糖心原创

School of Geography
 

Image of Alexandra Zieritz

Alexandra Zieritz

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences

Contact

Research Summary

The overarching theme of my work is the conservation of tropical freshwater biodiversity and habitats, with a current focus on the biodiversity hotspot Sundaland (comprising the Malay Peninsula,… read more

Recent Publications

  • FORD, H.V., SCHRODT, F., ZIERITZ, A., EXTON, D.A., VAN DER HEIJDEN, G., TEAGUE, J. and COLES, T., 2024. Journal of Applied Ecology.
  • ZIERITZ A., PFEIFFER J., RAHIM K.A.A., PRAYOGO H., ANWARI M.S., DIBA F., FROUFE E., BLACKWELL T. and HARTIKAINEN H., 2024. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201, zlae076
  • LOPES-LIMA M., GEIST J., EGG S., BERAN L., BIKASHVILI A., VAN BOCXLAER B., BOGAN A.E., BOLOTOV I., CHELPANOVSKAYA O.A., DOUDA K., FERNANDES V., GOMES-DOS-SANTOS A., GON脟ALVES D., G脺RLEK M.E., JOHNSON N., KARAOUZAS I., KEBAPCI U., KONDAKOV A.V., KUEHN R., LAJTNER J., MUMLADZE L., NAGEL K.-O., NEUBERT, E., 脰STERLING M., PFEIFFER J., PRI脡 V., RICCARDI N., SELL J., SCHNEIDER L.D., SHUMKA S., SIRBU I., SKUJIEN臇 G., SMITH C., SOUSA R., ST脰CKL K., TASKINEN J., TEIXEIRA A., TODOROV M., TRICHKOVA T., URBANSKA M., V脛LIL脛 S., VARANDAS S., VERISSIMO J., VIKHREV I., WOSCHITZ G., ZAJ膭C T., ZAJ膭C K., ZANATTA D., ZIERITZ A. and ZOGARIS S., 2024. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 4, 108046
  • DOUDA K., ZIERITZ A., VOD脕KOV脕 B., URBA艃SKA M. and MARKOV脕 J., 2024. Hydrobiologia.

Current Research

The overarching theme of my work is the conservation of tropical freshwater biodiversity and habitats, with a current focus on the biodiversity hotspot Sundaland (comprising the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and Java). The region hosts an incredibly diverse and highly endemic fauna and flora but suffers from severe anthropogenic pressures, most notably deforestation and conversion to palm oil plantations. My research aims to improve our understanding of the patterns, drivers and threats to freshwater biodiversity in the region, and identify taxa and regions of particular conservation importance. I do this by integrating methods from diverse fields of research, including molecular ecology (eDNA, DNA metabarcoding), phylogenetics and environmental/geospatial modelling. My work is done in close collaboration with local partners (e.g. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) and the IUCN.

Current projects and research themes

(1) Patterns and drivers of tropical freshwater biodiversity

The project aims to (1) assess freshwater invertebrate biodiversity across Malaysia (with the plan to expand the project across SE-Asia in the future), with a focus on (2) identifying biodiversity hotspots, and rare and threatened taxa of particular conservation and functional value; (3) identify the factors driving patterns in tropical freshwater biodiversity using species distribution modelling and other statistical methods; and (4) unravel past and predict future changes (e.g. extinctions of species or populations and introduction of potentially harmful non-native species) based on historical distribution data and future scenarios of global change.

Main collaborating institutions: IUCN, University of Porto, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Malaysia Sabah

(2) Environmental DNA for monitoring rare taxa in tropical rivers

This project aims to develop a protocol for surveying mussels and other rare freshwater taxa through eDNA in tropical rivers that is reliable and cost-efficient to facilitate wide application among local researchers and practitioners. The final stage of the project will involve a workshop in Kuching, Borneo, to train local researchers and practitioners in this technique.

Main collaborating institutions: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, World Museum

(3) Biogeography & conservation of freshwater mussels in Asia

We assess past and present patterns of mussel diversity through pioneering field expeditions and application of molecular tools (molecular barcoding). We use molecular phylogenetics (including phylogenomics) to reconstruct the evolutionary history of taxa, and species distribution modelling to identify taxa and areas of particular conservation concern, reveal the drivers of changes in biodiversity, and predict future changes under different climate change and land-use scenarios. Results are not only shared through scientific publications but also as Conservation Assessments of Species, both globally () and regionally in the form of a National Redlist ().

