REASSEMBLY

Resistance, resilience and functional recovery of a rainforest ecosystem

​DFG-funded Research Unit REASSEMBLY (FOR 5207) Posts @bsky
1^st funding phase 2021-2025, 2^nd phase 2026-2029

REASSEMBLY aims at understanding network dynamics to uncover rules of network dis- and reassembly in a highly diverse tropical lowland rainforest ecosystem. We study the dynamics of natural forest recovery from agriculture along a chronosequence and the contribution of re-assembled networks to the resilience of ecosystem processes against perturbation. We compare the trajectories of predator–prey, plant–pollinator, and plant–seed disperser networks, as well as decomposition networks between mammals, dung beetles and seeds, and between dead wood, ants, termites, and beetles. Subprojects thus examine networks of all major ecosystem processes mediated by interspecific interactions: predation, pollination, primary and secondary seed dispersal, herbivory, decomposition, and tree seedling recruitment. Networks and ecosystem processes are studied along a large-scale chronosequence of forest recovery (62 plots representing different stages of succession) and in a small-scale perturbation–recruitment experiment. Our Research Unit is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

Our MISSION: Although REASSEMBLY is a basic scientific research unit, our aim is to ensure that the knowledge gained can be applied and contribute to optimizing the restoration of tropical forests. This research project, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), will not only be conducted within a forest in Ecuador, but on an equal footing with the Ecuadorian scientific community in different institutions and with an Ecuadorian conservation organization (Fundación Jocotoco). Our goal is to strengthen ecological science and the next generation of scientists in both countries, as well as nature conservation efforts that meet the interests of local communities. To achieve these goals, transparent and accessible data and results are essential.

Latest Posts:

• Reassembly im Kontext der Klimakrise
  by Nico
  November 4, 2025
  Die Uni Mainz hat eine sehr sehenswerte – von Studierenden initiierte – Vorlesungsreihe zur Klimakrise etabliert, die auch außerhalb der Uni sehr stark wahrgenommen wird (https://zukunft.uni-mainz.de/). Gestern (am 3. Nov. 2025) durfte ich dort vor hunderten Zuhörer:innen die Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse der “Reassembly” Forschungsgruppe darstellen. Ich habe versucht, einen großen Bogen zu spannen von der …
• PhD position in Tropical Ecosystem Ecology to study tree defense, epiphylls and insect herbivores in trees along a gradient of tropical forest reassembly
  by Edith Villa-Galaviz
  October 31, 2025
  Botanical Institute, Kiel University                              Start: beginning of 2026                                Duration: 48 months Tropical rainforests host an extraordinary diversity in trees and herbivorous insects but so far it is still poorly understood how tree-insect-interactions change as forests recover from disturbance. This PhD project investigates tree-herbivore interactions along a tropical rainforest recovery gradient, integrating microclimate, …
• PhD position in Tropical Ecology: ANT-PLANT INTERACTIONS
  by Edith Villa-Galaviz
  October 29, 2025
  The University of Bayreuth is a research-oriented university with internationally competitive, interdisciplinary focus areas in research and teaching. Within the Faculty of Biology, Chemistry & Earth Sciences at the University of Bayreuth, the research group Population Ecology, Prof. Dr. Heike Feldhaar, is currently seeking to appoint a Research assistant (PhD candidate) (m/f/d) on Biotic defenses: …
• PhD position in Tropical Ecosystem Ecology
  by Edith Villa-Galaviz
  October 21, 2025
  Institute of Botany, Ulm University Start: beginning of 2026             Duration: 48 months Are you passionate about tropical forest research? Are you curious about plant-soil interactions and ecosystem function? Do you have a good understanding of experimental research and experience of tropical fieldwork? If you’ve just answered ‘yes’ to these questions, we invite you to …
• Animal seed dispersers recover later than plants, but forest connectivity helps
  by Edith Villa-Galaviz
  October 6, 2025
  Anna Landim and collaborators found that animal communities recover more slowly than plant communities, mainly because remnant trees help maintain plant functional diversity and attract animals early in the regeneration process. Their study estimated that animal functional diversity takes about 40 years to reach levels comparable to those of old-growth forests. Moreover, landscape connectivity plays …