Dr. Ioana Meleg

Ioana-Nicoleta Meleg, PhD
Senior Researcher

Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Evolutionary biology, Paleoecology, Ancient DNA
+40 741 044 561
ioana.meleg@ubbcluj.ro

Education:
Postdoctoral: Swedish Museum of Natural History, Centre for Palaeogenetics (Marie Curi
Research Fellow), 2020 – 2022 (Host: Prof. Love Dalén)
Postdoctoral: University of Potsdam & University of Tübingen (Research Fellow of the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation), 2016 – 2018 (Hosts: Prof. Michael Hofreiter & Prof.
Hervé Bocherens)
PhD: Romanian Academy, Biology, 2013
M.S.: Babeș-Bolyai University, Systemic Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, 2007
B.S.: Babeș-Bolyai University, Ecology and Environment Protection, 2006

Research:
I am an evolutionary biologist and speleologist, with particular expertise in the ecology of
Romanian caves and karst systems, as well as ancient DNA and palaeogenomics. My current
research involves using an interdisciplinary approach to explore the response of Late
Pleistocene and Holocene populations to environmental heterogeneity in caves located along
the Carpathians (Romania). The approach combines ancient DNA research with
palaeoecological study using stable isotopes to address the question to what extent
ecological differences influence gene flow and structure among populations, and to decipher
palaeo-extinctions and ecosystem dynamics during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.

Selected Publications:

1. Rosengren, E., Acatrinei, A., Cruceru, N., Dehasque, M., Haliuc, A., Lord, E., Mircea, C.I.,
   Rusu, I., Mármol-Sánchez, E., Kelemen, B.S., Meleg, I.N. 2021. Ancient faunal history
   revealed by interdisciplinary biomolecular approaches. Diversity, 13, 370, https://doi.org/
   10.3390/d13080370
2. Dussex, N., Bergfeldt, N., de Anca Prado, V., Dehasque, M., Diez-del-Molino, D., Ersmark, E.,
   Kanellidou, F., Larsson, P., Lemež, S., Lord, E., Mármol-Sánchez, E., Meleg, I.N., Måsviken,
   J., Naidoo, T., Studerus, J., Vicente, M., von Seth, J., Götherström, A., Dalén, L., Heintzman,
   P.D. 2021. Integrating multi-taxon palaeogenomes and sedimentary ancient DNA to study
   past ecosystem dynamics. Proceedings of Royal Society B, 288, 20211252, doi: 10.1098/
   rspb.2021.1252
3. Naito, Y.I., Meleg, I.N., Robu, M., Vlaicu, M., Drucker, D.G., Wißing, C., Hofreiter, M., Barlow,
   A., Bocherens, H. 2020. Heavy reliance on plants for Romanian cave bears evidenced by
   amino acid nitrogen isotope analysis. Scientific Reports, 10, 6612. https://doi.org/10.1038/
   s41598-020-62990-0

4. Meleg, I.N., Robu, M., Borda, D., Ghemiș, C., Mátyási, L., Lascu, V.T. 2019. Show caves of
   Romania. In: Ponta, G.M.L., Onac, B.P. (eds), Caves and karst systems of Romania,
   Springer International, Cham, pp. 519-535.
5. Fortes, G.G, Grandal-d’Anglade, A., Kolbe, B., Fernandes, D., Meleg, I.N., García-Vázquez,
   A., Pinto-Llona, A.C., Constantin, S., de Torres, T.J., Ortiz, J.E., Frischauf, C., Rabeder, G.,
   Hofreiter, M., Barlow, A. 2016. Ancient DNA reveals differences in behaviour and sociality
   between brown bears and extinct cave bears. Molecular Ecology, 25, 4907-4918, https://
   doi.org/10.1111/mec.13800
   

Full Publication List

Teaching:
2020: Invited lecturer: Palaeoecology, BL7052: M.S. course in Palaeoecology, Genetics, and
Human Prehistory (15 ECTS) at Stockholm University, Sweden. Course leaders: Professors
Love Dalén and Anders Götherström.