Brandnew Papers from our Lab
In August 2020, two pioneering papers were published by members from our lab. Rößler et al., employing experimental field and lab work, demonstrated that predators leave DNA on artificial prey (here salamanders dummies made of clay) that help identifying potential predators. This method was already introduced at the 20th Congress of European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) in 2019 and won the congress poster award (see news entry 01/09/2019 below).
In an ecological modelling study Feldmeier et al. asked whether Alpine salamanders and Common lizards, in response to global warming, would move horizontally from south-exposed to north-exposed slopes (i.e. 'aspect') rather than upward. Apparently, in these species shifts in aspect and elevation are complementary strategies to mitigate climatic warming.
Rößler, D.C., S. Lötters, M. Veith, M. Fugmann, C. Peters, S. Künzel & H. Krehenwinkel (2020): An amplicon sequencing protocol for attacker identification from DNA traces left on artificial prey. — Methods in Ecology & Evolution, 11: 1338-1347.
Feldmeier, S, B.R. Schmidt, N.E. Zimmermann, M. Veith, G.F. Ficetola & S. Lötters (2020): Shifting aspect or elevation? The climate change response of ectotherms in a complex mountain topography. — Diversity and Distributions, 11: 1483-1495.