Turtureanu PD, Todorova S, Becker T, Dolnik C, Ruprecht E, Sutcliffe LME, Szabó A & Dengler J (2014) Scale- and taxon-dependent biodiversity patterns of dry grassland vegetation in Transylvania (Romania). Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 182: 15–24
Dengler J, Becker T, Ruprecht E, Szabó A, Becker U, Beldean M, Bita-Nicolae C, Dolnik C (…) & Ugurlu E (2012) Festuco-Brometea communities of the Transylvanian Plateau (Romania) – a preliminary overview on syntaxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity. Tuexenia 32: 319–359
Turtureanu PD, Dengler J (2012) Different aspects of plant diversity show contrasting patterns in Carpathian forest openings. Plant Ecology 213: 67–76

About me

I am Associated Professor of Botany at the Department of Botany and Head Curator of Herbarium collections, both at the Charles University, Prague, Czechia. My fundamental research interests are the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms shaping the diversity and distributions of vascular plants with main focus on polyploid genera of Hieracium and Pilosella, both with prevalent asexual seed reproduction – apomixis, and Centaurea, which encompasses several important plant invader species. Within the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region" I am involved in gathering and evaluating of distributional data of Carpathian endemics on the territory of the Western Carpathians, and also in a research subproject focused on phylogeny and genome size variation in the genus Daphne.

Google scholar:
ResearchGate:
Orcid:

About my institutions
Department of Botany is the leading botanical institution in Czechia dealing with ecology and evolution of plants, phototrophic protists and fungi. The herbarium collection of the Charles University houses more than 2,200,000 specimens of algae, bryophytes, fungi, lichens, vascular plants, seeds and fruits. Due to its size, age (founded in 1775), geographical coverage and importance (tens of thousands of type specimens), the PRC collection belongs to the most important herbaria in the world. The PRC collections contribute to a wide range of scientific activities in plant systematics, ecology, biogeography, floristics, conservation biology and paleoecology at the Charles University and in other institutions throughout the world.

List of the most important publications

Mráz P, Filipaş L, Bărbos MI, Kadlecová J, Paštová L, Belyayev A, Fehrer J. 2019. An unexpected new diploid Hieracium from Europe: integrative taxonomic approach with a phylogeny of diploid Hieracium taxa. Taxon (in press)

Mráz P, Zdvořák P. 2019. Reproductive pathways in Hieracium s.str. (Asteraceae): strict sexuality in diploids and apomixis in polyploids. Annals of Botany 123: 391–403.

Mráz P, Ronikier M.* 2016. Biogeography of the Carpathians: evolutionary and spatial facets of biodiversity. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 119: 528–559. [*equal contribution]

Mráz P, Garcia-Jacas N, Gex-Fabry E, Susanna A, Barres L, Müller-Schärer H. 2012. Allopolyploid origin of highly invasive Centaurea stoebe sl. (Asteraceae). Molecular Phylogenetics Evolution 62: 612–623.

Šingliarová B, Hodálová I & Mráz P. 2011. Biosystematic study of the diploid-polyploid Pilosella alpicola group with variation in breeding system: patterns and processes. Taxon 60: 450–470.

Henery ML, Bowman G, Mráz P, Treier UA, Gex-Fabry E, Schaffner U, Müller-Schärer H. 2010. Evidence for a combination of pre-adapted traits and rapid adaptive change in the invasive plant. Centaurea stoebe Journal of Ecology 98: 800–813.

Mráz P, Šingliarová B, Urfus T & Krahulec F. 2008. Cytogeography of Pilosella officinarum (Compositae): Altitudinal and longitudinal differences in ploidy level distribution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the general pattern in Europe. Annals of Botany 101: 59–71.

Mráz P, Gaudeul M, Rioux D, Gielly L, Choler P, Taberlet P & IntraBioDiv Consortium. 2007. Genetic structure of Hypochaeris uniflora (Asteraceae) suggests vicariance in the Carpathians and rapid post-glacial colonisation of the Alps from an Eastern Alpine refugium. Journal of Biogeography 34: 2100–2114.

Marhold K, Mártonfi P, Mereďa P & Mráz P (eds). 2007. Chromosome numbers survey of the ferns and flowering plants of Slovakia. Veda, Bratislava, pp 650.

Mráz P. 2003. Mentor effects in the genus Hieracium s.str. (Compositae, Lactuceae). Folia Geobotanica 38: 345–350.

I'm a research assistant at Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine.

My job spans differents aspects of geomatics. It goes from spatial data administration, acquisition, analysis to cartographic production. I also assist researchers in building and administrating relational databases. I'm also developing the data entry interfaces wether online (websites, API) or for field survey purposes (Electronic field notebooks). Last but not least, I'm participating in different insects and botanical field survey (Vegetation releves, pin-point protocoles, functional traits measurements...).

I'm also teaching geomatics at Grenoble-Alpes University.

Relevant publications:

Aubert, S., Boucher, F.C., Lavergne, S., Renaud, J. & Choler, P. (2014) 1914-2014: A revised worldwide catalogue of cushion plants 100 years after Hauri & Schröter. Alpine Botany. 124, 59-71 Website

Thuiller, W., Guéguen, M., Georges, D., Bonet, R., Chalmandrier, L., Garraud, L., Renaud, J., Roquet, C., Van Es, J., Zimmermann, N.E. & Lavergne, S. (2014) Are different facets of plant diversity well protected against climate and land use changes? A test study in the French Alps. Ecography, 37, 1254–1266

Nieto-Lugilde, D., Lenoir, J., Abdulhak, S., Aeschimann, D., Dullinger, S., Gégout, J.-C., Guisan, A., Pauli, H., Renaud, J., Theurillat, J.-P., Thuiller, W. Van Es, J., Vittoz, P., Willner, W., Wohlgemuth, T., Zimmermann, N.E., & Svenning, J.-C. Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps. Ecography doi: 10.1111/ecog.00954

Gallien, L., Mazel, F., Lavergne, S., Roquet, C., Renaud, J., Douzet, R. & Thuiller, W. Contrasting the effects of environment, dispersal and biotic interactions to explain the distribution of invasive plants in alpine communities. Biological Invasions

Carlson BZ, Renaud J., Dedieu JP, Thuiller W & Choler P. Modelling snow cover duration improves predictions of functional and taxonomic diversity for alpine plant communities. Annals of Botany.