Main collaborating institutions: IUCN, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Tanjungpura University (Indonesia), University of Porto, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Smithsonian Museum

(4) Valuing freshwater biodiversity

My work in this field ranges from investigating the role of freshwater mussels as biofilters and ecosystem engineers, to quantifying the nutritional value and hazards associated with the consumption of freshwater organisms. The data gathered are of particular importance in developing countries, where millions of livelihoods depend on these organisms and their ecosystem functions.

  • FORD, H.V., SCHRODT, F., ZIERITZ, A., EXTON, D.A., VAN DER HEIJDEN, G., TEAGUE, J. and COLES, T., 2024. Journal of Applied Ecology.
  • ZIERITZ A., PFEIFFER J., RAHIM K.A.A., PRAYOGO H., ANWARI M.S., DIBA F., FROUFE E., BLACKWELL T. and HARTIKAINEN H., 2024. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201, zlae076
  • LOPES-LIMA M., GEIST J., EGG S., BERAN L., BIKASHVILI A., VAN BOCXLAER B., BOGAN A.E., BOLOTOV I., CHELPANOVSKAYA O.A., DOUDA K., FERNANDES V., GOMES-DOS-SANTOS A., GON脟ALVES D., G脺RLEK M.E., JOHNSON N., KARAOUZAS I., KEBAPCI U., KONDAKOV A.V., KUEHN R., LAJTNER J., MUMLADZE L., NAGEL K.-O., NEUBERT, E., 脰STERLING M., PFEIFFER J., PRI脡 V., RICCARDI N., SELL J., SCHNEIDER L.D., SHUMKA S., SIRBU I., SKUJIEN臇 G., SMITH C., SOUSA R., ST脰CKL K., TASKINEN J., TEIXEIRA A., TODOROV M., TRICHKOVA T., URBANSKA M., V脛LIL脛 S., VARANDAS S., VERISSIMO J., VIKHREV I., WOSCHITZ G., ZAJ膭C T., ZAJ膭C K., ZANATTA D., ZIERITZ A. and ZOGARIS S., 2024. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 4, 108046
  • DOUDA K., ZIERITZ A., VOD脕KOV脕 B., URBA艃SKA M. and MARKOV脕 J., 2024. Hydrobiologia.
  • ZIERITZ, A., C. GIBBINS, Y. CAI, F. DIBA, L.X. GAN, M. LOPES-LIMA, J.C.E. MENDOZA, J. MORSE, T.H. NG, E. X. P. TOH, J. PFEIFFER, B.W. LOW, R. MARWOTO, K.A.A. RAHIM, B. SHELLMAN, Z. SULAIMAN, Z. W. TAN, D. WOWOR, N. S. YUSUF and D.C.J. YEO, 2024. Biological Conservation. 299, 110839
  • ALDRIDGE D.C., OLLARD I., BESPALAJA Y., BOLOTOV. I., DOUDA K., GEIST J., HAAG W.R., KLUNZINGER M.W., LOPES-LIMA M., MLAMBO M.C., RICCARDI N., SOUSA R., STRAYER D.L., TORRES S.H., VAUGHN C.C. and ZAJAC T., 2023. Global Change Biology. 29, 575鈥� 589
  • SOUSA R., ZAJAC T., HALABOWSKI D., AKSENOVA O., BESPALAYA Y., CARVALHO F., CASTRO P., DOUDA K., SILVA J., FERREIRA-RODRIGUEZ N., GEIST J., GUMPINGER C., LABECKA A., LAJTNER J., LEWIN I., LOPES-LIMA M., MEIRA A., NAKAMURA K., NOGUEIRA J., ONDINA P., OZGO M., REIS J., RICCARDI N., SHUMKA S., SON M., TEIXEIRA A., THIELEN F., URBANSKA M., VARANDAS S., WENGSTROM N., ZAJAC K. and ZIERITZ A., 2023. Conservation Biology. 37, e13994
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, SOUSA, RONALDO, ALDRIDGE, DAVID C., DOUDA, KAREL, ESTEVES, EDUARDO, FERREIRA-RODRIGUEZ, NOE, MAGEROY, JON H., NIZZOLI, DANIELE, OSTERLING, MARTIN, REIS, JOAQUIM, RICCARDI, NICOLETTA, DAILL, DANIEL, GUMPINGER, CLEMENS and VAZ, ANA SOFIA, 2022. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS. 97, 1967-1998
