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.
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Online-article at the University of Vienna: "How flowers adapt to their pollinators"
Recent Publications 2018-2019
2019
Dellinger, A. S., Artuso, S., Pamperl, S., Michelangeli, F. A., Penneys, D. S., Fernández-Fernández, D. M., ... Schönenberger, J. (2019). Modularity increases rate of floral evolution and adaptive success for functionally specialized pollination systems. Communications Biology, 2(1), [453]. doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0697-7
Weber, M., Ulrich, S., Ciarallo, A., Henneberg, M., & Henneberg, R. J. (2019). Pollen analysis of volcanic ash in Pompeian human skeletal remains. Grana, 1-7. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2019.1638448
Grimsson, F., Graham, S. A., Coiro, M., Jacobs, B. F., Xafis, A., Neumann, F. H., ... Zetter, R. (2019). Origin and divergence of Afro-Indian Picrodendraceae: linking pollen morphology, dispersal modes, fossil records, molecular dating and paleogeography. Grana, 58(4), 227-275. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2019.1594357
Dellinger, A. S., Scheer, L. M., Artuso, S., Fernández-Fernández, D., Sornoza, F., Penneys, D. S., ... Schönenberger, J. (2019). Bimodal Pollination Systems in Andean Melastomataceae Involving Birds, Bats, and Rodents. The American Naturalist, 194(1), 104-116. doi.org/10.1086/703517
Leme, E. M. C., Forzza, R. C., Halbritter, H., & Ribeiro, O. B. C. (2019). Contribution to the study of the genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae: Pitcairnioideae) in Brazil. Phytotaxa, 395(3), 137-167. doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.395.3.1
Vasconcelos, T. N. C., Chartier, M., Prenner, G., Martins, A. C., Schönenberger, J., Wingler, A., & Lucas, E. (2019). Floral uniformity through evolutionary time in a species-rich tree lineage. New Phytologist, 221(3), 1597-1608. doi.org/10.1111/nph.15453
Dellinger, A. S., Chartier, M., Fernández-Fernández, D., Penneys, D. S., Alvear, M., Almeda, F., ... Schönenberger, J. (2019). Beyond buzz-pollination – departures from an adaptive plateau lead to new pollination syndromes. New Phytologist, 221(2), 1136-1149. doi.org/10.1111/nph.15468
Xafis, A., Tsoukala, E., Solounias, N., Mandic, O., Harzhauser, M., Grímsson, F., & Nagel, D. (2019). Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Thermopigi (Macedonia, Greece). Palaeontologia Electronica, 22(3), [22.3.67]. doi.org/10.26879/889
Ulrich, S., & Grímsson, F. (2019). The single-grain method: adding TEM to the equation. Grana. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2019.1666915
Jiménez, P. D., Hentrich, H., Aguilar-Rodríguez , P. A., Krömer, T., Chartier, M., MacSwiney G. , M. C., & Gibernau, M. (2019). A Review on the Pollination of Aroids with Bisexual Flowers. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 104(1), 83-104. doi.org/10.3417/2018219
Currano, E. D., Jacobs, B. F., Bush, R. T., Novello, A., Feseha, M., Grimsson, F., ... Tabor, N. J. (2019). Ecological dynamic equilibrium in an early Miocene (21.73 Ma) forest, Ethiopia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109425
Kellenberger, R. T., Byers, K. J. R. P., De Brito Francisco, R. M., Staedler, Y. M., LaFountain, A. M., Schönenberger, J., ... Schlüter, P. M. (2019). Emergence of a floral colour polymorphism by pollinator-mediated overdominance. Nature Communications, 10, [63]. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07936-x
Xafis, A., Mayda, S., Grimsson, F., Nagel, D., Kaya, T., & Halaçlar, K. (2019). Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the early Turolian of Kavakdere (Central Anatolia, Turkey). Academie des Sciences. Comptes Rendus. Palevol, 18(6), 619-642. doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2019.04.010
Moreno, L. F., Mayer, V., Voglmayr, H., Blatrix, R., Stielow, J. B., Teixeira, M. M., ... de Hoog, S. (2019). Genomic analysis of ant domatia-associated melanized fungi (Chaetothyriales, Ascomycota). Mycological Progress, 18(4), 541-552. doi.org/10.1007/s11557-018-01467-x
Grímsson, F., van Valkenburg, J. L. C. H., Wieringa, J. J., Xafis, A., Jacobs, B. F., & Zetter, R. (2019). Pollen morphology of the African Sclerosperma (Arecaceae). Grana, 58(2), 99-113. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2018.1519033
