REASSEMBLY

Reassembly of species interaction networks

Resistance, resilience and functional recovery of a rainforest ecosystem

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

  • Maths, not myths: which network patterns are truly stabilising?
    by Nico
    Mutualism is a positive interaction between different species. Pollinators or frugivores and their associated plants are popular examples of many kinds of mutualistic interactions. Mutualisms are relevant and widespread in all ecosystems. The topology of mutualistic networks has long puzzled ecologists and other researchers alike, who have assumed that the stability of such networks in …
  • Canopy matters more than forest age for pollinators
    by Edith Villa-Galaviz
    Diniz et al. studied pollinator communities in the understory and canopy and recorded 2,000 plant-pollinator interactions using pollen DNA metabarcoding. They found that moths, stingless bees, and nocturnal bees were all far more abundant and diverse in the canopy, a pattern already evident in younger, late-successional forest canopies, not just old-growth. The exception was orchid …
  • Saproxylic beetle networks along a tropical forest recovery gradient
    by Edith Villa-Galaviz
    Researchers placed logs from five native tree species across 62 plots along the chronosequence, exposed them in the field for six months. They found that recovering forests hosted more diverse and complex saproxylic beetle-tree interactions. Specialization, however, didn’t follow the expected linear decline: it was actually higher in agricultural and late-regeneration plots. Wood density also …
  • Anna Rebello Landim / Technical University of Darmstadt, SP1
    by Edith Villa-Galaviz
    I am a Brazilian ecologist interested in community ecology, species interactions (particularly between plants and animals) and restoration. My research focuses on identifying the mechanisms driving forest recovery: how plant and animal communities, their interactions, and ultimately ecosystem functioning recover as agricultural land is abandoned and forests regenerate. During my PhD, carried out as part …
  • Frogs recover with forest structural complexity
    by Edith Villa-Galaviz
    The reptile and amphibian group never ceases to amaze us with new discoveries about the natural history of these animals. Now, moving beyond natural history, they share their findings on ecological recovery. In a publication led by Karla Neira-Salamea, they showed that understory frog communities recover with forest regeneration time. Species richness, diversity, and community …