Zuzana Štípková from the Global Change Research Institute CAS – CzechGlobe was among the two dozen young scientists who received the Otto Wichterle Prize. Her research focuses on the causes of orchid species diversity, and among other things, she is the author of a detailed analysis of the biodiversity evolution of terrestrial orchid species in the country over the last 150 years.
She has also thoroughly studied the impact of the agrarian policies of the communist period on the decline in the diversity of these orchid species in Central and Eastern Europe, including a comparison with developments in Western Europe. She also focuses on tropical orchid species in South America, especially in Colombia and Ecuador. Her other area of interest is investigating the population growth in predator/prey relationships, especially in invasive species of lady-bugs. Here, among other things, she has been involved in refuting the widely held claim regarding invasive species of lady-bugs that were said to suppress native species; however, the claim was based on flawed statistical analyses.
