RNDr. Martin Volf, Ph.D.
Job Position: Former employee - Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology
Phone:
+420 387775038
E-mail:
volf@entu.cas.cz
I specialize on insect-plant relationships, evolution of plant defensive traits, and chemical ecology. In general, I am interested in insect-plant coevolution and factors driving diversification of insects and plants and evolution of plant defences.
I am involved in projects examining latitudinal gradients of insect biodiversity. Mainly, we are trying to answer the question why are there more species of insect herbivores in tropical than temperate forests. To investigate this we sample canopy assemblages of key herbivore guilds using several techniques such as sampling from canopy cranes or cherry-pickers.
Further, I am interested in evolutionary trends in Ficus and Salix defences and their impact on herbivore community assembly. Both Ficus and Salix are key plant genera supporting large diversity of insects in tropical forests and temperate wetlands. Understanding evolution of their defences is thus crucial for understanding not only the evolution of host-plant defences in general but also for understanding the factors driving diversity and specialization of insect herbivores.
Education
2012 – 2016: Ph.D. in Entomology, University of South Bohemia. Honours (cum laude). Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Vojtěch Novotný CSc, Title: Specificity of insect-plant associations and their role in the formation of plant defenses and speciation
Date of defense: 12.10. 2016
2015: RNDr. in Zoology (an extension of a master degree), Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Vojtěch Novotný CSc, Title: Insect herbivores drive the loss of unique chemical defense in willows
2010 – 2012: M.Sc. in Zoology, University of South Bohemia. Honours. Awarded by the Dean's and the University President's prizes, Supervisor: M.Sc. Jan Hrček Ph.D. Title: The impact of deffensive host-plant traits on community structure of herbivorous insects on willows
2007 – 2010: B.Sc. in Biology, University of South Bohemia. Honours. Supervisor: M.Sc. Jan Hrček. Ph.D. Title: Community structure of leaf-chewing insect on willows
Professional Experience
2016 – present - Postodoctoral research scientist at Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences
2016 – Predoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution (hosted by K. A. Teixeira)
2016 – short term stay as a research assistant at Smithsonian Trop. Res. Inst. (hosted by Y. Basset)
2015 – field team leader during two month stay at Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido, Japan
2014 – field team leader during three month stay at Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido, Japan
2012 – 2016 – Postgraduate fellowship at Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences
2011 – one month research stay at University of Eastern Finland (hosted by R. Julkunen-Tiitto)
– two month research stay at University of Minnesota (hosted by J. Cavender-Bares)
Student supervision
Jan Kadlec (B.Sc. thesis) 2014-present. Host-preference of willow associated gallers.
Martin Libra (M.Sc. thesis), 2013-2015. Diversity of gall-inducing arthropods in two different host communities in temperate forests.
Markéta Tahadlová (B.Sc. thesis, cosupervisor with Jakub Těšitel), 2013-2015. The interactions of hemiparasitic plants with invertebrate herbivores.
Teaching
2016 - Field course in vertebrate and insect zoology
2015 - Field course in Alpine zoology
2014 - Practicals in insect systematic, Field courses in entomology and ecology
2013 - Field courses in entomology and ecology, Practicals in invertebrate biology
Prizes and Awards
2017 – Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers
2016 - 2nd place in the Vojtěch Jarošík´s prize for an excellent student publication in ecology; awarded by Czech Association for Ecology and Department of Ecology, Cahrles University.
2016 - Prize of Czech Entomological Society and 1st prize for the best student talk about invertabrates at national conference in zoology, České Budějovice.
2013 - Prize of Czech Entomological Society and 2nd prize for the best student talk at national conference in zoology, Olomouc.
International Conferences
ESA Annuan Meeting, 2016, Fort Lauderdale (oral): Divergent chemical syndromes in species rich plant genera: the case in Ficus local community in Papua New Guinea
European Conference of Tropical Ecology, 2016, Göttingen (oral): Divergent chemical syndromes in species rinch plant genera: the case in Ficus local community in Papua New Guinea
11th INTECOL Congress, 2013, London (oral): Insect Herbivore Adaptation Drives the Loss of Unique Chemical Defense in Willows
Local Conferences
Zoology Days 2016, Č. Budějovice (oral): Divergent defensive syndromes in Ficus species growing in sympatry
Zoology Days 2016, Č. Budějovice (oral): Host-plant phylogenetic diversity drives insect-plant food-web structure
Zoology Days 2015, Brno (oral): The effect of environmental changes on specialized pollinators limits geneflow in New Guinean Ficus speciesalong altitudinal gradients
Zoology Days 2014, Ostrava (oral): Výzkum latitudinálních trendů diverzity herbivorního hmyzu - Jaké faktory určují jeho diverzitu?
Zoology Days 2013, Brno (oral): Insect herbivore adaptation drives the loss of unique chemical defense in willows
Zoology Days 2012, Olomouc (oral): Struktura společenstev herbivorního hmyzu na vrbách je určena obsahem salicylátů v listech.
