Professorship for Ecology, especially Animal Ecology
Organisational unit: Professoship
Organisation profile
The Animal Ecology group is led by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Aßmann and is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology, Faculty of Sustainability at Leuphana University Lüneburg.
Research focuses on the influence of invertebrates on ecosystem functions (species as ecosystem engineers, herbivory, predation), large-scale distribution patterns of species and species groups (biodiversity) and their characteristics, in the Palaearctic and worldwide (macroecology), Molecular ecology (population genetics, phylogeography, conservation genetics and landscape genetics), conservation biology (conservation genetics, consequences of habitat fragmentation, restoration ecology) Biospeleology (biogeography, adaptive mechanisms), taxonomy and systematics of insects (especially ground beetles).
We teach the basics of ecology and other fields of biology. Lectures and seminars are supplemented by identification exercises and field trips.
Main research areas
The working group Animal Ecology focuses on
- the role of invertebrates in ecosystem functioning
(including habitat engineering, herbivory, predation) - large-scale distribution patterns of biodiversity and species traits in the Palaearctic and worldwide
(macroecology) - molecular ecology (population genetics, phylogeography, conservation genetics and landscape genetics)
- conservation biology (conservation genetics, fragmentation biology, restoration ecology)
- biospeleology (biogeography, adaptation)
- taxonomy and systematics of insects (especially carabids beetles)
(classical and modern approaches: morphology, morphometry, DNA technics)
Projects are performed mainly in Germany, the Middle East (especially Israel), Spain, and China.
Most downloaded publications
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663
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Changes in phenology and abundance of suction-trapped Diptera from a farmland site in the UK over four decades
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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395
downloads
Impact of prescribed burning on a heathland inhabiting spider community
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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392
downloads
Belowground carabid beetle diversity in the western Palaearctic: Effects of history and climate on range-restricted taxa (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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346
downloads
Eucamaragnathus desenderi, a new ground beetle species from Africa (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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180
downloads
When to sample in an inaccessible landscape: A case study with carabids from the Allgäu (northern Alps) (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review