ABOL – ABOL – The Austrian Barcode of Life

Metabarcoding-Symposium 2026

Highlights, Meetings, Veranstaltungen, Workshops

Launch 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).

In recent years, eDNA and metabarcoding have developed rapidly and are increasingly moving towards large-scale and practical applications. At the same time, the community in Austria remains relatively fragmented. With OeDNA, we therefore aim to bring researchers, practitioners, public authorities, and companies closer together, foster exchange, and advance topics of shared interest.

If you are interested in joining, you can sign up via the following link and stay informed:

https://forms.gle/zZMczhC1zuUqERRQA

Strong Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium

Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium was overwhelming: the event reached full capacity within a very short time.
On the first day, participants were presented with a diverse programme covering different aspects of eDNA and metabarcoding. Talks ranged from current scientific developments and the importance of reference data to examples from applied projects and questions surrounding standardisation.

Companies, as important partners throughout the entire process, were also given the opportunity to present their work and expertise. We hope this programme reflected the diverse interests and backgrounds of the participants.

Special thanks go to our two keynote speakers, Bernd Hänfling (UHI Inverness) and Henrik Krehenwinkel (University of Trier), for their inspiring and impressive presentations. They showcased the wide range of possibilities offered by eDNA and metabarcoding in both aquatic and terrestrial environments.

Another highlight of the first day was the extensive panel discussion. Representatives from science, public authorities, and applied practice discussed experiences, opportunities, and challenges associated with the use of eDNA and metabarcoding. The discussion raised numerous questions that will be further explored and addressed collectively within the emerging OeDNA community.
Standardisation is one of this key topics. In some areas, standards have already been established, for example within the framework of LTER. These are based on scientific studies and projects such as GeMonA+ and can serve as an example for implementing eDNA and metabarcoding methods in other fields of application. Companies such as Spcfy are also already offering solutions for standardised analysis pipelines.

On the second day of the event, participants had the opportunity to explore one approach to a bioinformatics pipeline for analysing metabarcoding data in a hands-on workshop. Fifty participants took part and worked through the individual steps of this complex process. In addition to the technical analysis, considerable attention was also given to the interpretation of the resulting data.

We are delighted with the success of the event and would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed. We look forward to seeing strong interest in OeDNA and to continuing the exchange within this emerging community.

Photos: M. Sonnleitner, B. Thalinger

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Welcome by K. Vohland, GD NHM

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Keynote H. Krehenwinkl, Univ. Trier

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - talk B. Thalinger, WCL

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - talk LTER, L. Reiss

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Panel Discussion, Moderator: B. Thalinger

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - talk N. Szucsich, ABOL Coordination

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - marketplace of companies: Sinsoma

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - marketplace of companies: AIM and Spcfy

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Get-together in the Dinosaur Hall, NHMW

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Keynote Bernd Hänfling, UHI

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Interpretation of Results, B. Thalinger

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - talk by D. Rabl and A. Ceta, Environment Agency Austria

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - workshop: lead: C. Hahn, Univ. Graz

Metabarcoding Symposium NHMW 2026 - Oragnisation team

24. September, 2026/by Michaela Sonnleitner

A decade of ABOL – new paper!

Highlights, Publications

Looking 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. Over the past decade, much more has developed than a repository of genetic reference data: ABOL has evolved into a nationwide network connecting research, biological collections, protected areas, scientific societies, and citizen science.

In our new publication, Evolving ABOL (the Austrian Barcode of Life Initiative): Reflections on a Decade of Coordinating a National Biodiversity Initiative, we, the ABOL coordination team, take stock of the years 2014 to 2025.

The paper shows how ABOL has been established and further developed – from data infrastructures and reference data to new applications of DNA barcoding and participatory formats such as the ABOL BioBlitzes. At the same time, it highlights the importance of long-term collaboration across institutions and disciplines for comprehensive biodiversity documentation.

ABOL thus serves as an example of an integrative approach to biodiversity research: taxonomic expertise meets molecular methods, digital infrastructures, and public participation.

