Characterization & Inventory of Austrian Biodiversity

The documentation of native species diversity is the central topic of this working group. The working group includes a number of experts with systematic-taxonomic expertise for a range of organism groups such as vertebrates, spiders, mites, weaver creepers and insects. In addition, the group is characterized by high expertise in molecular biological methodology for the clarification of evolutionary and taxonomic problems. To this end, many externally funded projects are ongoing, with many linked to the Austrian Barcode of Life initiative. ABOL is a multi-institutional initiative to record the genetic diversity of all animal, plant and fungal species in Austria using DNA barcoding. This project initiative is a decentrally organized long-term project in which Austrian institutions concerned with biodiversity are networked. DNA barcodes are generated in a large number of individual projects. The projects are assigned to taxonomic clusters in which experts of the corresponding organism groups work closely together. In Graz, research is conducted on the recording and documentation of native biodiversity, as well as the biogeographical patterns of population and species structuring in Austria and the Palaearctic region, which are shaped or modified in the long term by the ice ages, but in the short term by climate change. In this regard, a number of projects led by Steven Weiss are underway with freshwater fishes, primarily Eurasian salmonids. Stephan Koblmüller and Christian Sturmbauer are also substantially involved in the ABOL (Austrian Barcode of Life) project initiative, where the entire native biodiversity is to be recorded by referenced barcode sequences.

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