vds-ecology-evolution

Palaeontology

Palaeontology is the scientific study of the history of life on Earth, focusing on the analysis of fossils as direct evidence of past organisms, ecosystems, and environmental conditions. Research in this area focuses on the reconstruction of evolutionary patterns over deep time and the understanding of the processes that have shaped biodiversity across geological timescales.

The following approaches are considered to be of particular significance in this field of enquiry: firstly, the analysis of fossil morphology; secondly, palaeoecological reconstruction; and thirdly, the integration of geological and biological data. These methodologies empower researchers to trace significant evolutionary transitions, examine patterns of diversification and extinction, and explore the interactions between organisms and their environments in the past.

By placing contemporary biodiversity within a long-term framework, palaeontology provides fundamental insights into the dynamics of life on Earth. It facilitates the contextualisation of contemporary ecological and evolutionary processes, thereby providing a framework for understanding how biological systems respond to environmental change.

Supervisors

Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Geol. Dr.

Jürgen Kriwet

Head of the Evolutionary Morphology Research Group

Research Areas

  • Lower vertebrates
  • Evolutionary history
  • Fossil record
  • Deep time diversification
  • Shapes of phylogenies

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Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.

Martin Zuschin

Head of the Conservation Palaeobiology and Historical Ecology - Research Group

Research Areas

  • Conservation Paleobiology
  • Historical Ecology
  • Paleoecology
  • Marine invertebrates

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Assoz. Prof. Dr.

Leyla Jean Seyfulla

Privatdoz. BSc MSc

Project Lead of the NORAMBER Project
Part of the Palaeobotany and Terrestrial Palaeoecology - Research Group

Research Areas

  • Plant evolution and palaeobotany
  • Fossil plant morphology and systematics
  • Fossil resins, amber, and plant defences
  • Plant–environment interactions in deep time
  • Plant responses to past climate change

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Univ.-Prof. Dr.

Petra Heinz

Head of the Palaeoecosystems Research Group

Research Areas

  • Paleoecosystems
  • Marine ecosystems
  • Micropaleontology
  • Foraminifera and Ostracoda

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PhD Students

Bettina Bachmann

Project: Palaeoecology of echinoderms in the Holocene of the northern Adriatic Sea

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Isabella Leonhard

Project: Survival of the smallest? The long-term impact of climate warming on the body size of non- commercial fishes in the Adriatic Sea

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Alexandra Haselmair

Project: Historical ecology of the northern Adriatic sea: Spatial and temporal distribution of the high biomass epifauna

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Michaela Berensmeier

Project: Palaeoenvironmental changes of a shallow-water ecosystem in the Northern Adriadic Sea: Development of the community composition and its taphonomy

Supervisor: Martin Zuschin

Manuel Andreas Staggl

Project: Drivers of Elasmobranch Diversity in Deep Time

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

Patrick Etzler

Project: Palaeoparasitological studies of vertebrate coprolites with emphasis on endoparasites of Archosauromorpha

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

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Kim J. Stroben

Project: Evolutionary History of Squaliform Sharks

Supervisor: Jürgen Kriwet

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Katharina Halbwidl

Project: NORAMBER: Northern North American three-dimensionally preserved plants from the Late Cretaceous

Supervisor: Leyla Seyfullah

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Tina Palme

Project: Laboratory feeding experiments of benthic foraminifera with a focus on their role in carbon and nitrogen fluxes

Supervisor: Petra Heinz

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