Paulina Anna Zigelski
Phenotypic varieties of Syzygium guineense s.l., S. benguellense (middle left) and S. cordatum (upper right). This morphological diversity is a response to adaptation to different habitats of southern Africa like rivers, flood plains, open grasslands, more or less open woodlands and mountainous areas.Photos: Paulina Zigelski
Paulina Anna Zigelski's Master thesis was awarded with the Prize for the Best Plant Science Master Thesis, which was carried out at Hamburg University in the year 2016.
Title of awarded thesis
"Molecular biogeography of the Syzygium guineense complex: How environment and genetics push suffrutication in Africas Miombo region"
For the first time the origins of „underground trees“ in southern Africa were investigated in detail using a model species: an interaction of environmental and genetic factors play a crucial role in their evolution.