Smycka, J., Roquet, C., Renaud, J., Thuiller, W., Zimmermann, N.E. & Lavergne, S. Disentangling drivers of plant endemism and diversification in the Alps - a phylogenetic and spatially explicit approach. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 28, 19-27

Chalmandrier, L., Münkemüller, T., Colace, M.-P., Renaud, J., Aubert, S., Carlson, B.Z., Clément, J.-C., Legay, N., Pellet, G., Saillard, A., Lavergne, S. & Thuiller, W. Spatial scale and intraspecific trait variability mediate assembly rules in alpine grasslands. Journal of Ecology, 105, 277-287

I am botanist working at the Administration of the Low Tatras National Park, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia where I am responsible for studying and conserving of local flora.
I am also interested in species and conservation biology of selected rare and endangered plant taxa occurring in the Carpathians. Within the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region" I am involved in gathering and evaluating of distributional data of Carpathian endemics on the territory of the Western Carpathians, and also in research subproject focused on narrow endemics Daphne arbuscula.

Relevant publications:
• Kliment J., Turis P., Janišová M., 2016: Endemic taxa of vascular plants in the Carpathian Mts. Preslia, Praha, 88: 19-76.
• Rydlová J., Sýkorová Z., Slavíková R., Turis P., 2015: The importance of arbuscular mycorrhiza for Cyclamen purpurascens subsp. immaculatum endemic in Slovakia. Mycorrhiza, 25: 599-609.
• Turis P., Eliáš P. jun., Schmotzer A., Király G., Schneider E., Kusiel H., Szewczyk M., Kozurak A., Antosyak A., Voloshchuk M., Lazarević P., Lustyk P., 2014: Red List of vascular plants of the Carpathians. Pp. 44-105. In: Kadlečík J. (ed.), Carpathian Red List of forest habitats and species. Carpathian list of invasive alien species. (Draft). The State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic
• Turis P., Kliment J., Feráková V., Dítě D., Eliáš P., Hrivnák R., Košťál J., Šuvada R., Mráz P., Bernátová D., 2014: Red List of vascular plants of the Carpathian part of Slovakia. Thaiszia – J. Bot., Košice, 24, 1: 35-87.
• Turis P., Vidlička Ľ., 2013: Relationship of animals to the cyclamen Cyclamen fatrense Halda et Soják: pollinators, consumers and occasional visitors. Biologia, 68, 3: 517-524.
• Kučera J., Turis P., Zozomová-Lihová J., Slovák M., 2013: Cyclamen fatrense, myth or true Western Carpathian endemic? Genetic and morphological evidence. Preslia, Praha, 85: 133-158.
• Slovák M., Kučera J., Turis P., Zozomová-Lihová J., 2012: Multiple glacial refugia and postglacial colonization routes inferred for a woodland geophyte, Cyclamen purpurascens: patterns concordant with the Pleistocene history of broadleaved and coniferous tree species. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 105: 741-760.
• Kanka R., Turis P., Chilová V., 2008: Phytosociological characteristic of the plant communities with the occurrence of endemic species Cyclamen fatrense. Hacquetia, 7, 1: 21-31.
• Erdelská O., Turis P. (eds), 1995: Biology of Daphne arbuscula Čelak. (Thymelaeaceae). Biológia, Bratislava, 50, 4: 333-348.

About me
I’m a botanist focused on the phylogeny, molecular evolution, diversification, biogeography, and systematics of vascular plants, lichens, and fungi.
Currently I’m working as a senior scientist at Institute of Botany, Plant Sciences and Biodiversity Centre Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava Slovakia and as an assistant professor at Department of Botany in Charles University Prague, Czechia. Besides scientific activities, I’m involved also in the education process by teaching the evolution and systematics of vascular plants and selected lessons from biosystematics. Since 2006 till present, I have been involved in ex situ conservation of vascular plants of the Western Carpathians – seed collection and seed banking within the international multilateral Millennium Seed Bank Project lead by Royal Botanical Gardens KEW. Together with Dr. Jaromír Kučera from PSBC SAS I’m a coordinator of the international multilateral project ‘Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian region’ belonging under the worldwide plant seed conservation initiative of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) run by the Royal Botanical gardens, KEW (UK).

Institutional and personal page links:
SAV Webpage
The lab of Plant and Fungal Evolution and Biogeography
Research ID:
ORCID:
Research gate:

Relevant publications:
1.Shazib S. U. A., Vďačný P., Slovák M., Gentekaki E., and Shin M. K. 2019. Deciphering phylogenetic relationships and delimiting species boundaries using a Bayesian coalescent approach in protists: A case study of the ciliate genus Spirostomum (Ciliophora, Heterotrichea). Scientific Reports, vol. 9, art. no. 16360. Link

2. Slovák M., Kučera J., Lack H.W., Ziffer-Berger J., Melicharková A., Záveská E. And 2018. Diversification dynamics and transoceanic Eurasian-Australian disjunction in the genus Picris (Compositae) induced by the interplay of shifts in intrinsic/extrinsic traits and paleoclimatic oscillations. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 119: 182-195. Link

3. Štubňová E., Hodálová I., Kučera J., Mártónfiová L., Svitok M. and Slovák M. 2017 Karyological pattern in the European endemic genus Soldanella (Primulaceae): absolute genome size variation uncorrelated with cytotype chromosome numbers. American Journal of Botany 104:1241–1253. Link

4. Olšavská K., Slovák M., Štubňová E. and Kučera J. 2016. On the origins of Balkan endemics: the complex evolutionary history of the Cyanus napulifer group (Asteraceae). Annals of Botany (Oxford). doi: 10.1093/aob/mcw142 Link

5. Slovák M., Kučera J., Záveská E, & Vďačný P. 2014. Dealing with discordant genetic signal caused by hybridisation, incomplete lineage sorting and paucity of primary nucleotide homologies: A case study of closely related members of the genus Picris subsection Hieracioides (Compositae). Plos One 9(9):e104929 Link

6. Guttová A., Zozomová Lihová J., Timdal, E., Kučera J., Slovák M., Piknová K. & Paoli L. 2014. First insights into genetic diversity and relationships of European taxa of the genus Solenopsora (Catillariaceae, Ascomycota) with implications on their delimitation. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 176: 203–223. Link

7. Mereďa P., Jr., Hodálová I., Kučera J., Zozomová-Lihová J., Letz D. R., Slovák M. 2011. Genetic and morphological variation in Viola suavis s.l. (Violaceae) in the western Balkan Peninsula: two endemic subspecies revealed. Systematics and Biodiversity. 9(3): 211–231. Link

8. Slovák M., Kučera J., Turis P. & Zozomová-Lihová J. 2012. Multiple glacial refugia and postglacial colonization routes inferred for a woodland geophyte, Cyclamen purpurascens: patterns concordant with the Pleistocene history of broadleaved and coniferous tree species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 105: 741–760. Link

9. Slovák M., Kučera J., Marhold K. & Zozomová-Lihová J. 2012. The morphological and genetic variation in the polymorphic species Picris hieracioides (Compositae, Lactuceae) in Europe strongly contrasts with traditional taxonomical concepts. Systematic Botany. 21: 258–278. Link

10. Slovák M., Vít P., Urfus T. & Suda J. 2009. Complex pattern of genome size variation in a polymorphic member of the Asteraceae. Journal of Biogeography. 36: 372–384. Link

About me

I am a researcher at the Institute of Biological Research in Cluj-Napoca. My main scientific focus is on studying the biogeography of the Carpathians, especially concerning the historical and ecological factors driving the evolutionary processes that led to the current distribution of endemics. My approaches include species and phylogenetic diversity analyses, quantitative biogeography and the use of past and present climate models to predict species distribution in space and time. My interest for plant endemics originated during my PhD, when I first started the study of the areas of endemism from the South-Eastern Carpathians and has been a major scientific interest ever since.

