Berec – životopis

doc. Ing. Luděk Berec, Dr.

e-mail: ludek.berec(at)prf.jcu.cz
alternativní e-mail: berec(at)entu.cas.cz
tel: +420 38777 2236
kolej K3, místnost 206

Curriculum vitae

Education and degrees

1994 – Master degree in applied mathematics, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering,
Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

1998 – PhD degree in applied mathematics, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering,
Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic

2012 – Docent (~ associate professor) degree in applied mathematics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech
Republic

Professional positions

1996-1997 – Researcher, Department of Adaptive Systems, Institute of Information Theory and Automation,
Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

Since 1997 – Researcher, currently Laboratory of Theoretical Ecology, Department of Ecology, Institute
of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
(currently part-time employment)

Since 2000 – Teacher and researcher, currently Centre for Mathematical Biology, Institute of Mathematics,
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic (currently
full-time employment)

Research interests

Mathematical modelling in ecology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology, with particular emphasis on
population- and community-level implications of complex individual-level behaviour. Specific subjects
of research include causes and consequences of Allee effects, dynamics of sex-structured populations,
mating dynamics, dynamics of infectious (mostly sterilizing) diseases and dynamics of consumer-resource
interactions. Practical aspects of my work include conservation of threatened populations as well as
control of unwanted pest species.

Grants and awards

Support for attending meetings of the Board of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical
Biology (ESMTB). Principal investigator. Ministry of Education, Youth ans Sports of the Czech Republic
(LTV19007), 1/2019-12/2021

Evolution of Allee effects. Principal investigator. Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (15-24456S),
1/2015-12/2017

The role of disturbances in dynamics of temperate mountain spruce-dominated forests – a landscape simulation
model of the Šumava Mts. Co-investigator. Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P504/10/0843),
1/2010-12/2014

Applying two-sex population models to epidemiological problems. Short-term visitors programme at the
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA,
April 2011

Applying population ecology to strategies for eradicating invasive forest insects. Team member. Working
group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), Santa Barbara, California,
USA, 2009-2011

Changes of biodiversity of mosquitoes, vectors of pathogens, in relation to climate changes. Team member.
Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic, 1/2008-12/2011

Mathematical models of biological networks. Team member. Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic (IAA100070601), 1/2006-12/2009

Allee effect in structured populations. Principal investigator. Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic (KJB600070602), 1/2006-12/2008

Role of sexual reproduction in population dynamics: models and their application in conservation biology.
Principal investigator. Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IAB1007201),
1/2002-12/2004

Individual-based models in ecology: construction and analysis. Principal investigator. Grant Agency of
the Czech Republic (201/98/P202), 9/1998-8/2001

Other scientific activities

Regularly presenting scientific results on international meetings and conferences
Associate Faculty Member of the F1000 Biology (post-publication reviews)
Recommender for PCI Ecology and PCI Evolutionary Biology
Reviewer for many impacted international journals on (theoretical) ecology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology,
including American Naturalist, Theoretical Population Biology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Theoretical
Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Ecology Letters, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology,
Ecological Modelling, PLoS ONE, or Oikos
Associate editor of Theoretical Ecology
Associate editor of American Naturalist
Longstanding member of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology
Board member of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (2018-2023)

Publication activity

Overall 61 ISI-ranked publications in the impacted international journals (of which 20 in the last 5 years)
Co-author of the successful book “Allee effects in ecology and conservation”, published in 2008 by the
Oxford University Press (F. Courchamp and J. Gascoigne as co-authors)
Sum of times cited without self-citations (Web of Science) > 1500
h-index: 18

Invited talks on conferences and workshops

BIOMAT 2019, Szeged, Hungary, 20-25 October 2019
International Conference MPDE2016 (Models in Population Dynamics and Ecology), Centre International
de Rencontres Mathématiques, Aix-Marseille University, France, 5-9 September 2016
Mathematical Ecology: Theory and Applications (META) - "Uncertainty and predictability in ecology",
Leicester, UK, 6 April 2017
BioPhysMath, Banach Center, Institute of Mathematics PAS, Warszawa, 7-9 December 2017
BIOMAT 2009, Brasilia, Brazil, 1-6 August 2009
BIOMAT 2007, Buzios, Brazil, 24-29 November 2007

Teaching

Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice: calculus, simulation modelling,
applications of mathematics, theoretical ecology and epidemiology
Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno: mathematical modelling in ecology, epidemiology and
evolution, simulation modelling in biology

Theses leadership

Finished: 9 Bc theses, 2 MSc thesis, 2 PhD thesis
Ongoing: 1 PhD theses