Dr Myriam Hirt

Postdoctoral Researcher

Affiliations

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Postal address

Puschstrasse 4
04103 Leipzig
Germany

Room: B.03.24

Contact details

Websites

Research Interest

My main research focus is on understanding how global change affects ecosystem stability and functioning, and how environmental effects on individual physiology and performance cascade through ecosystems. I work with theories describing interaction networks based on energy flow, such as predator-prey systems. Additionally, I conduct experiments on animal behavioral and physiological responses to environmental changes. For example, I use image-based tracking in climate chambers to assess thermal responses in movement. I also conduct broader-scale experiments, such as those in the iDiv Ecotron. These include a heat stress experiment in 2019 and a light pollution experiment in 2020. These studies have deepened my research interest in the combined effects of light pollution and climate change – from animal movement and physiology to community dynamics. From 2022-2024, I hosted an sDiv workshop on “Synthesizing Movement Across Scales” (sMars), bringing together researchers from around the world to explore the implications of movement for species interactions and community dynamics across scales.
Learn more about my current research projects. 

In my future research, I aim to enhance our ability to forecast community responses to global change and foster sustainable ecosystems. My ultimate goal is to inform management strategies that increase ecosystem resilience and functionality, considering cascading interaction effects. Many challenges remain, such as better integrating plants and plant-herbivore interactions in my models, and I am eager to incorporate new ideas and approaches to address them.

iDiv Publications

Publications 2025

Pinsky, Malin L., Hillebrand, Helmut, Chase, Jonathan M., Antão, Laura H., Hirt, Myriam R., Brose, Ulrich, Burrows, Michael T., Gauzens, Benoit, Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Blowes, Shane A. (2025): Warming and cooling catalyse widespread temporal turnover in biodiversity. Nature

Publications 2024

Ryser, Remo, Chase, Jonathan M., Gauzens, Benoit, Häussler, Johanna, Hirt, Myriam R., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Brose, Ulrich (2024): Landscape configuration can flip species–area relationships in dynamic meta-food-webs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Li, Jingyi, Hirt, Myriam R., Ryser, Remo, Brose, Ulrich (2024): Towards understanding interactions in a complex world: Design and analysis of multi-species functional response experiments. Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Antunes, Ana Carolina, Berti, Emilio, Brose, Ulrich, Hirt, Myriam R., Karger, Dirk N., O’Connor, Louise M. J., Pollock, Laura J., Thuiller, Wilfried, Gauzens, Benoit (2024): Linking biodiversity, ecosystem function, and Nature’s contributions to people: a macroecological energy flux perspective. Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Cherif, Mehdi, Brose, Ulrich, Hirt, Myriam R., Ryser, Remo, Silve, Violette, Albert, Georg, Arnott, Russell, Berti, Emilio, Cirtwill, Alyssa, Dyer, Alexander, Gauzens, Benoit, Gupta, Anhubav, Ho, Hsi-Cheng, Portalier, Sébastien M. J., Wain, Danielle, Wootton, Kate (2024): The environment to the rescue: can physics help predict predator–prey interactions?. Biological Reviews

Publications 2023

Dyer, Alexander, Ryser, Remo, Brose, Ulrich, Amyntas, Angelos, Bodnar, Nora, Boy, Thomas, Franziska Bucher, Solveig, Cesarz, Simone, Eisenhauer, Nico, Gebler, Alban, Hines, Jes, Kyba, Christopher C. M., Menz, Myles H. M., Rackwitz, Karl, Shatwell, Tom, Terlau, Jördis F., Hirt, Myriam R. (2023): Insect communities under skyglow: diffuse night-time illuminance induces spatio-temporal shifts in movement and predation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Hirt, Myriam R., Evans, Darren M., Miller, Colleen R., Ryser, Remo (2023): Light pollution in complex ecological systems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Sanders, Dirk, Hirt, Myriam R., Brose, Ulrich, Evans, Darren M., Gaston, Kevin J., Gauzens, Benoit, Ryser, Remo (2023): How artificial light at night may rewire ecological networks: concepts and models. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Terlau, Jördis F., Brose, Ulrich, Boy, Thomas, Pawar, Samraat, Pinsky, Malin, Hirt, Myriam R. (2023): Predicting movement speed of beetles from body size and temperature. Movement Ecology

Terlau, Jördis F., Brose, Ulrich, Eisenhauer, Nico, Amyntas, Angelos, Boy, Thomas, Dyer, Alexander, Gebler, Alban, Hof, Christian, Liu, Tao, Scherber, Christoph, Schlägel, Ulrike E., Schmidt, Anja, Hirt, Myriam R. (2023): Microhabitat conditions remedy heat stress effects on insect activity. Global Change Biology

