Johannes Meka
PhD student
Project: Emys-R
Johannes is in the final stages of his PhD, titled "Population monitoring and food web analysis of the reintroduced Emys orbicularis, the European pond turtle", under the supervision of Kathrin Theissinger and Jean-Yves Georges. He conducts field research and lab-based environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for food web analysis.
ORCID: 0000-0002-4651-0431
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-meka/
| 2025 | Doctoral researcher, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center/LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Germany |
| 2024-2025 | Doctoral researcher, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany |
| 2022-2024 | Doctoral researcher, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center/LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Germany |
| 2020-2022 | Teacher (Biology, History, Politics & German), Berlin International School |
| 2020 | State examination (Secondary schools: Biology & History/Politics) |
| 2019 | M. Sc. (Limnology & Oceanography), Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 2018 | M. Ed. (Biology, History & Educational Sciences), FU Berlin, Germany |
| 2016-2017 | Assistant teacher, Freie Schule Anne-Sophie, Berlin |
| 2015 | B. Sc. (Biology, History & Educational Sciences), FU Berlin, Germany |
2021
Laskowski KL, Seebacher F, Habedank M, Meka J & Bierbach D
Two locomotor traits show different patterns of developmental plasticity between closely related clonal and sexual fish.
Frontiers in Physiology, doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.740604
2022
Pirroni S, Meka J, Jourdan J, Santi F, Plath M, Langerhans RB, & Riesch R
Variability in maternal provisioning and offspring quality in eastern mosquitofish(Gambusia holbrooki).
Ecology of Freshwater Fish
2025
Meyer A, Grac C, Labat F, Meka J, van der Zon KAE, Theissinger K & Georges JY
Testing the optimal foraging theory in a generalist feeder: the case of reintroduced European pond turtles and its impact on macroinvertebrate communities.
Ecology and Evolution, doi: 10.1002/ece3.71823
| 2025 | Seasonal and spatial dietary plasticity in the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) revealed by eDNA metabarcoding 40th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Limnology (DGL), Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| 2025 | Metabarcoding and passive sampling: Innovative eDNA methods for efficient amphibian monitoring Moorfroschtagung im Biosphärenreservat Flusslandschaft Elbe-Brandenburg, Lenzen, Germany |
| 2024 | Reintroduction of the European pond turtle - challenges, opportunities and innovative monitoring approaches Symposium of the State Expert Committee Field Herpetology (NABU RLP), Bingen, Germany |
| 2024 | Impacts of European pond turtle reintroduction on wetland food webs 39th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Limnology, Dresden, Germany |
| 2024 | Nature around us - The secret pantry of the European pond turtle Science Slam at the Frankfurt Opera, Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| 2024 | Biodiversity Assessment and Trophic Interactions in Restored Wetlands after Reintroducing the European Pond Turtle: A Three-Site Study Throughout Europe World Biodiversity Forum, Davos, Switzerland |
| 2023 | Population monitoring and trophic ecology of reintroduced European pond turtle Emys orbicularis in restored wetlands: Implications for management Annual meeting of the Emys-R project, Warsaw, Poland |
| 2022 | Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys of the Woerr Annual meeting of the Collectivité européenne d'Alsace, Strasbourg, France |
| 2022 | eDNA metabarcoding for biodiversity assessment and food web reconstruction within Emys R (poster) LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics Retreat, Gießen, Germany |
| 2022 | Population monitoring and food web analysis of the reintroduced Emys orbicularis, the European pond turtle Annual meeting of the Emys-R project, Strasbourg, France |
Carolin Eichert
PhD student
Project: Emys-R
Carolin is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Biogeography at Trier University. As part of the Emys-R project, she studies factors influencing the gut microbiome of native reptiles. Her PhD project is entitled "Microbiome and health of reintroduced Emys orbicularis in Europe" with consideration of microbiome acquisition, development throughout early-life as well as in- and external influential factors structuring the bacterial community. Her main goal is to find out to what degree intestinal microbes contribute to the species' well-being and how to manipulate this to best prepare captive bred animals for the wild, strengthen populations and restore the ecosystem.
ORCHID: 0009-0002-9857-8881
2025:
Eichert C, Theissinger K, Quintard B & Georges JY
Veterinary medicine in reintroduction and reinforcement of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis: a review.
