Peter Schausberger
Univ.-Doz. Dr.
until February 2019: Guest Professor University of Tsukuba, Japan
Funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
Phone: +43-1-4277-54430
Mail: peter.schausberger[at]univie.ac.at
Research interests
I am a multi- and trans-disciplinarily working zoologist with a focus on behavioral ecology-related topics and multi-trophic interactions. My current research comprises and links elements of animal behavior, ecology, evolution and biological control. Plant-inhabiting mites such as herbivorous spider mites (Tetranychidae) and eriophyoid mites (Eriophyidae), and predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae are the main organisms I work with. These mites are, due to their ubiquity, small size and ease of rearing, widely used model animals in the above-mentioned disciplines. Predatory mites are key players in natural and biological control of herbivorous mites and insects in natural as well as agricultural ecosystems such as orchards, vineyards and greenhouse crops, making them perfectly suited animals for research on predator-prey interactions, multi-trophic interactions and pest management.
I have a keen interest in fundamental processes in behavioral ecology (learning, species and kin recognition, cannibalism, anti-predation, sexual selection, linkage between behavioral and life history traits) and examine direct and indirect interactions in multi-trophic systems (or subsystems thereof) consisting of predatory mites, herbivorous mites and insects, plants and micro-organisms. My investigations take place in the laboratory, walk-in environmental and greenhouse chambers, and the open field. The organizational and spatial levels looked at range from individuals and their interactions (in small-scale artificial cages, on detached leaves and leaf discs), to populations (on detached leaves and whole plants) and communities (on whole plants and plant groups). I primarily conduct manipulative experiments and use methodological procedures and tools such as direct observations, analyses of videotaped behaviors (EthoVision XT), olfactometer tests, and molecular/chemical analys
Curriculum vitae
Publications
Schausberger, P 1999, 'Predation preference of Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans (Acari: Phytoseiidae) when offered con- and heterospecific immature life stages', Experimental & Applied Acarology, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 389-398.
Schausberger, P & Croft, BA 1999, 'Activity, feeding, and development among larvae of specialist and generalist phytoseiid mite species (Acari: Phytoseiidae)', Environmental Entomology , vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 322-329.
Schausberger, P 1999, 'Juvenile survival and development in Euseius finlandicus, Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans (Acari: Phytoseiidae) feeding on con- and heterospecific immatures', Experimental & Applied Acarology, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 297-307.
Walzer, A & Schausberger, P 1999, 'Cannibalism and interspecific predation in the phytoseiid mites Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus: predation rates and effects on reproduction and juvenile development', BioControl: journal of the International Organization for Biological Control , vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 457-468.
Walzer, A & Schausberger, P 1999, 'Predation preferences and discrimination between con- and heterospecific prey by the phytoseiid mites Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus', BioControl: journal of the International Organization for Biological Control , vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 469-478. doi.org/10.1023/A:1009974918500
Schausberger, P 1998, 'The influence of relative humidity on egg hatch in Euseius finlandicus, Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans (Acari, Phytoseiidae)', Journal of Applied Entomology, vol. 122, no. 9-10, pp. 497-500.
Schausberger, P 1998, 'Population growth and persistence when prey is diminishing in single-species and two-species systems of the predatory mites Euseius finlandicus, Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans', Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 275-286.
Schausberger, P 1998, 'Survival, development and fecundity in Euseius finlandicus, Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans (Acari, Phytoseiidae) feeding on the San Jose scale Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Coccina, Diaspididae)', Journal of Applied Entomology, vol. 122, no. 1, pp. 53-56.
Schausberger, P 1997, 'Inter- and intraspecific predation on immatures by adult females in Euseius finlandicus, Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans (Acari: Phytoseiidae)', Experimental & Applied Acarology, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 131-150.
Media
Spinnentiere: Verhalten bei Paarung programmiert, Tierwelt, sda apa, 29.11.2019
Mütter bestimmen Paarungsverhalten der Söhne - bei Spinnmilben, Kurier, 28.11.2019
Wie Milben-Mütter ihre Söhne beeinflussen, Science ORF.at, 27.11.2019
Spinnmilben-Mütter bestimmen das Paarungsverhalten der Söhne, APA-Science, 27.11.2019
Toll treiben es die wilden Milben, DER STANDARD; 05.10.2019
Junge Köpfe lernen besser – selbst wenn es Milbenköpfe sind, DER STANDARD, 19.04.2018
Auch bei Milben gilt: Was Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr, APA-Science, 18.04.2018
Japanische Kollegen haben eine unserer Studien in Poesie umgesetzt
Es kommt doch auf die Größe an. "Die Presse", Print-Ausgabe, 09.04.2016