Role in the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region":

(1) Coordinating the Carpathian Research Network activities and partners involved;
(2) Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Romanian Carpathians, by using multiple available data sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys;
(3) Ex situ conservation of endangered and endemic plants from the Carpathian Region through seed collecting and seed banking, in partnership with Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank and the Slovak Academy of Sciences;
(4) Research focused on uncovering the genetic diversity pattern within Silene zawadzkii, an endemic of the South-Eastern Carpathians and the evolutionary relationships within the genus Draba in Europe through phylogenetic inferences based on NGS techniques.

About my institution:
A branch of The National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, the Institute of Biological Research in Cluj-Napoca is one of the leading research institutes in Romania, dedicated to research in microorganisms, plant and animal biology through both traditional and modern molecular biology methods. It is primarily focused on studies of ecology, taxonomy, and phylogeny on cyanobacteria, algae, invertebrates, and vascular plants.
Link to institute website:
E-mail: bogdan.hurdu@icbcluj.ro
ResearcherID: C-8781-2011
ORCID: 0000-340002-3165-108X
ResearchGate:

List of the most relevant publications:
• Melichárková A, Španiel S, Marhold K, Hurdu B-I, Drescher A, Zozomová-Lihová J, 2019, Diversification and independent polyploid origins in the disjunct species Alyssum repens from the Southeastern Alps and the Carpathians. American Journal of Botany (in press).
• Hurdu B-I, Escalante T, Pușcaș M, Novikoff A, Bartha L, Zimmermann NE, 2016, Exploring the different facets of plant endemism in the South-Eastern Carpathians: a manifold approach for the determination of biotic elements, centres and areas of endemism. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 119: 649-672.
• Bartók A, Hurdu B-I, Szatmari P-M, Ronikier M, Pușcaș M, Novikoff A, Bartha L, Vonica GD, 2016, New records for the high-mountain flora of the Făgăraş Mts. (Southern Carpathians) with discussion on ecological preferences and distribution of studied taxa in the Carpathians, Contribuții Botanice, Cluj-Napoca, 51, 77-153. (pdf)
• Grindean R, Feurdean A, Hurdu B-I, Fărcaş S, Tanţău I, 2015, Lateglacial/Holocene transition to mid-Holocene: Vegetation responses to climate changes in the Apuseni Mountains (NW Romania), Quaternary International, 388: 76-86.
• Novikoff A, Hurdu B-I, 2015, A critical list of endemic vascular plants in the Ukrainian Carpathians, Contribuții Botanice, Cluj-Napoca, 50: 43-91. (pdf)
• Maiorano L, Cheddadi R, Zimmerman NE, Pellissier L, Petitpierre B, Pottier J, Laborde H, Hurdu B-I, Pearman PB, Psomas A, Singarayer JS, Broennimann O, Vittoz P, Dubuis A, Edwards ME, Binney HA, Guisan A, 2013, Building the niche through time: using 13,000 years of data to predict the effects of climate change on three tree species in Europe, Global Ecology and Biogeography, 22 (3): 302-317.
• Fărcaş S, Tanţău I, Mîndrescu M, Hurdu B-I, 2012, Holocene vegetation history in the Maramureş Mountains (Northern Romanian Carpathians), Quaternary International, 293: 92-104.
• Hurdu B-I, Pușcaș M, Turtureanu PD, Niketić M, Coldea G, Zimmermann NE, 2012, Patterns of plant endemism in the Romanian Carpathians (South – Eastern Carpathians), Contribuții Botanice, Cluj-Napoca, 47: 25-38. (pdf)
• Hurdu B-I, Pușcaș M, Turtureanu PD, Niketić M, Vonica G, Coldea G, 2012, A critical evaluation of Carpathian endemic plant taxa from the Romanian Carpathians, Contribuții Botanice, Cluj-Napoca, 47: 39-47. (pdf)

About Me
I am the Senior Research Leader, Seed Conservation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. My main scientific focus is on creating and maintaining high quality, fit for purpose, conservation seed collections. I oversee the team responsible for building partnerships and managing conservation projects for Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Partnership.

Role in the project
I manage the Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region project for RBG Kew.

About my institution
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s mission is to be the global resource for plant and fungal knowledge, building an understanding of the world’s plants and fungi upon which all our lives depend. We use the power of our science and the rich diversity of our gardens and collections to provide knowledge, inspiration and understanding of why plants and fungi matter to everyone. We want a world where plants and fungi are understood, valued and conserved – because all our lives depend on them.
Kew website

Email: e.breman@kew.org
ORCID:

Recent publications
Liu, U, Kenney, S, Breman, E, Cossu, T A (2019) A multicriteria decision making approach to prioritise vascular plants for species-based conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation 234: 221-240.
Breman, E, Détraz-Méroz, J, Terry, J and Lambelet, C (2019) Ex situ conservation storage potential of Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae) bulbils from alpine species. Biologia.
Breman, E (2019) Saving the future: conservation in action. The Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Jane Grigson Memorial Lecture. Proceedings of the Oxford Food Symposium.
Breman, E, Carta, A, Kiehn, M and Miranto, M (2018) Ex situ conservation of native plant species in Europe: The ENSCONET Consortium. Pp 290-296. Proceedings of the EuroGard VII Congress (July 6-10, 2015). Paris, France, 502 p. Ed. MNHN. Published by The European Botanic Gardens Consortium (http://www.botanicgardens.eu/eurogard/eurogard7proc.htm)
Breman, E and Way, M (2018) Safe for the future: seed conservation standards developed for the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership. In: Proceedings of the EuroGard VII Congress (July 6-10, 2015). Paris, France: The European Botanic Gardens Consortium pp. 267-274.
Rivière, S, Breman, E, Kiehn, M, Carta, A, Müller, J V (2018) How to meet the 2020 GSPC target 8 in Europe: priority-setting for seed banking of native threatened plants. Biodiversity and Conservation doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1513-2
Liu, U, Breman, E, Cossu, T A, Kenney, S (2018) The conservation value of germplasm stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. Biodiversity and Conservation DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1497-y
Mueller, J V, Berg, C, Detraz-Meroz, J, Erschbamer, B, Fort, N, Lambelet-Haueter, C, Margreiter, V, Mombrial, F, Mondoni, A, Pagitz, K, Porro, F, Rossi, G, Schwager, P and Breman, E (2017). The Alpine Seed Conservation and Research Network – a new initiative to conserve valuable plant species in the European Alps. Journal of Mountain Science 14(4): 806-610.

