Mag. Maximilian Nepel
Scientific project collaborator (prae doc)
PhD Student
4. floor, room 411
t: +43 (0)1 4277-540 81
m: maximilian.nepel@univie.ac.at
Research interests
- Symbiosis
- Plant-Ant Interactions
- Microbial Diversity in various ecosystems
- Tropical Ecology
My research mainly focuses on investigating microbial communities and their potential functions in various ecosystems. To address ecological questions, I am mostly applying molecular and stable isotope techniques. Currently, my main focus lies on bacteria, fungi and also nematodes being present in special compartments – so called patches – located in the nests of Azteca ants inside Cecropia trees. This ant-plant mutualism is widespread in the Neotropics and turned out to be a stunningly complex multi-species-network. Additionally, due to my broad research interests, I have been working on identifying N2-fixing bacteria and studying their distribution patterns in grasslands and biological soil crusts.
Projects
Scientific collaborator in the FWF-Project P 31990-B "Species interactions and their impact on nutrient recycling in ant-made fungal patches" (Veronika Mayer)
Cooperations
- Dagmar Woebken, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Austria
- Andreas Richter, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Austria
- Roey Angel, Soil and Water Research Infrastructure and Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre CAS, Czechia
- Nutrient Network (NutNet) - a globally replicated experiment investigating the effects of nutrient addition and herbivores on grassland ecosystems
Curriculum Vitae
Derzeitige Anstellung
- 2019– PhD student/Scientific project collaborator (prae doc), (FWF project P 31990-B)
Ausbildung und wissenschaftliche Laufbahn
- 2016–2019 Associated PhD student of the graduate program "Microbial Nitrogen Cycling – From Single Cells to Ecosystems" funded by the FWF
- 2016–2019 DOC fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Science (ÖAW) for excellent doctoral candidates
- 2015–2019 Scientific project collaborator and PhD student Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (University of Vienna)
- 2013–2014 Laboratory assistant in the group of Dr. Veronika Mayer, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Austria.
- 2009–2013 Graduate studies in ecology, University of Vienna, Austria Emphasis on conservation biology and biodiversity management
- 2007–2009 Undergraduate studies in biology, University of Vienna, Austria
Publications
2018
Angel, R., Nepel, M., Panhoelzl, C., Schmidt, H., Herbold, C. W., Eichorst, S. A., & Woebken, D. (2018). Evaluation of Primers Targeting the Diazotroph Functional Gene and Development of NifMAP - A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Analyzing nifH Amplicon Data. Frontiers in Microbiology, 9, [703]. doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00703
Mayer, V., Nepel, M., Richter, A., Kaiser, C., & Voglmayr, H. (2018). Fungal patches in ant-plant associations: initiation and metabolic activity. In Workshop Black Fungi post-ISHAM: Abstract Book (pp. 24)
Nepel, M., Richter, A., Kaiser, C., Wöbken, D., & Mayer, V. (2018). Microorganisms putatively involved in nutrient recycling of ant-plant associations by degrading chitin and cellulose. In 17th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology: Abstract book (pp. 66)
Mayer, V., Nepel, M., Blatrix, R., Oberhauser, F. B., Fiedler, K., Schönenberger, J., & Voglmayr, H. (2018). Transmission of fungal partners to incipient Cecropia-tree ant colonies. PLoS ONE, 13(2), [e0192207]. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192207
2017
Vasse, M., Voglmayr, H., Mayer, V., Gueidan, C., Nepel, M., Moreno, L., de Hoog, S., Selosse, M-A., Mckey, D., & Blatrix, R. (2017). A phylogenetic perspective on the association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and black yeasts (Ascomycota: Chaetothyriales). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 284(1850), [20162519]. doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2519
2016
Nepel, M., Angel, R., Fierer, N., & Wöbken, D. (2016). Investigating the effect of elevated nutrient availability on the potential N2-fixing communities in grassland soils across four continents. Poster session presented at 3rd Thünen Symposium on Soil Metagenomics, Braunschweig, Germany.
Nepel, M., Voglmayr, H., Blatrix, R., Longino, J. T., Fiedler, K., Schönenberger, J., & Mayer, V. (2016). Ant-cultivated Chaetothyriales in hollow stems of myrmecophytic Cecropia sp. trees – diversity and patterns. Fungal Ecology, 23, 131-140. doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2016.07.007
2014
Nepel, M., Voglmayr, H., Schönenberger, J., & Mayer, V. (2014). High diversity and low specificity of chaetothyrialean fungi in carton galleries in a Neotropical ant–plant association. PLoS ONE, 9(11), [e112756]. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112756
2013
Nepel, M., Mayer, V., Voglmayr, H., & Schönenberger, J. (2013). Specifity of the fungi used in carton runway galleries in the Azteca brevis/Tetrathylacium macrophyllum association. In Abstract Book [116]
Nepel, M., Voglmayr, H., Schönenberger, J., & Mayer, V. (2013). Specifity of the fungi used in carton runway galleries in the Azteca brevis/Tetrathylacium macrophyllum association. ATBC 2013, San José, Costa Rica. atbc.confex.com/atbc/2013/webprogram/Paper2103.html