Meet the Scientist

Name: Matt von Konrat
Position/Title: Collections manager
Department: Botany

1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?

I work on a group of land plants that are technically referred to as bryophytes, and include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. My special area of expertise is liverworts, which are generally small, but can also form reasonably large colonies. One genus in particular that I work on, named Frullania, includes some species that are less than 250 micrometers—that is less than one-quarter of a millimetre wide!

Despite their size, liverworts exhibit a fascinating range in morphology with many complicated structures and can be many colors ranging from bright red to deep black. They form an important component of many ecosystems especially within cloud forests in the tropics and wet temperate regions of the world. Bryophytes play a significant role in contributing to nutrient cycles, form a major component of canopy humus, are very effective rainfall interceptors, and help to prevent soil erosion. Bryophytes also form microhabitats for insects and an entire array of microorganisms.

My research questions are broad, cover a wide spectrum, and come under a discipline called systematics. This is the branch of biology that deals with classifying living organisms, including the study of their diversity, interrelationships, identifying and understanding evolutionary relationships, and describing and naming new taxa (a taxon is any specifically defined group of organisms). The naming of plants provides us with a universal means of communication that can be used by, for example, the general public, farmers, students, biologists, politicians, conservation managers, and pharmaceutical companies etc.

An exciting area of systematics that I find stimulating is the opportunity to explore biological diversity on many different scales from a biogeographical level through to an organismal and molecular level. Hence, I have an active interest in aspects of plant distribution and ecology, reproductive biology, morphology, ultrastructure, and plant chemistry. My own research also has direct application to conservation and the pharmaceutical industry.

2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?

One of the exciting aspects of plant systematics is that the tools we use to study biodiversity range depending on the question we are investigating. Fieldwork is an essential component, especially in regions where little information is known, is necessary for gathering live material for study, and is also essential for ecological studies.

The tools and methodology in my research include: plant cultivation to provide a source of live material, and for growth and comparative studies; computers for graphics and analysis; microscopy techniques, including light and scanning electron microscopy which enable us to investigate characters at very high magnification; histochemistry (staining plant tissue with specific stains that aid in observation of cell anatomy as well as providing information on chemical composition); and chemical analysis for the isolation and identification of chemical compounds.

The study of herbarium material (collection of dried plants) is also fundamental, providing a wealth of information such as historical distribution, ecology and habitat, as well as providing material for comparative purposes and analysis. Plants collected from field work are also incorporated into the herbarium as a depository for future researchers.

3. Where do you study biodiversity?

The region of study depends on the particular group of liverworts that I study. For instance, one genus that I study, Frullania, has a worldwide distribution with over 1400 species, so much of the plant material is obtained from herbarium specimens. My current geographical focus is on plant material obtained from south east Asia, Central and South America, and Australasia. Active fieldwork is currently being undertaken in New Zealand.

4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?

One direct application of our current research to biological conservation is our work in New Zealand. A recent analysis published in the scientific journal, Nature, led by Norman Myers, identified New Zealand as one of twenty-five global biodiversity ‘hotspots’. These are areas that feature exceptional concentrations of endemic species and that experience exceptional loss of habitat.

The liverwort flora of New Zealand is almost unparalleled anywhere on the globe and home to c. 10% of the world’s liverwort species and, more importantly, has 48 of the 73 extant liverwort families. Furthermore, New Zealand has over 200 liverwort species found nowhere else in the world. The impact of potential pressures, such as micro-habitat loss and fragmentation, on the liverwort flora has never been previously investigated in a New Zealand context and hence little is known about their conservation status.

Our research is providing essential knowledge regarding the taxonomic diversity, distribution, and ecology of critical liverwort taxa, as well as identifying potential threats to the liverwort flora. This information is being used to develop a series of recommendations for the recovery of rare and endangered New Zealand liverworts for local conservation managers.

5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?

Being a New Zealander, the outdoors and the environment can easily become an integral part of ones life. I have grown up with a passion for tramping, to use a New Zealand colloquium for hiking, and for exploring the natural environment, and have always been intrigued with biology in all its forms. I have been fortunate in that I knew from a very young age that I wanted to work on some aspect of plants. This in turn led to my interest in botany and in particular plant systematics as a science. It also led to a strong interest in conservation.

The Field Museum is a unique international resource for research on the systematics of liverworts. It has one of the strongest collections of liverworts in the world, and within this collection there is a strong focus on the Southern Hemisphere, which is a region of extraordinarily high liverwort diversity. Therefore, it is an excellent place in which to work on understanding elements of New Zealand flora, as well as that from other areas of the world that I study. This was also an exciting opportunity to work with Dr. John Engel (Curator in Bryology at the Field Museum) who is one of the leading authorities in liverworts from the Southern Hemisphere.

6. Describe important collaborations for your scientific endeavors (describe your work with other researchers, organizations, or scientific groups, local or indigenous peoples, etc.)

I am working in conjunction with Dr John Engel of The Field Museum, and together we are collaborating with the Department of Conservation in New Zealand to investigate rare and endangered liverworts. We are also liaising with Maori and local community groups to help bring to their attention this important component of the New Zealand flora. This is important because there are many significant habitats that are retained in Maori or other private ownership.

Other scientific collaborators include: Dr. Kesia Mustelier Martinez at the Centro Oriental de Biodiversidad Dirección Particular, Museo Hist. Nat. in Cuba, with whom I am helping working on aspects of the Cuban liverwort flora; Dr John Braggins of the University of Auckland and the Auckland War Memorial Museum with whom I am working on monographic treatments and taxonomic studies in various regions; and Prof. Yoshinori Asakawa, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University in Japan, with whom I am investigating and identifying the chemical compounds in selected liverworts.

The chemical compounds of liverworts are particularly interesting because they have important biological activities, for example, against certain cancer cell lines, anti-bacterial properties, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, and muscle relaxing activity.

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