Team

Postdoctoral researchers

Robert works in the PhytOakmeter project and will study the acclimation of clonal oaks to different combinations of drought and herbivory. He will look into the response at the level of the methylome and at TE activation.

Cristina investigates tree-pathogen interactions at the molecular level looking into gene expression of both interaction partners. She is also involved in several projects of the working, e.g. in gene expression analysis of tropical tree species and in the assessment of gene flow distances. For teaching, she mostly focuses on bioinformatics.

Doctoral researchers

Malika will investigate the role of brown-headed spider monkeys as important seed dispersed in the Chocó region of Ecuador. She will specifically focus on the importance of primate seed dispersal for certain tree species that are of economic importance and selectively logged in the study area. She will study interplay of primate seed dispersal and selective logging on the generation and genetic diversity of these species. The project is co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Eckhard Heymann (DPZ) and Citlalli Morelos Juárez (Jocotoco).

Alessandro is working on the DFG funded project “Phenology of tropical tree species – environmental cues, molecular mechanisms, and consequences for plant-animal interactions”. Data collection will take place for three consecutive years from February to July in the Estación Científica San Francisco, located in Southern Ecuador at 30 km from Loja. Phenology and Genetics data will be analyzed in the Molecular Biology laboratory in Freiburg.

Jill investigates local adaptation of Nothofagus pumilio along the latitudinal gradient in the Andes in Argentina. She started her PhD in January 2019 and is jointly supervised by Lars Opgenoorth and myself. The project is carried out in collaboration with colleagues from INTA Bariloche and is funded by the DFG. Fieldwork took place from January – April 2019 and 2020. Recently, we have received the SNP data which we generated by targeted sequencing of ~ 800 genes and data analysis is ongoing.

Claudia is working on the DFG funded project “Phenology of tropical tree species – environmental cues, molecular mechanisms, and consequences for plant-animal interactions”. Data collection will take place for three consecutive years from July to December in the Estación Científica San Francisco, located in Southern Ecuador at 30 km from Loja. She will specifically focus on herbivory and pollination in the context of regular annual phenology of selected tree species.

Lab techs and team assistance

Luisa works in our greenhouses as well as in our labs, keeping our trees alive and squeezing DNA and RNA out of their tissues

Sandra manages the lab of our working group – currently hard at work to set up our lab.

Jessica takes care of organizational matters in the working group.

Alumni

Bárbara investigated DNA methylation variation in the clonal Populus nigra cv. italica EpiDiverse in 2018 – 2023. In spring 2018, we planted a common garden with accessions of the clonal P. nigra italica from all over Europa, which we have epigenotyped using WGBS and phenotyped in the last two years. Barbara was jointly supervised by Lars Opgenoorth and myself, and we closely collaborate with several groups in EpiDiverse – for example, Koen Verhoeven and Cristian Peña (NIOO Wageningen), and Oliver Bossdorf and Dario Galanti (EKUT).

Melanie investigated local adaptation of Picea glauca at the University of Greifswald, and carried out the analysis of genetic data under my co-supervision. She will soon defend her thesis on local adaptation and plasticity of white spruce at tree line populations in Alaska

Sarina completed her PhD in the DFG funded project on “Vertical stratification of plant-animal interactions and their impact on pollination and seed dispersal within a single Neotropical plant species” . She collected data at the Estacíon Bíologica Quebrada Blanco in the Peruvian Amazon from August – December 2018 and 2019.  The project is carried out in collaboration with Eckhard Heymann (DPZ Göttingen) and Marco Tschapka (Universität Ulm).

Current BSc and MSc students

Past BSc and MSc students (since 2018)

Blattseneszenz von Traubeneichensämlingen von Reliktstandorten in Baden-Württemberg und im Elsass (in Kooperation mit Charalambos Neophytou, FVA)

Blattaustrieb und Etablierungserfolg von einjährigen Sämlingen der Traubeneiche von Reliktstandorten in Baden-Württemberg und im Elsass (in Kooperation mit Charalambos Neophytou, FVA)

Effect of mowing and fertilization on phenology and nectar production of grassland species

Effects of land use in grasslands on pollination and seed germination

Vertical stratification of pollen dispersal distances in the neotropical liana species Marcgravia longifolia

Visitation rates of pollinators in a common garden experiment with grass sods from different land use types

Monitoring tree phenology with digital cameras in a tropical montane rainforest

The impact of reproductive state on the swarming activity of female Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii) (in collaboration with Jannis Gottwald)

Camera-assisted observation of pollinators in in a common garden experiment with grass sods from different land use types

Determinants of bark thickness in seven European tree species 

Temporal variation of nectar quantity and quality in the Neotropical liana species Marcgravia longifolia

Differences in bud burst timing of Populus nigra ´Italica´ clones from different geographical origins in a common garden environment

The impact of shade on early fitness trait of beech seedlings (Fagus sylvatica) from contrasting habitats in the Kellerwald National Park (Germany)

Bud set of Populus nigra cv. Italica Duroi clones collected along an environmental gradient in Europe

Bud burst in clonal black poplars collected along a European gradient

Bud burst of beech seedlings after differing drought stress experience from the previous year

Collaboration partners

• Veronica Arana (INTA Bariloche, Argentina)
• Camilla Avanzi (University of Parma, Italy)
• Nico Blüthgen (University of Darmstadt, Germany)
• Oliver Bossdorf (University of Tübingen, Germany)
• Augusta Cueva (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador)
• David Donoso, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ecuador
• María-José Endara (Universidad de las Américas, Ecuador)
• Carlos Ivan Espinosa (UTPL, Ecuador)
• Maximiliano Estravis Barcala (INTA Bariloche, Argentina)
• Bruno Fady (INRA Avignon, France)
• Tiziana Gelmi (German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany)
• Nina Farwig (Philipps Universität Marburg)
• Eckhard Heymann (German Primate Centre, Göttingen, Germany)
• Frank Johannes (TUM, Germany)
• Robert Junker (Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany)
• Sascha Liepelt (Philipps University Marburg, Germany)
• Paula Marchelli (INTA Bariloche, Argentina)
• Thomas Nauss (Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany)
• Lars Opgenoorth (Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany)
• Andrea Piotti (National Research Council, Italy)
• Stefan Rensing (Philipps University Marburg, Germany)
• Ivan Scotti (INRA Avignon, France)
• Marco Tschapka (University of Ulm, Germany)
• Koen Verhoeven (NIOO, Netherlands)
• Anna Vogeler (University of Ulm, Germany)
• Melanie Zacharias (Universität Greifswald, Germany)
• … and many more….