Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jürg Schönenberger
Head of Division
4. floor, room 415
t: +43 (0)1 4277-540 80
m: juerg.schoenenberger@univie.ac.at
Research interests
Our primary research interests are in organismal evolution and phylogenetics of angiosperms. We have particular interests in the comparative analysis of floral structure and function, both of extant and of fossil angiosperms, the study of floral ontogeny, and the analysis of character evolution in a phylogenetic framework. We integrate results from comparative morphology, palaeobotany, and molecular phylogenetics in order to shed light onto the early evolution and diversification of the angiosperms and their flowers. Systematically, our current research focuses on the order Ericales. However, we am involved in a series of research projects in other phylogenetic lineages including Acanthaceae, Araceae, Malvaceae, Melastomataceae, and Orchidaceae). Three topics that we have become interested only more recently and that we hope to develop further in the coming years include pollination biology (particularly in the tropics), novel technical approaches to the study of floral structure (High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography) and modern theoretical approaches (morphospace analysis) for the analysis of plant evolution and diversity.
Projects
- The eFLOWER initiative: A framework for understanding the evolution and diversification of flowers
- Development of novel applications of x-ray computed tomography in plant science
- Floral evolution and diversification in the light of morphospace analyses (FWF-Project: P 25077-B16)
- Floral diversity and evolutionary history of Ericales
- Pollinator shifts and floral Evolution in the Merianieae (Melastomataceae) (FWF-Project: P 30669-B29)
Teaching
Cooperations
- Stockholm Universität, Schweden
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
- Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, California, USA
Curriculum Vitae
Current position
- 2009– Professor in Structural Botany
Education and scientific career
- 2004–2009 Lecturer in Plant Systematics, Department of Botany, Stockholm University, Sweden
- 2007 Docent in Plant Systematics, Stockholm University, Sweden
- 2002–2004 Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Funded through a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation - 2000–2002 Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- 1998–2000 Department of Palaeobotany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
- 1998 Dr. phil. (PhD) in Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- 1994 Diplom (MSc) in Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Publications
2013
Städler, Y., & Schönenberger, J. (2013). X-ray tomography of plant tissue: novel staining methods allow high resolution imaging. In Abstract book [210]
2012
Schönenberger, J., von Balthazar, M., Takahashi, M., Xiao, X., Crane, P., & Herendeen, P. S. (2012). Glandulocalyx upatoiensis, a fossil flower of Ericales (Actinidiaceae/Clethraceae) from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) of Georgia, USA. Annals of Botany, 109(5), 921-936. doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs009
Schönenberger, J., & von Balthazar, M. (2012). Modern plant morphological studies. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 169(4), 565-568. doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01287.x
Bellaire, A., Ischebeck, T., Weingartner, I., Städler, Y., Schönenberger, J., & Weckwerth, W. (2012). The developmental trajectory of Arabidopsis flowers. In International Conference on Arabidopsis Research. Wien, 3. bis 7. Juli 2012. Abstract book Unknown publisher. www.hofburg.com/deutsch/events/aktuelles/icar-2012-international-conference-on-arabidopsis-research.html
Bellaire, A., Ischebeck, T., Weingartner, I., Städler, Y., Schönenberger, J., & Weckwerth, W. (2012). The developmental trajectory of Arabidopsis flowers. Poster session presented at International Conference on Arabidopsis Research, Wien, Austria. www.hofburg.com/deutsch/events/aktuelles/icar-2012-international-conference-on-arabidopsis-research.html
Städler, Y., & Schönenberger, J. (2012). X-ray tomography of flowers: staining methods allow 3d imaging with high contrast and high resolution. In Abstract book [12] Unknown publisher.
Städler, Y., & Schönenberger, J. (2012). X-ray tomography of plant tissue: novel staining methods allow high resolution and high contrast imaging. In Abstract book [73] Unknown publisher. www.biodivevol2012.uni-mainz.de
2011
Borg, A. J., & Schönenberger, J. (2011). Comparative floral development and structure of the black mangrove genus Avicennia L. and related taxa in the Acanthaceae. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 172, 330-344.
Schönenberger, J., & von Balthazar, M. (2011). Patterns of floral development and evolution: examples from the Ericales. In XVIII International Botanical Congress. Melbourne, Australien. 23.-30.7.2011. Abstract book Unknown publisher.
von Balthazar, M., Nyfeller, R., & Schönenberger, J. (2011). The remarkable Androecium evolution in Helicteroideae (Malvaceae, Malvales). In XVIII International Botanical Congress. Melbourne, Australien. 23.-30.7.2011. Abstract Book (P0596) Unknown publisher.
von Balthazar, M., Nyfeller, R., & Schönenberger, J. (2011). The remarkable Androecium evolution in Helicteroideae (Malvaceae, Malvales). Poster session presented at XVIII International Botanical Congress, Melbourne, Australia.
Städler, Y., & Schönenberger, J. (2011). X-ray tomography of plant tissue: staining methods allow 3D imaging with high contrast and high resolution. In XVIII International Botanical Congress. Melbourne, Australien. 23.-30.7.2011. Abstract Book, SYM099B Unknown publisher.
2010
Schönenberger, J., & von Balthazar, M. (2010). Comparative floral structure and systematics in the balsaminoid clade (Ericales). In 19th International Symposium "Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology" of the German Botanical Society, Vienna, Austria. 16.-19. September 2010. Program & Abstracts Unknown publisher.
Schönenberger, J., & von Balthazar, M. (2010). Comparative floral structure and systematics in the balsaminoid clade (Ericales). In Botany 2010, Providence, Rhode Island USA. 31.7.-4.8.2010. - Abstract volume Unknown publisher.
Schönenberger, J., von Balthazar, M., & Sytsma, K. (2010). Diversity and evolution of floral structure among early diverging lineages in the Ericales. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences, 365(1539), 437-448. doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0247
Schindler, S., Ehrendorfer-Schratt, L., Hermann, A., Schönenberger, J., Greimler, J., Fiedler, K., & Grabherr, G. (2010). Fakultätszentrum für Biodiversität: Forschung, Lehre und Naturschutz. Natur und Land: Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Naturschutzbundes, 96(4), 6-9.