Yuriy Kobiv, Dr. Sci., Senior Research Associate at the Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine
Website

Main research interests:
population biology of rare and narrow-range mountain plant species, their dynamics and conservation; impact of global climate change and land abandonment in the Carpathians on their extinction
Role in the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region":
• Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Ukrainian Carpathians, by using multiple available data sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys;

Links:

ReseachGate:
Scopus:
Google scholar
ORCID:
Web of Science ResearcherID: E-3266-2019

Main publications:

Kobiv Y., Kobiv V. 2020 (in print). Impact of environmental change on a rare high-mountain tall-herb species: a case study on Achillea lingulata in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Botany Letters. 167. https://doi.org/10.1080/23818107.2019.1679249

Kobiv Y. Trends in population size of rare plant species in the alpine habitats of the Ukrainian Carpathians under climate change. 2018. Diversity. 10(3): 62–74. https://doi.org/10.3390/d10030062

Kobiv Y., Prokopiv A. 2018. Bili Skeli limestone cliffs as an important hotspot of plant diversity in the Chyvchyny Mountains (Ukrainian Carpathians). Contributii Botanice. 53: 19–26. https://doi.org/10.24193/Contrib.Bot.53.2

Kobiv Y. Luzula spicata (Juncaceae) in the Ukrainian Carpathians: on the brink of extinction. 2018. Ukr. Bot. J. 75(1): 70–76. http://ukrbotj.co.ua/pdf/75/1/ukrbotj-2018-75-1-070.pdf

Kobiv Y. 2017. Response of rare alpine plant species to climate change in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Folia Geobot. 52(2): 217–226. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12224-016-9270-z

Kobiv Y., Prokopiv A., Nachychko V., Borsukevych L., Helesh M. 2017. Distribution and population status of rare plant species in the Marmarosh Mountains (Ukrainian Carpathians). Ukr. Bot. J. 74(2): 163–176. http://ukrbotj.co.ua/pdf/74/2/ukrbotj-2017-74-2-163.pdf

Kobiv Y. Saxifraga aizoides (Saxifragaceae) in Ukraine. 2016. Polish Bot. J. 61(1): 1–7. https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/pbj/61/1/article-p65.xml

Kobiv Y. 2012. Does Aquilegia transsilvanica Schur (Ranunculaceae) occur in the Ukrainian Carpathians? Ukr. Botan. J. 2012. 69(4): 493–501. http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/UBJ_2012_69_4_3

Kobiv Y., Helesh M., Borsukevich. 2007. Saussurea porcii Degen (Asteraceae) in the Svydovets Mountains (Ukrainian Carpathians). Ukr. Botan. J. 64(6): 825–832. http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/UBJ_2007_64_6_6

Kobiv Y. 2005. Ligularia sibirica (L.) Cass. (Asteraceae) in the Chornohora Mountains (Ukrainian Carpathians): population-ontogenetic parameters, morphology, taxonomy and conservation. 2005. Ukr. Botan. J. 62(3): 383-395. http:// http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/UBJ_2005_62_3_12

About me
I am a researcher at the Biological Research Center – “Vasile Fati” Botanical Garden in Jibou (Sălaj County, Romania) and also an assistant researcher at the Institute of Biological Research in Cluj-Napoca (Cluj County, Romania). I am PhD student at Doctoral School of Integrative Biology from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. My research interests are focusing mostly on the vascular plants of Romania, mainly the glacial relict species. Being the botanist and curator of the botanical garden, I am working on conserving the rare, relict and endemic species of the Romanian flora, in plant taxonomy, herbarium and in the International Seed Exchange Program with other botanical gardens, but my work extends to all the other sectors of the garden, from the Alpine and Mediterranean flora to the medicinal plants. Other skills and expertise: invasive species, biogeography, vegetation ecology, biodiversity monitoring, evolutionary biology, taxonomy.

Role in the project:
Within the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region" I am involved in the following activities:
• Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Romanian Carpathians, by using multiple available sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys;
• Ex situ conservation of endangered and endemic plants from the Carpathian Region through seed collecting and seed banking, in partnership with Kew’s Millenium Seed Bank and the Slovak Academy of Sciences;
• Research focused on uncovering the genetic diversity pattern within Silene zawadzkii, an endemic of the South-Eastern Carpathians and on the evolutionary relationships within the genus Draba in Europe through phylogenetic inferences based on NGS techniques.

E-mail: paul.szatmari@icbcluj.ro

ResearchGate:
Google scholar:

List of the most relevant publications:
• Negrean Gavril, Karácsonyi Carol & Szatmari Paul-Marian. 2017. Patrimoniul natural al Sălajului. 3 vol. ISBN 978-973-8939-59-2. Vol. 1. Flora, Micobiota și Vegetația ● Flora, Mycobiota and the Vegetation of Sălaj County. ISBN 978-973-8939-57-8. Satu Mare: Edit. Someșul. 1319 pp. (Book).

• Balázs, H.E., Schmid, A.O.C., Feher, I., Podar, D., Szatmari, P.-M., Marincaş, O., Balázs, Z.R., Schröder, P., 2018, HCH phytoremediation potential of native plant species from a contaminated urban site in Turda, Romania. Journal of Environmental Management, 223: 286-296.

• Szatmari, P.-M., Negrean, G., Karácsonyi, C., 2017, Areas with high floristic diversity in Sălaj County that require protection and conservation. Contribuții Botanice, 52: 149-161.

• Bartók, A.*, Hurdu, B.-I.*, Szatmari, P.-M.*, Ronikier, M., Pușcaș, M., Novikoff, A., Bartha, L., Vonika, G., 2016. New records for the high-mountain flora of the Făgăraş Mts. (Southern Carpathians) with discussion on ecological preferences and distribution of studied taxa in the Carpathians. Contribuții Botanice, 51: 77-153.

• Szatmari, P.-M., 2016, Ophrys apifera (Orchidaceae) in Transylvanian flora, Romania. Acta Horti Botanici Bucurestiensis, 43: 31-40.

• Bartók, A., Hurdu, B.-I., Szatmari, P.-M., 2015, Distribution of endangered Gentiana clusii E. M. Perrier & Songeon in the Romanian Carpathians - A critical overview. Contribuții Botanice, 50: 15-32.

• Szatmari, P.-M., Căprar, M., 2015, Research on spontaneous and subspontaneous flora of Botanical Garden ”Vasile Fati” Jibou. Journal of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology, Vol. 19 (2): 176-189.

• Căprar, M., Cantor, M., Szatmari, P.-M., Sicora, C., 2014, Rhododendron ferrugineum L. and Rhododendron myrtifolium Schott & Kotschy in habitats from Eastern Alps mountains and Carpathian Mountains. Journal of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology, 18 (1): 123- 130.

