Graceful bush-cricket (Pachytrachis gracilis)

Theses at the Population Ecology Group

We offer a variety of projects for Bachelor, Master and PhD theses. Students interested in evolutionary ecology, molecular ecology, or community ecology are welcome to contact any of the team members.
Graceful bush-cricket (Pachytrachis gracilis)
Image: Holger Schielzeth

Looking for a Bachelor or Masters project?

We continously offer a selection of topics for Bachelor or Master projects. The list of past and completed projects below gives you an impression about the range of topcis that we offer. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested and movitated to work in the field of evolutionary, molecular or community ecology.

  • PhD theses

    Ongoing PhD projects

    Gabe Winter
    The evolutionary ecology of predictability in escape behaviour

    Mahendra Varma
    Uncovering the genetic basis of green-brown in grasshoppers

    Maximilian Bröcher
    Plant-consumer interactions as cause and consequence of long-term biodiversity ecosystem functioning relationships

    Chongyi Jiang
    Effects of species diversity on intraspecific genetic diversity in grassland plants

    Suvratha Jayaprasad
    Dosage compensation and sex chromosome evolution in Morabine grasshoppers.

    Lilian Cabon
    Ecological consequences of niche choosing and niche conformance in grasshoppers.

    Cosupervision

    Dave Lutgen
    Genomics of hybridization, speciation, and phenotypic evolution in wheatears
    Supervisor: Dr. Reto Burri

    Venkatesh Pal MahadevanExternal link (IMPRS)
    Deorphanization of chemosensory neurons in D. melanogaster
    Supervisor: Dr. Heiko Vogel

    Francesca Protti SanchezExternal link (IMPRS)
    A bird’s eye view of warning signals
    Supervisor: Dr. Hannah Rowland

    Devasena ThiagarajaExternal link (IMPRS)
    Dissecting the neural circuitry underlying oviposition behavior in Drosophila flies
    Supervisor: Dr. Silke Sache

    Somasundar ArumugamExternal link (IMPRS)
    Adaptive plasticity in specialists and generalists
    Supervisor: Dr. Silke Sache

    Zimai LiExternal link (IMPRS)
    Immune division of labour in ants
    Supervisor: Dr. Yuko Ulrich

    Completed PhD projects

    Takola, E. (2022). Scaling down the ecological niche from populations to individuals: an evidence synthesis approach. PhD thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00054516External link

    Adam, E. (2022). Insect olfactory learning in the context of feeding and oviposition. PhD thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. https://www.db-thueringen.de/receive/dbt_mods_00053227External link

    Walther, C. (2022). Fungal endophytes mediate tree-insect interactions. PhD thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Chakrabarty, A. (2020). Genetic constraint, non-independence of traits and consequences of adaptive evolution in acridid grasshoppers. PhD thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. doi: 10.22032/dbt.47981External link

    Shah, A. (2020). The transcriptomic and genomic architecture of acrididae grasshoppers. PhD thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. doi: 10.22032/dbt.47427External link

    Valverde Monge, J.P. (2018). Phenotypic plasticity and condition-dependent trait expression in sexual ornaments and body colour in the alpine grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus. PhD thesis, Bielefeld University. https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/2917394External link

    Thesis Advisory Committes

    Nhu Tran (Cologne University)
    Supervisior Prof. Juliette de Meaux

    Jürgen WierzExternal link (MPI Chemical Ecology, Jena)
    Supervisor Prof. Martin Kaltenpoth

    Lennart WinklerExternal link (Technical University Dresden)
    Supervisiors Prof. Klaus Reinhardt, Dr. Tim Janicke

    Margarita TakouExternal link (Cologne University)
    Supervisior Prof. Juliette de Meaux
    Completed 2020

    Ulrich KniefExternal link (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology)
    Supervisor Dr. Wolfgang Forstmeier
    Completed 2016

  • Master theses

    Ongoing Master projects

    Laura-Finona Heptner
    Einfluss von Mikroklima und Landnutzung auf die Eignung terrestrischer Habitate für Amphibien

    Katharina Engl
    Ecology of white-winged snowfinches in the Swiss Alps.

