General Information

The Vertebrate Group is focussed on ecology, behaviour, distribution and taxonomy of terrestrial vertebrates, mainly small mammals of the families Soricidae, Vespertilionidae, Rhinolophidae, Muridae and Arvicolidae. In collaboration with scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, AS CR, they can ensure studying any major vertebrate group within, e.g., pregraduate as well as postgraduate student theses. Many of recent activities of the department vertebratologists and their students have been incorporated in the work on Biodiversity Research Plan, which includes staff of several biological departments at the Faculty of Science. In 2001 a project concerning all groups of Vertebrates living on the territory of the extended Pálava Biosphere Reserve was closed in collaboration with further two institutes and its results have been published (Řehák, Gaisler & Chytil 2002, see abstract). Another project, still in course, is the study of activity, echolocation and foraging strategies of two cryptic bat species. Monitoring the populations of small terrestrial mammals (in summer) and bats (in winter) has been carried out during the last 20 years. Radiotelemetry and automatic registration of behaviour of small mammals including bats have been started recently. Members of the department are also collecting tissue samples of various micromammals to be investigated with respect to DNA (PCR and other techniques). This study will proceed in cooperation with other groups of the zoology department and the Institute of Vertebrate Biology.

Team

Mgr. Tomáš Bartonička, Ph.D.
 

E-mail: bartonic@sci.muni.cz
Phone: (++420) 541129477

Expertise:
Changes in the activity and habitat use of Pipistrellus pygmaeus, echolocation behaviour of the same species in different habitat structure; Differences in search calls of the cryptic species Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus in sympatric and allopatric distribution.

Prof. RNDr. Jiří Gaisler, DrSc.
 

E-mail: gaisler@sci.muni.cz
Phone: (++420) 541129522

Since 1957, when he came to Brno, J. Gaisler has been studiing the biology of bats of which he was the pioneer researcher. He was among the first to apply marking-and-recapturing, mist-netting, ultrasound detectoring and similar methods. He also collected material for taxonomic studies, mainly in Afghanistan, Egypt and Algeria. In addition to bats, he has been studying small rodents and insectivores as well.

RNDr. Arnošt Krška, Ph.D.
 

E-mail: krska@sci.muni.cz
Phone: (++420) 541129527

Expertise:
Zoology and ecology of small rodents; Bank vole biology.

Doc. RNDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D.
 

E-mail: rehak@sci.muni.cz
Phone: (++420) 541129527

Expertise:
Faunistics and ecological monitoring of small mammals, especially bats, mapping and distributionl status of bats (Nyctalus spp., Eptesicus spp. and Pipistrellus spp.), long-term changes in the size of bat populations, diversity of bat communities, flight activity, foraging and echolocation behaviour of pipistrelles, bat-detectoring.

Mgr. Jan Zukal, Dr.
 

E-mail: zukal@brno.cas.cz
Phone: (++420) 543422544

Expertise:
Engaged in behavioural ecology of bats especially flight and foraging activity, echolocation and interaction of bats with predators. Furthermore studying the relation of bats with caves i.e. shelter and place selection, changes in activity of bats, influence of various factors on the hibernation.

Research Projects And Other Activities

2001

• GA ČR 206/99/1519: Vertebrates of the extended Pálava Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO (J. Gaisler, S. Lusk, J. Chytil).
• 600/2001: Field experiments in fish ecology and their utilisation in teaching students (M. Reichard, P. Jurajda, Z. Řehák).
• GA ČR 206/01/1555: Habitat Selection and Short-time Shifts of Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis myotis) in the Moravian Karst Region, 2001 - 2003 (J. Zukal).

2002

• GA ČR 206/02/0961: The status of Pipistrellus pipistrellus superspecies in the Czech Republic 2002-2004 (Řehák, Horáček).

2003

• 545/G4: Application of a non-invasive method to study ecology of the otter (P. Hájková, J.Gaisler).
• Members of the Vertebrate Group took part in organising the 4th European Congress of Mammalogy (Brno, 27 July to 1 August 2003): J. Gaisler was a co-chairman of the Local Organising Committee and a member of the International Scientific Committee; Z. Řehák, J. Zukal and the post-graduate students T. Bartonička, P. Hájková, E. Jánová, M. Pokorný and M. Šugerková were members of the Local Organising Committee.