Otto Kinne Foundation
The Otto Kinne Foundation (OKF) supports promising young environmental scientists in eastern European countries, without distinction of race, religion, nationality or sex. Call for nominations.
Founded in 1992, the OKF is a not-for-profit organization approved by the local government (Bezirksregierung Lüneburg).
The OKF provides financial support to postgraduate scientists who conduct environmental research and who have demonstrated a high degree of professional performance. Supportable research includes basic science and investigations on the protection and management of species and natural environments.
In particular, the OKF provides financial assistance for (1) research projects, (2) educational travel, e.g. visits to renowned research institutions; participation in important scientific meetings; (3) purchase of scientific equipment or published information.
The Eastern European countries covered are, in alphabetical order: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.
Organisation
The OKF is operated by a Board of Trustees ('Vorstand') consisting of 6 members: 5 Experts (among them the President and the Vice President) and 1 Administrator. All Trustees work in an honorary capacity. The President of the OKF as of July 1, 2006 is Professor Karel Simek, Hydrobiological Institute AS CR, Na sadkach 7, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, E-mail: ksimek(at)hbu.cas.cz.
OKF Board of Trustees
Prof. Karel Simek (President), Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic
Dr. Anna F. Pasternak (Vice President), Moscow, Russia
Prof. Friedrich Buchholz, Helgoland, Germany
Prof. Judit Padisák, Vezprém, Hungary
Prof. Marcin Plinski, Gdynia, Poland
Ute Adam (Administration), Oldendorf/Luhe, Germany
OKF Fellows
Alexei (Yesenin) Essenin (1994)
Institute of Evolutionary Morphology and Ecology of Animals of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Bioindication, 33 Leninsky prospekt, Moscow 117071, Russia
Supported project: Metal accumulation patterns of terrestrial invertebrates
Vojtech Novotny (1994)
Institute of Entomology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovská 31, 370 05 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic
Supported project: Ecological research on insect groups in a Papua New Guinea rainforest
Inna M. Sokolova (1995)
White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute of the Academy of Science of Russia, Universitetskaya nab., 1, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
Supported project: Influence of salinity on marine bivalve populations
Andrej V. Grischenko (1995)
Faculty of Biology and Soil Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, 16 Linia, 29, St. Petersburg 199178, Russia
Supported project: Ecology of intertidal bryozoans of the Commodore Islands shelf region
Ferenc Baska (1995)
Veterinary Medical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, POB 18, 1581 Budapest, Hungary
Supported project: Identification of fish coccidia and myxosporea using MAb and PCR techniques
Andrei A. Filippov (1997)
Laboratory of Brackishwater Biology, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya naberezhnaya 1, 1999034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Supported project: Benthic fauna of the Aral Lake under impact of changed environment
Konstantin A. Lutaenko (1997)
Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky Street 17, Vladivostok 690041, Russia
Supported project: Paleoclimatology as reflected by molluscan fauna of Eurasian coastal regions
Sergey V. Dobretsov (1997)
Laboratory of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological Research Institute, St. Petersburg University, Oranienbaumskoye sch. 2, Stary Peterhof 198904, Russia
Supported project: Successional community dynamics of hydrozoan and mollusc larvae
Marina I. Orlova (1997)
Laboratory of Brackishwater Biology, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya naberezhnaya 1, 1999034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Supported project: Salinity responses and their molecular background in euryhaline and stenohaline species of dreissenid bivalves
Marie Alexandrovna Saburova (1998)
Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, National Academy of the Ukraine, Prospekt Nakhimova 2, Sevastopol 335001, Crimea, Ukraine
Supported project: Studies on the distribution, migration, cell cycle and nutrition of microalgae in marine intertidal sediments and environmental factors which may affect them
Jan Zukal (1998)
Institute of Landscape Ecology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kvetná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
Supported project: Research on the ecology of bats, their foraging activity, changes in abundance and problems of bat conservation
András Báldi (1998)
Animal Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary
Supported project: Testing of indicators of biodiversity in Hungarian nature reserves
Alexey Valerievich Smirnov (1999)
St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg, Russia
Supported project: Elucidation of distribution and dynamics of abundance of gymnamoebae in bottom sediments of a freshwater lake, using a newly developed original method. (The results will also be published as an original homepage, making systematical and ecological information on amoebae - a very important component of freshwater biota - easily accessible.)
Andrei Nikolaevich Ostrovsky (1999)
St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg, Russia
Supported project: Reproductive patterns and life cycles of White Sea bryozoans, with special emphasis on the structure and dynamics of populations of different species. Studies on breeding seasons, larval release and colony growth and its rates in different environments will also be performed.
Alexey Vladimirovich Rybakov (1999)
Chorology Department, Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
Supported project: Larval characters in the taxonomy of parasitic cirriped barnacles (Rhizocephalid crustaceans). These parasites can severely affect commercial crab fisheries. New features of larval morphology will greatly improve methods of species identification and diagnostics of these parasites and help to elucidate the evolutionary pathways of different species.
Vojtech Novotny (2001)
Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Supported project: Beta diversity of herbivorous insects in lowland rainforests of Papua New Guinea. Development of conservation strategies for the lowland tropics. Training and education of local parataxonomists. The project strives to answer questions of major importance in biodiversity research and conservation emphasizing resource management.