Publications 2022

Antunes, Ana Carolina, Gauzens, Benoit, Brose, Ulrich, Potapov, Anton M., Jochum, Malte, Santini, Luca, Eisenhauer, Nico, Ferlian, Olga, Cesarz, Simone, Scheu, Stefan, Hirt, Myriam R. (2022): Environmental drivers of local abundance–mass scaling in soil animal communities. Oikos

Antunes, Ana Carolina, Montanarin, Anelise, Gräbin, Diogo Maia, dos Santos Monteiro, Erison Carlos, de Pinho, Fernando Ferreira, Alvarenga, Guilherme Costa, Ahumada, Jorge, Wallace, Robert B., Ramalho, Emiliano Esterci, Barnett, Adrian Paul Ashton, Bager, Alex, Lopes, Alexandre Martins Costa, Keuroghlian, Alexine, Giroux, Aline, Herrera, Ana María, de Almeida Correa, Ana Paula, Meiga, Ana Yoko, de Almeida Jácomo, Anah Tereza, de Barros Barban, Ananda, Antunes, André, de Almeida Coelho, André Giovanni, Camilo, André Restel, Nunes, André Valle, dos Santos Maroclo Gomes, Andréa Cristina, da Silva Zanzini, Antônio Carlos, Castro, Arlison Bezerra, Desbiez, Arnaud Léonard Jean, Figueiredo, Axa, de Thoisy, Benoit, Gauzens, Benoit, Oliveira, Brunno Tolentino, de Lima, Camilla Angélica, Peres, Carlos Augusto, Durigan, Carlos César, Brocardo, Carlos Rodrigo, da Rosa, Clarissa Alves, Zárate-Castañeda, Claudia, Monteza-Moreno, Claudio M., Carnicer, Cleide, Trinca, Cristiano Trape, Polli, Daiana Jeronimo, da Silva Ferraz, Daniel, Lane, Daniel F., da Rocha, Daniel Gomes, Barcelos, Daniele Cristina, Auz, David, Rosa, Dian Carlos Pinheiro, Silva, Diego Afonso, Silvério, Divino Vicente, Eaton, Donald P., Nakano-Oliveira, Eduardo, Venticinque, Eduardo, Junior, Elildo Carvalho, Mendonça, Eloisa Neves, Vieira, Emerson Monteiro, Isasi-Catalá, Emiliana, Fischer, Erich, Castro, Erika Paula, Oliveira, Erison Gomes, de Melo, Fabiano Rodrigues, de Lima Muniz, Fábio, Rohe, Fabio, Baccaro, Fabrício Beggiato, Michalski, Fernanda, Paim, Fernanda Pozzan, Santos, Fernanda, Anaguano, Fernando, Palmeira, Francesca Belem Lopes, da Silva Reis, Francielly, Aguiar-Silva, Francisca Helena, de Avila Batista, Gabriel, Zapata-Ríos, Galo, Forero-Medina, German, Neto, Gilson De Souza Ferreira, Alves, Giselle Bastos, Ayala, Guido, Pedersoli, Gustavo Henrique Prado, El Bizri, Hani R., do Prado, Helena Alves, Mozerle, Hugo Borghezan, Costa, Hugo C. M., Lima, Ivan Junqueira, Palacios, Jaime, de Resende Assis, Jasmine, Boubli, Jean P., Metzger, Jean Paul, Teixeira, Jéssica Vieira, Miranda, João Marcelo Deliberador, Polisar, John, Salvador, Julia, Borges-Almeida, Karen, Didier, Karl, de Lima Pereira, Karla Dayane, Torralvo, Kelly, Gajapersad, Krisna, Silveira, Leandro, Maioli, Leandro Uceli, Maracahipes-Santos, Leonardo, Valenzuela, Leonor, Benavalli, Letícia, Fletcher, Lydia, Paolucci, Lucas Navarro, Zanzini, Lucas Pereira, da Silva, Luciana Zago, Rodrigues, Luiz Cláudio Ribeiro, Benchimol, Maíra, Oliveira, Marcela Alvares, Lima, Marcela, da Silva, Marcélia Basto, dos Santos Junior, Marcelo Augusto, Viscarra, Maria, Cohn-Haft, Mario, Abrahams, Mark Ilan, Benedetti, Maximiliano Auguto, Marmontel, Miriam, Hirt, Myriam R., Tôrres, Natália Mundim, Junior, Orlando Ferreira Cruz, Alvarez-Loayza, Patricia, Jansen, Patrick, Prist, Paula Ribeiro, Brando, Paulo Monteiro, Perônico, Phamela Bernardes, do Nascimento Leite, Rafael, Rabelo, Rafael Magalhães, Sollmann, Rahel, Beltrão-Mendes, Raone, Ferreira, Raphael Augusto Foscarini, Coutinho, Raphaella, da Costa Oliveira, Regison, Ilha, Renata, Hilário, Renato Richard, Pires, Ricardo Araújo Prudente, Sampaio, Ricardo, da Silva Moreira, Roberto, Botero-Arias, Robinson, Martinez, Rodolfo Vasquez, de Albuquerque Nóbrega, Rodrigo Affonso, Fadini, Rodrigo Ferreira, Morato, Ronaldo G., Carneiro, Ronaldo Leal, Almeida, Rony Peterson Santos, Ramos, Rossano Marchetti, Schaub, Roxane, Dornas, Rubem, Cueva, Rubén, Rolim, Samir, Laurindo, Samuli, Espinosa, Santiago, Fernandes, Taís Nogueira, Sanaiotti, Tania Margarete, Alvim, Thiago Henrique Gomide, Dornas, Tiago Teixeira, Piña, Tony Enrique Noriega, Caetano Andrade, Victor Lery, Santiago, Wagner Tadeu Vieira, Magnusson, William E., Campos, Zilca, Ribeiro, Milton Cezar (2022): AMAZONIA CAMTRAP: A data set of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest. Ecology

