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.
- 2014
- Published
Tree diversity promotes functional dissimilarity and maintains functional richness despite species loss in predator assemblages
Schuldt, A., Bruelheide, H., Durka, W., Michalski, S. G., Purschke, O. & Aßmann, T., 02.2014, In: Oecologia. 174, 2, p. 533-543 11 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Designing forest biodiversity experiments: General considerations illustrated by a new large experiment in subtropical China
Bruelheide, H., Nadrowski, K., Aßmann, T., Bauhus, J., Both, S., Buscot, F., Chen, X.-Y., Ding, B.-Y., Durka, W., Erfmeier, A., Gutknecht, J., Guo, D., Guo, L.-D., Härdtle, W., He, J.-S., Klein, A.-M., Kühn, P., Liang, Y., Liu, X., Michalski, S. G., Niklaus, P. A., Pei, K., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Scholten, T., Schuldt, A., Seidler, G., Trogisch, S., Oheimb, G., Welk, E., Wirth, C., Wubet, T., Yang, X., Yu, M., Zhang, S., Zhou, H., Fischer, M., Ma, K. & Schmid, B., 01.2014, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 5, 1, p. 74-89 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Local neighborhood competition following an extraordinary snow break event: Implications for tree-individual growth
Lang, A. C., Härdtle, W., Bruelheide, H. & Oheimb, G., 2014, In: iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry. 7, 1, p. 19-24 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Ökosystem und Biodiversität
Aßmann, T., Drees, C., Härdtle, W., Klein, A.-M., Schuldt, A. & Oheimb, G., 2014, Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften. Heinrichs, H. & Michelsen, G. (eds.). Heidelberg: Springer Spektrum, p. 147-174 28 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Education › peer-review
- 2013
- Published
A suite of multiplexed microsatellite loci for the ground beetle Abax parallelepipedus (Piller and Mitterpacher, 1783) (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Marcus, T., Assmann, T., Durka, W. & Drees, C., 12.2013, In: Conservation Genetics Resources. 5, 4, p. 1151-1156 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Long-term trends in tree-ring width and isotope signatures (δ13C, δ15N) of Fagus sylvatica L. on soils with contrasting water supply
Härdtle, W., Niemeyer, T., Aßmann, T., Baiboks, S., Fichtner, A., Friedrich, U., Lang, A. C., Neuwirth, B., Pfister, L., Ries, C., Schuldt, A., Simon, N. & Oheimb, G., 12.2013, In: Ecosystems. 16, 8, p. 1413-1428 16 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
Climatic responses of tree-ring width and δ13C signatures of sessile oak (Quercus petraea Liebl.) on soils with contrasting water supply
Härdtle, W., Niemeyer, T., Aßmann, T., Aulinger, A., Fichtner, A., Lang, A. C., Leuschner, C., Neuwirth, B., Pfister, L., Quante, M., Ries, C., Schuldt, A. & Oheimb, G., 01.09.2013, In: Plant Ecology. 214, 9, p. 1147-1156 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Integrating Life Stages into Ecological Niche Models: A Case Study on Tiger Beetles
Taboada Palomares, A., von Wehrden, H. & Assmann, T., 23.07.2013, In: PLoS ONE. 8, 7, 13 p., e70038.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Stenotypy and eurytopy - Distribution models as a tool for estimating niche overlap in two spider species, Trochosa terricola and Eresus kollari (Araneae: Lycosidae/Eresidae).
Krause, R., von Wehrden, H., Härdtle, W., Schuldt, A. & Aßmann, T., 25.06.2013, In: Entomologia Generalis. 34, 3, p. 169-180 12 p., 34.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review