Biology Education

Plants in urban greenspaces

Urban vegetation is crucial to sustain urban biodiversity and ecosystem services to urban inhabitants (Gómez-Baggethun & Barton 2013), e.g. temperature and water regulation and space for recreation. Insect pollinators, such as bees, rely on flowering plants for foraging. Although in decline globally, they can sometimes find refuge in urban greenspaces, especially in brownfields and allotment gardens (Baldock 2020). Urban plant composition is therefore important to support pollinator populations. Species composition of urban greenspaces is, however, largely determined by aesthetic preferences and the availability in garden centres (Garbuzov, Alton & Ratnieks 2017; Avolio et al. 2018). This means that, although plants may be selected for their flowers, they do not necessarily provide pollen and nectar resources for insects (Garbuzov & Ratnieks 2014). Studies even show that spontaneous native vegetation can attract more pollinators than purposely planted species (Zaninotto, Fauviau & Dajoz 2023).

In this project, you will study the species composition of urban flowering plants in Malmö, using existing data on flowering plants in public and private urban greenspaces (private backyards/gardens, allotments, parks and green roofs), surveyed May-July/August. You will compile data on plant traits relating to, for example, pollen and nectar production and phenology (seasonality).

Potential research questions are:

How does greenspace type affect the value of the plant community for pollinators
How large is the contribution of spontaneous plant species to pollinator resources?
Are there differences across the season for the above?
What would a truly “pollinator friendly” planting look like?

This project can be adapted to 15-30 credits.

Contact: Anna Persson (anna.persson@cec.lu.se)

References
Avolio, M.L., Pataki, D.E., Trammell, T.L.E. & Endter-Wada, J. (2018) Biodiverse cities: the nursery industry, homeowners, and neighborhood differences drive urban tree composition. Ecological Monographs, 88, 259-276.
Baldock, K.C.R. (2020) Opportunities and threats for pollinator conservation in global towns and cities. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 38, 63-71.
Garbuzov, M., Alton, K. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2017) Most ornamental plants on sale in garden centres are unattractive to flower-visiting insects. PeerJ, 5, e3066.
Garbuzov, M. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2014) Listmania: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Lists of Garden Plants to Help Pollinators. BioScience, 64, 1019-1026.
Gómez-Baggethun, E. & Barton, D.N. (2013) Classifying and valuing ecosystem services for urban planning. Ecological Economics, 86, 235-245.
Zaninotto, V., Fauviau, A. & Dajoz, I. (2023) Diversity of greenspace design and management impacts pollinator communities in a densely urbanized landscape: the city of Paris, France. Urban Ecosystems, 26, 503-515.

February 6, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Biology Short projects

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The Wood White and the Cryptic Wood White butterflies: species differentiation through morphometrics and DNA barcoding

The Wood White – Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus,1758) – and the Cryptic Wood White – Leptidea juvernica Williams,1946 – are two species of butterflies found in Sweden and distributed more broadly in Europe. Currently the only way to conclusively separate the two species morphologically is by comparing their genitalia, which is a time consuming process, and not something that can be done quickly in the field. Various butterfly collectors swear that they can separate the two species by their wing shape and/or wing markings, but this has not been rigorously tested. The species can be easily separated using the DNA barcoding.

The Biological Museum, Lund University, has an extensive collection of Leptidea from Sweden with over 800 specimens. The focus of the project will be on taking photographs of the wings for a morphometric examination as well as collecting new specimens for the morphometric analysis and for DNA barcoding.

Based on the results of the morphometric analysis, the different butterfly groupings will be DNA barcoded and the genitalia will be dissected from some selected specimens. That way we will test the hypothesis that it is possible to separate these two species based on their external morphology, and if this is indeed the case, many butterfly collectors will be grateful.

Required knowledge: We will teach the student how to carry out all the steps necessary to complete this project. The project will involve working with pinned insect specimens and their data, specimen photography and morphometric analysis, specimen collection in the field for DNA work, DNA extraction from the specimens, PCR, basic phylogenetic inference.

