Václav Gvoždík

RNDr. Václav Gvoždík, Ph.D.

Position: full-time researcher
Research topics: evolutionary history, herpetology
Department: External research facility Studenec
Phone: +420 560 590 622
E-mail: vaclav.gvozdikivb.cz

Research interests

• Evolution, speciation and phylogenetic diversification of vertebrates using molecular-genetic approaches, analyses of phenotype and biogeographic applications.
• phylogeography, phylogenetics and biogeography of vertebrates of the Palearctic and Afrotropic ecozones,
• molecular systematics and integrative taxonomy of amphibians and reptiles,
• biodiversity of Africa and its conservation, Congo Basin,
• herpetology.

Effective species conservation relies on a good knowledge of the biodiversity richness. This further helps us to better understand inter-organismal relationships in ecosystems and evolutionary processes. Africa is one of the least scientifically-explored regions of the World, particularly the Congo Basin. Knowledge of the biodiversity and distribution patterns in Africa therefore deserves detailed study.

Running Projects

Amphibian species diversification across sky-island and lowland rainforests in a spatial and ecological context: genome-wide and continental transect

Running projects

• Speciation patterns in sky islands – Evolutionary history of montane amphibians of Africa (in cooperation with University of Basel, Switzerland).

Education

• 2003-2010: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology
• 2003: undergraduate study – MSc. thesis: „Interspecific and intraspecific variation of Hyla savignyi and Hyla arborea tree frogs” (supervisor: Jiří Moravec, National Museum).
• 2010: Ph.D. study – thesis: „Phenotypic and molecular approaches in the systematics of the Palearctic and Neotropic tree frogs, Hyla and Osteocephalus (Amphibia: Hylidae)“ (supervisor: Jiří Moravec, National Museum; advisor: Petr Kotlík, IAPG AS CR).

Employment

• 2005–2007: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology – research assistant,
• 2005–2013: Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics AS CR, Liběchov (2005-2009 postgrad; 2010-2013 postdoc),
• 2012–2013: University of Basel, Biogeography Research Group, Switzerland – postdoctoral fellowship,
• 2006–present: National Museum, Department of Zoology, Prague – scientific researcher,
• 2014–present: Institute of Vertebrate Zoology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno – scientific researcher.

Academic service

• editor of Herpetology Notes,
• committee member of the Czech Herpetological Society,
• reviewer for scientific journals, e.g. African Journal of Herpetology, Amphibia – Reptilia, Animal Biology, Asian Herpetological Research, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, BMC Evolutionary Biology, Contributions to Zoology, Current Zoology, Herpetologica, Journal of Biogeography, Journal of Heredity, Revista de Biología Tropical, Zoologica Scripta, Zoological Science,
• reviewer for Czech and foreign grant agencies,
• assessor for IUCN African amphibian assessment.

Main international collaboration

• University of Basel, Biogeography Research Group, Basel, Switzerland (S. P. Loader),
• Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Joint Experimental Molecular Unit, Brussels, Belgium (Z. T. Nagy),
• Comenius University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Bratislava, Slovakia (P. Mikulíček, D. Jandzik),
• short stays at research institutes: Great Britain – Natural History Museum, London; Spain – National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid; Germany – Natural History Museum, Berlin, Senckenberg Natural History Collections, Dresden; Italy – Trento Science Museum; Switzerland – Muséum d histoire naturelle, Geneva; Austria – Natural History Museum, Vienna; Israel – Galilee Biotechnology Center, Kiryat Shmona; Belgium – Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren,
• fieldwork in several countries of Europe, Middle East, Caucasus, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa: Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania.

  Current PhD students

  • Daniel Jablonski – Phylogeography of slow worms (Anguis) in the Balkans (Comenius University, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Bratislava, Slovakia; advisor).

    Former students

    • Helena Šifrová – Genetic variation of slow worms (Anguis) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
    • Jan Šrámek – Genetic diversity of the Western Palearctic bent-winged bats (Miniopterus) (advisor).
    • Petr Kůs – Genetic variation of horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) in the Eastern Mediterranean (advisor).

    Offered topics of Bachelor and Master thesis

    please enquire by email

    Publications
    

    2015
    

    Bell R. C., Drewes R. C., Channing A., Gvoždík V., Kielgast J., Lötters S., Stuart B. L., Zamudio K. R.: Overseas dispersal of Hyperolius reed frogs from Central Africa to the oceanic islands of Sao Tomé and Príncipe, Journal of Biogeography 42 (2015) 65-75.

    Furman B. L. S., Bewick A. J., Harrison T. L., Greenbaum E., Gvoždík V., Kusamba C., Evans B. J.: Pan-African phylogeography of a model organism, the African clawed frog "Xenopus laevis", Molecular Ecology 24 (2015) 909-925.

    Gvoždík V., Canestrelli D., García-París M., Moravec J., Nascetti G., Recuero E., Teixeira J., Kotlík P.: Speciation history and widespread introgression in the European short-call tree frogs (Hyla arborea sensu lato, H. intermedia and H. sarda), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 83 (2015) 143-155.

    Penske S., Gvoždík V., Menegon M., Loader S. P., Müller H.: Description of the tadpole of Leptopelis cf. grandiceps (Amphibia: Anura: Arthroleptidae) from the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania, Herpetological Journal 25 (2015) 61-64.

    
    2014
    

    Barej M. F., Rödel M.-O., Loader S. P., Menegon M., Gonwouo N.L., Penner J., Gvoždík V., Günther R., Bell R. C., Nagel B., Schmitz A.: Light shines through the spindrift – Phylogeny of African torrent frogs (Amphibia, Anura, Petropedetidae), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71 (2014) 261-273.

    Gvoždík V., Tillack F., Menegon M., Loader S. P.: The status of Leptopelis barbouri Ahl, 1929 and eleven other nomina of the current tree-frog genus Leptopelis (Arthroleptidae) described from East Africa, with a redescription of Leptopelis grandiceps Ahl, 1929, Zootaxa 3793 (2014) 165-187.

    Nagy Z. T., Gvoždík V., Meirte D., Collet M., Pauwels O. S. G.: New data on the morphology and distribution of the enigmatic Schouteden's sun snake, Helophis schoutedeni (de Witte, 1922) from the Congo Basin, Zootaxa 3755 (2014) 96-100.

    
    2013
    

    Nagy Z. T., Kusamba C., Collet M., Gvoždík V.: Notes on the herpetofauna of western Bas-Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Herpetology notes 6 (2013) 413-419.