Our research and teaching are deeply rooted in organismal biology, i.e. the study of structure, function, and evolution at the level of the organism. We focus on questions of plant diversity – How have key structural features such as the angiosperm flower evolved? How is morphological diversity distributed among taxa? How are different structural features correlated with one another? Why are certain morphologies common and have evolved repeatedly while others are rare? We address these and related questions across a broad range of taxa and apply state-of-the art techniques as well as novel theoretical approaches to answer them.
News
- scilog-Article Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (german):
Wie Tropenpflanzen zu ihren Bestäubern finden – 18. October 2023 - Online-Article mediaportal University of Vienna (german):
ERC Starting Grant für Agnes Dellinger – 5. September 2023 - Science-News-Article:
"Plant turns suspected crop pest into pollinator" – 13. October 2022 - Science ORF.at (german):
"Blüten nutzen Parasiten als Bestäuber" – 6. October 2022 - Online-Article mediaportal University of Vienna (german):
"Aus Feind wird Freund: Schädlinge werden zu Pflanzenbestäubern" – 6. October 2022 - Publication in Current Biology:
"Evidence for the recruitment of florivorous plant bugs as pollinators" – 4. October 2022 - Young Researchers in Archaeometry 5 (Online Workshop):
Tutorial: Is pollen useful for achaeological research? The what, why, and how! - The Museumspodcast »Das Grüne Sofa« (german):
"Flower-Power: Vergangenen Ökosystemen auf der Spur – Die Erforschung von Pollen fossiler Blüten und Insekten" (Podcast mit Friðgeir Grímsson) - Online-Article mediaportal University of Vienna (german):
"Fossiler Fressrausch: 47 Millionen Jahre alte Fliege mit vollem Bauch gefunden" – 11. März 2021
Recent Publications 2021-2023
2024
Grimsson, F., Geier, C., Bouchal, J. M., Ulrich, S., Zetter, R., & Vieira, M. (2024). Fossil Hyaenanche Pollen from the Eocene of Kenya: The Paleophytogeograpy and Paleoclimate of a Relict Plant Genus Endemic to the Cape Province, South Africa. Biology, 13(12), Article 1079. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13121079
Purgina, C., Grimsson, F., Weber, M., & Ulrich, S. (2024). Pollen dispersal units of selected Orchidoideae and their morphological, ultrastructural, and chemical features. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 331, Article 105211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2024.105211
Purgina, C., Grimsson, F., & Ulrich, S. (2024). Proximal aperture in Cephalanthera longifolia (L.) Fritsch (Orchidaceae) pollen: a rare germination site for angiosperms. Botanical studies, 65(1), Article 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40529-024-00439-7
Chartier, M., Kopper, C., Münch, M., Messinger Carril, O., Díaz-Infante, S., Lachmayer, M., Ulrich, S., Wilson, J. S., Schönenberger, J., & von Balthazar, M. (2024). Pollination biology and secondary pollinators in seven North American Aquilegia species. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 186(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.1086/733068
von Balthazar, M., Lachmayer, M., Hawranek, A.-S., Kopper, C., Schönenberger, J., & Chartier, M. (2024). Pollination and reproductive systems in columbines (Aquilegia, Ranunculaceae) - Review and insights. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 186(1), 38-52. https://doi.org/10.1086/733070
Sutthinon, P., Meesawat, U., Ulrich, S., & Schönenberger, J. (2024). Histochemical and ultrastructural analysis of tapetum and sporoderm development in relation to precocious pollenkitt production of Garcinia dulcis (Roxb.) Kurz. Protoplasma, 261(6), 1281-1295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-024-01969-4
Koelzer, K., Ribarits, A., Weyermair, K., Bouchal, J. M., Mayr, J., & Weber, M. (2024). Trees Are a Major Foraging Resource for Honeybees in the City. Plants, 13(21), Article 3094. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213094