• Căprar, M., Cantor, M., Szatmari, P.-M., Sicora, C., 2014, Rhododendron luteum Sweet and Rhododendron hirsutum L. in habitats from Central Europe. Pro Environment, 7: 165-172.

• Szatmari, P.-M., 2012, Alien and invasive plants in Carei Plain natural protected area, western Romania: Impact on natural habitats and conservation implications. South Western Journal of Horticulture, Biology and Environment, 3: 109-120.

About me
I am a Botanist and my research activity is carried out mainly in the field of biogeography and alpine ecology. Particularly, I’m interested about the structure, functioning and dynamics of alpine herbaceous ecosystems. The main research topics include: (i) Phylogeography and taxonomy of alpine plants in Europe (with a focus on the Carpathians); (ii) Spatial and temporal distribution of high mountain species diversity in the European Alpine System; (iii) Long term monitoring and the influence of climate change on the structure of alpine ecosystems.
My institution, the ”Alexandru Borza” Botanical Garden, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, is one of the leading research centres on botany in Romania. The Institute of Botany harbours the largest herbarium in Romania (~700,000 specimens, the oldest items dating back to XVIII century and publishes the most important botanical journal in Romania (Contribuții Botanice). The research is focused on botany, taxonomy, vegetation studies, biogeography, ecology and plant conservation. The botanical garden has a long tradition of ex situ plant conservation (living plant collections, seed-banking, in vitro cultures). A special section of the botanic garden is devoted to the rare, endemic and endangered species of Romania.

ResearcherID
Google Scholar
ORCID

Selected publications:
1. Hurdu B-I, Escalante T, Pușcaș M, Novikoff A, Bartha L, Zimmermann NE, 2016, Exploring the different facets of plant endemism in the South-Eastern Carpathians: a manifold approach for the determination of biotic elements, centres and areas of endemism. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 119 (3), 649-672, 10.1111/bij.12902

2. Geremia RA, Pușcaș M, Zinger L, Bonneville J-M, Choler P, 2016, Contrasting microbial biogeographical patterns between anthropogenic subalpine grasslands and natural alpine grasslands. The New Phytologist, 209 (3), 1196-207, 10.1111/nph.13690

3. Taberlet P, Zimmermann NE, Englisch T, Tribsch A, Holderegger R, Alvarez N, Niklfeld H, Coldea G, Mirek Z, Moilanen A, Ahlmer W, Marsan PA, Bona E, Bovio M, Choler P, Cieslak E, Colli L, Cristea V, Dalmas J-P, Frajman B, Garraud L, Gaudeul M, Gielly L, Gutermann W, Jogan N, Kagalo AA, Korbecka G, Kupfer P, Lequette B, Letz DR, Manel S, Mansion G, Marhold K, Martini F, Negrini R, Nino F, Paun O, Pellecchia M, Perico G, Piekos-Mirkowa H, Prosser F, Puşcaş M, Ronikier M, Scheuerer M, Schneeweiss GM, Schonswetter P, Schratt-Ehrendorfer L, Schupfer F, Selvaggi A, Steinmann K, Thiel-Egenter C, van Loo M, Winkler M, Wohlgemuth T, Wraber T, Gugerli F, IntraBioDiv Consortium, 2012, Genetic diversity in widespread species is not congruent with species richness in alpine plant communities, Ecology Letters, 15, 1439-1448

4. Pauli H, Gottfried M, Dullinger S, Abdaladze O, Akhalkatsi M, Alonso, JLB, Coldea G, Dick J, Erschbamer B, Calzado RF, Ghosn D, Holten JI, Kanka R, Kazakis G, Kollar J, Larsson P, Moiseev P, Moiseev D, Molau U, Mesa JM, Nagy L, Pelino G, Puşcaş M, Rossi G, Stanisci A, Syverhuset AO, Theurillat JP, Tomaselli M, Unterluggauer P, Villar L, Vittoz P, Grabherr G (2012) Recent plant diversity changes on Europe’s mountain summits, Science, 336, 353-355

5. Gottfried M, Pauli H, Futschik A, Akhalkatsi M, Barancok P, Alonso JLB, Coldea G, Dick J, Erschbamer B, Calzado MRF, Kazakis G, Krajci J, Larsson P, Mallaun M, Michelsen O, Moiseev D, Moiseev P, Molau U, Merzouki A, Nagy L, Nakhutsrishvili G, Pedersen B, Pelino G, Puşcaş M, Rossi G, Stanisci A, Theurillat JP, Tomaselli M, Villar L, Vittoz P, Vogiatzakis I, Grabherr G (2012) Continent-wide response of mountain vegetation to climate change, Nature Climate Change, 2, 111-115.

6. Pachschwöll C, Puşcaş M¸ Schönswetter P (2011) Distribution of Doronicum clusii and D. stiriacum (Asteraceae) in the Alps and Carpathians, Biologia, 66 (6), 977-987.

7. Puşcaş M, Choler P (2012) A biogeographic delineation of the European Alpine System based on a cluster analysis of Carex curvula-dominated grasslands, Flora, 207, 168– 178.

8. Şuteu D, Puşcaş M, Băcilă I, Coste A, Filipaş L., Stoica A-I, Hurdu B-I, Ursu T, Coldea G (2011) Does Primula intricata Gren. et Godr. merit species rank? A taxonomic revision based on nrDNA, cpDNA and AFLP data, Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 39 (1), 24-29.

9. Puşcaş M, Taberlet P, Choler P (2008) No positive correlation between species and genetic diversity in European alpine grasslands dominated by Carex curvula. Diversity and Distributions 14 (5), 852-861.

10. Puşcaş M, Choler P, Tribsch A, Gielly L, Rioux D, Gaudeul M, Taberlet P (2008) Post-glacial history of the dominant alpine sedge Carex curvula in the European Alpine System inferred from nuclear and chloroplast markers. Molecular Ecology 17 (10), 2417–2429

About me
I am a researcher at the Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, where I lead the Molecular Biogeography Group. Our research interests focus on spatial patterns of biodiversity and their temporal dynamics. We are particularly interested in unravelling structure of genetic diversity and divergence in cold-adapted (alpine and polar) organisms with disjunctive distribution ranges, in order to reconstruct their historical biogeography and population genetic processes within- and among extant populations. By placing our results in the context of climate change we attempt to infer the influence of past changes and to model future range dynamics of high-mountain organisms. Geographically, our research encompasses distributions of high-mountain and polar species, with a particular focus on the island-like alpine life zone of the Carpathians.

Role in the project:
Within the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region", I am involved in particular in the following activities:
(1) Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences, mainly in the Western Carpathians and the Polish part of the Eastern Carpathians, by using multiple available sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys;
(2) Research focused on uncovering the genetic diversity pattern within Silene zawadzkii, an endemic of the South-Eastern Carpathians and on the evolutionary relationships within the genus Draba in Europe through phylogenetic inferences based on NGS techniques.

