AT-TAF

The Austrian Taxonomic Access Facility (AT-TAF) comprises of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW).

It is among the largest of its kind and one of the most important museums in Europe. The field of research covers a wide range of topics from the origins of our solar system and the evolution of animals and plants to human evolution, as well as prehistoric traditions and customs.

A part of the research staff also lectures at the University of Vienna. This stimulates research collaborations that SYNTHESYS+ Users can benefit from.

TAF Admin: Dr Karin Wiltschke, synthesys@nhm-wien.ac.at

AT-TAF research highlights

The research community at AT-TAF is highly productive. Over 160 peer-reviewed papers were generated in 2020. AT-TAF research highlights include:

• Changes and trends of Eurasian climate across the last 40 million years
• Photogrammetry meets taphonomy - deciphering the depositional history of oyster reefs
• Palaeopathological and demographic studies on human remains of prehistoric and historic populations
• Investigations on drill cores from the 66 million year-old Chicxulub impact crater, Gulf of Mexico
• Dispersal of environmental pathogens in amphibians
• Research focus on world heritage site Hallstatt: mining, textiles, environment and burial archaeology
• Comprehensive digitisation for the Virtual Herbaria JACQ
• ABOL - the Austrian barcode of Life Initiative
• Biodiversity of freshwater invertebrates 
• Genetic diversity of Austrian wild bees
• Phylogeny and evolution of the Myriapod genus Lithobius

AT-TAF Member Institutions

Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW)

Founded more than 100 years ago NHMW is the main institution for biodiversity research in Austria including departments of Zoology, Botany, Geology-Palaeontology, Mineralogy, Anthropology, Prehistory, and an Archive for the History of Science. The collections - the oldest parts more than 250 years old - comprise some 30 million specimens and artefacts including more than 600,000 unique types.