Yuri Kvach (2001)
Department of Zoology, Odessa University, 2 Shampansky Provulok, 65058 Odessa, Ukraine
Supported project: Biodiversity of helminths of gobiid fishes from the North-Western Black Sea region. Gobiid fishes in marine lagoons are an important part of the food chain and constitute significant resources of the fishing industry. Based on original data on biodiversity of helminths, their infection prevalence and intensity in goby species, the research focuses on parasite-induced changes of the population structure and reproductive capacity.
Csaba Székely (2001)
Veterinary Medical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 21, Hungaria krt, Budapest, H-1142, Hungaria
Supported project: Parasitoses in fresh-water and pond-farm fisheries, including control measures. Research on biology, life cycles, pathogenicity and treatment of selected parasites in freshwater aquaculture, with emphasis on alternative hosts in the life cycle of Myxosporea.
Alexander V. Kirdyanov (2003)
Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS), Akademgorodok, Krasnoyarsk 660036, Russia
Supported project: Tree-ring growth - climate interactions along the longitudinal transect in Siberia in the context of global and regional climatic changes. Spatial-temporal dynamics of climate effect on conifer tree-ring growth along the regional temperature gradient in Siberia will be investigated. The results of the project will allow estimation of the effect of changing climate on forest vegetation growing on a territory of Central Siberia.
Piotr Kuklinski (2003)
Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Science, ul. Powstancow Warszawy 55, Sopot 81-712, Poland
Supported project: Ecology of bryozoans from Svalbard waters. This study intends to address some of the major aspects of the ecology of bryozoan in Svalbard area. Research includes investigation of bryozoan diversity, distribution along various environmental gradients (sedimentation, salinity, temperature), colonization of different type of substrate.
Kasia Salwicka-Ciaputa (2003)
Department of Antarctic Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ustrzycka 10, 12, 02141 Warsaw, Poland
Supported project: Genetic study of Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) population in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. This study aims to investigate the natural genetic variability within the local population and evaluate the possible immigration from other sites.
Bohdan Prots (2005)
State Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of
Ukraine, 18 Tetralna Str., Lviv 79008, Ukraine
Supported project: 'The Transcarpathian Riverine Forests Nature Park - Saving the Future of Unique Floodplain Forests'. This study aims to contribute to the establishment of a protected area in the Transcarpathian Lowland through the preparation and implementation of a multi-stakeholder consultation, participation and lobbying processes. It includes the development of a model of sustainable development for the riverine forests and 'Biodiversity Action Plan' in collaboration with the provincial forestry and conservation management authorities as well.
Ruslan Salamatin (2005)
Department of General Biology and Parasitology, Medical University of Warsaw,
Warsaw, Poland and Department of Parasitology, I. I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Chmielnicki 15, Kyiv, Ukraine
Supported project: Comparative studies on helminth fauna of wild ducks (subfamily Anatinae) in coastal regions of Poland and Ukraine in ecological aspect. The general objective of the research is to determine the species composition, intensity and prevalence of infection, ecological organization of digestive tract helminthofauna in Anatinae at the level of host species and individual in coastal regions of Poland and Ukraine. The investigations will also take into account the influence of composition and structure of local avifauna on the formation of local helminthofauna. Any differences will be determined in the helminthofauna of digestive tract of the ducks inhabiting marine and inland biocenoses, as well as of the birds of the coastal zones of Poland and Ukraine.
István Szentirmai (2005)
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Pazmany P. Setany 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
Supported project: Habitat selection and reproductive success of the endangered Montagu's harrier in agricultural landscapes. This project aims to study the ecological effects of agriculture using the Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus) as an indicator species. The research combines detailed data on nest-site selection and hunting behaviour of individual Montagu's harriers with modern GIS techniques to quantify how agriculture affects the survival perspectives of this endangered species.
Martina Petrú (2007)
Mnisek 95, Trebon 37901, Czec Republic
Supported project: Regeneration capacity and resilience of Madagascar’s arid spiny forest in a rehabilitation perspective. Given the alarming rates at which indigenous and unique Malagasy floras are disappearing with deforestation, especially the arid spiny forest in Madagascar’s southwest, this study initiates baseline understanding of the forests spontaneous regeneration capacity and resilience to different levels of human use and disturbance in order to outline effective conservation plans for future sustainable reforestation.
Csilla Stenger-Kovács (2007)
University of Pannonia, Department of Limnology, Egyetem str. 10, Veszprém 8200, Hungary
Supported project: Development of equilibrium phases and the role of herbivory in periphyton composition of streams with special emphasis on diatom communities. In streams, periphytic algae as primary producers have an overall importance. Their ecological investigation promotes further understanding of benthic algal communities and their roles and functions in aquatic ecosystems. Gaining knowledge on the processes in the periphyton communities is essential for applied research from the planning of the sampling to the assessment of the streams’ ecological status. This project aims: (1) to test the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis by qualitative and quantitative examination of the macroinvertebrate grazers on periphytic algal communities; (2) to identify the periphyton reaction to the disturbance, including herbivory; (3) to study the development of equilibrium phases in the periphyton community and the relation of equilibrium states to the ecological status of pristine and hydromorphological modified streams.
Tina N. Molodtsova (2007)
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, 36 Nakhimovskiy prospect, Moscow 117218, Russia
Supported project: Deep-sea Antipatharia (Anthozoa: Cnidaria) of the North-East Atlantic: continental slope vs. seamount faunas. The project aims at a comprehensive study of antipatharian fauna of the North-East Atlantic. The proposed study includes describing and re-describing of antipatharian species, analyses of biotic interactions between habitat-forming species and associated fauna and patterns of bathymetrical and geographical distribution of antipatharia.