Funded projects 2020

Doctoral research projects:

Traversing the canopy – how do transport processes of microbes and matter shape phyllosphere microbial communities?, PI: Martina Herrmann, Univ. of Jena
Detecting long-term functional changes in biodiversity: boosting analyses of herbarium specimens using spectroscopic methods (FunSpec), PI: Karsten Wesche, SMNG
Macroecology and macroevolution of plant – frugivore trait matching in the tropics, PI: Renske E. Onstein, iDiv / UL
Identifying drivers of intra- and interspecific leaf trait variation in space and time from digitized herbarium specimen using computer vision approaches, PI: Jens Kattge, MPI-BGC
Understanding soil biodiversity: Using the new functional framework for root traits (Root Economics Space) to predict soil-borne fungal communities in grasslands (RESfun), PI: Alexandra Weigelt, UL

Postdoctoral research projects:

Disentangling eco-evolutionary dynamics across temporal and spatial scales, PI: Renske E. Onstein, iDiv / UL
How biodiversity change alters the biotic context of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships - a synthesis of models, experiments and observations, PI: Christian Wirth, UL
Pathogen spillover among insect pollinator species: quantifying evolutionary processes to inform on viral adaptive potential, PI: Robert Paxton, MLU
Diversity and scenario modelling of molecular markers of plant pathogens in plant, litter and soil metagenomes - DiSco Mole, PI: François Buscot, UFZ
Analysing plant invasions in their environmental context (iCon), PI: Ingolf Kühn, UFZ
Towards greener oil palm plantations – a cost-benefit approach for wildlife and farmers, PI: Anja Widdig, UL / MPI-EVA
Extracting spatiotemporal macroecological patterns using plant occurrence data crowd-sourced via Flora Incognita, PI: Miguel Mahecha, UL
iKNOW - Leveraging Knowledge Graphs for iDiv and Biodiversity, PI: Birgitta König-Ries, Univ. of Jena
iESTIMATE - Identifying ESsenTIal Molecular vAriables in Terrestrial Ecology, PI: Steffen Neumann, IPB
DArwin's Naturalization Conundrum rEvisited (DANCE) – Darwin meets omics, PI: Sylvia Haider, MLU