Ponds are the most numerous aquatic habitats worldwide, supporting threatened, rare, and endemic species, and collectively maintain exceptionally high biodiversity. Their dramatic global decline highlights the need to better protect them with a stronger representation in national and international policies and conservation strategies. Our lab studies how biodiversity is maintained in pondscapes and use ecological theories to underscore their importance for conservation.
Example studies:
Barta B, Szabó A, Szabó B, Ptacnik R, Vad CF*, Horváth Z*, 2024. How pondscapes function: connectivity matters for biodiversity even across small spatial scales in aquatic metacommunities Ecography 2024: e06960 pdf *shared authorship
Márton Z, Szabó B, Vad CF, Pálffy K, Horváth Z, 2023. Environmental changes associated with drying climate are expected to affect functional groups of pro-and microeukaryotes differently in temporary saline waters. Scientific Reports 13: 3243 pdf
Vad CF, Péntek AL, Cozma N, Földi A, Tóth A, Tóth B, Böde NA, Móra A, Ptacnik R, Ács É, Zsuga K, Horváth Z, 2017. Wartime scars or reservoirs of biodiversity? The value of bomb crater ponds in aquatic conservation. Biological Conservation 209: 253–262. pdf
Vad Lab 