Dominic Cimiotti - student - alumni phylogeography, raven, Corvus corax , mtDNA, recolonisation, areal expansion, crane, Grus grus , little owl, Athene noctua , breeding biology, avifaunistic, conservation, dark science, Northern Raven, Corvus corax, phylogeography, mtDNA, ice ages

Dominic Cimiotti

 

Current research - In my diploma thesis I survey the phylogeography of the northern raven ( Corvus corax ). The species is distributed throughout most of the northern hemisphere and therefore one of the most widespread bird species in the world. It inhabits a large spectrum of ecosystems ranging from deserts to arctic regions. In relation to their huge breeding area and low migratory movements ravens show little phenotypic variation throughout their range: The plumage colouration is almost uniform - completely black. Nevertheless, about ten subspecies have been described, nut this variation may be due to environmental gradients. Recent studies from North America revealed cryptic genetic variation in the raven. A deep genetic break was detected between ravens from western United States and the rest of the world. The authors also found some indications that Old and New World ravens only share internal, ancient haplotypes. In Europe the ice ages forced species into isolated refuges and for many many bird species it is supposed that the ice ages were one of the triggers of genetic differentiation ad even speciation (e.g. carrion crow and hooded crow). We survey the population genetics of the raven across Europe by sequencing the control region of the mitochondrial genome. Our aim ist to get a closer insight into the population history of the raven at European and global scale.

Former research - In my practical course during the year 2005 in population genetics I also worked with the northern raven ( Corvus corax ). In Central Europe ravens originally bred in all large forest areas. Caused by human persecution its numbers and range had dramatically declined since the middle of the 19th century, until by the late 1920s, only three relict populations survived. The refuges were located in (i) Northern Germany and Denmark , (ii) Eastern Poland and (iii) the Alps . Due to conservation activities, later the raven could recolonise major parts of its former range, but the origin of the immigrated birds is not well known. In context with the PhD thesis of Sascha Rösner we used microsatellite DNA to assign the newly established populations to their (refugial) source populations. We found first indications that at least the ravens in central Germany originate from the northern refuge...

 

Further research interests

•  Population ecology and conservation of the little owl ( Athene noctua ) in Hesse (with HGON and Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte für Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland ) ( more )

•  Areal expansion of the common crane ( Grus grus ) in central Europe and increasing summering and wintering of the species in southern Germany and Switzerland ( more )

•  “Birds & compensatory measures ” - monitoring of the birdlife at different compensatory sites in Marburg region, central Germany (especially artificial shallow lake “Radenhäuser Lache”) ( more )

•  Communal roosting of long-eared owls ( Asio otus ) in winter ( more )

•  International Waterbird Census - collaboration on the analyses “40 years IWC in Hesse ”

•  Migration and resting of shorebirds in the German inland ( more )

•  Return of the white stork ( Ciconia ciconia ) as a breeding bird in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse , and origin of summering non-breeders ( more )

•  General avifaunistics : collaboration on different regional annual reports (e.g. “Ornithologischer Jahresbericht für Hessen”); avifauna of the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf (supplementary volume in planning) ( more )

•  Documentation of records of rare birds ( more )

•  Aerial flycatching of birds by songbirds - corvids (Corvidae) as “functional raptors”

•  Data collection about leg-injured shorebirds (mainly caused by hunting at wintering and resting sites)

•  Colour aberrations in shorebirds and resulting identification problems

 

Publications

Talks

Cimiotti, D. & Bauschmann, G. (accepted): Warum so erfolgreich? Bestandsentwicklung und populationsökologische Aspekte des Steinkauzes ( Athene noctua ) in Hessen @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen , Germany

Cimiotti, D. (accepted): Die langfristige Entwicklung der Vogelwelt der Radenhäuser Lache (Hessen) als neuartiger Ausgleichsmaßnahme @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen, Germany

Posters

Cimiotti, D., Rösner , S. & Brandl , R.: Dark Science – the phylogeography of the Northern Raven (Corvus corax) @ 37th Annual Conference of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria ( GfÖ ), 10-14 September 2007 in Marburg, Germany

Cimiotti, D., Rösner , S., Meyer , J. & Brandl , R. (2006): The Common Raven in middle Europe: Extinction and recolonization @ 24th International Ornithological Congress , 13-19 August 2006 in Hamburg, Germany (abstract in Journal of Ornithology 147, Suppl. 1: 149)

Cimiotti, D., Kudernatsch , D. & Rösner , S. (2006): Increasing summering of the Common Crane ( Grus grus ) in Southern Germany – developments, causes and predictions

@ 139th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ) associated with the 24th IOC , 17-21 August 2006 in Hamburg, Germany (abstract in Vogelwarte 44: 248)

@ Annual Meeting 2006 of the German Crane Working Group , 27-29 October 2006 in Hennigsdorf near Berlin , Germany

Cimiotti, D. & Lehr, R. (2006): Against the trend – recolonisation and increase of the Little Owl ( Athene noctua ) in Hessen (Germany) @ 139th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ) associated with the 24th IOC , 17-21 August 2006 in Hamburg, Germany (abstract in Vogelwarte 44: 248)

