Malacological excursion to the Anninger

Herilla bosniensisMoFA

On 27. June 2025, we are planning a malacological excursion to the Anninger near Mödling, led by Michael Duda and Elisabeth Haring. The excursion is a joint event of the society Mollusc Research Austria (MoFA) with the Zoological-Botanical Society in Austria (ZooBot). We would like to explicitly invite all those interested in molluscs to get to know the mollusc fauna of this part of the Vienna Woods.
No prior knowledge is required!

On and around the Anninger, there are numerous habitats, ranging from rock faces and dry grasslands to deciduous and pine forests. We will become familiar with the typical mollusc fauna of the Vienna Woods as well as rare species significant for nature conservation, along with two Mediterranean species that are found only here in Austria. We will also search for aquatic molluscs in the streams. The route leads via the steps in the Mödlinger Klause to the dry grassland north of the Rauhen Platte, to the ruins of Mödling Castle, to the edge of the Meiereiwiese, and to the slopes of the Kalenderberg. From there, we return to the starting point. There will be opportunities to debrief at the Mautswirtshaus, the Haus der Biere, and the Heurigen Pferschy-Seper.

The meeting point is at the Kursalon parking lot at Aquädukt, Brühlerstrasse 19, 2340 Mödling (in Google Maps: Basketballplatz Kursalon), probably at 10 am. You can either walk from Mödling train station (approx. 20 minutes) or take a regional bus from Mödling train station to Jasomirgottstraße or Lerchengasse (approx. 5 minutes on foot from there). When arriving by car at the Kursalon parking lot, any temporary stopping restrictions must be observed.

Duration of the excursion: around 5 hours.

Detailed information will follow soon.

Registration until 23. June 2025 at team@molluskenforschung.at

Maximum number of participants: 20

Anninger: rock faces

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Reminder and submission deadline extension – MoFA research grant

Theodoxus euxinus, Foto: A. MrvickaAlexander Mrvicka

We are still accepting applications for the MoFA research grant and have extended the submission deadline to 15. June 2025!

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A generous donation from one of our association members has enabled us to offer a MoFA research grant for the first time. We are particularly pleased about this as it allows us to fulfil our primary purpose of promoting research on molluscs.

The detailed conditions and specifications of this call can be found in the attached document.

Sincerely, Helmut Sattmann, Agnes Bisenberger and Lisi Haring

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MoFA Conference 2025

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Caucasotachaea vindobonensis, Foto A. MrkvickaAlexander Mrkvicka

Dear MoFA members, dear friends of Malacology!

We cordially invite you to the 4th meeting of the Society Mollusc Research Austria (MoFA), which will take place from 26. to 27. September 2025 in Linz, Upper Austria.

Besides the scientific program on Friday, there will again be a malacological excursion on Saturday.

We would be delighted if scientists at all stages of their scientific career could participate in the conference allowing intense communication between colleagues. Contributions from the various fields of malacology are welcome!
The abstract form and registration details can be found on our homepage.
→ Details and registration

In addition to the awarding of the new MoFA research grant, this year there will again be the MoFA Junior Awards for the best talk and the best poster by participants at an early stage of their career (e.g. Master’s, PhD studies). Please spread this announcement to interested people in your area.
The conference language is English.

Please register as early as possible in order to be able to plan realistically, but no later than 30. June 2025.
We look forward to your contributions and your participation!

 

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Scholarship for young mollusc researchers

Dreissena polymorpha Muscheln © MoFA© MoFA

A generous donation from one of our association members has enabled us to offer a MoFA research grant for the first time. We are particularly pleased about this as it allows us to fulfil our primary purpose of promoting research on molluscs.

The detailed conditions and specifications of this call can be found in the attached document.

Sincerely, Helmut Sattmann, Agnes Bisenberger and Lisi Haring

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Current calls

Trochulus sp. auf grünem Petasites-BlattMOFA, S. Bamberger

Dear MoFA members and friends of malacology,

we would like to draw your attention to the following interesting calls:

Polish Malacological Seminar

The second announcement of the Polish Malacological Seminar is available →here

The seminar is held on 8-10 May 2025 in Krobia near Toruń, Poland. The registration, title and proposed type of presentation, and invoice details (only if needed) must be submitted by 16 March 2025.

 

Master-Thesis Offer

Thesis topics on biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean Sea are offered by Paolo G. Albano to be conducted at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy. The following is the call from Paolo G. Albano:

I am offering thesis topics on biodiversity loss in the Mediterranean Sea to be conducted at Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy. The study will address biodiversity loss in the eastern Mediterranean by quantifying taxonomic diversity in living assemblages and compare it to a baseline reconstructed from death assemblages. The thesis is thus suitable for students in both the life and earth sciences.

More context is available in this paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2469

The student will sort benthos samples learning to distinguish the most frequent phyla of marine invertebrates and will then learn to identify molluscs at the species level. Indeed, students interested in molluscan diversity will find a particularly welcoming and entertaining working environment!
Data analysis is focused on comparison of species richness in living and death assemblages to quantify change and is better conducted in the R statistical environment. Reporting will follow home institutions’ expectations.

