Johannes Meka
PhD student
Project: Emys-R
Johannes is in the final stages of his PhD, titled “Popultion 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, MekaJ & 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 macroinvertebrates communities.
Ecology and Evolution, doi: 10.1002/ece3.71823
| 2024 | TBG Young Scientist Grant LOEWE-Zentrum für Translationale Biodiversitätsgenomik |
| 2024 | TBG Start-Up Award LOEWE-Zentrum für Translationale Biodiversitätsgenomik, Senckeberg |
| 2023 | Microgrant des eDNA Collaborative eDNA collaborative |
| 2015 | Erasmus semester ERASMUS + |
| 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 und passive Probennahme: Innovative eDNA-Methoden für ein effizientes Amphibienmonitoring Moorfroschtagung im Biosphärenreservat Flusslandschaft Elbe-Brandenburg, Lenzen, Germany |
| 2024 | Wiederansiedlung der Europäischen Sumpfschildkröte – Herausforderungen, Chancen und innovative Monitoring-Ansätze Symposium des Landesfachausschusses Feldherepetologie (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 | Um uns die Natur – Die geheime Speisekammer der Europäischen Sumpfschildkröte Science Slam in der Oper Frankfurt, 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 |
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-supervison 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 |