Barreto, E., Boehm, M. M. A., Ogutcen, E., Abrahamczyk, S., Kessler, M., Bascompte, J., Dellinger, A. S., Bello, C., Dehling, D. M., Duchenne, F., Kaehler, M., Lagomarsino, L. P., Lohmann, L. G., Maglianesi, M. A., Morlon, H., Muchhala, N., Ornelas, J. F., Perret, M., Salinas, N. R., ... Graham, C. H. (2024). Macroevolution of the plant–hummingbird pollination system. Biological Reviews, 99(5), 1831-1847. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.13094
Dirr, L., Bastl, K., Bastl, M., Bouchal, J. M., Berger, U. E., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Crowd-sourced-Symptomdaten bei Pollenallergie: Erprobung eines neuen Studiendesigns zur Bewertung der Wirksamkeit von Nahrungsergänzungsmitteln. Allergo Journal, 33(6), 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15007-024-6340-z
Dirr, L., Bastl, K., Bastl, M., Bouchal, J. M., Berger, U. E., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Crowd-sourced symptom data in pollen allergy: testing a novel study approach for assessing the efficacy of food supplements. Allergo Journal International, 33, 180-189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40629-024-00283-y
Geier, C., Bouchal, J. M., Ulrich, S., Uhl, D., Wappler, T., Wedmann, S., Zetter, R., Schönenberger, J., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Potential pollinators and paleoecological aspects of Eocene Ludwigia (Onagraceae) from Eckfeld, Germany. Palaeoworld, 33(4), 1079-1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2023.07.003
Wuttke, M., Poschmann, M. J., Wappler, T., Bouchal, J. M., Geier, C., Ulrich, S., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Pollen-feeding in a giant pelobatid tadpole from the late Oligocene of Enspel, Germany. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 104, 999-1026. Article s12549-024-00603-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-024-00603-8
Kopper, C., Schönenberger, J., & Dellinger, A. S. (2024). High floral disparity without pollinator shifts in buzz-bee-pollinated Melastomataceae. New Phytologist, 242(5), 2322-2337. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19735
Reginato, M., Ordónez-Parra, C. A., Messeder, J. V. S., Brito, V. L. G., Dellinger, A., Kriebel, R., Marra, C., Melo, L., Cornelissen, T., Fuzessy, L., Sperotto, P., Calderón-Hernández, M., Guerra, T. J., Kopper, C., Mancipe-Murillo, C., Pizo, M. A., Posada-Herrera, J. M., Hasui, É., Silva, W. R., & Silveira, F. A. O. (2024). MelastomaTRAITs 1.0: A database of functional traits in Melastomataceae, a large pantropical angiosperm family. Ecology, 105(6), Article e4308. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4308
Geier, C., Engel, M. S., Bouchal, J. M., Ulrich, S., Grimsson, F., Wedmann, S., & Wappler, T. (2024). The earliest large carpenter bee (Xylocopa) and its adhering pollen (Araliaceae, Theaceae). Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 104, 949-962. Article s12549-024-00604-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-024-00604-7
Dellinger, A. S., Lagomarsino, L., Michelangeli, F., Dullinger, S., & Smith, S. D. (2024). The Sequential Direct and Indirect Effects of Mountain Uplift, Climatic Niche, and Floral Trait Evolution on Diversification Dynamics in an Andean Plant Clade. Systematic Biology, 73(3), 594-612. Article syae011. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae011
Gutermann, W., Jang, T. S., Kästner, A., Prehsler, D., Reich, D., Berger, A., Flatscher, R., Gilli, C., Hofbauer, M., Lachmayer, M., Sander, R., Sonnleitner, M., & Mucina, L. (2024). Thliphthisa sapphus (Rubiaceae, Rubieae), a new species from Lefkada (Ionian Islands, Greece) and its ecological position. PhytoKeys, 241, 65-79. Article 119144. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.241.119144
Purgina, C., Ulrich, S., Weber, M., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Morphological and Ultrastructural Features of Selected Epidendroideae Pollen Dispersal Units and New Insights into Their Chemical Nature. Plants, 13(8), Article 1114. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13081114
