iDiv Sabbaticals

Interactions and scientific involvement of iDiv visiting scientists are central mechanisms which contribute to iDiv’s mission to be a leading biodiversity research centre. iDiv sabbatical researchers play an important role in contributing to the iDiv mission through their intellectual and social interactions, in which they share their vision, experience and passion for biodiversity research.



Current iDiv Sabbatical Fellows

Caroline Farrior

Hosted by Nadja Rüger, Christian Wirth, Thorsten Wiegand, Jens Kattge

Demographic diversity in forests and their influence on ecosystem functioning

Forest ecosystems harbor amazing amounts of biodiversity and play a major role in the global carbon cycle. Using a combination of mathematical models, simulations, experiments, and observations, my research aims to achieve a mechanistic and predictive understanding of forest dynamics (1-3). Recently, my research group has uncovered simple mechanisms of forest dynamics that may explain consistencies in emergent patterns of tropical and temperate forest dynamics. Through collaborations with Rüger, Wirth, Wiegand, Kattge, and others, at iDiv, I plan to study and test the role that these mechanisms of forest dynamics play in driving differences in dominant plant strategies and their diversity in forests in both tropical and temperate zones. While at iDiv, I am eager to generate new insights into the drivers of diversity in forests, develop collaborations, engage with students through a short theoretical ecology course, and practice the integration of basic and applied sciences of biodiversity.

Flavio Nunes Ramos

Hosted by Jonathan Chase

Effect of degradation and heterogeneity on biodiversity of neotropical vascular epiphytes

During my sabbatical  at iDiv, I wish to investigate the influence of habitat loss and deforestation on neotropical epiphytes using a synthetic dataset on vascular epiphytes across Neotropical sites as well as a meta-analytic approach. In the synthetic data study, I will explore the effects of forest degradation and habitat heterogeneity on epiphyte diversity across  spatial scales. In the meta-analysis, I will compile data and investigate the effect of different land uses on vascular epiphyte diversity. Both studies highlight the importance of understanding the impacts of deforestation on epiphytes, which have a strong dependency on atmospheric climate, since it is their main source of water and nutrients. I expect to have many interactions and collaborations within the iDiv community with scientists from all levels, and hope to leverage this time to develop long term partnerships for future studies.



Past iDiv Sabbatical Fellows

Name (Affiliation)

Research project

Year

Report

Priyanga Amarasekare (University of California Los Angeles)

A framework for biodiversity maintenance: scaling up from modules to communities

2018

 

Meghan AvolioInvestigating the repeatability of global change field experiments2023 

Stephanie Bohlman (University of Florida)

Linking biodiversity and demography through remote sensing of trait tradeoffs

2019

 

Cynthia Chang (University of Washington)Placing ecological succession in applied global change and restoration context2022download (PDF)

Douglas Chesters (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Phylogenetic integration of insect community data

2019

download (PDF)

Sandra Cuartas (Universidad de Antiquia, Medellin, Colombia)Meta-networks of species diversity and community pollination in the Andes of Colombia2023download (PDF)

David Currie (University of Ottawa)

A continental theory of biogeography: predicting geographic variation in species richness and range size

2016

download (PDF)

Rodolfo Dirzo (Stanford University)

Research on plant-herbivore interactions under climate change and collaborations on biodiversity science

2017

 

Robert Dunn (NC State University)

The Global Biogeography of Microbes and Mutualists Associated with Humans

2017

 

Lenore Fahrig (Carleton University)

Dissecting SLOSS: Why are there more species in several small than few large patches?

2020

download (PDF)

Benjamin Gilbert (University of Toronto)

Project 1 – Neutrality, Demographic stochasticity and ecological drift

Project 2 – Local interactions, Regional constraints, and multiple stable states

2017

download (PDF)

 

Angélica González (Rutgers University)

Understanding the interactive effects of temperature and nutrients on ecological processes: a meta-analysis

2018

download (PDF)

Erik Hom (University of Mississippi)Of Sloths and Franken-Lichens: Elucidating the Biodiversity, Chemical Ecology, and Physiology of Algal Polycultures2021 

Christopher Klausmeier (Michigan State University)

Synthesizing Trait-Based Ecological Theory

2019

 

Jeremy Lichstein (University of Florida)

Plant functional diversity and forest ecosystem stability: insights from dynamic vegetation models

2018

 

Elena Litchman (Michigan State University)

Trait-based community patterns in microbes

2019

download (PDF)

Laura Lopez-Hoffman (University of Arizona)

Governing biodiversity across space:  Discovering principles of sustainability and equity for telecoupled social environmental systems

2022

 

Fernando T. Maestre (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)

Climate change impacts on dryland soil biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions from local to global scales

2018, 2019 and 2022

download (PDF)

Angela Peace (Texas Tech)

 

Structured Population Dynamics Subject to Stoichiometric Constraints

2022

 

download (PDF)

Roxibell Pelayo Escalona (Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela)Ecological networks along altitudinal gradients in the Páramos in Venezuela2023 

George Perry (University of Auckland)

Reconstructing movement and emergent ecological functions for extinct animals

2019

 

Malin Pinski (Rutgers University)

Community response to changing temperatures  across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial realms

2020

download (PDF)

Patti Vitt (Chicago Botanic Garden)

Phylogenetic Endemism, Functional Trait Diversity and Conservation Status in the Orchidaceae: a Global Synthesis

2018

 

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