The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change

is a research museum of the Leibniz Association

Dr. Vera Zizka

Postdoc

Conservation Ecology

Tel: +49 228 9122-459

Fax: +49 228 9122-212

Mail: v.zizka [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Tabs

Projects

2022

GIBBS (Biodiversity Management in the Building Materials Industry)

The extraction of bulk raw materials such as gravel, sand, clay and gypsum may have considerable effects on ecosystems. The project aims to preserve and promote biodiversity inextraction sites of the building materials industry. At the ZBM, a systematic biodiversity monitoring system will be established that can be applied in a corporate context of the building materials industry. Both traditional and technology-driven methods of biodiversity monitoring will be employed.

Unit:

Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science (zbm), Conservation Ecology, Experimental and Applied Ecology

Project lead:

Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherber

2019

DINA – Diversity of Insects in Nature Protected Areas

In collaboration with the German NABU the ZFMK has been an active partner to initiate a large joint project to understand drivers of insect decline, the DINA project (2019-2022). The goal of the project is to assess and monitor the insect fauna in 21 selected Nature-protected areas using a Malaise trap transect approach. A particular goal of this project is to demonstrate the power of metabarcoding for the rapid and efficient assessment of the insect fauna relying on the GBOL database. Additionally to the insect fauna, landscape parameters including anthropogenic influence will be recorded.

Unit:

Conservation Ecology, Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science (zbm), Directorate Staff, Administration, ZFMK International Graduate School, Metabarcoding, Herpetology, Experimental and Applied Ecology

Project lead:

Dr. Livia Schäffler

Funding:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Publications

Published in

2019

Blackman RC, Mächler E, Altermatt F, Arnold A, Beja P, Boets P, Egeter B, Elbrecht V, et al. (2019) Advancing the use of molecular methods for routine freshwater macroinvertebrate biomonitoring – the need for calibration experiments. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics 3: e34735. https://doi.org/10.3897/mbmg.3.34735

[more]

Links:

https://mbmg.pensoft.net/article/34735/

Zizka, V. M. A., Elbrecht, V., Macher, J.-N., & Leese, F. (2019). Assessing the influence of sample tagging and library preparation on DNA metabarcoding. Molecular Ecology

[more]

Links:

https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13018

2018

Kuhn, T., Zizka V.M.A, Münster R., Mattiucci S., Kochmann J., Klimpel S. (2018) Lighten up the dark: metazoan parasites as indicators from the ecology of Antarctic crocodile icefish (Channichthyidae) from the north-west Antarctic Peninsula. - PeerJ 6:e4638.

[more]

Beermann, A. J., Zizka, V. M. A., Elbrecht, V., Baranov, V., & Leese, F. (2018). DNA metabarcoding reveals the complex and hidden responses of chironomids to multiple stressors. Environmental Sciences Europe, 1–15.

[more]

Links:

http://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-018-0157-x

Macher, J.-N., Zizka, V.M.A., Weigand, A.M., Leese F. (2018): A simple centrifugation protocol for metagenomic studies increases mitochondrial DNA yield by two orders of magnitude. -Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 (4): 1070-1074.

[more]

Zizka, V., Leese, F., Peinert, B., Geiger, M.F. (2018): DNA metabarcoding from sample fixative as a quick and voucher-preserving biodiversity assessment method.- Genome (na) doi.org/10.1139/gen-2018-0048

[more]

Links:

Genome journal

2017

Lammers, F., Janke, A., Rückle, C., Zizka, V., Nilsson M.A. (2017): Screening for the ancient polar bear mitochondrial genome reveals low integration of mitochondrial pseidogenes (numts) in bears. - Mitochondrial DNA Part B 2 (1): 251-254.

[more]

Pages

from 2020 Scientific Assistant DINA Project, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn.

2016 - 2019 PhD "Development and validation of DNA metabarcoding for stream macroinvertebrate community assessment", University of Duisburg-Essen, Aquatic Ecosystem Research.

2015 Internship "Screening for the ancient polar bear mitochondrial genome reveals low integration of mitochondiral pseudogenes (numts) in bears", Prof. Dr. Axel Janke, Evolutionary Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt.

2014 Internship "Molecular systematic analyses of the Prasophyllinae (Diurideae, Orchidoideae, Orchidaceae)", Dr. Katharina Schulte, Tropical Herbarium, Cairns, Australia.

2013 - 2015 Master Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt; thesis "Parasite diversity of Antarctic crocodile icefishes (Channichthyidae) from the South Shetland Islands", Prof. Dr. Sven Klimpel, Integrative Parasitology and Zoophysiology.

2009 - 2013 Bachelor Life Science, Goethe University Frankfurt und University of Tromsø; thesis "On the behaviour of the Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)", Prof. Dr. Manfred Niekisch, Zoological garden, Frankfurt.

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Dr. Vera Zizka

Tabs

2022

GIBBS (Biodiversity Management in the Building Materials Industry)

2019

DINA – Diversity of Insects in Nature Protected Areas

Pages

2019

2018

2017

Pages

Staff search