But the publication does not only look back. In view of the ongoing loss of biodiversity, it also asks what role ABOL can play in the future and in the long term in implementing national and international biodiversity targets.

Read the full article now and look back on ten years of ABOL:

Szucsich NU., Sonnleitner M, Ackerl F, Kargl V, Heinzl J, Hörweg C & Haring E (2026). Evolving ABOL (the Austrian Barcode of Life Initiative): Reflections on a Decade of Coordinating a National Biodiversity Initiative. Acta ZooBot Austria 162, 45–71.

24. September, 2026/by Michaela Sonnleitner

M. Sonnleitner

ABOL-BioBlitz at Hohe Tauern National park

ABOL BioBlitz, Highlights

Fortunately, the weather in the Hohe Tauern was kind to us this year, from July 18-20, 2025. At the National Park’s Day of Biodiversity, in the Gradental and Gartltal valleys in Carinthia, not only was the weather record-breaking, but so was the number of participating experts, with almost 100 registrations.

Many were already out in the field on Friday, searching for species. In the evening, nocturnal insects were attracted using light traps, photographed, identified, and recorded on Observation.org. Shortly after the light was set, over 160 species of moths from the study area were already registered on Observation.org!

While the majority of the researchers visited the Gradental valley on Saturday—a high valley that extends southwest from the Mölltal and is surrounded by 3,000-meter peaks—we, the ABOL delegation, explored the Gartltal valley to the south. The tall herbs along the forest clearings, with Heracleum, Filipendula, thistles, and other flowering perennials, were particularly interesting and productive in terms of insects. Further up, subalpine larch forest and grasslands rich in Nardus with characteristic silicate flora followed. The fens near Fleckmoos at about 2000 m were also very attractive and rich in flowers. In the late afternoon, we were picked up by the shuttle bus from the parking lot in Ranach. As usual, the transport was very well organized. We were back in the valley just in time before the thunderstorm.

On Sunday morning, the majority of the participants met in Döllach for the closing presentation. In addition to various contributions, the experts presented interesting species they had discovered – from the first record of a cave cricket in the area to the luminous moss, which is often found in semi-caves.

After the final group photo, most of the participants headed home.

From ABOL’s perspective, these opportunities are ideal for connecting with taxonomists—from long-time acquaintances to the many young participants. The one or other DNA barcode references from these biodiversity days will also contribute to filling the DNA database. We thank the organizers for their commitment and everyone who participates in the ABOL BioBlitz.

Impressions (Photos: M. Sonnleitner):

28. July, 2025/by Michaela Sonnleitner

M. Sonnleitner

ABOL at the Day of Biodiversity in Baden bei Wien

ABOL BioBlitz, Citizen Science, Highlights

On June 13 and 14, 2025, the Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald organized its 20th Day of Biodiversity– this year in the Lower Austrian part of the biosphere reserve around Baden bei Wien. Around 100 experts from various disciplines explored the diverse flora, fauna, and funga of the area from the Kurpark to the Lindkogel. In perfect weather conditions, numerous fascinating observations were made, and an impressive number of over 1,700 species were documented.
As in previous years, the primary goal was to record as many animal, plant, and fungal species as possible within 24 hours, thus collecting valuable data for nature conservation in the biosphere reserve. A diverse program for visitors was also offered: night hikes, guided excursions, and a “Festival of Biodiversity” on June 14 in the Kurpark, where interested guests could learn about nature and species conservation at numerous information booths.
ABOL was also there: On June 13, our team was out in the field collecting samples for DNA barcoding, and on June 14, we had an information booth available for questions. We had many interesting discussions about the role of DNA barcoding in biodiversity monitoring and nature conservation – and, last but not least, make new contacts and deepen existing collaborations.

A big thank you goes to the organizing team for the excellent preparation and execution of this successful event!

Impressions (photos by N. Szucsich, V. Kargl, M. Sonnleitner)

3. July, 2025/by Michaela Sonnleitner

TdA Biosphere Reserve Wienerwald - Vienna-Liesing

M. Sonnleitner

The first ABOL BioBlitzes 2024

ABOL BioBlitz, Citizen Science, Highlights, Veranstaltungen

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.

