Mgr. Arnošt L. Šizling, Ph.D.

Arnošt L. Šizling is an ecologist interested in understanding the general principles governing biodiversity in space and time. His combined background in mathematics, physics (MFF UK) and ecology (PřF UK) gives him an advantage for his interdisciplinary approaches. A.L.Š. acquired his scientific experience from the University of Sheffield (2 years), Sun Yat-Sen University (6 months), Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (3 months), the Czech Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection (3 years), and the Institute of Archaeology of AV CR (1 year).

He imparts his knowledge through courses on mathematics for biologists at the Faculty of Science, Charles University.

His primary international collaborations are with Professors E. Tjørve (Norway), F. He (Canada), and W. E. Kunin (UK). His ecological research focuses mainly on methodology and macroecological patterns. A. L. Š. developed geometric reasoning in ecology and the principle of invariance of taxa and ranges, assuming that an ecologist enters the field of geometry once he or she draws a map of the spatial distribution of species or plots a graph of the relationship between two or more observed variables. As a member of the Anthropocene Research Group, A.L.Š. focuses on the influence of human activities on biological driving forces at the Holocene scale. In collaboration with the Arctic research team at the Faculty of Science of Charles University, A.L.Š. seeks to understand the patterns that shape microbial communities on the ice sheet, which is arguably the simplest ecosystem on Earth.