Awarded grants
University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, 103-016/2015/P, Evolutionary trends in host-plant defences and their impact on herbivore community assembly
Expert reviews for
Ecology Letters, Ecology, Ecography, Plant Ecology, European Journal of Entomology
International courses and workshops
2015 – University Course on Molecular Analysis of Trophic Interactions (MATI) at University of Innsbruck, Austria
2009 – Field course on Tropical Ecology at Binatang Research Centre, PNG
Skills
Statistics: ANOVA, GLM, LME, multivariate, phylogenetic comparative methods (PGLS, PGR, PVR), data visualization, food-web analysis; Molecular methods: DNA extraction, PCR, nested PCR, multiplex PCR, preparation for sequencing, DNA cloning, sequence processing, phylogenetics; Chemical analysis: Basics of HPLC; Field work: Extensive experience in quantitative canopy insect sampling and insect rearing; Identification skills: good general knowledge of invertebrates, specialized in Coleoptera (Buprestidae, Carabidae). Experience in Salicaceae identification; Software: Phylogenetics and sequence processing: Geneious, BioEdit, JModelTest, Beast, MrBayes, PAUP, FigTree, TreeGraph, Statistics and community analysis: R, CANOCO, Statistica, EstimateS, Past, Graphical tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, GIMP, ImageJ, Others: Microsoft Office
| Total found: 14 records
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Redmond C. M., Auga J., Gewa B.,
Segar S. T., Miller S., Molem K., Weiblen G.,
Butterill P. T., Maiyah G., Hood A.S.C., Volf M., Jorge L.R.,
Basset Y. F.,
Novotný V. (2019) High specialization and limited structural change in plant-herbivore networks along a successional chronosequence in tropical montane forest. Ecography
42
: 162-172. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.03849 |
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Segar S. T., Volf M., Sisol M.,
Pardikes N.,
Souto-Vilarós D. (2019) Chemical cues and genetic divergence in insects on plants: conceptual cross pollination between mutualistic and antagonistic systems. Current Opinion in Insect Science
32
: 83-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.11.009 |
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Volf M., Salminen J.-P.,
Segar S. T. (2019) Evolution of defences in large tropical plant genera: perspectives for exploring insects diversity in a tri-trophic context. Current Opinion in Insects Science
32
: 91-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.12.005 |
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Volf M., Holec M., Holcová D., Jaroš P., Hejda R.,
Drag L., Blízek J.,
Šebek P.,
Čížek L. (2018) Microhabitat mosaics are key to the survival of an endangered ground beetle (Carabus nitens) in its post-industrial refugia. Journal of Insect Conservation
22
: 321-328. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-018-0064-x |
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Volf M.,
Segar S. T., Miller S. E., Isua B., Sisol M., Aubona G.,
Šimek P.,
Moos M., Laitila J., Kim J.,
Zima J., Rota J., Weiblen G. D., Wossa S., Salminen J.-P.,
Basset Y. F.,
Novotný V. (2018) Community structure of insect herbivores is driven by conservatism, escalation and divergence of defensive traits in Ficus. Ecology Letters
21
: 83-92. DOI: 10.1111/ele.12875 |
|
Biranvand Amir,
Nedvěd O., Shakarami Jahanshir, Fekrat Lida, Hamidi Elnaz, Volf M., Hanley Guy A. (2017) The ladybeetle community (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in north east of Iran. Baltic Journal of Coleopterology
17
: 49-67. |
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Segar S. T., Volf M., Isua B., Sisol M.,
Redmond C. M., Rosati M., Gewa B., Molem K.,
Dahl C. N., Holloway J.,
Basset Y. F., Miller S., Weiblen G., Salminen J.-P.,
Novotný V. (2017) Variably hungry caterpillars: predictive models and foliar chemistry suggest how to eat a rainforest Proceedings of the Royal Society B
284
: article number 20171803. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1803 |
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Segar S. T., Volf M.,
Zima J., Isua B., Sisol M.,
Sam L.,
Sam K.,
Souto-Vilarós D.,
Novotný V. (2017) Speciation in a keystone plant genus is driven by elevation: a case study in New Guinean Ficus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology
30
: 512-523. DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13020 |
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Volf M., Kadlec Jan,
Butterill P. T.,
Novotný V. (2017) Host phylogeny and nutrient content drive galler diversity and abundance on willows. Ecological Entomology
42
: 685-688. DOI: DOI: 10.1111/een.12420 |
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Volf M., Pyszko P., Abe T.,
Libra M., Kotásková N., Šigut M., Kumar R.,
Kaman O.,
Butterill P. T., Šipoš J., Abe H., Fukushima H., Drozd P., Kamata N., Murakami M.,
Novotný V. (2017) Phylogenetic composition of host plant communities drives plant-herbivore food web structure. Journal of Animal Ecology
86
: 556-565. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12646 |
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Volf M.,
Redmond C. M., Albert Á., Le Bagousse-Pinguet Y.,
Biella P., Götzenberger L., Hrázský Z., Janeček Š., Klimešová J.,
Lepš J., Šebelíková L., Vlasatá T., De Bello F. (2016) Effects of long- and short-term management on the functional structure of meadows through species turnover and intraspecific trait varibility. Oecologia
180
: 941-950. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3548-y |
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Forister M.,
Novotný V., Panorska A., Baje L.,
Basset Y. F.,
Butterill P. T.,
Čížek L., Coley P., Dem F., Diniz I., Drozd P., Fox M., Glassmire A., Hazen R.,
Hrček J., Jahner J.,
Kaman O., Kozubowski T., Kursar T., Lewis O., Lill J., Marquis R., Miller S., Morais H., Murakami M., Nickel H., Pardikes N., Ricklefs R., Singer M., Smilanich A., Stireman J., Villamarín-Cortez S.,
Vodka Š., Volf M., Vagner D., Walla T., Weiblen G. D., Dyer L. (2015) The global distribution of diet breadth in insect herbivores. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
112
: 442-447. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1423042112 |
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Volf M.,
Hrček J., Julkunen-Tiitto R.,
Novotný V. (2015) To each its own: differential response of specialist and generalist herbivores to plant defence in willows. Journal of Animal Ecology
84
: 1123-1132. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12349 |
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Volf M., Julkunen-Tiitto R.,
Hrček J.,
Novotný V. (2015) Insect herbivores drive the loss of unique chemical defense in willows. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
156
: 88-98. DOI: 10.1111/eea.12312 |
