The Marcin Antczak Award for the most inspiring article in the field of ornithology was awarded to two graduates of the Institute for Environmental Studies. In 2024, Jan Hanzelka and in 2025, Andriana Cíbik Hološková.
The Marcin Antczak Award is awarded annually for outstanding ornithological articles published in the previous year. It is aimed at young scientists under 37 years of age who have a connection to the Central and Eastern European region and ideally have conducted their research there. It must have a significant field component. These conditions refer to Marcin Antczak, who was a brilliant field ornithologist and tragically died at the age of 37 on his way to his study areas.
Jan Hanzelka won the prize for his research on natural cavities in boreal forests in Finland. He conducted this research during his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Turku. He managed to connect knowledge of bird nesting biology with invertebrate ecology. The research was unique in that while nesting populations are the subject of many studies, natural cavities have been studied minimally due to obvious technical difficulties.
Andriana Cíbik Hološková published a series of articles during her doctoral studies on the relationships between agricultural management, ecological conditions and bird abundance in field crops. She was able to describe the mechanisms by which intensive agriculture negatively affects biodiversity and to propose and test measures that mitigate this negative impact. She also participates in its implementation within various expert groups in Slovakia and at the EU level.
Congratulations to both laureates!
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