About my institution:
Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IB PAS) is a leading botanical research centre in Poland, dedicated to studies of biodiversity (contemporary and fossil floras), evolutionary taxonomy, biogeography, theoretical and experimental ecology, and environmental engineering. The taxonomic scope of the research covers vascular plants, algae, mosses, lichens, fungi and myxomycetes. The Institute undertakes comprehensive botanical studies all over the world including the mountains and polar areas of Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The Institute operates modern laboratory facilities enabling eco-chemical and molecular analyses (including Sanger and ‚next-generation’ DNA sequencing) and in vitro algae and fungal cultures. It also houses the largest Polish scientific botanical collection (KRAM), containing approximately 1.5 million inventory units and including the herbarium of vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, fungi and myxomycetes, a rich paleobotanical collection, and the world’s third largest algae iconotheca.
Institute website
Team website
ORCID: 0000-0001-7652-6787
ResearchGate:

List of the most relevant publications:
Suchan T., Malicki M., Ronikier M. 2019. Relict populations and Central European glacial refugia: the case of Rhododendron ferrugineum (Ericaceae). Journal of Biogeography 46: 392–404.

Tkach N., Röser M., Suchan T., Cieślak E., Schönswetter P., Ronikier M. 2019. Contrasting evolutionary origins of two mountain endemics: Saxifraga wahlenbergii (Western Carpathians) and S. styriaca (Eastern Alps). BMC Evolutionary Biology 19: 18.

Mráz P., Ronikier M. 2016. Biogeography of the Carpathians: evolutionary and spatial facets of biodiversity. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 119: 528–559.

Mráz P., Barabas D., Lengyelová L., Turis P., Schmotzer A., Janišová M., Ronikier M. 2016. Vascular plant endemism in the Western Carpathians: spatial patterns, environmental correlates and taxon traits. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 119: 630–648.

Ronikier M., Zalewska-Gałosz J. 2014. Independent evolutionary history between the Balkan ranges and more northerly mountains in Campanula alpina s.l. (Campanulaceae): genetic divergence and morphological segregation of taxa. Taxon 63: 116–131.

Stachurska-Swakoń A., Cieślak E., Ronikier M. 2013. Phylogeography of a subalpine tall-herb Ranunculus platanifolius (Ranunculaceae) reveals two main genetic lineages in the European mountains. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 171: 413–428.

Ronikier M., Schneeweiss G.M., Schönswetter P. 2012. The extreme disjunction between Beringia and Europe in Ranunculus glacialis s. l. (Ranunculaceae) does not coincide with the deepest genetic split – a story of the importance of temperate mountain ranges in arctic-alpine phylogeography. Molecular Ecology 21: 5561–5578.

Ronikier M. 2011. Biogeography of high mountain plants in the Carpathians: an emerging phylogeographical perspective. Taxon 60: 373–389.

Ronikier M., Cieślak E., Korbecka G. 2008. High genetic differentiation in the alpine plant Campanula alpina Jacq. (Campanulaceae): evidence for glacial survival in several Carpathian regions and long isolation between the Carpathians and the Alps. Molecular Ecology 17:1763–1775.

Ronikier M., Costa A., Fuertes Aguilar J., Nieto Feliner G., Küpfer P, Mirek Z. 2008. Phylogeography of Pulsatilla vernalis (L.) Mill. (Ranunculaceae): chloroplast DNA reveals two evolutionary lineages across Central Europe and Scandinavia. Journal of Biogeography 35: 1650–1664.

About me
My current position is a senior researcher in Botanical Garden of the Comenius University in Blatnica (Central Slovakia). My main research interest is phytosociology (the study of plant communities). I am also interested in various aspects of biodiversity (endemic, relic, rare and endangered species) of the Western Carpathians, in phytogeography of the Carpathians, history of botany in Slovakia, national plant nomenclature and in regional plant surveys. Within the study of endemics, I have focused mainly on evaluation of endemic status of vascular plants considered as endemic (first within the territory of Slovakia, later in the whole Carpathian range), as well as on the study of their distribution in Slovakia and the Carpathians.

Role in the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region":
Gathering and evaluation the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Slovakian part of the Western Carpathians, by using published literature sources, herbarium specimens and unpublished data including results of personal field surveys.
E-mail: kliment@rec.uniba.sk

List of the most relevant publications:

Kliment J. 1998. Endemity / Endemics. In Marhold K. & Hindák F. (eds), Zoznam nižších a vyšších rastlín Slovenska / Checklist of non-vascular and vascular plants of Slovakia. Veda, Bratislava, p. 333–687.

Kliment J. 1999. Komentovaný prehľad vyšších rastlín flóry Slovenska, uvádzaných v literatúre ako endemické taxóny [Annotated summary of vascular plants of the Slovak flora reported as endemic taxa in literature]. Bull. Slov. Bot. Spoločn., Bratislava, 21, Suppl. 4: 1–434.

Kliment J. 2003. Zamyslenie sa nad (súčasným) fytogeografickým členením Slovenska (poznámky k vybraným fytochoriónom) [Thoughts on recent phytogeographical regionalisation of Slovakia (notes to selected phytochorions)]. Bull. Slov. Bot. Spoločn., Bratislava, 25: 199–224. [In Slovak, with english abstract]

Jarolímek I., Šibík J., Tichý L. & Kliment J. 2008. Diagnostic, constant and dominant species of the higher vegetation units of Slovakia. In Jarolímek I. & Šibík J. (eds), Diagnostic, constant and dominant species of the higher vegetation units of Slovakia. Veda, Bratislava, p. 9–294.

Šibíková I., Šibík J., Hájek M. & Kliment J. 2010. The distribution of arctic-alpine elements within high-altitude vegetation of the Western Carpathians in relation to environmental factors, life forms and phytogeography. Phytocoenologia, Stuttgart, 40: 189–203.

Kliment J., Šibíková I. & Šibík J. 2011. On the occurrence of the arctic-alpine and endemic species in the high-altitude vegetation of the Western Carpathians. Thaiszia-J. Bot., Košice, 21: 45–60.

Eliáš P. jun., Dítě D., Kliment J., Hrivnák R. & Feráková V. 2015. Red list of ferns and flowering plants of Slovakia, 5th edition (October 2014). Biologia, Bratislava, 70: 218–228 + elektronic appendix.

Kliment J., Turis P. & Janišová M. 2016. Taxa of vascular plants endemic to the Carpathians. Preslia, Praha, 88: 19–76 + electronic appendices.

