I am very proud and honoured that one more moth species, Sineviella tropeki, was dedicated to me! Together with Sineviella maicheri, dedicated to my former student Dr. Vincent Maicher.
Robert Tropek
@robtrop.bsky.social
Tropical ecologist, community ecologist, and entomologist at @sciencecharles.bsky.social and Biology Centre Czech Academy of Science; head of Insect Community Ecology Group (https://www.insect-communities.cz/)
New preprint on interaction networks from our group! Do network characteristics peak mid-gradient, similar to species richness, due to simple geometry: the mid-domain effect (MDE). We test this using simulations and real plant–pollinator and ant–plant networks. doi.org/10.64898/202...
Podcast @akademievedcr.bsky.social o opylování, hmyzu, výzkumu, i mužích na rodičovské dovolené... www.avcr.cz/cs/pro-verej... (samozřejmě k nalezení i v podcastových aplikacích)
PODCAST: O vztazích mezi rostlinami a opylovači s entomologem Robertem Tropkem - Akademie věd České republiky
avcr.cz
New prepring out!🌸🐝 How does plant reproduction change near the upper limits of vegetation in the tropics? We studied #pollination, pollen limitation, and selfing in Afromontane grasslands on Mount Cameroon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
You wake up after the Christmas party, pry your eyes open, check you still have your phone, and then you open your email… (this first email in Czech is announcing that my student has submitted her MSc thesis)
New study! We just published the first test of the elevational niche-breadth hypothesis using habitat niches of fruit-feeding butterflies and moths on Mount Cameroon in @oikosjournal.bsky.social! It is another chapter from defended PhD thesis of @fpgaona1.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/oik....
Butterfly and moth habitat specialisation changes along an elevational gradient of tropical forests on Mount Cameroon
Niche breadth, reflecting the range of environmental conditions or resources a species can exploit, influences its distribution, persistence, vulnerability to environmental change, and interspecific ...
doi.org
Study based on my MSc thesis has just reached 400 citations!💪 Fully my idea, ignored by my supervisor as "not interesting". I got a small student grant (~1000 EUR), fully coordinated the entire project, sampled a lot of insects, passed hard review process... And it IS interesting for others!
Chapter from a recently defended PhD thesis of @fpgaona1.bsky.social has just been published in the African Journal of Ecology! Elevational patterns in two groups of micromoths (#Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae, Alucitidae) in tropical forests of Mount Cameroon onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Among those honored yesterday with state decorations by Czech President Petr Pavel is Tomáš Jungwirth from @fzuavcr.bsky.social: a physicist and world-leading expert in spintronics, a field that could greatly boost the efficiency of electronic devices. He received the Medal of Merit in science.
The most challenging chapter of my PhD thesis is now out as a preprint! A joint effort I co-led with @robtrop.bsky.social and 139 incredible collaborators from all around the world. Huge thanks to everyone involved!
New preprint! “Climate-driven specialisation in plant–pollinator networks peaks outside the tropics” Testing the long-debated latitudinal specialisation gradient using >3,400 quantitative networks (>110,000 interactions). Led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
New preprint! “Climate-driven specialisation in plant–pollinator networks peaks outside the tropics” Testing the long-debated latitudinal specialisation gradient using >3,400 quantitative networks (>110,000 interactions). Led by @saileesakhalkar.bsky.social and myself ☺️ doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Today, we have received an announcement that Intranet of @charlesuni.cuni.cz is becoming an official communication channel between the university and its employees. Probably a good idea but... the university decides to ignore a few hundreds (I guess🤔) non-Czech speaking staff🤡 (please fix it!)
Our mini-review on the role of moths in pollination of tropical plants has been published! Maybe interesting not only for entomologists, botanists, and pollination ecologists...
🚨New paper on tropical moth pollination 🧵1/8 - What happens in tropical ecosystems when the day ends?🌔🦋 Our new review that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote highlights moths’ vital role in pollination and outlines research gaps, challenges and biases. Sharing valued! Link: doi.org/10.1017/S026...
🚨New paper on tropical moth pollination 🧵1/8 - What happens in tropical ecosystems when the day ends?🌔🦋 Our new review that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote highlights moths’ vital role in pollination and outlines research gaps, challenges and biases. Sharing valued! Link: doi.org/10.1017/S026...
When the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems | Journal of Tropical Ecology | Cambridge Core
When the day ends: Review on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators in tropical ecosystems - Volume 41
doi.org
Grateful for the opportunity to present our very recently accepted review paper on Nocturnal Moths as Pollinators in the Tropics that @robtrop.bsky.social and I wrote at the #OIKOSFin2025. Stay tuned for the full paper coming soon!
Naše Zvířata v éře lidí se vešla do širších nominací na Cenu Magnesia Litera. Mám radost velikou a mávám a dekuju všem, co na tom mají podíl @denikn.cz
Serious question from a European scientist: Are there any Trump voters among American academics who are now satisfied with the situation in US research/academia? I suppose they are not common in this network but do you know any? (I hope this nightmare will end soon)
Friendly reminder: if you are waiting on something from a US-based scientist/reviewer/editor, please realize that we're barely making it through each day putting out non-stop fires and trying not to collapse into tears. We're trying our best, but things will take longer right now. Give grace.
Czech President Petr Pavel: “We stand with Ukraine more than ever. Time for Europe to step up its efforts.”
A new butterfly species in Europe: Papilio saharae. An African species with (as far as we know at the moment) one population in Europe on Lampedusa. resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Whole‐genome data shed light on speciation and within‐species differentiation of the Papilio machaon complex around the Mediterranean Basin
Genomic data refine the species boundary of Papilio machaon and confirm the species status of Papilio saharae, with clarification of subspecies delineation of Mediterranean machaon and saharae. A he...
resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Loving deep-sea fish and molecular evolution? We're hiring!:-) Looking for a motivated PhD student to join us to study evolution of vision & to explore limits of vertebrate eye in extreme environment. Deadline 15th March. Thanks for applying and sharing! more info: www.fishevo.com/erc-funded-p...
A postdoc opportunity to work on Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) functional genomics with me, @jadrankarota.bsky.social and @chriswheat.bsky.social in Lund, Sweden. We aim to leverage the amazing amount of data being generated by @projectpsyche.bsky.social and DToL projects. lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Postdoctoral fellow in Noctuidae functional genomics
Subject description The project will use a comparative functional genomes approach to study a species-rich group of moths, Noctuidae (Lepidoptera). Noctuidae have both a huge negative and positive imp
lu.varbi.com
You buy an interactive book for your kid realising its texts are based on scientific results of your wife @fishevo.bsky.social!😍 Proud a lot💪
When you buy an interactive kid book on the oceans - and you find the results of your research there (on how deep-sea fish see their world:-). That’s the real impact!:-) hope it gets translated in Eng eventually:-)
Any slug enthusiasts among my followers? Please RT. Our lab develops a slug laboratory model from Deroceras laeve (genomes, CRISPRs, small RNAs ...) and I am opening one PhD position on "piRNa and genome defense in gastropods". Info & online application here: www.img.cas.cz/kariera/phd-...
Volné PhD pozice (v angličtině) – Ústav molekulární genetiky AV ČR, v. v. i.
img.cas.cz
I have just arrived, finally escaped from Twitter, probably too late. Give me some time to look around...