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, LEE, PING SHIN, ENG, WILHELM WEI HAN, LIM, SHU YONG, SING, KONG WAH, CHAN, WEI NING, LOO, JEY SERN, MAHADZIR, FARAH NAJWA, NG, TING HUI, YEO, DARREN C. J., GAN, LYDIA XINJIE, GAN, JING YE, GIBBINS, CHRISTOPHER, ZOQRATT, MUHAMMAD ZARUL HANIFAH MD and WILSON, JOHN-JAMES, 2022. DNA metabarcoding unravels unknown diversity and distribution patterns of tropical freshwater invertebrates FRESHWATER BIOLOGY. 67(8), 1411-1427
  • GONCALVES, ANA, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, DEEIN, GRIDSADA and PFEIFFER, JOHN, 2022. Taxonomic revision and conservation assessment of the Southeast Asian freshwater mussel genus Chamberlainia Simpson, 1900 JOURNAL OF MOLLUSCAN STUDIES. 88(2),
  • KLUNZINGER M.W., WHISSON C., ZIERITZ A., BENSON J.A. and STEWART B.A., 2022. Scientific Reports. 12, 20385
  • SOUSA, RONALDO, HALABOWSKI, DARIUSZ, LABECKA, ANNA M., DOUDA, KAREL, AKSENOVA, OLGA, BESPALAYA, YULIA, BOLOTOV, IVAN, GEIST, JUERGEN, JONES, HUGH A., KONOPLEVA, EKATERINA, KLUNZINGER, MICHAEL W., LASSO, CARLOS A., LEWIN, IGA, LIU, XIONGJUN, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, MAGEROY, JON, MLAMBO, MUSA, NAKAMURA, KEIKO, NAKANO, MITSUNORI, OSTERLING, MARTIN, PFEIFFER, JOHN, PRIE, VINCENT, PASCHOAL, LUCAS R. P., RICCARDI, NICOLETTA, SANTOS, ROGERIO, SHUMKA, SPASE, SMITH, ALLAN K., SON, MIKHAIL O., TEIXEIRA, AMILCAR, THIELEN, FRANKIE, TORRES, SANTIAGO, VARANDAS, SIMONE, VIKHREV, ILYA V., WU, XIAOPING, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA and NOGUEIRA, JOANA G., 2021. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY. 27(11), 2298-2314
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, CHAN, WEI NING, MCGOWAN, SUZANNE and GIBBINS, CHRISTOPHER, 2021. HYDROBIOLOGIA. 848(12-13), 3153-3166
  • EKGACHAI JERATTHITIKUL, SIWANON PAPHATMETHIN, ALEXANDRA ZIERITZ, MANUEL LOPES-LIMA and PENG BUN NGOR, 2021. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 69, 124-136
  • ALEXANDRA ZIERITZ, ELSA FROUFE, IVAN BOLOTOV, DUARTE V GON脟ALVES, DAVID C ALDRIDGE, ARTHUR E BOGAN, HAN MING GAN, ANDR脡 GOMES-DOS-SANTOS, RONALDO SOUSA, AMILCAR TEIXEIRA, SIMONE VARANDAS and DAVID ZANATTA, 2021. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193, 1088鈥�1107
  • ZIERITZ, A, LEONARDO JAINIH, JOHN PFEIFFER, KHAIRUL ADHA A RAHIM, HARI PRAYOGO, MUHAMMAD SOFWAN ANWARI, ARMAN HADI FIKRI, FARAH DIBA, HUSSEIN TAHA, ZOHRAH SULAIMAN, ELSA FROUFE and MANUEL LOPES鈥怢IMA, 2021. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 31(11), 3169-3183
  • LIU, XIONGJUN, YANG, XUE, ZANATTA, DAVID T., LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, BOGAN, ARTHUR E., ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, OUYANG, SHAN and WU, XIAOPING, 2020. AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS. 30(5), 1000-1011
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, TAHA, HUSSEIN, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, PFEIFFER, JOHN, SING, KONG WAH, SULAIMAN, ZOHRAH, MCGOWAN, SUZANNE and RAHIM, KHAIRUL ADHA A., 2020. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION. 29(7), 2235-2253
