Keynote-Vorträge
Auch in diesem Jahr wird es wieder einleitende Keynote-Vorträge von eingeladenen Kollegen und Kolleginnen zu ausgewählten Themen geben.
- Lukas Rüber, Naturhistorisches Museum Bern
Diversity and evolution of Cypriniforms: tiny fishes in extreme habitats
Lukas Rüber, Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, Switzerland
Abstract: Cypriniformes is the most species-rich order of freshwater fishes, comprising more than 5,000 described species, with many more yet to be discovered. Members of this order display exceptional morphological, physiological, and ecological diversity and are distributed across Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. They inhabit an extraordinary range of freshwater environments and span a wide range of body sizes, from miniature species measuring less than 8 mm to freshwater giants exceeding 3 m in length. Several cypriniform species are important model organisms in various research fields, and many species are economically and culturally significant, playing a vital role in aquaculture and the ornamental fish trade. Despite their importance, many aspects of the evolutionary history of Cypriniformes remain unresolved. Previous phylogenetic studies have been limited by sparse taxon sampling and restricted genetic data, resulting in persistent uncertainty and conflicting relationships. I will introduce the first phylogenomic analysis of Cypriniformes, based on a complete family-level sampling and broad genus-level coverage to examine the evolution of miniaturisation — the extreme reduction in adult body size — within this fascinating fish group.
Forschung/Research: My main research interest is in line with one of the central themes in evolutionary biology, namely understanding the processes that contribute to the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. The diversity of recent species is not equally distributed among taxonomic groups and across the globe – a small number of clades accounts for a large part of the world’s diversity and a number of relatively small areas with high levels of endemism are populated by unusually large numbers of species. I study patterns and processes of diversification at different spatial and temporal scales by focusing on fish adaptive radiations and biodiversity hotspots.
- Jacco van Rijssel, Wageningen University
- Kristin Scharnweber, Universität Köln
