About me

I am an ornithologist with broad interests in avian migration, behaviour, the ecology of wintering waterbirds, and bird synurbization. Since the beginning of my career, I have been working at the University of Gdańsk, maintaining strong cooperation with ornithological societies involved in citizen science. I am the founder and long-time coordinator of the scientific activities of the Waterbird Research Group KULING. I am open to all proposals for collaboration, including analyses of existing data as well as new research projects, also within the framework of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral theses.

The main focus of my recent studies is on waterbird migration strategies, the demography and ecology of waterbirds during the non-breeding season, and biometrical variation in bird populations.

Email: w.meissner@ug.edu.pl

You can find a list of my publications here: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/op/publications/summary

or https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wlodzimierz-Meissner/research

Selected publications on various topics:

Bird Ringing Manual

Busse P., Meissner W. 2015. Bird Ringing Station Manual. De Gruyter Open, Warsaw.

Available here: https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.2478/9788376560533/html

Bird Migration Strategies

Witkowska M., Korniluk M., Pinchuk P., Tumiel T., Karlionova N., Meissner W. 2025. The interplay between flight feather moult and fuelling in Eastern European great snipes Gallinago media. Journal of Zoology 325: 135–146.

Ożarowska A., Meissner W. 2024. Incresing body condition of autumn migrating Eurasian blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla over four decades. European Zoological Journal 91: 151–161.

Pinchuk P., Meissner W. 2024. Rapid flight feathers moult and fat stores in the Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago in the early stage of autumn migration. Journal of Ornithology 165: 935–945.

Stępniewska K., Ożarowska A., Zaniewicz G., Busse P., Broński S., Ilieva M., Zehtindjiev P., Meissner W. 2024. Species-specific and age-related migration strategies of three Acrocephalus warblers along the eastern European – African flyway. European Zoological Journal 91: 427–439.

Ecology of Wintering and Migratory Waterbirds (including moult strategy)

Meissner W., Czaplewska E., Ożarowska A. 2024. Sex‑ and age‑dependent breeding plumage acquisition in monomorphic species, the Black‑headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus. Journal of Ornithology 165: 81–89.

Meissner W., Kozik R., Listewnik B., Nowicki J., Lasecki R. 2023. The effects of river regulation on diet diversity, dietary niche overlap and foraging habitat preferences of two sympatric plover species. Acta Oecologica 119: 103915.

Meissner W., Witkowska M. 2023. The effect of the temperature on local differences in the sex ratio of Mallards Anas platyrhynchos wintering in an urban habitat. Acta Oecologica 119: 103900.

Kozik R., Meissner W., Listewnik B., Nowicki J., Lasecki R. 2022. Differences in foraging behaviour of a migrating shorebird at stopover sites on regulated and unregulated sections of a large European lowland river. Journal of Ornithology 163: 791–802.

Biometrical Variation in Bird Populations

Meissner W., Goc M., Zaniewicz G. 2024. Evaluation of the effectiveness of sex determination in the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Based on external measurements. Animals 14: 2389.

Meissner W., Remisiewicz M., Pilacka L. 2021. Sexual size dimorphism and sex determination in Blacksmith Lapwing Vanellus armatus (Burchell, 1822) (Charadriiformes: Charadriidae). European Zoological Journal 88: 279–288.

Witkowska M., Meissner W. 2020. Sexual dimorphism in size and plumage in adult Curlew Sandpipers (Calidris ferruginea) migrating in autumn through the Baltic Sea region. Ornis Fennica 97: 186–199.

van Gils J. A., Lisovski S., Lok T., Meissner W., Ożarowska A., de Fouw J., Rakhimberdiev E., Soloviev M. Y., Piersma T., Klaassen M. 2016. Body shrinkage due to Arctic warming reduces red knot fitness in tropical wintering range. Science 352: 819–821.

Ecotoxicology

Jędruch A., Falkowska L., Saniewska D., Grajewska A., Bełdowska M., Meissner W., Kalisińska E., Duzinkiewicz K., Pacyna J.N. 2023. Mercury in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea: A response to decreased atmospheric deposition and changing environment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 186: 114426.

Bodziach K., Staniszewska M., Nehring I., Ożarowska A., Zaniewicz G., Meissner W. 2022. Elimination of endocrine disrupting phenolic compounds via feathers and claws in seabirds moulting in the Baltic and Russian Arctic. Science of the Total Environment 853: 158641.

Ruczyńska W., Szlinder-Richert J., Meissner W., Ożarowska A., Zaniewicz G. 2022. Occurrence and tissue distribution of alkylphenols (APs) in selected waterbirds from the Southern Baltic. Chemosphere 303: 135191.

Meissner W., Binkowski Ł.J., Barker J., Hahnd A., Trzeciak M. 2020. Relationship between blood lead levels and physiological stress in mute swans (Cygnus olor) in municipal beaches of the southern Baltic. Science of the Total Environment 710: 136292.