    Ana Garcia Leher
    Plant diversity effects on spider communities under extreme weather conditions (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Premsagar Rao
    Nutrient effects on seed dispersal (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Nathan Roussel
    Effect of plant productivity, AMF association and protozoa grazers on carbon and nitrogen flow in the rhizosphere (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Qi Wang
    Immune division of labor in ants (Supervision Yuko Ulrich, Holger Schielzeth)

    Nikhil Pratap
    Genomic mapping of color polymorphisms in the meadow grasshopper using target capture sequencing (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Completed Master projects

    Thorben Riede (2024). Impacts of deadwood arrangement and deadwood type on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) diversity and body traits. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Marcel Müller (2023). Drivers of beetle communities in European grasslands. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Wenkebach, L. (2023). Plant diversity effects on decomposition rates in different old meadows. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Schaumann, F. (2023). Comparison of drone ecology and behavior between Apis mellifera mellifera and the hybrid Buckfast in shouthern Sweden. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Rasouli, N. (2022). The advantage of a long or a short flowering period: Linking flowering phenology, seasonal variation in flower traits and pollinator diversity and density – a contribution to the PhenObs project. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Dong, H. (2022). Seasonal plant diversity effects on soil temperature in a long-term experiment. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Lehmann, A. (2022). Standardized setup for batch-processed colour morph phenotyping in grasshoppers. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Ortega Guatame, J. M. (2022). Differential gene expression in the green-brown polymorphic club-legged grasshopper (Gomphocerus sibiricus). Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Jang, C. (2021). Reduced representation sequencing for quantification of genetic diversity. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Laura Pabon-Viteri (2021). Gene tree variation in the Oenathe hispanica-complex. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Deak, L. (2021). Spatiotemporal evolution of a wheatear (Oenanthe) hybrid zone. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Klimm, F. (2020). The value of flower strips in agricultural landscapes: Effects on pollination, herbivory and decomposition. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Bröcher, M. (2020) The value of flower strips: Effects on predation networks. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Achieng Marongo, S.S. (2019) Microhabitat choice in green-brown polymorphic grasshoppers. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Franke, K. (2019) Effects of nutrient addition on herbivore performance. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Rios Villamil, A. (2018) Genetic mechanism underlying green-brown dimorphism in Gomphocerus sibiricus. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Schulze, C. (2017). Assessing a method for measuring seed dispersal along a gradient in land-use intensity. Master thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

    Förster, T. (2017). Plant bottom-up effects on larval and adult beetle communities in a biodiversity experimen. Master thesis, University of Innsbruck. (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Bellinvia, S. (2016). Inaccuracy or intended chaos? Development and condition-dependence of unpredictability in escape behaviour. Master thesis, Bielefeld University. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

  • Bachelor theses

    Ongoing Bachelor projects

    Jacob Seidemann
    Multilaboratory experiments to asses reproducibility in behavioural experiments (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Completed Bachelor projects

    Eichler, J. (2023). Beobachtungen an Pseudochorthippus parallelus: Die Farbveränderungen des Integuments nach der letzten Häutung. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Hartwig, G. (2022). Erfassung der Flora auf dem Golfplatz Münchenroda. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Pitz, M. (2021). Erfassung der Flora und Fauna auf dem Golfplatz Münchenroda – Schwerpunkt Insekten. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Hochstetter, J. (2021). Erfassung von Arthropoden im Pennickental zur Untersuchung von Habitatunterschieden und Sukzession in Wäldern. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Wisching, L. (2021). Konditionsabhängigkeit in der Vorhersehbarkeit im Fluchtverhalten von Chorthippus dorsatus. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Dehler, J. (2021). Aktuelle und potentielle Verbreitung von Tagfaltern auf den Grumbach-Wiesen im Biosphärenreservat Rhön. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Schmidt, L. (2021). Auftreten des Kuckucks Cuculus canorus in Deutschland ermittelt aus bürgerwissenschaftlich erhobenen Daten. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Baierl, L.F. (2021). Phänologie unterschiedlicher Farbmorphen von Feldheuschrecken in der Saaleaue bei Jena. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Günzl, A.S. (2020). Präferenzen der Umgebungstemperatur von Pseudochorthippus parallelus in Abhängigkeit von der Farbmorphe. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

    Heinze, P. (2018). Homochromie beim farbpolymorphen Gemeinen Grashüpfer (Pseudochorthippus parallelus) (Zetterstedt, 1821). Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Petra Dieker)

    Liborius, S. (2017). Aufnahme von Bioturbation- Ein methodischer Vergleich. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    Reichelt, E. (2017). Beeinflusst Pflanzendiversität Heuschreckzönosen? Untersuchungen im Jena Experiment. Bachelor thesis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. (Supervision Anne Ebeling)

    van Kronenberg, P. (2016). Direct and indirect genetic effect on oviposition behaviour of Chorthippus biguttulus. Bachelor thesis, Bielefeld University. (Supervision Holger Schielzeth)

  • Habilitations

    Ongoing Habilitations

    Anne Ebeling
    The consequences of plant species loss for aboveground arthropods and related ecosystem processes