From September 10–12, 2025, the DiCE team took part in the 66th annual meeting of the Czech Phycological Society in České Budějovice. We contributed with five oral presentations and one poster, showcasing ongoing research on cryospheric diatom diversity and ecology in Antarctic and Alpine habitats. It was a pleasure to exchange ideas with colleagues from […]
Our PhD student Raquel Viso was recently featured in the Diatom of the Month series of the International Society for Diatom Research (ISDR). In the post, Raquel reflects on the challenges and rewards of studying diatoms in Antarctica, arguably the most remote and extreme environment on Earth. Her story highlights how scientific curiosity, logistical resilience, […]
In early 2025, our colleague Kateřina Kopalová returned to Antarctica for another scientific expedition, this time to the Argentinian research station Esperanza. Together with science communicator and photographer Petr Jan Juračka, she collected samples of diatoms which, thanks to their silica shells and ecological specificity, offer unique insights into both past climate change and present-day […]
We’re excited to announce a new first-author paper of our PhD student Hristina Kochoska, just published in Diatom Research! The study explores one of Africa’s last tropical glacier-fed streams, draining from the Mt. Stanley Glacier in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda — a unique and vanishing habitat. Using a combination of light and electron microscopy […]
We are thrilled to welcome Tereza Vošická as a new PhD student in the Diatoms in Cryospheric Ecosystems (DiCE) group at Charles University! Tereza recently completed her MSc at the Department of Ecology, where she explored diatom communities in Alpine glacier-fed streams using eDNA metabarcoding. Her Master thesis research was awarded 3rd prize for the […]
Glaciers cover 10% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, and their melt initiates flow for some of the world’s largest river networks. Despite their importance, little is known about the life that inhabits glacier-fed streams, and even less is known about how this life is set to change with ongoing glacier retreat. Three new papers in Nature, […]
Some say that diatoms, the most species-rich group of algae, are drastically underexplored by molecular means compared to other taxa. Are they right, though? In our recent study in Fottea, we put the claim to the test by analysing millions of research documents from the past 35 years focused on diatoms, other algae, cyanobacteria, plants, […]
If you wonder what expeditions to Antarctica look like, check out this brand new documentary by Petr Horký created for Česká televize about this year’s Czech expedition to Antarctic James Ross Island. DiCE was there via our researcher Jan Kollár.
Want to learn more about diatoms and Antarctica? Then click here to check out today’s interview with Kate on TV Noe!
In September, DiCE performed an extensive sampling of three glacial streams in the Alps. This will help us understand changes in microbial communities along the longitudinal profile of such streams, as well as predict their response to the continuing glacier melting. Stay tuned for results! 😉