Grímsson, F., Jacobs, B. F., Van Valkenburg, J. L. C. H., Wieringa, J. J., Xafis, A., Tabor, N., ... Zetter, R. (2019). Sclerosperma fossils from the late Oligocene of Chilga, north-western Ethiopia. Grana, 58(2), 81-98 . doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2018.1510977
Damerval, C., Citerne, H., Conde e Silva, N., Deveaux, Y., Delannoy, E., Joets, J., ... Nadot, S. (2019). Unraveling the Developmental and Genetic Mechanisms Underpinning Floral Architecture in Proteaceae. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, [18]. doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00018
2018
Halbritter, H., Ulrich, S., Grimsson, F., Weber, M., Zetter, R., Hesse, M., ... Frosch-Radivo, A. (2018). Illustrated Pollen Terminology. (2 ed.) Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71365-6
Roguz, K., Bajguz, A., Golebiewska, A., Chmur, M., Hill, L., Kalinowski, P., ... Zych, M. (2018). Functional Diversity of Nectary Structure and Nectar Composition in the Genus Fritillaria (Liliaceae). Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, [1246]. doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01246
Rose, J. P., Kleist, T. J., Löfstrand, S. D., Drew, B. T., Schönenberger, J., & Sytsma, K. J. (2018). Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and diversification of angiosperm order Ericales suggest ancient Neotropical and East Asian connections. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 122, 59-79. doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.014
Jeiter, J., Staedler, Y. M., Schönenberger, J., Weigend, M., & Luebert, F. (2018). Gynoecium and Fruit Development in Heliotropium Sect. Heliothamnus (Heliotropiaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences, 179(4), 275–286. doi.org/10.1086/696219
Leme, F. M., Staedler, Y. M., Schönenberger, J., & Teixeira, S. P. (2018). Ontogeny and Vascularization Elucidate the Atypical Floral Structure of Ampelocera glabra, a Tropical Species of Ulmaceae. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 179(6), 461-476. doi.org/10.1086/697899
Grímsson, F., Grimm, G. W., Potts, A. J., Zetter, R., & Renner, S. S. (2018). A Winteraceae pollen tetrad from the early Paleocene of western Greenland, and the fossil record of Winteraceae in Laurasia and Gondwana. Journal of Biogeography, 45(3), 567-581. doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13154
Kirchheimer, B., Wessely, J., Gattringer, A., Hülber, K., Moser, D., Schinkel, C. C. F., ... Dullinger, S. (2018). Reconstructing geographical parthenogenesis: Effects of niche differentiation and reproductive mode on Holocene range expansion of an alpine plant. Ecology Letters, 21(3), 392-401. doi.org/10.1111/ele.12908
Grímsson, F., Xafis, A., Neumann, F. H., Scott, L., Bamford, M. K., & Zetter, R. (2018). The first Loranthaceae fossils from Africa. Grana, 57(4), 249-259. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2018.1430167
Chomicki, G., Staedler, Y. M., Bidel, L. P. R., Jay-Allemand, C., Schönenberger, J., & Renner, S. S. (2018). Deciphering the complex architecture of an herb using micro-computed X-ray tomography, with an illustrated discussion on architectural diversity of herbs. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 186(2), 145-157. [box090]. doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box090
Staedler, Y. M., Kreisberger, T., Manafzadeh, S., Chartier, M., Handschuh, S., Pamperl, S., ... Schönenberger, J. (2018). Novel computed tomography-based tools reliably quantify plant reproductive investment. Journal of Experimental Botany, 69(3), 525-535. doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erx405
Grímsson, F., Grimm, G. W., & Zetter, R. (2018). Evolution of pollen morphology in Loranthaceae. Grana, 57(1-2), 16-116. doi.org/10.1080/00173134.2016.1261939
Reyes, E., Nadot, S., von Balthazar-Schönenberger, A. M. L., Schönenberger, J., & Sauquet, H. (2018). Testing the impact of morphological rate heterogeneity on ancestral state reconstruction of five floral traits in angiosperms. Scientific Reports, 8(1), [9473]. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-27750-1
Cyran, N., Palumbo, A., Klepal, W., Vidal, E. A. G., Staedler, Y., Schönenberger, J., & von Byern, J. (2018). The short life of the Hoyle organ of Sepia officinalis: formation, differentiation and degradation by programmed cell death. Hydrobiologia: the international journal on limnology and marine sciences, 808(1), 35-55. doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3291-3, doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3291-3