Department of Zoology and Genetics

The Department of Zoology and Genetics is formed by several collaborative teams representing a variety of research trends.

The main research topics of interest in the Division of Molecular Biology are:

• population and conservation genetics, phylogeography, hybridisation and gene introgression of various plant and animal species, e.g. Betula, Juniperus sp., Phengaris sp., Scolitantides sp., Latibulus sp.
• an identification of endoparasite species in wild ungulates using non-invasive molecular methods
• molecular taxonomy of Pelophylax and different invertebrate species,
• impact of climatic and environmental factors on both the distribution and reproduction of birches and junipers

The Laboratory of Insect Evolutionary Biology and Ecology team works on four main research areas with fieldwork based in Poland, Italy and Malaysia:

• butterfly ecology (e.g. habitat preferences, demography, parasitoids, dispersal, population genetics) and phylogeography with particular emphasis on endangered species (including the socially parasitic Phengaris), as well as monitoring and conservation of butterflies and moths;
• multimodal mimicry in diurnal moths (especially the wasp and bee-imitating Sesiidae family) covering acoustical, behavioural, chemical and morphological aspects of incredible resemblances in the group and placing them in an ecological context through field-based behavioural experimentations of predator-prey and mimic-model interactions;
• taxonomy and ecology of parasitoids (mainly Darwin wasps), combining molecular and chemical analyses with field-based parasitoid-host interactions studies;
• animal communication and ecology, as well as the impact of human-generated pollutants on wildlife through projects investigating the ingestion of microplastics by birds occupying various ecological niches, factors influencing bird-window collisions and acoustic monitoring of migrating birds.

In the Molecular Zoology Laboratory, we focus on:

• population genetics, genomics, as well as transcriptomics of wild mammals: ungulates, carnivores and rodents, based on surveys carried out in the highly biodiverse Podlasie region and worldwide
• an identification of diversity and delineate genetically distinct groups, mitochondrial DNA lineages and Evolutionary Significant Units (ESU) in studied taxa
• telemetry surveys of moose and analyses of their diet using DNA metabarcoding approach.

We perform our research through several national and international collaborations. The implementation of our results in species restoration programmes is the ultimate aim of our efforts, with several conservation projects currently underway.