Bachelor’s or Master’s level: 30-60 cr (the project is scalable depending on the student’s needs)

Starting date: Flexible.

Supervision: Jadranka Rota, Biological Museum and Masahito Tsuboi, Division of Biodiversity and Evolution

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/jadranka-rota

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/masahito-tsuboi

Contact Jadranka Rota jadranka.rota@biol.lu.se for more information and planning

February 5, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Biology Short projects

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Nocturnal bird migration under the sun

Bird migration is to a large degree a nocturnal affair, as many passerines start their migratory flights soon after sunset and fly until early morning. It is however unclear how this pattern is affected by the large differences in night length that birds experience at different latitudes and with seasonal progression. When migrating at high latitudes the midnight sun means that there is no “night” at all for parts on the year, so what does this mean for the nocturnal schedule?

Using weather radar data we can identify the start and end of bird migratory movements at 14 different sites in Sweden, ranging from Kiruna to Ängelholm. Comparing the initiation and cessation of migration at different night lengths can give us clues to what cues birds use to initiate migration, and why so many birds migrate during night at all. I am looking for a motivated student analyze weather radar data of migratory activity in relation to night length at different sites and times.

Required knowledge: Comfortable with, or willing to learn, to analyse data in either excel or R.

Length of the project: MSc or BSc, flexible depending on depth of analysis

Start date: Flexible

Contact info: Cecilia Nilsson, Cecilia.nilsson@biol.lu.se

http://cnilsson.science

https://portal.research.lu.se/sv/persons/cecilia-nilsson

February 3, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Uncategorized

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The crossing scheme to generate Drosophila melanogaster flies with brain tumor

Tumors are associated with elevated mutation rate. In Drosophila melanogaster flies, it is possible to use transgenic strains to tune the mutation rate in specific tissues, like the nervous system or intestine, so that the flies grow tumors in specific tissues. This is a valuable system to study the physiology and the impact of tumors.

The transgenic flies have phenotypic markers to indicate that they carry the transgene, such as white eyes (normal flies have red eyes) or apricot body (normal body color is brownish yellow). However, markers are located on different chromosomes (autosomes or sex chromosomes) and a carefully designed crossing scheme is required to generate flies with tissue-specific tumors.

In this project, we aim to generate flies with brain tumor. You will figure out the crossing scheme for two transgenic strains, 28590 and 8751, to achieve this goal. You will cross these two strains to produce offspring flies with various phenotypes, eliminating the impossible ones and keeping the suspects (just like what Thomas Morgan did; or Mendel).

Required knowledge

Strong interests in evolutionary biology. No specific experience required.

Length of the project

At least 8 weeks of hands-on lab work.

Start date

Flexible

Contact info

Hwei-yen Chen hwei-yen.chen@biol.lu.se

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/hwei-yen-chen

February 3, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Biology Short projects

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What makes a good learner: the evolution of cognition and memory in Caenorhabditis worms

Being good at learning may seem universally beneficial. But is it? First, you can make mistakes. Second, there may be physiological costs associated with learning, forming memories, and keeping your nervous system in peak condition.

With as few as c.a. 300 neurons, Caenorhabditis worms show a wide range of learning capabilities; they can associate olfactory cues with stress, learn to avoid pathogens, and can transmit their learned memory to their offspring (how convenient!).

Learning and memory inheritance have important implications in evolution, but their ecological relevance remains unclear – what is the variation across species? And how does the environment affect learning and memory? This project will investigate this variation across Caenorhabditis species and explore the interactions between the worms’ microbial environment and memory inheritance.

Required knowledge

Strong interests in evolutionary biology. No specific experience required.

Length of the project

Flexible. Worms are a convenient model animal with a life cycle of about 3 days, so data collection is fast once you get the hang of it.

We aim to include nine worm species in total. You may choose to focus on a subset of these species for a shorter project or study all nine for a full project.