Hurdu B.-I., Kliment J., Turis P., Šibík J., Novikoff A., Ronikier M., Mráz P., Niketić M., Pușcaș M. & Renaud J. 2016. Overview and digital integration of the research on plant endemism in the Carpathian Mountains: current status and perspectives. In Barina Z., Buczkó K., Lőkös L., Papp B., Pifkó D. & Szurdoki R. (eds), 11th International Conference „Advances in research on the flora and vegetation of the Carpato-Pannonian region”. Budapest, 12–14 February 2016. Book of Abstracts. Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum, Budapest, p. 81.

Dítě D., Hájek M., Svitková I., Košuthová A., Šoltés R. & Kliment J. 2018. Glacial-relict symptoms in the Western Carpathian flora. Folia Geobot., Praha, 53: 277–300.

About me
I am Dr.Sc., Prof. of Botany at the Department of Botany and Scientific Curator of Herbarium collections (LW) at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (in short – Lviv University), Lviv, Ukraine.
Link to University website

My main research interests include the flora of the Carpathians, its historical development, phytogeography, endemism in the Carpathians (my first publication on the subject dates back to the distant year 1983), rare and threatened plant species and their conservation, phytocenology (with main accent on grasslands).

Role in the project "Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian Region":
• Partner-coordinator for Ivan Franko National University of Lviv;
• Gathering and evaluating the Carpathian Region’s endemics occurrences in the Ukrainian Carpathians, by using multiple available data sources: published literature, herbarium specimens and unpublished data gathered through personal field surveys.

E-mail: tasenkevich@gmail.com
ReseachGate
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About my Institution:
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest founded University in Ukraine, its establishment dating back to 1661, while its Herbarium (LW), established in 1783, is also the oldest, although not the largest in Ukraine. Throughout its existence, the herbarium faithfully served it’s role in preserving new and old collections alike, while the researchers employed here were involved in collecting new plant materials and studying all taxonomic groups considered within the systematic botany science. Today, as a result of political perturbations and war in eastern Ukraine, there are huge difficulties in accessing research opportunities at the current scientific level. Therefore, our team focused on processing of historical collections, which is no less exciting, though not as fashionable.
E-mail: herbarium30@gmail.com

Most relevant publications:
• Tasenkevich L.. 2014. Endemism of the Carpathian flora – ecological and chorological peculariritis. Proceedings of the Shevchenko Scientific Society. Vol. XXXIX, Ecological collection. Modern problems of biodiversity research and conservation, Lviv: 23–36.

• Tasenkevich L.. 2011. Endemism in the Carpathian flora – a chorological aspect. In: Zemanek B (ed.) Geobotanist and taxonomist. A volume dedicated to Professor Adam Zając on the 70th aniversary of his birth, Institute of Botany Jagellonian University, Cracow: 157–168.

• Tasenkevich L., Kruhlov I, Kalinovych N, Inkin E, Puka E, Cherobay Yu, Veen P. 2011.

Inventory of grasslands of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Final report on the Ukrainian Carpathians' grasslands inventory project. Lviv, 88 P.

• Red Book of Ukraine. Vegetable Kingdom. 2009. Ed. Ya Didukh. Kyiv, Alterpress, 911 P.

• Green Book of Ukraine. 2009. Ed. Ya Didukh. Kyiv, Alterpress, 447 P.

• Tasenkevich L.. 2006. Flora of the native vascular plant species of the Carpathians, its peculiarities and genesis. Dr. Sc. Thesis. M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany. NAS of Ukraine. Kyiv, 35 P.

• Tasenkevich L.. 2005. Regional phytogeographical division of the Carpathians. Roczniki Bieszczadzkie. – T. 13: 15–27.

• Tasenkevich L.. 2003. Vascular plants flora diversity of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Proceedings of the Shevchenko scientific society. Vol. XII, Ecological collection. Ecological Problems of Carpathian Region, Lviv: 146–157.

• Tasenkevich L.. 1998. Flora of the Carpathians. Checklist of the native vascular plant species. Lviv, SNHM NASU, XIII + 610 P.

• Stoyko S, Tasenkevich L.. 1993. Some aspect of endemism in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Fragm. Flor. Geobot. Suppl. 2. Botanostephane Kornasiana. Pars 2. Kraków: 343–355.

I worked as principal investigator of several projects supported by the national (VEGA, APVV) and foreign (RMNP, SAF) agencies. In the 2013, I was awarded by Slovak American Foundation (SAF) by annual scholarship for my research activities at CSU, Fort Collins, USA. I have established cooperation with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where I was responsible for creating vegetation database as a tool for monitoring climate changes in arctic and alpine regions using satellite images and remote sensing. Through the cooperation with University of Northern Colorado, Greeley I‘ve been engaged in the research of clonal plants in mountain spruce forests under the different management regimes. I am a specialist for the alpine and arctic vegetation, its ecology and dynamics. I co-authored the 4th volume of the Plant communities of Slovakia devoted to the high-altitude vegetation and published numerous scientific works (4 monographies, 11 chapters in monographies, 32 papers in journals covered by the CC database and more than 55 other papers in the national or international journals). My studies are of an international importance for the ecology of species and communities, syntaxonomy and vegetation dynamics; enhancing the knowledge on the transnational level. The results of my work are used in the applied branches for elaboration of management models for various habitat types, expertise directly affecting the habitat utilization and zoning of the national parks. In recent years I‘ve supervised 3 doctoral, 5 master and 4 bachelor students, being a scientific consultant to many others.
e-mail: jozef.sibik@savba.sk
Researcher ID: F-1717-2011
ReseachGate
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ORCID ID
Scopus Author ID: 10238977700

Most relevant publications
Walker, D. A., Epstein, H. E., Šibík, J., Bhatt, U., Romanovsky, V. E., Breen, A. L., Chasnikova, S., Daanen, R., Druckenmiller, L. A., Ermokhina, K., Forbes, B. C., Frost, G. V., Geml, J., Kaärlejarvi, E., Khitun, O., Khomutov, A., Kumpula, T., Kuss, P., Matyshak, G., Moskalenko, N., Orekhov, P., Peirce, J., Raynolds, M. K. & Timling, I. 2019. Vegetation on mesic loamy and sandy soils along a 1700-km maritime Eurasia Arctic Transect. Applied Vegetation Science 22/1: 150-167.

Ballová, Z., Pekárik, L., Píš, V. & Šibík, J. 2019. How much do ecosystem engineers contribute to landscape evolution? A case study on Tatra marmots. CATENA 182/11: 104121.

Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Suárez-Seoane, S., Chytrý, M., Hennekens, S. M., Willner, W., Hájek, M., Agrillo, E., Álvarez-Martínez, J. M., Bergamini, A., Brisse, H., Brunet, J., Casella, L., Dítě, D., Font, X., Gillet, F., Hájková, P., Jansen, F., Jandt, U., Kącki, Z., Lenoir, J., Rodwell, J. S., Schaminée, J. H. J., Sekulová, L., Šibík, J., Škvorc, Ž. & Tsiripidis, I. 2018. Modeling the distribution and compositional variation of plant communities at continental scale. Diversity and Distributions 24/4: 1-13.