  • FROUFE, ELSA, BOLOTOV, IVAN, ALDRIDGE, DAVID C., BOGAN, ARTHUR E., BRETON, SOPHIE, GAN, HAN MING, KOVITVADHI, UTHAIWAN, KOVITVADHI, SATIT, RICCARDI, NICOLETTA, SECCI-PETRETTO, GIULIA, SOUSA, RONALDO, TEIXEIRA, AMILCAR, VARANDAS, SIMONE, ZANATTA, DAVID, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, FONSECA, MIGUEL M. and LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, 2020. HEREDITY. 124(1), 182-196
  • LOPES-LIMA M, HATTORI A, KONDO T, HEE LEE J, KI KIM S, SHIRAI A, HAYASHI H, USUI T, SAKUMA K, TORIYA T, SUNAMURA Y, ISHIKAWA H, HOSHINO N, KUSANO Y, KUMAKI H, UTSUGI Y, YABE S, YOSHINARI Y, HIRUMA H, TANAKA A, SAO K, UEDA T, SANO I, MIYAZAKI JI, GON脟ALVES DV, KLISHKO OK, KONOPLEVA ES, VIKHREV IV, KONDAKOV AV, YU GOFAROV M, BOLOTOV IN, SAYENKO EM, SOROKA M, ZIERITZ A, BOGAN AE and FROUFE E, 2020. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution. 146, 106755
  • RICCARDI, N., FROUFE, E., BOGAN, A.E., ZIERITZ, A., TEIXEIRA, A., VANETTI, I., VARANDAS, S., ZACCARA, S. and LOPES-LIMA, M., 2020. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 189, 745-761
  • LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, BURLAKOVA, LYUBOV, KARATAYEV, ALEXANDER, GOMES-DOS-SANTOS, ANDRE, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, FROUFE, ELSA and BOGAN, ARTHUR E., 2019. ZOOLOGICA SCRIPTA. 48(3), 313-336
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, MAHADZIR, FARAH NAJWA, CHAN, WEI NING and MCGOWAN, SUZANNE, 2019. HYDROBIOLOGIA. 835(1), 179-191
  • RAZAK, N. F. A., SUPRAMANIAM, C., V and ZIERITZ, A., 2019. CONSERVATION GENETICS RESOURCES. 11(4), 457-464
  • ZIERITZ, A., BOGAN, A.E, RAHIM, K.A.A, SOUSA, R., JAINIH, L., HARUN, S., RAZAK, N., MCGOWAN, S., GALLARDO, B., HASSAN, R. and LOPES-LIMA, M., 2018. Biological Conservation. 219, 126鈥�137
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, AZAM-ALI, SUSAN, MARRIOTT, ANDREW LEWIS, NASIR, NURUL ANATI BINTI MOHD, QUEE NIE NG, RAZAK, NUR AINA AFRINA BINTI ABDUL and WATTS, MICHAEL, 2018. JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS. 72, 104-114
  • WILSON, JOHN-JAMES, SING, KONG-WAH, CHEN, PELF-NYOK and ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, 2018. MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART A. 29(6), 862-866
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, YASAENG, PATHAMAWADI, ABD RAZAK, NABILAH FATIN, HONGTRAKUL, VIPA, KOVITVADHI, UTHAIWAN and KANCHANAKETU, THITI, 2018. JOURNAL OF MOLLUSCAN STUDIES. 84, 198-201
  • LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, BOLOTOV, IVAN, VAN TU DO, ALDRIDGE, DAVID, FONSECA, MIGUEL, GAN, HAN, GOFAROV, MIKHAIL, KONDAKOV, ALEXANDER, V, PRIE, VINCENT, SOUSA, RONALDO, VARANDAS, SIMONE, VIKHREV, ILYA, TEIXEIRA, AMILCAR, WU, RUI-WEN, WU, XIAOPING, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, FROUFE, ELSA and BOGAN, ARTHUR, 2018. MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION. 127, 98-118
  • GALLARDO, BELINDA, BOGAN, ARTHUR E., HARUN, SAHANA, JAINIH, LEONARDO, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, PIZARRO, MANUEL, RAHIM, KHAIRUL ADHA, SOUSA, RONALDO, VIRDIS, SALVATORE G. P. and ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, 2018. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. 635, 750-760
