Unser Team

Fields of interest

I am fascinated by interactions between organisms, especially if they are mutually beneficial for both partners*. To understand the structure and function of ecological networks, I study species interactions in ecological communities along environmental gradients and across large spatial scales. My research uses trait-based approaches in combination with field studies, experiments and simulation models to predict the impacts of climate and land-use change on ecosystem functions and services. (*I usually become enthusiastic if one of the interaction partners has wings and a beak.)

Research
– Plant-animal interactions and ecological networks
– Functional diversity of ecological communities
– Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
– Pollination and seed dispersal by animals
– Nature’s contributions to people

Methods 
– Observational and experimental field studies
– Functional trait measurements
– Network analyses
– Trait-based analyses and models

Study areas
– Tropical Andes
– Tropical and subtropical Africa
– Germany

Google Scholar Profile

Researcher ID H-2154-2015

ResearchGate Profile

Concepts & Synthesis Editor of Ecological Monographs

Associate Editor of Functional Ecology

Research interests

My research focusses on the interplay between plants and animals and their interactions with the abiotic and biotic environment. In particular, I study the dynamics of temperate and tropical forest ecosystems across elevational and land use gradients. In one of my research themes, I study the dispersal of seeds by animals, which is one of the key ecosystem services for natural forest restoration. I combine a diverse set of methods, ranging from field observations and experiments to molecular and meta-analytic approaches and advanced statistical modelling to project the response capacity of plants to land use and climate change.

In one of my projects, we examine seed dispersal pattern by nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) along environmental gradients in alpine pine forests. We investigate, how seed deposition by nutcrackers and other biotic and abiotic drivers relate to the potential of Swiss stone pine seedlings (Pinus cembra) to establish.

DFG project NE 1863 2-2 “The role of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal, traits, and genetic diversity for the response capacity of plants to climate change”; PhD student Valentin Graf

In other projects in the tropical Andes, we study how abiotic and biotic filters affect the regeneration of plants of various life history traits across an elevational and disturbance gradient in Southern Ecuador. In Northern Ecuador, we study how seed dispersal networks (birds and rodents) reassemble across a forest disturbance gradient in the Chocó region.

DFG projects NE 1863 3-1 “Trait-dependent effects of biotic and abiotic filters on plant regeneration”, NE 1863 3-2 “Trait-dependent effects of abiotic and biotic filters on plant regeneration in mountain dry forest and mountain rain forest”; PhD students Maciej Barczyk, Lea Kerwer

DFG project NE 1863/4-1 “Seed dispersal by frugivorous birds, bats and rodents” PhD student Anna Rebello Landim

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in how organisms interact with each other and their environment and what this means for people. In my research I investigate the role of species interactions in providing regulating ecosystem services like seed dispersal, pest control and habitat provision. My research is based on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and is part of the DFG-funded research unit “The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System” .

The slopes of Kilimanjaro offer a fantastic opportunity to look at how species interactions, and the services they underpin, change across a variety of ecosystems defined by altitude and land-use. I aim to build a conceptual framework that allows to quantify the role of species in the provision of ecosystem services and use it to analyse the data that I am collecting on the mountain. 

Keywords
Community ecology, species interactions, biodiversity, ecosystem services, nature’s contributions to people

External links

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giovanni-Bianco

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=droRXqwAAAAJ&hl=en

Research interests

I am intersted in a wide range of ecological processes including demographic population analyses, movement ecology, and plant-animal interactions.
My PhD project brings me to the Swiss Alps, where I study the Swiss stone pine, a coniferous tree occupying timberline habitat. Swiss stone pine populations are often small, and genetic diversity is generally low. I aim to find out how well this species can adapt to changing climatic conditions.
The Swiss stone pine maintains a close mutualistic bond with the spotted nutcracker, a scatter-hoarding bird of the crow family. The charismatic bird harvests and caches up to 100’000 pine seeds every summer, to then feed on them for the rest of the year. By forgetting about some of his caches, the nutcracker acts as the pine’s sole long-distance seed disperser, which earned him the nickname „feathered forester“.
To understand the pine’s potential to adapt to changing conditions, I am studying both the tree and its disperser. I am excited to combine different apporaches like seed transplant experiments, genetic analyses, trait-based data, and fine-scale movement analyses. Together, these approaches will give insight into the pine’s recruitment success across an array of biotic and abiotic factors.

