Our group covers three main lines of research, all united by the interest in understanding population-level biodiversity and its consequences for intra- und inter-species population dynamics. (i) trophic interactions and community dynamisc are the focus of Community Population Ecology line of research. (ii) Local adaptation, temporal population dynamics and behavioural ecology are the focus of Evolutionary Population Ecology line of resaerch. (iii) And the genomic architecture of genetic polymorphisms, speciation and hybridization are the focus of Molecular Population Ecology line of resarch. Furthermore, we are interested in (iv) ecological, evolutionary and startistical methods and therefore also cover the field that we call Population Ecology Methods.
Contemporary scientific work is often very collaborative. We are therefore involved in several large collaborative research project. This includes the long-running Jena Experiment that was established in 2002 and has been DFG-funded since then. More recently, we got engaged in a Collaborative Reserach Center (SFB-TRR 212) that is also funded by the DFG and studies the evolutionary ecology of individualized niches. Furthermore, we are participating in the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Halle-Jena-Leipzig, the Michael Stifel Center Jena (MSCJ) for Data-Driven & Simulation Science and the Interantional Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) run by Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. Additionally, we are involved in more grass-roots projects such as the Nutrient Network (NutNet) and the team for the Statistical Quantification of Individual Differences (SQuID). And finally, there are always ongoing individually funded projects that are also important.
Image: Holger Schielzeth
We are a team of currently six postdoctal researchers, three PhD students, five technical assistants, and four gardeners. We will occasionally solicit applications for funded PhD student positions. Furthermore, if you are interested in joining the group with external funding or as part of your studies, you may contact us at popecol@uni-jena.de.
We offer a variety of classes for the BSc level in Biology and the MSc level in Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. The topics range from introduction to faunistic field methods, evolutionary, community and conservation ecology, via population genetics to scientific writing and presentations. We also continously offer a selection of topics for Bachelor or Master projects. The list of ongoing and completed projects gives an impression about the range of topcis that we offer. Please to not hesitate to contact us if you are interested and movitated to work in the field of evolutiony, molecular or community ecology.
Buzhdygan, O.Y., Meyer, S.T., Weisser, W.W., Eisenhauer, N., Ebeling, A., Borrett, S.R., Buchmann, N., Cortois, R., De Deyn, G.B., de Kroon, H., Gleixner, G., Hertzog, L.R., Hines, J., Lange, M., Mommer, L., Ravenek, J., Scherber, C., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Scheu, S., Schmid, B., Steinauer, K., Strecker, T., Tietjen, B., Vogel, A., Weigelt , A. & Petermann, J.S. (2020). Biodiversity increases multitrophic energy use efficiency, flow and storage in grasslands. Nature Ecology & Evolution doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-1123-8
Dietrich, P., Roeder, A., Cesarz, S., Eisenhauer, N., Ebeling, A., Schmid, B., Schulze, E.D., Wagg, C., Weigelt, A. & Roscher, C. (2020). Nematode communities, plant nutrient economy and life-cycle characteristics jointly determine plant monoculture performance over 12 years. Oikos doi: 10.1111/oik.06989
Schielzeth, H. (2020). Varianzdekomposition mit gemischten Modellen zur Analyse von Individualität im Verhalten. Naguib, M. & Krause, E.T. (eds): Methoden der Verhaltensbiologie. pp. 94-99. Springer, Berlin.
Gaigher, A., Burri, R., San-Jose, L.M., Roulin, A. & Fumagalli, L. (2019). Lack of statistical power as a major limitation in understanding MHC‐mediated immunocompetence in wild vertebrate populations. Molecular Ecology 28: 5115-5132. doi: 10.1111/mec.15276
Köhler, G. & Schielzeth, H. (2020). Green-brown polymorphism in alpine grasshoppers affects body temperature. Ecology and Evolution 10: 441-450. doi: 10.1002/ece3.5908
Risch, A.C., Zimmermann, S., Ochoa-Hueso, R., Schütz, M., Frey, B., Firn, J.L., Fay, P.A., Hagedorn, F., Borer, E.T., Seabloom, E.W., Harpole, W.S., Knops, J.M.H., McCulley, R.L., Broadbent, A.A.D., Stevens, C.J., Silveira, M.L., Adler, P.B., Báez, S., Biederman, L.A., Blair, J.M., Brown, C.S., Caldeira, M.C., Collins, S.L., Daleo, P., di Virgilio, A., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Esch, E., Eskelinen, A., Hagenah, N., Hautier, Y., Kirkman, K.P., MacDougall, A.S., Moore, J.L., Power, S.A., Prober, S.M., Roscher, C., Sankaran, M., Siebert, J., Speziale, K.L., Tognetti, P.M., Virtanen, R., Yahdjian, L. & Moser, B. (2019). Soil net nitrogen mineralisation across global grasslands. Nature Communications 10: 4981. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12948-2
Manning, P., Loos, J., Barnes, A.D., Batáry, P., Bianchi, F.J.J.A., Buchmann, N., De Deyn, G.B., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Fischer, M., Fründ, J., Grass, I., Isselstein, J., Jochum, M., Klein, A.M., Klingenberg, E.O.F., Landis, D.A., Lepš, J., Lindborgs, R., Meyer, S.T., Temperton, V.M., Westphal, C. & Tscharntke, T. (2019). Transferring biodiversityecosystem function research to the management of ‘real-world’ ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research doi: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2019.06.009
Barry, K.E., Weigelt, A., van Ruijven, J., de Kroon, H., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Gessler, A., Ravenek, J.M., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Oram, N.J., Vogel, A., Wagg, C. & Mommer, L. (2019). Above- and belowground overyielding are related at the community and species level in a grassland biodiversity experimen. Advances in Ecological Research doi: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2019.05.001
Chakrabarty, A. & Schielzeth, H. (2020). Comparative analysis of the multivariate genetic architecture of morphological traits in three species of Gomphocerine grasshoppers. Heredity 124: 367-382. doi: 10.1038/s41437-41019-40276-41431
Schweizer, M., Warmuth, V.M., Alaei Kakhki, N., Aliabadian, M., Förschler, M., Shirihai, H., Ewels, P., Gruselius, J., Olsen, R.A., Schielzeth, H., Suh, A. & Burri, R. (2019). Genome-wide evidence supports mitochondrial relationships and pervasive parallel phenotypic evolution in open-habitat chats. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 139: 106568. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106568
González Macé, O., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Cesarz, S. & Scheu, S. (2019). Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids. Soil Organisms 91: 45-59. doi: 10.25674/so91204
