XIII Scientific Session of the Institute of Environmental Biology
XIII Scientific Session of the Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology AMU 26 June 2025 - program (link)
Publication in Ecological Indicators
An article co-authored by Zbigniew Celka has been published in the journal Ecological Indicators, focusing on indicator species in three forest types of Poland (Tilio-Carpinetum, Galio-Carpinetum, and Stellario-Carpinetum). The study revealed both new species that currently best characterize the described associations and a significant group of mosses with strong bioindication potential. Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113339
Virtual species
A paper presenting a mechanistic simulator of a virtual species has been published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution: https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14475 The article is part of the PhD thesis of Katarzyna Markowska from the Population Ecology Lab. The research was funded by the National Science Centre (grant no. 2018/29/B/NZ8/00066) and the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Centre [...]
MHC mediates production of antibodies against Borrelia outer surface proteins
In a study published in Molecular Ecology (http://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17534), Joanna Różańska-Wróbel, Jacek Radwan and their collaborators demonstrate that Major Histocompatibility (MHC) alleles predict production of antibodies against specific variants of OspC, a protein used by Borrelia to manipulate host immunity. The results provide an example of an interaction between immunity and infectivity genes predicted by the [...]
Cross-disciplinary Cryospheric Ecosystems Conference
Organized by Krzysztof Zawierucha from our institute and colleagues, will be held in Poznań, Poland, on the 1st-4th September 2025. Further information may be found in the conference website https://cryo-ecosystems-conference.web.amu.edu.pl/.
Logged forests can still have ecological value – if not pushed too far
Researchers from around the world, including AMU biologist Jonathan Parrett, have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal ‘thresholds’ for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results, published today in Nature, could widen the scope of which forests are considered ‘worth’ conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the [...]
30-th Anniversary Scientific Session
Institute of Environmental Biology was established on 1st June 1984, hence this years XII Session (program) was the opportunity to celebrate this! See photos https://envbiol.web.amu.edu.pl/en/30-th-anniversary-scientific-session/.
Publication in Trends in Ecology and Evolution
A recent paper of Michał Bogdziewicz and collegues on mast seeding in perennial plants presents a model that integrates proximate factors (environmental variation, weather cues, resource budgets) with ultimate drivers (predator satiation, pollination efficiency). This model illustrates how the relationships between mast seeding and weather influence species' responses to climate warming, ranging from no change [...]
Article in Ecology Letters
A new publication by Agnieszka Majer, Anna Skoracka and Lechosław Kuczyński (Population Ecology Lab) in cooperation with Jürg Spaak (Institute for Environmental Sciences, Landau, Germany) showing, on the basis on Modern Coexistence Theory, how biotic interactions change over time. As a result of higher-order interactions, species switch rapidly between facilitation and competition. Read more: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14428. [...]
Article in Nature Plants
The new paper published in Nature Plants explores how seed production in perennial plants, like European beech (Fagus sylvatica), synchronizes across vast distances, affecting ecosystem functions. The study reveals that the summer solstice serves as a celestial cue, triggering synchronized responses to weather conditions among widely separated populations of European beech. This ‘starting gun’ initiates [...]