Bogatz , K., Rösner , S., Grünkorn, T., Cimiotti, D., Trapp, H. & Brandl , R. (2006): Do ravens Corvus corax manipulate the sex ratios in their broods? @ 139th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ) associated with the 24th IOC , 17-21 August 2006 in Hamburg, Germany (abstract in Vogelwarte 44: 247)

Rösner , S., Cimiotti, D., Meyer , J. & Brandl , R. (2006): Extinction and Recolonisation of the Raven ( Corvus corax ) in Middle Europe @ 36th Annual Conference of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria ( GfÖ ), 11-15 September 2006 in Bremen, Germany (abstract in Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Ökologie, vol. 36: 205)

Cimiotti, D. & Kudernatsch, D. (in prep.): „Totgeglaubte leben länger“ - der Kranich ( Grus grus ) als zunehmender Sommergast in Süddeutschland und der Schweiz @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Scociety ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen, Germany

Cimiotti, D., Kudernatsch , D. & Ochmann, T. (in prep.): Dynamik einer traditionellen Schlafgemeinschaft von Waldohreulen ( Asio otus ) @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Scociety ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen, Germany

Cimiotti, D. (in prep.): Rückkehr nach 40 Jahren – der Weißstorch ( Ciconia ciconia ) als Brutvogel des Landkreises Marburg-Biedenkopf @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Scociety ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen, Germany

Cimiotti, D., Rösner , S. & Brandl , R. (in prep.): Schwarze Wissenschaft – die Phylogeographie des Kolkraben ( Corvus corax ) @ 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Scociety ( DO-G ), 28.9.-3.10.2007 in Gießen, Germany

Scientific papers (non-reviewed)

Cimiotti, D. & Lehr, R. (in press): Gegen den Trend – Bestandszunahme und Wiederausbreitung des Steinkauzes Athene noctua in Hessen. Pop.-ökol. Greifvogel- Eulenarten 6 (German with English summary)

Cimiotti, D. (1994): Die Schwarzkehlchen-Population 1993 im Biotop Viehweiden vor dem Brücker Wald . Vogelkdl . Jahresber. Marburg-Biedenkopf 12: 236-238.

Annual reports

Cimiotti, D. (accepted): Knutt Calidris canutus bis Sichelstrandläufer Calidris ferruginea – In: Becker, P. et al.: Ornithologischer Jahresbericht für Hessen 6 (2004). Vogel und Umwelt 16.

Cimiotti, D. & Kliebe, K. (2001): Die Vögel der Radenhäuser Lache 1997. Naturkdl. Jahresber. Marburg-Biedenkopf 15/16: 115-123.

Cimiotti, D. & Kliebe, K. (2001): Die Vögel der Radenhäuser Lache 1996. Naturkdl. Jahresber. Marburg-Biedenkopf 15/16: 70-114.

 

Curriculum vitae

•  1982: born in Marburg , grown up in nearby Amöneburg

•  since 1991: birdwatching and avifaunistic work in Marburg region

•  1994: first publication (about common stonechat ( Saxicola rubicola ), see above)

•  since 1994: membership at Hessische Gesellschaft für Ornithologie und Naturschutz e.V. ( HGON )

•  1999: bird ringing at Biological Station Rybachy (former Rossitten), Kaliningrad region, Russia (supported by HGON and others)

•  2002: Abitur at Stiftsschule St. Johann Amöneburg (“biology award”)

•  2002-2004: undergraduate studies of biology at Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg , Germany

•  2004: students' excursion to national park “ Neusiedler See - Seewinkel ”, Burgenland , Austria

•  since 2004: graduate studies of biology at Philipps-University and Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg , Germany (majors: animal ecology, molecular genetics, conservation biology)

•  2006: participation on the 24th International Ornithological Congress ( IOC ) in Hamburg , Germany

•  September 2007: organising and leading the HGON -workshop on identification of shorebirds ( “Limikolen (Watvögel) sicher bestimmen” ), together with T. Ochmann and M. Hoffmann

•  September/October 2007: participation on the 140th Annual Meeting of the German Ornithologists' Society ( DO-G ) in Gießen , Germany

 

Links

http://www.tieroeko.de/roesner.php

http://www.hgon.de/

http://www.vswffm.de/

http://www.gfoe2007.de/index.html

http://www.gfoe.org/index.php?id=21&L=1

http://www.do-g-2007.de/dog2007/index.htm

http://www.do-g.de/english/mainhtmlnn.htm

http://www.hgon.de/download/fortbildungen/limikolen07.pdf

http://www.i-o-c.org/

http://www.kraniche.de/

http://www.zin.ru/rybachy/index.html

http://www.biologie.uni-freiburg.de/index_en.php?

http://www.nationalpark-neusiedlersee.org/

http://www.mpi-marburg.mpg.de

 

Memberships/links

Marburger-Vogelwelt.dehttp://www.marburger-vogelwelt.de

Hessische Gesellschaft für Ornithologie und Naturschutz e.V. (HGON) http://www.hgon.de

Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten e.V. (DDA) http://www.dda-web.de/index.php

German Ornithologists' Society (DO-G) http://www.do-g.de/english/mainhtmlnn.htm

Max Planck Institute for Ornithology http://www.orn.mpg.de

Vogelzeichnungen.de http://www.vogelzeichnungen.de

Orni-shirt.de http://www.orni-shirt.de

André Cimiotti http://www.andrecimiotti.de

 

For further information see the attached pdf document HERE.