Our research focusses at the interface of Evolutionary Ecology, Genetics and Functional Biodiversity research. We aim to understand the fundamental ecological, behavioral, chemical and genetic/genomic processes that drive and limit adaptive evolution to maintain ecosystem functions and wildlife health. Details on current projects, target species, methods and technologies used to achieve our goals, as well as on our team can be found here:

Prof. Dr. Simone Sommer	Conservation Genomics and EcoHealth
Prof. Dr. Manfred Ayasse	Chemical Ecology
Prof. Dr. Lena Wilfert	Functional Biodiversity
apl. Prof. Dr. Marco Tschapka	Tropical Ecology

Recently published research (2021):

Alpízar P, Risely A, Tschapka M, Sommer S (2021) Agricultural fast food: Bats feeding in banana monocultures are heavier but have less diverse gut microbiomes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 746783. 

Burger H, Marquardt M, Babucke K, Heul KC, Ayasse M, Dötterl S, Galizia CG (2021) Neural and behavioural responses of the pollen-specialist bee Andrena vaga to Salix odours. J Exp Biol (2021) 224 (13) https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.242166

Keppner EM, Steiger S (2021) Males benefit personally from family life: evidence from a wild burying beetle population. Behavioral Ecology.
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab067

Fackelmann G, Gillingham MAF, Schmid J, Heni AC, Wilhelm K, Sommer S (2021) Human encroachment into wildlife gut microbiomes. Communications Biology, 4:800, 1-11.

Kuppler J & Kotowska MM (2021) A meta‐analysis of responses in floral traits and flower‐visitor interactions to water deficit. Global Change Biology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15621

Höfer RJ, Ayasse M,Kuppler J (2021) Bumblebee behavior on flowers, but not initial attraction, is altered by short-term drought stress. Front. Plant Sci., 11:564802.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.564802

Neumüller U, Burger H, Schwenninger HR, Hopfenmüller S, Krausch S, Weiß K, Ayasse M (2021) Prolonged blooming season of flower plantings increases wild bee abundance and richness in agricultural landscapes. Biodiversity and Conservation https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02233-4

Risely A, Wilhelm K, Clutton-Brock T, Manser MB, Sommer S (2021) Diurnal oscillations in gut bacterial load and composition eclipse seasonal and lifetime dynamics in wild meerkats, Suricata suricatta. Nature Communications.

Steitz I, Paxton RJ, Schulz S, Ayasse M (2021) Chemical variation among castes, female life stages and populations of the facultative eusocial sweat bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). J Chem Ecol, 47, 406–419.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-021-01267-w

Weithmann S, von Hoermann C, Degasperi G, Brandt K, Steiger S, Ayasse M (2021) Temporal variability of the rove beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) community on small vertebrate carrion and its potential use for forensic entomology. Forensic Science International, 110792.
doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110792

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