Walker, D. A., Breen, A. L., Druckenmiller, L. A., Wirth, L. W., Fisher, W., Raynolds, M. K., Šibík, J., Walker, M. D., Hennekens, S., Boggs, K., Boucher, T., Buchhorn, M., Bültmann, H., Cooper, D. J., Daniëls, F. J. A., Davidson, S. J., Ebersole, J. J., Elmendorf, S. C., Epstein, H. E., Gould, W. A., Hollister, R. D., Iverson, C. M., Jorgenson, M. T., Kade, A., Lee, M. T., MacKenzie, W. H., Peet, R. K., Peirce, J. L., Schickhoff, U., Sloan, V. L., Talbot, S. S., Tweedie, C. E., Villarreal, S., Webber, P. J. & Zona, D. 2016. The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK). Phytocoenologia 46/2: 221-229.

Chytrý, M., Hennekens, S. M., …, Šibík, J., et al. 2016. European Vegetation Archive (EVA): an integrated database of European vegetation plots. Applied Vegetation Science 19/1: 173-180.

Budzáková, M., Hodálová, I., Mereďa Jr., P., Somlyay, L., Bisbing, S. M. & Šibík, J. 2014. Karyological, morphological and ecological differentiation of Sesleria caerulea and S. tatrae in the Western Carpathians and adjacent regions. Preslia 86/3: 245-277.

Kliment, J., Šibík, J., Šibíková, I., Jarolímek, I., Dúbravcová, Z. & Uhlířová, J. 2010. High-altitude vegetation of the Western Carpathians — a syntaxonomical review. Biologia 65/6: 965-989.

Šibík, J., Šibíková, I. & Kliment, J. 2010. The subalpine Pinus mugo-communities of the Carpathians with a European perspective. Phytocoenologia 40/2-3: 155-188.

Jarolímek, I. & Šibík, J. (eds). 2008. Diagnostic, constant and dominant species of the higher vegetation units of Slovakia. Veda, Bratislava, 332 p.

Kliment J., Valachovič M. (eds), Bernátová D., Dúbravcová Z., Jarolímek I., Petrík A., Šibík J., Uhlířová J. 2007. Plant communities of Slovakia. 4. High-altitude vegetation. – Veda, Bratislava, 388 p. (ISBN 978-80-224-0951-3)

About me:

I’m a botanist focused on the phylogeny, molecular evolution, diversification, biogeography, and systematics of vascular plants, lichens, and fungi. Currently I’m working as a senior scientist at Institute of Botany, Plant Sciences and Biodiversity Centre Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava Slovakia. Since 2006 till present, I have been involved in ex situ conservation of vascular plants of the Western Carpathians – seed collection and seed banking within the international multilateral Millennium Seed Bank Project lead by Royal Botanical Gardens KEW.
Together with Dr. Marek Slovák from PSBC SAS I’m a coordinator of the international multilateral project ‘Conserving the endemic flora of the Carpathian region’ belonging under the worldwide plant seed conservation initiative of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) run by the Royal Botanical gardens, KEW (UK).

Institutional and personal page links
Institute
Personal website
Research ID
ORCID
Research Gate

Relevant publications:
1. Skokanová K., Hodálová I., Mereďa P. jun., Slovák M., and Kučera J. 2019. The Cyanus tuberosus group (Asteraceae) in the Balkans: biological entities require correct names. Plant Systemativs and Evolution 305: 569-596. Link

2. Slovák M., Kučera J., Lack H.W., Ziffer-Berger J., Melicharková A., Záveská E. and 2018. Diversification dynamics and transoceanic Eurasian-Australian disjunction in the genus Picris (Compositae) induced by the interplay of shifts in intrinsic/extrinsic traits and paleoclimatic oscillations. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 119: 182-195. Link

3. Štubňová E., Hodálová I., Kučera J., Mártónfiová L., Svitok M. and Slovák M. 2017 Karyological pattern in the European endemic genus Soldanella (Primulaceae): absolute genome size variation uncorrelated with cytotype chromosome numbers. American Journal of Botany 104:1241–1253. Link

4. Olšavská K., Slovák M., Štubňová E. and Kučera J. 2016. On the origins of Balkan endemics: the complex evolutionary history of the Cyanus napulifer group (Asteraceae). Annals of Botany (Oxford). doi: 10.1093/aob/mcw142 Link

5. Slovák M., Kučera J., Záveská E, & Vďačný P. 2014. Dealing with discordant genetic signal caused by hybridisation, incomplete lineage sorting and paucity of primary nucleotide homologies: A case study of closely related members of the genus Picris subsection Hieracioides (Compositae). Plos One 9(9):e104929 Link

6. Kučera J., Turis P., Zozomová-Lihová J., Slovák M. 2013. Cyclamen fatrense, myth or true Western Carpathian endemic? Genetic and morpological evidence. Preslia : časopis České botanické společnosti, 2013, vol. 85, no. 2, p. 133-158.

7. Guttová A., Zozomová Lihová J., Timdal, E., Kučera J., Slovák M., Piknová K. & Paoli L. 2014. First insights into genetic diversity and relationships of European taxa of the genus Solenopsora (Catillariaceae, Ascomycota) with implications on their delimitation. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 176: 203–223. Link

8. Mereďa P., Jr., Hodálová I., Kučera J., Zozomová-Lihová J., Letz D. R., Slovák M. 2011. Genetic and morphological variation in Viola suavis s.l. (Violaceae) in the western Balkan Peninsula: two endemic subspecies revealed. Systematics and Biodiversity. 9(3): 211–231. Link

9. Slovák M., Kučera J., Turis P. & Zozomová-Lihová J. 2012. Multiple glacial refugia and postglacial colonization routes inferred for a woodland geophyte, Cyclamen purpurascens: patterns concordant with the Pleistocene history of broadleaved and coniferous tree species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 105: 741–760. Link

10. Kučera J., Marhold K., Lihová J. 2010. Cardamine maritima group (Brassicaceae) in the amphi-Adriatic area: A hotspot of species diversity revealed by DNA sequences and morphological variation. Taxon : journal of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, vol. 59, no. 1, p. 148–164. Link

- The Consortium -

- Members -

Bogdan Hurdu

Marek Slovák

Patrik Mráz

Julien Renaud

Elinor Breman

Mihai Pușcaș

Michał Ronikier

Peter Turis

Yuriy Kobiv

Paul Szatmari

Jozef Šibík

Ján Kliment

Lydia Tasenkevich

Jaromír Kučera

Aisyah Faruk

András Schmotzer

Wojciech Paul

Pavel Dan Turtureanu

Zoltán Barina

Matej Dudáš

Gordana Tomović

Marjan Niketić