On the occasion of the City Nature Challenge, an excursion to the Vienna-Liesing study area around Himmelswiese started at the end of April. Some species were already recorded there and on the Days of Biodiversity on June 8th and 9th this list of species was further expanded. In ideal weather conditions, which only made catching insects difficult due to occasional gusts of wind, we went along forest paths and extensive meadows to different types of water. The bright expert T-shirts meant that we kept meeting interested visitors or experts from other species groups, which led to nice conversations.

At the Biodiversity Festival, we shared an information stand with the Mycological Society, which was packed thanks to the favorable mushroom weather beforehand!

The Day of Biodiversity came to a cozy end at a nearby wine tavern, to which all experts were invited. A big thank you to the organizing team, as always it was a great experience that ran smoothly!

Impressions (photos: M. Sonnleitner)

16. July, 2024/by Michaela Sonnleitner

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ABOL PARTNERS IN GRAZ!

Highlights

With their many ABOL activities, the Graz partners have achieved
2^nd place in this year’s Silberdistel (Styria’s Biodiversity Prize)!

We are delighted and congratulate you!

10. July, 2024/by Michaela Sonnleitner

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - group photo

M. Sonnleitner

DNA barcoding workshop at the University of Zambia 2.0

Highlights, Meetings, Projects, Veranstaltungen, Workshops

Due to last year’s great success, the 2^nd 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. Cyprian Katongo (UNZA ) students and staff of UNZA were trained in all the necessary steps to create DNA barcodes. The workshop began with a series of lectures on various aspects of DNA barcoding as a standard approach to recording biodiversity, its possible applications in monitoring, the challenges of a national biodiversity initiatives and opportunities for students and doctoral candidates to conduct research in Austria. The remaining workshop days covered the entire process of creating DNA barcode references – from sampling to data analysis. The DNA barcodes generated from fish and dragonflies are intended to serve as a crystallization point around which a national initiative in Zambia can be formed. Using the dragonflies, the participants were also introduced to the preparation and identification of insects. Laboratory work with DNA extraction and PCR, as well as the processing and evaluation of sequence data, were particularly popular. Overall, the workshop was once again a great success with around 30 participants.

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - lab work

Collecting dragonflies at the Kafue river

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - data analysis

Preparation and determination of dragonflies for DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - collecting dragonflies at the Kafue river

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - Prof. Katongo (UnNZA), Dr. Koblmüller (Univ. Graz)

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - collecting dragonflies & damselflies at the Goma lakes, UNZA

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - Prof. Katongo (UNZA)

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - lecture series: Dr. Koblmüller

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - lecture series: Dr. Zangl

Collecting dragonflies at the university lake, UNZA

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - lecture series: Dr. Semani

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - collecting trip to the Kafue river

Fish from the Kafue river for DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding workshop at UNZA - tissue sample

19. October, 2023/by Michaela Sonnleitner

M. Sonnleitner

ABOL at the Long Night of Museums

Highlights, Meetings

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. In the mobile lab, DNA was extracted from tomatoes using simple tools and the DNA could be admired with fascination as a light-colored sediment in the sample tube. We explained the basics and applications of DNA barcoding and what the ABOL initiative does. The prepared dragonflies received particular attention as an example of how insects are preserved in the museum. Some of the visitors were amazed that there are 78 different species of dragonflies in Austria. Exuviae of dragonflies could be viewed under the stereo magnifier, which was also very popular. So the long night was very entertaining for us. We are pleased about the great interest and the many interesting conversations that developed. With 16,000 visitors, the event was a huge success for the NHM.

15. October, 2023/by Michaela Sonnleitner

ABOL BioBlitz in the National park Hohe Tauern

ABOL BioBlitz, Highlights, Meetings, Veranstaltungen

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. The first evening was already dedicated to the light traps – nocturnal insects were attracted and mapped with light traps on the banks of the Schwarzach river and in the alpine area at Speikboden. Saturday was devoted entirely to searching for species in the study areas above St. Veit and St. Jakob, up to high alpine locations. In the evening, nets for catching bats were set up around the House of Water of the National Park, which served as a base, with which, together with echolocation, 5 species of bats could be detected. At the final event on Sunday, the first results and provisional species numbers were presented. Thanks to the voluntary and unpaid work of around 70 experts, the data situation in this area, which had been rather sparse until then, was significantly improved. We hope to get some more samples for the creation of DNA barcodes and to successfully complete the ABOL-BioBlitz collecting season.
We would like to thank the national park team for the perfect organization of accommodation, food and transport!