Start date

Flexible

Contact info

Hwei-yen Chen hwei-yen.chen@biol.lu.se

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/hwei-yen-chen

February 3, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Biology Short projects

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Understanding work rate in breeding birds

One of the cornerstones of life history theory is that there exists a trade-off between current and future reproduction. What that really means is that if you invest a lot into one breeding attempt you will have less available energy for future reproductive attempts or for your own self-maintenance (thereby possibly reducing lifespan). Famous rocker Neil Young once sang, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away” and in a way the whole point of this area of research is to understand if he was right or not (perhaps not for rock stars, where other things than lifetime reproductive success might be of greater importance).

In birds, one of the most common ways to investigate this trade-off is to manipulate brood size, thereby either making it easier or harder for parents to feed all their young. The golden standard for such studies is to assume that work rate differs between parents with different brood sizes and even though there are studies that confirm this pattern the effects of such a manipulation seem to vary quite substantially between years and with other environmental factors.

Thus, we are missing one essential component in the puzzle, which is: how is feeding frequency (work rate) truly affected by brood size manipulations?

This question has been answered before, but only using short snapshots in time, counting feeding events over hours and possibly a few days. However, to understand the full effect of brood size manipulations on parental investment and work rate we need to know the energy spent throughout the full nestling period. Work rate is not a constant trait and varies over time as nestlings grow older and there could be differences in these patterns, according to brood size.

You will conduct the fieldwork in the period April-June in a population of nest-box breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) in the scenic landscape surrounding Lake Krankesjön, circa 20 km east of Lund. You will get hands-on experience of capturing, handling, and ringing birds and the possibility to work with multiple techniques involved in measurement of feeding frequency and possibly also other areas of research. To get the most out of the project, it would be advantageous to have some prior experience of handling birds, and a driver’s license is required to be able to conduct the field-work. This is a project that can be modified and suited to your own interests – it would for example be easy to add other components into this framework (i.e. phenology, immunology, body temperature regulation etc.) – so please contact me, should you find this topic interesting.

fredrik.andreasson@biol.lu.se

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/fredrik-andreasson

January 30, 2025

Lotta Persmark

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Biology

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Immune response and inflammation in myocardial infarction and myocarditis: underlying mechanisms and novel treatments

We are inviting students interested in immunology and cardiovascular disease to perform their Master’s Degree project at the Cardiac Inflammation Research Group, CRC Malmö. Our group studies immune and inflammatory mechanisms involved in myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis and myocarditis. By using animal models and in-vitro studies we investigate the underlying disease mechanisms and aim to develop new treatments for translation into the clinic. In parallel, in our large cohorts of myocardial infarction patients, we are looking for new pathways and biomarkers that are important for the development of heart failure and other complications. You can read more about our research on our website and in our recent publications in the European Heart Journal (Marinkovic et al, 2019), Circulation Research (Marinkovic et al, 2020) and Critical Care (Jakobsson et al, 2023).
Our experienced post-docs are leading the work and provide hands-on supervision for master’s and PhD students. Our projects include in-vivo work with mouse models of myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis or myocarditis. We measure cardiac function by echocardiograpy, perform in-depth analyses of immune cell populations by flow cytometry, histology and immunohistochemistry. We have also developed an extensive database of single-cell sequencing data (CITEseq) for the detailed study of gene and surface protein expression in cells isolated from the heart, blood and immune organs of mice with myocardial infarction and myocarditis. In-vitro, we are using cell culture experiments (immune cells, cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells) to analyze cell function, gene expression, signaling pathways, and cellular metabolism (Seahorse). We use a wide range of methods such as microsurgery, immunohistochemistry, histology, light and fluorescent microscopy, ELISA, RT-PCR and Western Blot.
Our ongoing projects include:

Study the role of novel neutrophil sub-populations identified in our earlier research in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction and myocarditis.
Study the impact of a treatment developed in our lab, based on blockade of the pro-inflammatory neutrophil mediator S100A8/A9, on the immune response in myocardial infarction and myocarditis.
Develop new immunomodulatory treatments against cardiac inflammation by using individual metabolites derived from the Krebs (tricyclic acid) cycle.
Identify immune cell populations responsible for increased vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis after a myocardial infarction.

