On the first weekend in July, the ABOL-BioBlitz was a guest at the GEO Day of Biodiversity in the Geopark Karawanken, this year for the first time in southern Carinthia. After the welcome and introductory words in Bleiburg, the Globasnitzbachtal was investigated in the afternoon and evening of the first day.… Read more
Parallel to the Day of Biodiversity in the Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald, ABOL was represented for the third time at the ÖEG insect camp from June 6th to 9th. Like ABOL, the insect camp also celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and this year it took place in the Karwendel Nature Reserve in Tyrol.… Read more
Thanks to the Biodiversity Fund projects ABOL-RefDat and GeMonA+, our ABOL team at the Natural History Museum Vienna grew at the beginning of 2024 and the first BioBlitzes were a good opportunity to support data collection and networking in the biodiversity community.
This year’s Day of Biodiversity of the Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald took place in Vienna-Liesing, at the same time part of the ABOL team traveled to the ÖEG insect camp in the Karwendel Nature Reserve.… Read more
With their many ABOL activities, the Graz partners have achieved
2nd place in this year’s Silberdistel (Styria’s Biodiversity Prize)!
We are delighted and congratulate you! 
… Read more
ABOL reference data (ABOL-RefDat) – call for project collaboration!
We are very pleased that the ABOL-RefDat project, funded by the Biodiversity Fund, started at the beginning of the year!
Our goal? The creation of at least 5,000 DNA barcodes for at least 1,500 Austrian species of animals, plants and fungi, as well as closing data gaps in Austria!… Read more
“Together on the way out of the biodiversity crisis” was the title of the Biodiversity Days 2023 from November 8th to 10th, which took place at BOKU Vienna.
In 9 sessions, different aspects of the biodiversity crisis and different actors were addressed.… Read more
Due to last year’s great success, the 2nd DNA barcoding workshop took place in September at the University of Zambia (UNZA) in the capital Lusaka.
As part of the OeAD project “Inventorying biodiversity in the tropics: Establishing a DNA-barcoding pipeline for characterizing and monitoring Zambia’s biodiversity” led by the University of Graz (Stephan Koblmüller and Lukas Zangl) and participation by ABOL and Prof.… Read more
Last Saturday (October 7th), ABOL was represented together with the Central Research Laboratories at the Long Night of Museums in the Natural History Museum Vienna. Visitors were able to find out more about ABOL, DNA barcoding and DNA-based research in general from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.… Read more
This year’s ABOL BioBlitz series was completed with the Day of Biodiversity in the Hohe Tauern National Park on the Deferegger sunny side in East Tyrol. As in previous years, the weather this weekend was rather bad. At least this year we had some sunny windows in which flying insects, especially bumblebees, hoverflies and butterflies could be observed.… Read more
On July 7 and 8, the ABOL team was present at two simultaneous events: the Day of Biodiversity in Tyrol and the GEO-Day of Nature in Carinthia.
At the Day of Biodiversity in Tyrol, in Leutasch, four very different and exciting study areas were examined for their biodiversity.… Read more
Latest News
Metabarcoding-Symposium 202624. September, 2026 - 10:33Launch of an Austrian eDNA Community
The Metabarcoding Symposium, held on 17 and 18 September 2026 at the Natural History Museum Vienna, was not only a platform for professional exchange, but also marked the beginning of an Austrian eDNA community (provisionally: OeDNA). The symposium was organised by the ABOL coordination team together with Bettina Thalinger (WasserCluster Lunz) and Christoph Hahn (University of Graz).… Read more
A decade of ABOL – new paper!24. September, 2026 - 09:36Looking Back on a Decade of ABOL: Coordinating a National Biodiversity Initiative
How can a country’s biological diversity be systematically documented – and what does it take to turn a research initiative into a sustainable, long-term network?
Since 2014, the Austrian Barcode of Life (ABOL) Initiative has been dedicated to systematically documenting Austria’s animal, plant, and fungal diversity using DNA barcoding.… Read more
ABOL-BioBlitzes 2026 – from the river plain to the summit27. July, 2026 - 15:44A look back at a successful ABOL field season 2026!
Since 2019, the ABOL coordination team has been actively involved in the various Days of Biodiversity, conducting ABOL BioBlitz surveys. These surveys generate DNA barcodes and familiarize experts with this methodological approach. This year’s Days of Biodiversity were once again very popular.… Read more