Impressions from the study area:

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Myricaria germanica on the Schwarzach river. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. N. Szucsich at the closing event. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Light trap. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Species rich meadow. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Insects on Apiaceae inflorescence. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggental. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

TdA NP Hohe Tauern, Defereggen valley. Welcome. Photo: M. Sonnleitner

2. August, 2023/by Michaela Sonnleitner

TdA Nockberge - Bärengrube. Photo: O. Macek

ABOL-BioBlitzes in Tyrol and the Carinthian Nockberge Mountains

ABOL BioBlitz, Highlights, Meetings

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. In a moor area with orchid-rich fens and an intact mountain pine high moor, night was turned into day with numerous light traps – at least for the nocturnal insects and their researchers. In addition, many fireflies, which are rarely observed in such high numbers today, lit our way. The numerous butterfly experts were also present high on the mountain in the direction of Arnkopf, at a species-rich meadow and an interesting gravel area. The beautiful weather on Saturday contributed to rich observations of various animal groups. The final event on Saturday afternoon was well attended and very informative and interesting with a very well-prepared photo presentation which was put together in a very short time. Experts from various fields contributed briefly, from the geology of the study area, a short introduction to iNaturalist to a poem about a moth (Baptria tibiale).

First results were presented, there was a lot to find on the four survey plots: 11 orchid species, about 200 different butterflies, including the rare dusky large blue (Phengaris nausithous), more than 50 bird species, including black grouse, golden eagle and tawny owl, some recordings on the bat-detector and sundew and moorland hawker in the moorland. As part of the post-processing, some more exciting species will surely be added to the species list. Also, the culinary art and the interaction among the experts wasn’t missed out, before we started the long journey home, which was definitively worth it! Many thanks to the organizing team!

The other part of the ABOL team took part in the GEO Day of Nature in the Nockberge. With the ‘Bärengrube’ (translated ‘bear-cave’) near Innerkrems we went this year to north-exposed sites of the biosphere reserve, with a diverse geology and soils, from dolomite to mica schist and numerous boggy areas. Not in every organism group the call for ‘bear’ associations could be served as elegantly as the botanical Lycopodium, a pun that loses its punch line in English. Not even the butterfly experts were successful due to the lack of Arctiinae sightings. The familiar atmosphere and the perfect weather led to the fact that nevertheless nobody was grieved. Moreover, the sightings of all three grouse species consoled even the melancholic about the absence of species like Contarinia baeri.

Our thanks go again to the organizers of E.C.O., the biosphere reserve team and the Ökoteam for the perfect organization and for opening the wide field of bear puns.

Impressions from Leutasch in Tyrol:

Impressions from the Nockberge:

20. July, 2023/by Michaela Sonnleitner

Metabarcoding-Symposium 2026

Launch of an Austrian eDNA Community

Strong Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium

A decade of ABOL – new paper!

Looking Back on a Decade of ABOL: Coordinating a National Biodiversity Initiative

ABOL-BioBlitz at Hohe Tauern National park

ABOL at the Day of Biodiversity in Baden bei Wien

The first ABOL BioBlitzes 2024

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ABOL PARTNERS IN GRAZ!

DNA barcoding workshop at the University of Zambia 2.0

ABOL at the Long Night of Museums

ABOL BioBlitz in the National park Hohe Tauern

ABOL-BioBlitzes in Tyrol and the Carinthian Nockberge Mountains

Wild Bees

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Launch of an Austrian eDNA Community

Strong Interest in the Metabarcoding Symposium

Looking Back on a Decade of ABOL: Coordinating a National Biodiversity Initiative

Tag Archive for: ABOL

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