Tropical Ecology – University of Ulm (Germany) / Museo de Zoología – Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE – Ecuador). Among my main research interests is the ecology of communities and the study of their structure, diversity as well as their taxonomic and functional composition, which allow understanding the assemblages …
MONGABAY is a nonprofit news platform that provides very important articles on environmental science and conservation, often from tropical countries across the globe. Highly recommended reading! Here’s a compilation of some recent articles that include Jocotoco, the Chocó or the reserve in Canandé, with links:Jocotoco’s story Endemic Magnolias in Canande …
A very lively video summarizes the key questions and methods in our subproject about predator-prey interactions, featuring Karla Neira, Mark-Oliver Rödel and countless colorful or brownish frogs as the main actors. Well worth watching! And… an exciting podcast about their work is also available in the Museum’s “Beats and bones” …
In order to understand why particular species occur only in a primary rainforest or are able to persist in a degraded habitat, it is necessary to know about their biology. Unfortunately for most tropical species we simply know that and where they exist. This is also true for most species …
Social bees are important pollinators worldwide, including honeybees, bumblebees and stingless bees, the latter being particularly important in the tropics. Stingless bees do not only depend on pollen and nectar, but also intensively collect the sticky and potentially toxic resin from tree wounds. Obviously not for nutrition, but for nest …
I have always been fascinated by tropical ecology and biodiversity research. In my former studies, I investigated the diversity of Afrotropical termites, one of the most important decomposers in African savannahs. Now, during my Ph.D. in the Reassembly project, my research focuses on the interactions between saproxylic insects (termites and …
The diversity of life histories among amphibians and reptiles is astonishing. While some thrive and feed on fish in streams, others choose to conceal themselves in the hollows of tree canopies. In 2023, Reassembly’s herpetological team undertook several side projects. During their visit to Canandé, a team from MO Rödel’s lab …
Here’s our second Reassembly Newsletter. Again, all PhD candidates and postdoctoral scientists nicely summarized their challenges, experience and insights in the second year of our Research Unit. It’s a must-read for all project participants, but hopefully also enjoyable for anyone interested in such a scientific endeavor and recovering tropical forests. …
Sound recorders can successfully capture the remarkable diversity of vocalizing birds, frogs and mammals – much more effectively than other sampling techniques or classical observational methods. Jörg Müller and his team implemented sound recorders in 43 of our plots, then asked skilled experts to identify hundreds of species from selected …
REASSEMBLY actively contributed to the 6th European Conference of Tropical Ecology (GTOE2023) in the beautiful České Budějovice (Budweis) in Czech Republik. Nico Blüthgen presented the framework of the Research Unit and some first results in the session “Traits, interactions and functioning across environmental gradients” hosted by Nina Farwig & Eike …