Students are expected to spend at least four months in Naples to conduct lab work, preferably starting in early September 2025. Data analysis and thesis writing may be conducted back at home institutions, despite data analysis is more easily supervised in person.

Interested candidates may contact me at pgalbano@gmail.com

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Dr. Paolo G. ALBANO, Ph.D. (he/him)

Senior Scientist, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and Biotechnology, Naples, Italy
Research Associate, Department of Paleontology, University of Vienna, Austria

 

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Save-the-date – 4. MoFA-Meeting, 26.–27. September 2025

Gastropoden bei der Ausstellung „Streck die Fühler aus“ des Biodiversitätszentrum Linz 2019, © MoFA© MoFA

We are very pleased to announce the 4th MoFA meeting! It will take place from 26-27 September 2025 in Linz, Upper Austria. On Friday 26.9., the scientific part of the meeting will take place in the Biology Center Linz. On Saturday 27.9., there will be a malacological excursion in the region, details will follow.

We are already looking forward to a diverse program of talks and to seeing many familiar and also new faces. The MoFA Junior Awards will also be presented again during the conference.

Details on registration, accommodation and the excursion program will follow soon.

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Event announcement: Landscape maintenance for Helicopsis in Bad Fischau-Brunn

Helicopsis austriaca, Foto: A. MrkvickaA. Mrkvicka

On Saturday 22.2.2025 from 1 – 4 pm, the Landschaftspflegeverein Thermenlinie will host a landscape maintenance event at the natural monument of dry grassland in Bad Fischau-Brunn. The highest-ranking protected species in this area is the Austrian heath snail Helicopsis austriaca, which is endemic to Lower Austria. Visitors can find an information board on-site provided by MoFA and the LPV with details about the natural monument and its unique species.

We warmly welcome volunteers to join us for this event. For more information and to register, please visit:
https://landschaftspflegeverein.at/termine/naturschutz-mit-schere-krampen-und-sage-trockenrasenpflege-beim-naturdenkmal-auf-den-riegeln/

We are also happy to organize transport from either Vienna Liesing / Siebenhirten or the train station Brunn an der Schneebergbahn.
If desired, a “debriefing” in a local wine tavern or restaurant can also be arranged.

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Merry Christmas

Schneckenkranz um TeelichtA. Mrkvicka

Dear MoFA members, dear friends of malacology,

we look back on a very successful year 2024, with the publication of the MoFA-journal Arianta 11, with online contributions on snails in the garden, a series of Ö1 broadcasts on the mollusc fauna at Bisamberg and the Alte Schanzen and a MoFA excursion to Bisamberg.

Before the publication is after the publication: We are asking for submissions of manuscripts for Arianta 12. If you have interesting observations, investigations, reports on molluscs that you would like to publish with us, please send your manuscript (as a Word text file) including figures and tables to team@molluskenforschung.at by February 28, 2025. Please note the guidelines for authors when submitting your manuscript.

Further current malacological news are listed below:

  • Polish Malacological Seminar 2025
    The seminar is a event of the Polish Malacological Society, which is traditionally held in Polish. However, there will also be an English part for international guests, so that all interested parties have the opportunity to participate. The venue is the Hotel Ambasada (https://hotelambasada.pl) in Krobia (about 15 km from Toruń). If you are interested in participating in this special seminar, please contact us by e-mail at team@molluskenforschung.at. Our president will send you all further details and information.
  • New publication “Bibliography of post-Linnean literature on the recent molluscs of Austria, III.”
    The latest version of the “Bibliographie nach-linneischer Literatur über die rezenten Mollusken Österreichs” by Reischütz et al. (2024) is available online:
    Reischütz, A., Reischütz, P. L., & Fischer, W. (2024). Bibliographie nach-linneischer Literatur über die Mollusken Österreichs, III. (Stand 30. Juni 2024). Erste Vorarlberger Malakologische Gesellschaft. → PDF

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2025!

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New newsletter of the Malakologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Salzburg

Dear friends of malacology,

we are pleased to share the latest edition of the newsletter of the Malakologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Salzburg.

We hope you enjoy reading!

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ARIANTA – call for papers

Dear members and friends of MoFA,

Our beautiful and widely read and cited journal ARIANTA is not only a publication platform for scientific malacological articles, but also an important medium for the association both internally and externally.

The editors of the journal ARIANTA and the board of MoFA would be delighted to receive submissions of exciting scientific articles for the next issue. All fields of malacology are welcome, be it in the form of original papers, reviews, field trip reports (with species lists) and remarkable observations.

As I will be absent as editor in December 2024 and January 2025, I would ask any interested parties to send their manuscripts and associated enquiries to team@molluskenforschung.at.

The submission deadline for Arianta12 is 28 February 2025.

I look forward to another informative and diverse issue of our journal in the coming year.

With kind regards
Helmut Sattmann

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