BMC Vet Res, doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-05097-w
Marschang RE, Eichert C, Schmitz S, Faulhaber M, Georges JY & Quintard B
Concurrent detection of adenoviruses and mycoplasmas in European pond turtles(Emys orbicularis) in conservation programs in Central Europe.
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, doi: 10.1638/2025-0042
Atakan Pipilos
PhD student
Atakan's PhD project focuses on mitigating the impact of the crayfish plague caused by Aphanomyces astaci by integrating eDNA-based monitoring, population genomics, and ecological experiments. Using available genome datasets, he will conduct GWAS and pangenomic analyses to identify markers linked to pathogenicity and apply these to develop improved molecular tools for detecting and differentiating A. astaci strains through sensitive eDNA assays. The project also involves analyzing transcriptomic responses of noble crayfish populations with varying tolerance to infection, as well as mesocosm experiments examining how natural filter feeders influence pathogen spore dynamics. Complementary eDNA metabarcoding surveys will assess invasive species and potential pathways of pathogen spread, ultimately contributing to better ecological understanding and management of crayfish plague in freshwater systems.
ORCID: 0000-0002-4601-9992
Atakan is a PhD student in the Department of Ecology at Charles University Prague under supervision of Prof. Adam Petrusek and co-supervision of Kathrin Theissinger. He is funded through the Turkey's government scholarship for postgraduate study abroad (YLSY) issued by the Turkish Ministry of Education.
| since 2024 | Doctoral researcher (Ecology), Charles University Prague, Czechia |
| 2024 | M. Sc. (Biotechnology), Ankara University, Turkey |
| 2022-2023 | Co-founder & CTO SoilBiom Biotechnology Research and Development Company, Ankara, Turkey |
| 2022 | Teaching assistant Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ankara University, Turkey |
| since 2021 | Genomic expert & prototype development manager Agrigenomics Hub (AgriGx) Innovation Center for Animal and Plant Genomics Research, Ankara, Turkey |
| 2021 | Project researcher Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory, Ankara, Turkey |
| 2021 | Project researcher TÜBITAK, Aydin, Turkey |
| 2021 | Undergraduate Turkiye (Molecular Biology & Genetics), Istanbul University, Turkey |
2024
Gunay U, Yakin B, Pipilos A, Keskin E & Tok V
Creating a DNA Barcode database from museum samples of Mertensiella djanaschvilii (Tartarashvili and Bakradze, 1989) in northeastern Turkiye-
Vertebrate Zoology (under evaluation)
Gunay U, Pipilos A, Keskin E & Tok V
Can DNA Barcode Study Be Done from a Museum Specimen in Formaldehyde Solution? A Case of Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758).
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Journal of Marine Sciences and Fisheries, doi: 10.46384/jmsf.1405833
2023
Genc E, Kaya D, Genc A, Keskin E, Yavuzcan H, Guroy D, Gurler A, Yaras U, Pipilos A, Ozbek B, Yilmaz B & Aktas M
Effect of biofloc technology in Farfantepenaeus aztecus culture: The optimization of dietary protein level on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity, non-specific immune response, and intestinal microbiota.
Aquaculture, doi: 10.1111/jwas.13041
Hersi MA, Genç E, Pipilos A & Keskin E
Effects of dietary synbiotics and biofloc meal on the growth, tissue histomorphology, whole-body composition and intestinal microbiota profile of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cultured at different salinities.
Aquaculture, doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739391
| 2024 | Postgraduate Scholar Turkiye Ministry of Education |
| 2024 | Doctoral Scholar TÜBITAK |
| 2023 | eDNA Collaborator Microgrant Scholar |
| 2022 | National Master's Scholar TÜBITAK |
| 2021 | Master's Scholar TÜBITAK |
| 2017 | Undergraduate's Scholar TÜBITAK |
For SoilBiom Start-up:
| ClimateX Turkiye Winner |
| Teknofest Enterprise program pre-incubation award |
| Akbank Campus Sustainability and Social Impact category awarded second place |
| First place in the Battle of Minds competition sponsored by BAT |
| campTech anka Winner |
| First place in Star Projects start-up competition |