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, BOGAN, ARTHUR E., FROUFE, ELSA, KLISHKO, OLGA, KONDO, TAKAKI, KOVITVADHI, UTHAIWAN, KOVITVADHI, SATIT, LEE, JIN HEE, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, PFEIFFER, JOHN M., SOUSA, RONALDO, TU VAN DO, VIKHREV, ILYA and ZANATTA, DAVID T., 2018. HYDROBIOLOGIA. 810(1), 29-44
  • FROUFE, ELSA, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, RICCARDI, NICOLETTA, ZACCARA, SERENA, VANETTI, ISABELLA, LAJTNER, JASNA, TEIXEIRA, AMILCAR, VARANDAS, SIMONE, PRIE, VINCENT, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, SOUSA, RONALDO and BOGAN, ARTHUR E., 2017. BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION. 26(14), 3255-3274
  • NG, TING HUI, DULIPAT, JASRUL, FOON, JUNN KITT, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA and LIEW, THOR-SENG, 2017. ZOOKEYS. 105-123
  • LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, FONSECA, MIGUEL M., ALDRIDGE, DAVID C., BOGAN, ARTHUR E., GAN, HAN MING, GHAMIZI, MOHAMED, SOUSA, RONALDO, TEIXEIRA, AMLCAR, VARANDAS, SIMONE, ZANATTA, DAVID, ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA and FROUFE, ELSA, 2017. JOURNAL OF MOLLUSCAN STUDIES. 83, 249-252
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, GALLARDO, BELINDA, BAKER, SIMON J., BRITTON, J. ROBERT, VAN VALKENBURG, JOHAN L. C. H., VERREYCKEN, HUGO and ALDRIDGE, DAVID C., 2017. BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS. 19(1), 269-282
  • LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, FROUFE, ELSA, DO, VAN TU, GHAMIZI, MOHAMED, MOCK, KAREN E., KEBAPCI, UMIT, KLISHKO, OLGA, KOVITVADHI, SATIT, KOVITVADHI, UTHAIWAN, PAULO, OCTAVIO S., PFEIFFER, JOHN M., III, RALEY, MORGAN, RICCARDI, NICOLETTA, SEREFLISAN, HULYA, SOUSA, RONALDO, TEIXEIRA, AMILCAR, VARANDAS, SIMONE, WU, XIAOPING, ZANATTA, DAVID T., ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA and BOGAN, ARTHUR E., 2017. MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION. 106, 174-191
  • GAWSIA W. CHOWDHURY, ALEXANDRA ZIERITZ and DAVID C. ALDRIDGE, 2016. Freshwater Science. 35, 188鈥�199
  • FROUFE E., MING G.H., LEE Y.P., CARNEIRO J., VARANDAS S., TEIXEIRA A., ZIERITZ A., SOUSA R. and LOPES-LIMA M., 2016. Mitochondrial DNA. 27, 3571-3572
  • BELINDA GALLARDO, ALEXANDRA ZIERITZ, TIM ADRIAENS, C脡LINE BELLARD, PIETER BOETS, J. ROBERT BRITTON, JONATHAN R. NEWMAN, JOHAN L. C. H. VAN VALKENBURG and DAVID C. ALDRIDGE, 2016. Biological Invasions. 18, 17-30
  • ELSA FROUFE, DUARTE V. GON脟ALVES, AM脥LCAR TEIXEIRA, RONALDO SOUSA, SIMONE VARANDAS, MOHAMED GHAMIZI, ALEXANDRA ZIERITZ and MANUEL LOPES-LIMA, 2016. Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 16, 597-611
  • ZIERITZ, ALEXANDRA, LOPES-LIMA, MANUEL, BOGAN, ARTHUR E., SOUSA, RONALDO, WALTON, SAMUEL, RAHIM, KHAIRUL ADHA A., WILSON, JOHN-JAMES, NG, PEI-YIN, FROUFE, ELSA and MCGOWAN, SUZANNE, 2016. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. 571, 1069-1078
  • ZIERITZ, A., SARTORI, A.F., BOGAN, A.E. and ALDRIDGE, D.C., 2015. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 53, 76-86
  • GALLARDO B., ZIERITZ A. and ALDRIDGE D.C., 2015. PLOS One. e0125801

School of Geography

Sir Clive Granger Building
糖心原创
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

Contact us