Dr. Nicolai Nürk

My research focuses on plant systematics and diversity; the multitude of forms and functions which evolved on earth. I’m particularly interested in the unevenness of species richness and the extent to which diversity varies between biomes. As such, I use the Hypericum genus as a model to study biodiversity hotspots and the evolutionary dynamics of species diversification in South American high Andean cloud grasslands.

Projects

• Andean HYPEVOL | Evolution of Hypericum in South America (DFG)

• Phylogenomics and a clade-based classification of Hypericum

• Flower & Seed morphology in Hypericum (Bachelor or Master thesis available)

• Hypericum online (explore)

Pleasure

Plants Are Cool, Too: Fossilized Forests!

Travels in the Great Tree of Life (Yale University)

Publications

Nürk NM, Uribe-Convers S, Gehrke B, Tank DC & Blattner FR (2015). Oligocene niche shift, Miocene diversification – Cold tolerance and accelerated speciation rates in the St. John’s Worts (Hypericum, Hypericaceae). BMC Evol Biol  15:80, doi: 10.1186/s12862-015-0359-4 (link)

Nürk NM, Scheriau C & Madriñán S (2013). Explosive radiation in high Andean Hypericum – Rates of diversification among New World lineages. Front Genet 4:175, doi: 10.3389/fgene.2013.00175 (link)

Nürk NM, Madriñán S, Carine MA, Chase MW & Blattner FR (2013). Molecular phylogenetics and morphological evolution of St. John's wort (Hypericum; Hypericaceae). Mol Phyl Evol 66(1): 1–16 (link, pdf)

Nürk NM & Crockett SL (2011). Morphological and phytochemical diversity among Hypericum species of the Mediterranean basin. Medicinal Aromatic Plant Sci Biotech 5 (specially issue 1): 14–28 (link, pdf)

Nürk NM & Blattner FR (2010). Cladistic analysis of morphological characters in Hypericum (Hypericaceae). Taxon 59(5): 1495–1507 (link, pdf)

Weigend M, Gottschling M, Hilger HH & Nürk NM (2010). Five new species of Lithospermum L. (Boraginaceae tribe Lithospermeae) in Andean South America: Another radiation in the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone. Taxon 59(4): 1161–1179 (link, pdf)

Other publications

Nürk NM (2011). Phylogenetic analyses in St. John’s wort (Hypericum) – Inferring character evolution and historical biogeography. Ph.D. Thesis. FU Berlin, Berlin (pdf)

Nürk NM (2011). Johanniskraut – von seiner Wirkung zum Namen und zur Botanik. Sommerausgabe Aromareport: Johanniskraut. Aromareport, 5, 8–10 (pdf)

Nürk NM (2010). Das Doktorandenprogram. IPK Jahresbericht 2010, 194–195 (pdf)

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A note on links and pdfs