If interested, please contact Dr. Alexandru Schiopu, group leader, at Alexandru.Schiopu@med.lu.se

January 30, 2025

Tina Ledje

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Molecular Biology

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Vision in Changing Waters – How do predatory zooplankton adapt to variable and changing light environments?

The water ﬂea, Polyphemus, uses its large, highly-specialised eye to hunt for prey and navigate its habitat. They live in freshwater lakes that can vary tremendously in colour, clarity, and brightness. These habitats are also impacted by human activity that further changes their light conditions. This project aims to explore the capabilities of Polyphemus to adapt their visual system to these dynamic and challenging conditions.

Projects:
Projects of varying lengths are available and potential techniques may include behavioural experiments, molecular characterization of visual gene expression, environmental light measurement, and anatomical investigations. Both BSc and MSc projects are offered.

How are bacteria coping with stress?

Just like us, bacteria often have to deal with stress. However, stress for bacteria is a bit different from the stress we are used to – it is something that causes damage to the cellular macromolecules: membranes, proteins, and nucleic acids. It can be chemical stress, caused by harmful compounds, or physical stress, such as heat. A limited supply of nutrients can also be regarded as stress. Bacteria have developed stress responses, which aim to temporarily increase tolerance limits. These stress responses are often specific; each specialized in a particular kind of stress. Some stress responses facilitate bacterial transition from a free-living organism to a host-invading pathogen.

The aim of this project is to investigate, at the molecular level, how the soil-living bacterium Bacillus subtilis deals with various types of stress. This bacterium can form structured multicellular communities called biofilms. Biofilms contain genetically identical cells that give rise to phenotypically distinct cell types, such as, for example, motile cells, surfactin producers, sporulating cells and matrix-producing cells. Biofilms provide a protective environment that enhances resistance to antibiotics and play an important role in the pathogenesis of many medically important bacterial pathogens. By studying how biofilms are affected by stress, we could develop strategies to disperse them.

30-60 cr MSc thesis project, flexible start date.

Qualifications needed: Good knowledge of molecular biology and microbiology.

If you are interested to get more information on current projects, please contact Claes von Wachenfeldt (claes.von_wachenfeldt@biol.lu.se)

January 29, 2025

Tina Ledje

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Molecular Biology

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Investigating the true nature of the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter Regulator (MCUR)

Mitochondria are essential cellular organelles involved in energy production via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), metabolite synthesis, calcium homeostasis, and stress responses. Despite their critical roles and extensive research on plant mitochondria, many aspects of their biology remain unclear. Advancing our understanding of these organelles will help address future challenges in food production posed by climate change and a growing global population.

Calcium is a key cellular component, acting as a second messenger in signaling pathways and playing key roles in ATP production and mitochondrial signaling processes. Calcium uptake into the mitochondrial matrix is regulated by the mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uniporter (MCU), a multimeric membrane channel complex. This complex includes regulatory proteins, one of which was reported to be the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter Regulator (MCUR). Although MCUR was identified in mammalian cells in 2015, its precise role and function are still debated. Conflicting studies suggest it regulates the MCU but that it is also is part of Complex IV in the Electron Transport Chain (ETC), or even functions as a proline transporter in yeast. While mammalian and yeast studies present discordant findings, MCUR proteins remain completely unstudied in plants.

This project aims to investigate the MCUR family in Arabidopsis thaliana to clarify their roles and the processes they are part of. Using genetic tools like CRISPR-Cas9 and insertional mutagenesis, knock-out mutants will be generated and analyzed through physiological and phenotypic studies. Protein-protein interaction assays and -omics analysis, such as transcriptomics and proteomics, will provide further insights into MCUR functions.

This research offers students the opportunity to contribute to a novel field while gaining experience in advanced physiological and molecular techniques. For more information, contact Olivier Van Aken (olivier.van_aken@biol.lu.se).