Ulrich, S., Vieira, M., Coiro, M., Bouchal, J. M., Geier, C., Jacobs, B. F., Currano, E. D., Lenz, O. K., Wilde, V., Zetter, R., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Origin and Early Evolution of Hydrocharitaceae and the Ancestral Role of Stratiotes. Plants, 13(7), Article 1008. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13071008
Quan, Y., Deng, S., Prenafeta-Boldủ, F. X., Mayer, V. E., Muggia, L., Cometto, A., Vicente, V. A., da Silva, N. M., Grisolia, M. E., Song, Y., Ahmed, S. A., Niu, X., de Souza Lima, B. J. F., Feng, P., Vitale, R. G., Teixeira, M., Sudhadham, M., de Azevedo, C. P. E. S., Bocca, A., ... de Hoog, S. (2024). The origin of human pathogenicity and biological interactions in Chaetothyriales. Fungal Diversity, 125(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-023-00518-3
Simón-Porcar, V., Escudero, M., Santos-Gally, R., Sauquet, H., Schönenberger, J., Johnson, S. D., & Arroyo, J. (2024). Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis. Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 1237. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45118-0
López-Martínez, A. M., Magallón, S., von Balthazar, M., Schönenberger, J., Sauquet, H., & Chartier, M. (2024). Angiosperm flowers reached their highest morphological diversity early in their evolutionary history. New Phytologist, 241(3), 1348-1360. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19389
Silva, S. J. B. D., Leme, F. M., Franco, A. P. S. D. A., Arruda, R. D. C. D. O., Schönenberger, J., & Alves, F. M. (2024). Comparative floral anatomy and evolutionary interpretations of cryptic dioecy in Ocotea velloziana (Lauraceae). Rodriguésia, 75, Article e01522023.2024.
Barrajon-Santos, V., Nepel, M., Hausmann, B., Voglmayr, H., Woebken, D., & Mayer, V. E. (2024). Dynamics and drivers of fungal communities in a multipartite ant-plant association. BMC Biology, 22(1), Article 112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01897-y
Gross, M., Prieto, J., Grimsson, F., & Bojar, H.-P. (2024). Hyena and ‘false’ sabre-toothed cat coprolites from the late Middle Miocene of south-eastern Austria. Historical Biology, 36(9), 1903-1922. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2023.2237979
Bouchal, J. M., Geier, C., Ulrich, S., Wilde, V., Lenz, O. K., Zetter, R., & Grimsson, F. (2024). Qualitative LM and SEM study of the Messel palynoflora: part I. Algae to Vitales. Grana, 63(3), 193-246. https://doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2024.2375209
Bouchal, J. M., Grimsson, F., Zetter, R., & Denk, T. (2024). The late middle Eocene palynoflora of Hareø, West Greenland: polar forests in a vanishing greenhouse world. Grana, 63(2), 71-159. Article 2339495. https://doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2024.2339495
2023
Nepel, M., Mayer, V. E., Barrajon-Santos, V., & Woebken, D. (2023). Bacterial diversity in arboreal ant nesting spaces is linked to colony developmental stage. Communications Biology, 6(1), Article 1217. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05577-5
Vieira, M., Bouchal, J. M., Geier, C., Ulrich, S., Zetter, R., & Grimsson, F. (2023). Earliest fossil pollen records of endemic African Sclerosperma palms and the palaeoecological aspects of the genus. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 317, Article 104954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2023.104954
Alçiçek, H., Gross, M., Bouchal, J. M., Wesselingh, F. P., Neubauer, T. A., Meijer, T., van den Hoek Ostende, L. W., Tesakov, A., Murray, A. M., Mayda, S., & Alçiçek, M. C. (2023). Paleobiodiversity and paleoenvironments of the eastern Paratethys Pleistocene lacustrine-palustrine sequence in the Baklan Basin (SW Anatolia, Turkey). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 626, Article 111649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111649