Petr Kotlik 12th International Mammalogical Congress

Petr Kotlik

The primary research focus in our lab at the Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is the response of temperate organisms in Europe to climate change (primarily following the last glacial maximum). By studying the phylogeography of the European bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus, known also as Myodes glareolus), we have provided evidence that this small woodland mammal survived in ‘northern’ glacial refugia in the vicinity of the Carpathian Mountains, that is in refugia located distinctly north of the traditionally recognized southern refugia in the Mediterranean, most likely in small areas of locally more favourable climate within regions otherwise uninhabitable for woodland species. With the recent projects, we are seeking to identify key genes underlying adaptations that allowed bank voles in northern refugia survive in such conditions. This involves studying genes with known link to environmetal adaptation in other species as well as comparing levels of population differentiation across many genes via transcriptome and genome sequencing. Other our research areas are the conservation genetics, phylogeography and molecular systematics of frogs and snakes, the interaction of historical and anthropogenic gene flow in cyprinid freshwater fishes, and the evolutionary genetics of Holarctic Daphnia. Researcher ID link:

Abstracts this author is presenting: