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.
- Published
Carabids.org – a dynamic online database of ground beetle species traits (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Homburg, K., Homburg, N., Schäfer, F., Schuldt, A. & Aßmann, T., 05.2014, In: Insect Conservation and Diversity. 7, 3, p. 195-205 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Wood-inhabiting beetles (Coleoptera) associated with oaks in a global biodiversity hotspot: A case study and checklist for Israel
Buse, J., Assmann, T., Friedman, A. L. L., Rittner, O. & Pavlícek, T., 11.2013, In: Insect Conservation and Diversity. 6, 6, p. 687-703 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Low genetic diversity of a high mountain burnet moth species in the Pyrenees
Dieker, P., Drees, C., Schmitt, T. & Aßmann, T., 02.2013, In: Conservation Genetics. 14, 1, p. 231-236 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
A new method for collecting agile tiger beetles by live pitfall trapping
Taboada Palomares, A., Pérez-Aguirre, C. & Aßmann, T., 10.2012, In: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 145, 1, p. 82-87 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Multiple Glacial Refugia of the Low-Dispersal Ground Beetle Carabus irregularis: Molecular Data Support Predictions of Species Distribution Models
Homburg, K., Drees, C., Gossner, M. M., Rakosy, L., Vrezec, A. & Aßmann, T., 04.04.2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 4, 12 p., e61185.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Allele elimination recalculated: nested subset analyses for molecular biogeographical data
Habel, J. C., Ulrich, W. & Aßmann, T., 04.2013, In: Journal of Biogeography. 40, 4, p. 769-777 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Scale-dependent diversity patterns affect spider assemblages of two contrasting forest ecosystems
Schuldt, A., Aßmann, T. & Schaefer, M., 05.2013, In: Acta Oecologica. 49, p. 17-22 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
The ground beetle tribe Trechini in Israel and adjacent regions
Aßmann, T., Buse, J., Chikatunov, V., Drees, C., Friedmann, A.-L.-L., Härdtle, W., Levanovy, T., Renan, I., Seyfferth, A. & Wrase, D. W., 08.2012, In: Spixiana - Zeitschrift für Zoologie. 35, 2, p. 193-208 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research
- Published
Ant community structure during forest succession in a subtropical forest in South-East China
Staab, M., Schuldt, A., Aßmann, T., Bruelheide, H. & Klein, A.-M., 01.11.2014, In: Acta Oecologica. 61, p. 32-40 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Evolutionarily significant units in a flightless ground beetle show different climate niches and high extinction risk due to climate change
Homburg, K., Brandt, P., Drees, C. & Assmann, T., 31.10.2014, In: Journal of Insect Conservation. 18, 5, p. 781-790 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review