Grasender Kaffernbüffel (Syncerus caffer) im Amboseli-Sumpf, ein sehr diverses, fragiles Ökosystem in der Trockensavanne Südkenias. Es wird ausschließlich von den Niederschlägen am benachbarten Kilimandscharo gespeist.
Biodiversität und Klima
Forschungsbereich III integriert Geo- und Biowissenschaften, um die Rückkopplungen zwischen biologischer Vielfalt, Klima und anderen anthropogenen Faktoren in Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft zu analysieren und vorherzusagen.
Unsere Forschung erstreckt sich auf alle Ebenen der biologischen Vielfalt, vom Genom über die Eigenschaften von Organismen bis hin zu den Prozessen und Funktionen, die ganze Ökosysteme prägen. Wir schaffen die Grundlage für das Verständnis der evolutionären und ökologischen Fähigkeiten der biologischen Vielfalt, auf den Klimawandel zu reagieren und sich an ihn anzupassen.
Professor for Biogeography, Head of Research Group 'Biogeography and Ecosystem Ecology', 'Quantitative Biogeography', Speaker of GRADE Sustain (Goethe Graduate Academy)
My main research interest is to understand the distribution of life on earth (e.g. species, biodiversity, vegetation types, ecosystems) through space and time. I am particularly interested in interactions between climate and the terrestrial biosphere. This includes potential impacts of climate change on species, ecosystems and associated ecosystem services, as well as the role of the biosphere in the earth climate system (e.g. carbon and water cycling). Methodologically, vegetation and ecosystem modelling at local to global scales has been at the core of my work.
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
Barczyk, M.K., Acosta‐Rojas, D.C., Espinosa, C.I., Homeier, J., Tinoco, B.A., Velescu, A., Wilcke, W., Schleuning, M., Neuschulz, E. L. (2024). Environmental conditions differently shape leaf, seed and seedling trait composition between and within elevations of tropical montane forests. Oikos, e10421.
Bello, C., Schleuning, M. & Graham, C.H. (2023). Analyzing trophic ecosystem functions with the interaction functional space. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 38, 424-434.
Bianco, G., Manning, P., Schleuning, M. (2024). A quantitative framework for identifying the role of individual species in Nature’s Contributions to People. Ecology Letters, 27, e14371.
Martins, L.P., Stouffer, D.B., Blendinger, P.G., Böhning-Gaese, K., Costa, J.M., Dehling, D.M., Donatti, C.I., Emer, C., Galetti, M., Heleno, R., Menezes, I., Morante-Filho, J.C., Muñoz, M.C., Neuschulz, E.L., Pizo, M.A., Quitián, M., Ruggera, R.A., Saavedra, F., Santillán, V., Schleuning, M., da Silva, L.P., da Silva, F.R., Tobias, J.A., Traveset, A., Vollstädt, M.G.R., Tylianakis, J.M. (2024). Birds optimize fruit size consumed near their geographic range limits. Science, 385, 331-336.
Schleuning, M., García, D., Tobias, J.A. (2023). Animal functional traits: Towards a trait‐based ecology for whole ecosystems. Functional Ecology, 37, 4-12.
Mit Ihrer Spende ermöglichen Sie der Senckenberg Gesellschaft Naturforschung zu betreiben und unsere Forschungsergebnisse durch Veröffentlichungen, Ausstellungen, Vermittlungsprojekte und viele weitere Initiativen der Allgemeinheit zugänglich zu machen.