Department

Botany

Sections

The section Lichenology and Bryology studies lichens and bryophytes ("cryptogams").

Volker Otte

The research of the section Mycology focuses on diversity, taxonomy and systematics of plant pathogenic fungi.

Ulrike Damm

The section Phanerogams I investigates topics such as land use chage, climate change and the biodiversity of cultural landscapes in Central Europe in various projects and collaborations.

Karsten Wesche

The research of the section Phanerogams II focuses on systematics and evolution of Central European vescular plants. One of the section's main subjects is the reticulate evolution in the genus Rosa.

Christiane Ritz

The molecular laboratory at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz studies genetic diversity and evolutionary processes, with a focus on plant population genetics, systematics and evolutionary biology.

Veit Herklotz

Theses‘ topics, internships and further opportunities for students

Theses Master level:

- Biology of Utricularia species: reproduction, genetic structures, importance of carnivory (Wesche)
  Bladderworts (Utricularia spec.) are the largest genus of carnivorous plants, and the “Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft” hosts a large share of those species, that can be found in Central Europe. Many aspects of bladderwort biology remain understudied. We intend to assess the extend of clonal vs. sexual reproduction, potentially in combination with genetic analyses. Another approach could asses the relative importance of carnivory among different species and different growth conditions, possibly coupled with analyses of water chemistry.

- Evaluation of the vegetation of ponds of the “Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft” using drones and satellite data. MoSaiKTeiL (Wesche, Ahlborn)
  Ponds can provide habitats for a large variety of organisms. Quality and quantity are often determined by the surrounding vegetation structure. This work focuses on the quantification of the vegetation within and around ponds and its links to other organisms using drone data. The work requires basic knowledge of the software QGIS, field work is optional.

- Transfer of mosses and lichens in Pine forests and sand dunes. MoSaiKTeiL (Wesche, Ahlborn)
  Natural succession and nutrient enrichment are threatening the biodiversity of open habitats. Frequent disturbance is a necessary measure for nature conservation, but the re-colonization of several species is dependent on the availability of propagules from the surrounding environment. This work focuses on the question whether the transfer of mosses and lichens is a cost-effective tool for the restauration of open habitats. Available from 2025 and onwards.

Internship level:

New records for the flora of Mongolia (Wesche)
Senckenberg Görlitz hosts a large collection of Mongolian plants, and this is currently reworked. The internship would work with herbarium specimens but also with available metadata, and should yield a list of records that are new to a given region.

Theses Master level:

Long-term biodiversity dynamics in Görlitzer Heide forest
Görlitzer Heide forest is part of one of the largest coherent woodland areas in Central Europe. Its historical lichen (and bryophyte) flora is well documented in our herbarium by 120 years old collections with precise locality indications. This master project is to explore the contemporary lichen (and/or bryophyte) flora at the historical sites and to analyse the changes. Relevant factors that may have affected biodiversity dynamics include forestry methods, environmental pollution and climate change. Methods will include field work (best option: bicycle) and laboratory studies (microscopy, chromatography, comparison of herbarium specimens).
Potential of dead wood from 20th century forest dieback for biodiversity of lichens in mountains of the German-Polish-Czech border triangle
Large-scale forest dieback due to “acid rain” caused by industrial air pollution was the most recognized environmental catastrophe of the 20th century in Central Europe and gave a mighty impetus to the emergence of the “Green” movement. The German-Polish-Czech border triangle was the region that suffered most of all. Forty years later, due to severe environmental regulations, this is history already and the forests have recovered. However, timber from those dieback events has partly remained in the forests. Given the importance of deadwood for several organisms including lichens, and the removal of most of the timber by forestry far before the natural death of trees in most forests, that timber left over from the forest dieback appears now valuable for otherwise rare lichens. This master project is to explore the potential of that timber for preservation of rare lichens. A focus will be in the Karkonosze National Park where no removal of timber has taken place. Methods will include field work and laboratory studies (microscopy, chromatography, comparison of herbarium specimens).
Ecology of epiphytic Orthotrichaceae (Bryophyta: Musci)
Orthotrichaceae, in particular the genera Orthotrichum and Ulota, are rich in species, a part of which has been described only recently. It is our most important family of bryophytes growing on trees. In the past, species had suffered from air pollution in many parts of Europe, but are now recovering. This master thesis is to find out how the species differ in their ecology (preferred habitat, tree species and so on). Besides your own fieldwork, the study would include analysis of our rich, but so far undetermined collections from the Caucasus Mts, the Carpathians and other regions of Europe. Methods: microscopy, comparison of herbarium specimens, some field work.
Caucasian-East Asian taxonomic interrelations in lichens
The Caucasus is known as a “hotspot” of biodiversity. Most European lichen species occur here, but, in addition, also species not known from Europe. This master project is to find out whether these latter species are still unknown ones to be described as new to science, or whether they can be affiliated to taxa that are already known, in particular from East Asia. The work will mostly be based on material from our collections, applying standard taxonomic methods, including microscopic studies, identification of lichen compounds by chromatography, and, where appropriate, genetic barcoding, and also comparison of herbarium specimens.
Lichen diversity of arid regions of Asia
Diversity of lichens of considerable parts of Asia is still poorly explored. Several of our expeditions to countries as Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and also Iran have revealed much material that remained unidentified so far. This master project is to taxonomically revise selected groups of lichens, to try to affiliate the material to known species or to detect and describe unknown ones, and to fix their distribution and ecology. Methods will include standard taxonomic methods (microscopy, thin layer chromatography, herbarium comparisons).
More topics
If interested in doing something related to biodiversity of your country, or something particular else, feel free to contact Dr. Volker Otte in order to find out options.

Internship level:

Selected aspects of cryptogamic diversity
The topics “Ecology of epiphytic Orthotrichaceae (Bryophyta: Musci)”, “Caucasian-East Asian taxonomic interrelations in lichens” and “Lichen diversity of arid regions of Asia” described above for master thesis projects, are also available for internships, in a reduced version.
Potential of Görlitz’ cemeteries for bryophyte diversity
In an urban environment, cemeteries are “green islands”, supporting a variety of habitats with e.g. different tree species and several types of stone substrate. This is particularly true for the cemeteries of Görlitz, where the administration is willing to support biodiversity. The internship is to study the diversity of bryophytes on the cemeteries of Görlitz in relation to relevant ecological factors.
Overlooked diversity – the lichenicolous fungi
A widely neglected part of biological diversity is the fungi inhabiting lichens, with many species still undescribed. The internship is to study our lichen collection in terms of presence of fungi on the lichen specimens and either affiliation to known species or detection of potentially unknown ones.