Address
- University of Fribourg
- Dept. of Biology
- Unit Ecology & Evolution
- Chemin du Musée 10
- CH-1700 Fribourg
- Switzerland
Office
- 0.346b
Phone
- 04126 300 88 48
Fax
- 04126 300 96 98
Current research
My main research interests are plant taxonomy, systematics and evolution. In the past years, I have studied the taxonomically complicated but evolutionary very interesting genera Hieracium and Pilosella (Asteraceae). A huge morphological diversity observed in these genera has led me to the study of the role of polyploidization, hybridization and apomixis as key factors in plant evolution.
In Fribourg, I am working on the evolutionary aspects of plant invasion using Centaurea maculosa L. as model species. My main task is the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Centaurea maculosa group and related taxa using classical (morphology, karyology, absolute genome size estimation, hybridization) and molecular methods (with Rick Kesseli, Boston, USA). Further topic includes a study of selected physiological traits (specific leaf area, C/N ratios and C isotopes) and their possible correlation with ploidy levels and habitat characteristics. I am also interested in spatial distribution and interactions of diploid and tetraploid cytotypes at different scales, and in the origin of tetraploid plants.
Curriculum vitae
| 2007-present | Postdoctoral researcher in invasive plant evolutionary ecology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland (with Heinz Müller-Schärer) |
|---|---|
| 2005-2007 | Marie Curie Fellow, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, Université J. Fourier Grenoble, France (with Pierre Taberlet) |
| 1998-2005 | Research / teaching assistant, Institute of Biology and Ecology, P.J. Šafárik University Košice, Slovakia |
| 1995-1998 | PhD student (internal form) / civil service, Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia |
| 1990-1995 | MSc in Plant Biology, P.J. Šafárik University Košice, Slovakia |
Representative publications
Publications list with downloads
- » Mráz P. · Bourchier R.S. · Treier U.A. · Schaffner U. · Müller-Schärer H. · 2011 · Polyploidy in phenotypic space and invasion context: a morphometric study of Centaurea stoebe s.l. International Journal of Plant Sciences 172: 386-402.
- » Henery M.L. · Bowman G. · Mráz P. · Treier U.A. · Gex-Fabry E. · Schaffner U. · Müller-Schärer H. · 2010 · Evidence for a combination of pre-adapted traits and rapid adaptive change in the invasive plant Centaurea stoebe. Journal of Ecology 98: 800-813.
- » Mráz P. · Chrtek J. · Šingliarová B. · 2009 · Geographical parthenogenesis, genome size variation and pollen production in the arctic-alpine species Hieracium alpinum. Botanica Helvetica 119: 41-51.
- » Mráz P. · Šingliarová B. · Urfus T. · Krahulec F. · 2008 · Cytogeography of Pilosella officinarum (Compositae) : Altitudinal and longitudinal differences in ploidy level distribution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and the general pattern in Europe. Annals of Botany 101 : 59ñ71.
- » Mráz P. · Gaudeul M. · Rioux D. · Gielly L. · Choler P. · Taberlet P. · IntraBioDiv Consortium · 2007 · Genetic structure of Hypochaeris uniflora (Asteraceae) suggests vicariance in the Carpathians and rapid post-glacial colonisation of the Alps from an Eastern Alpine refugium. Journal of Biogeography 34 : 2100ñ2114.
- » Mráz P. · Paule J. · 2006 · Experimental hybridization in the genus Hieracium s.str. (Asteraceae) : crosses between selected diploid taxa. Preslia 78 : 1ñ26.
- » Mráz P. · Chrtek J. · Fehrer J. · Placková I. · 2005 · Rare recent natural hybridization in the genus Hieracium s.str. ñ evidence from morphology, allozymes and chloroplast DNA. Plant Systematics and Evolution 255 : 177ñ192.
- » Mráz P. · Szelag Z. · 2004 · Chromosome numbers and reproductive systems in selected species of the genera Hieracium L. and Pilosella Hill (Asteraceae) from Romania. Annales Botanici Fennici 41 : 405ñ414.
- » Mráz P. · 2003 · Mentor effects in the genus Hieracium s.str. (Compositae, Lactuceae). Folia Geobotanica 38 : 345ñ350.
- » ŠvehlÌková V. · Mráz P. · Piacente S. · Marhold K. · 2002 · Chemotaxonomic significance of flavonoids and phenolic acids in the Hieracium rohacsense group (Hieracium sect. Alpina ; Lactuceae, Compositae). Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 30 : 1037ñ1049
- » Mráz P. · Chrtek J. · Kirschner J. · 2001 · Genetic variation in the Hieracium rohacsense group (Hieracium sect. Alpina). Phyton (Horn) 41 : 269ñ276.