Jindrich Brejcha

Charles University in Prague | CUNI · Department of Philosophy and History of Science

Turtles are among the most intriguing amniotes but their communication and signaling have rarely been studied. Traditionally, they have been seen as basically just silent armored ‘walking stones’ with complex physiology but no altruism, maternal care, or aesthetic perception. Recently, however, we have witnessed a radical change in the perception o...

The North American terrapin, the red-eared slider, has globally recognized invasive status. We built a new extensive database using our own original and literature data on the ecology of this reptile, representing information on 1477 water bodies throughout Eurasia over the last 50 years. The analysis reveals regions of earliest introductions and l...

Background: Sturgeons belong to an early-branching lineage often used as a proxy of ancestor-like traits of ray-finned fishes. However, many features of this lineage, such as the transitory presence and the eventual loss of dentition, exemplify specializations that, in fact, provide important information on lineage-specific evolutionary dynamics....

Biological invasions are recognized as one of the global problems accompanying the development of human civilization. The red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, originates from North America. This freshwater terrapin is one of the most popular pet reptiles in Eurasia. Young red-eared slider individuals are small and brightly colored, making t...

Reptiles contribute to the global process of biological invasions, one of the problems accompanying the development of human civilization. The red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans is one of the most popular pet reptiles in the world. Uncontrolled releases of this animal into outdoor water bodies represents a conservational issue. We combined...

Two evolutionary lineages of the fire salamander occur in central Europe: the typically striped subspecies Salamandra salamandra terrestris (Bonnaterre, 1789) and the typically spotted Salamandra salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758). In the Czech Republic, fire salamanders have traditionally been viewed as belonging to the S. s. salamandra evolut...

We provide a formal account of an interface that bridges two different levels of dynamic processes manifested by mimicry: prey–prey interactions and predators' perception. Mimicry is a coevolutionary process between an animate selective agent and at least two similar organisms selected by agent's perception-driven actions. Attractor field model exp...

Neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y, due to its capacity to differentiate into neurons, easy handling, and low cost, is a common experimental model to study molecular events leading to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, it is prevalently used in its undifferentiated state, which does not resemble cells affected by the disease. Here, we show that the ex...

(übersetzt von Ingmar Werneburg)

Along the advantage of molecular genetic methods within the zoological research an increased need of methodical guide that summarizes all the essential information appeared including instructions about sampling of biological material from different kind of organisms and following molecular analysis. In the first part of this guide, proper collecti...

This critical catalogue from the “The Age of Genes” exhibition presents readers with the comprehensive development of molecular phylogenetic and taxonomic research conducted at the National Museum. The reader will thus become acquainted with the Natural History Museum, which is part of the National Museum, and within which modern molecular genetic...

Animal body coloration is a complex trait resulting from the interplay of multiple mechanisms. While many studies address the functions of animal coloration, the mechanisms of colour production still remain unknown in most taxa. Here we compare reflectance spectra, cellular, ultra- and nano-structure of colour-producing elements, and pigment types...

The northern pike, Esox lucius, is one of the largest temperate freshwater apex predators with a characteristic morphology: an elongated body with pelvic, dorsal, and anal fins located at the rear as a functional feature to sprint predation. However, the typical pike character is its head, which is characterized by a long, flattened snout, a well‐a...

Appearance of Old world vipers of genus Vipera serves various purposes including crypsis and aposematism. Recent research showed that the zigzag pattern represents strong signal to predators to avoid vipers as a prey. It is also possible that vipers function within ecological community as Batesian model for numerous mimics, including other reptiles...

Reptiles use pterin and carotenoid pigments to produce yellow, orange, and red colors. These conspicuous colors serve a diversity of signaling functions, but their molecular basis remains unresolved. Here, we show that the genomes of sympatric color morphs of the European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), which differ in orange and yellow pigm...

Animal body coloration is a complex trait resulting from the interplay of multiple colour-producing mechanisms. Increasing knowledge of the functional role of animal coloration stresses the need to study the proximate causes of colour production. Here we present a description of colour and colour producing mechanisms in two non-avian archelosaurs,...

In this chapter, we use the example of colouration of animal surfaces to show how processes based on interactions of the individual parts enter, as units, into processes on other levels and how this processual scaffolding leads to the emergence of ‘meaning’ on the level of communication between individuals. We review recent understanding of colour...

Reptiles use pterin and carotenoid pigments to produce yellow, orange, and red colors. These conspicuous colors serve a diversity of signaling functions, but their molecular basis remains unresolved. Here, we show that the genomes of sympatric color morphs of the European common wall lizard, which differ in orange and yellow pigmentation and in the...

We report the finding of two individuals of Podarcis muralis (a male and a female) from the eastern Pyrenees showing blue body coloration. This is the first report of this phenotype in P. muralis (and in any continental population of Podarcis). We characterize the unusual coloration of these individuals by comparing their reflectance spectra to tho...

Colour polymorphisms, in which individuals showing discrete colorations (i.e. morphs) coexist within a single population, are common in the family Lacertidae. In the European common wall lizard (Podarcismuralis), individuals from polymorphic populations show either white, orange, yellow, or two mixed (orange-white and orange-yellow) ventral adult c...

Project „Good or evil american ninjas: red-eared slider still spreading?“ started in 2008 and our activities in 2009 ended with the yet complete list of occurrences of Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta) in the Czech Republic. This paper presents new records collected in 2010. In 2010 we had collected 77 new records of the occurence of Red-eared S...

The North American species of turtle Trachemys scripta has been introduced into the Czech Republic. First records of the pond slider are from the 60’s.We have put together a list of 190 records of the pond slider in the Czech Republic, on the basis of published data, verbal notices and unpublished data. In 9 cases we have noted a count of 10 and mo...