Keywords

functional ecology, biotic interactions, seed dispersal, climate change

Research interests

I am captivated by the dynamic nature of species interactions, with a particular interest in the effects of anthropogenic drivers on a macroecological scale. My research often focuses on temperature as both an abiotic driver of environmental change and as a physiological boundary. Within my PhD project, I aim to unravel the effects of global change on trophic networks, with a focus on the role of omnivores for food web rewiring. By compiling a large-scale database on trophic interactions of omnivores, I am able to ascertain the influence of anthropogenic global change drivers such as rising temperatures and intensifying land-use on trophic response mechanisms. This project is being funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and supervised by Dr. Jörg Albrecht.

More generally speaking, I use quantitative analysis of large data sets spanning multiple animal taxa for a wide range of topics linked to global change. Previous work has been focused on the influence of temperature on physiology and population dynamics of ectothermic animals and dated phylogenomic reconstruction.

Key-words

Trophic interactions, biodiversity, global change, thermal physiology, omnivory, macroecology, climate change

As an ecologist and botanist, I am broadly interested in many ecological processes, especially in drivers of plant diversity, plant community assembly rules and regeneration patterns.

I find it essential to asses these processes not only from a botanical point of view but trying to understand how species interactions among and between taxa can shape ecosystem processes. This is particularly important when studying the regeneration ability of ecosystems and their resilience against natural or anthropogenic disturbances. I’m passionate about understanding how insights in these processes can come in hand for conservation and restoration efforts, as well as human benefits.

In my previous research I focused on vegetation assembly patterns as well as the relationship between plant biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Southern Black Forest. In my current research for my PhD project, I study the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on seedling communities in the Dry Forest of the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador. Therefore, I compare seedling recruitment between two elevations as well as between disturbed and non-disturbed habitats. The Tropical Dry Forest in the Tumbesian region is highly biodiverse but also strongly threatened. With my research I aim to gain more insights in the regeneration dynamics of this unique ecosystem. My project is part of the research unit “RESPECT Environmental changes in biodiversity hotspot ecosystems in Southern Ecuador: RESPonse and feedback effECTs” funded by the German Research Foundation and I am supervised by Dr. Eike Lena Neuschulz and PD Dr. Matthias Schleuning.

As a biologist living in the tropics, I have always been interested in understanding how nature works, especially mutualistic interactions. Prior to my PhD position, I was studying plant-pollinator mutualistic relationships between flowers and hummingbirds. Now, for the PhD project I decided to extend my knowledge to the post-pollination phase, i.e., seed dispersal. Through this work I aim to understand the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on plant functional diversity, dispersal and seedrain in the tropical dry forest of southern Ecuador. Through my results I hope to contribute to the understanding of the importance of ecological processes (i.e., seed dispersal) in the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems. I work under the supervision of PD Dr. Matthias Schleuning and Dr. Eike Lena Neuschulz at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Senckenberg.

Biodiversity conservation and restoration have always been my main interests in Ecology. Within these topics, I am passionate about mutualistic interactions and the ecological processes derived from them. Understanding the role of each character in these processes and the outcome of their entanglement has driven my research in the last years. In particular, I am interested  in exploring functional traits as a tool to both understand species roles in ecological processes and also improve restoration management. I am especially motivated to understand and investigate means to restore ecological processes and functions once they are lost (after species extinction, for example). This is why I am a big enthusiast of the Reassembly of species interaction networks project, which my PhD project is part of: it aims to understand how highly diverse networks dis and reasemble after land use (pasture and agriculture). Within this project, I will study the reassembly of seed dispersal networks and how species traits shape this process. I am working under the supervision of PD Dr. Matthias Schleuning and Dr. Eike Lena Neuschulz, at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre.

Key-words:
Plant-animal interactions, seed dispersal, functional diversity, restoration, ecosystem functioning

Curriculum Vitae