Li, Jingyi, Luo, Mingyu, Wang, Shaopeng, Gauzens, Benoit, Hirt, Myriam R., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Brose, Ulrich (2022): A size-constrained feeding-niche model distinguishes predation patterns between aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Ecology Letters

Publications 2021

Berti, Emilio, Davoli, Marco, Buitenwerf, Robert, Dyer, Alexander, Hansen, Oskar L. P., Hirt, Myriam R., Svenning, Jens-Christian, Terlau, Jördis F., Brose, Ulrich, Vollrath, Fritz (2021): The r package enerscape: A general energy landscape framework for terrestrial movement ecology. Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Hirt, Myriam R., Barnes, Andrew D., Gentile, Alessandro, Pollock, Laura J., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Thuiller, Wilfried, Tucker, Marlee A., Brose, Ulrich (2021): Environmental and anthropogenic constraints on animal space use drive extinction risk worldwide. Ecology Letters

Ryser, Remo, Hirt, Myriam R., Häussler, Johanna, Gravel, Dominique, Brose, Ulrich (2021): Landscape heterogeneity buffers biodiversity of simulated meta-food-webs under global change through rescue and drainage effects. Nature Communications

Publications 2020

Hirt, Myriam R., Tucker, Marlee, Müller, Thomas, Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Brose, Ulrich (2020): Rethinking trophic niches: Speed and body mass colimit prey space of mammalian predators. Ecology and Evolution

Publications 2019

Brose, Ulrich, Archambault, Phillippe, Barnes, Andrew D., Bersier, Louis-Felix, Boy, Thomas, Canning-Clode, João, Conti, Erminia, Dias, Marta, Digel, Christoph, Dissanayake, Awantha, Flores, Augusto A. V., Fussmann, Katarina, Gauzens, Benoit, Gray, Clare, Häussler, Johanna, Hirt, Myriam R., Jacob, Ute, Jochum, Malte, Kéfi, Sonia, McLaughlin, Orla, MacPherson, Muriel M., Latz, Ellen, Layer-Dobra, Katrin, Legagneux, Pierre, Li, Yuanheng, Madeira, Carolina, Martinez, Neo D., Mendonça, Vanessa, Mulder, Christian, Navarrete, Sergio A., O\’Gorman, Eoin J., Ott, David, Paula, José, Perkins, Daniel, Piechnik, Denise, Pokrovsky, Ivan, Raffaelli, David, Rall, Björn C., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Ryser, Remo, Silva, Ana, Sohlström, Esra H., Sokolova, Natalia, Thompson, Murray S. A., Thompson, Ross M., Vermandele, Fanny, Vinagre, Catarina, Wang, Shaopeng, Wefer, Jori M., Williams, Richard J., Wieters, Evie, Woodward, Guy, Iles, Alison C. (2019): Predator traits determine food-web architecture across ecosystems. Nature Ecology & Evolution

Publications 2018

Hirt, Myriam R., Grimm, Volker, Li, Yuanheng, Rall, Björn C., Rosenbaum, Benjamin, Brose, Ulrich (2018): Bridging Scales: Allometric Random Walks Link Movement and Biodiversity Research. Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Publications 2017

Hirt, Myriam R., Jetz, Walter, Rall, Björn C., Brose, Ulrich (2017): A general scaling law reveals why the largest animals are not the fastest. Nature Ecology & Evolution

Hirt, Myriam R., Lauermann, Tobias, Brose, Ulrich, Noldus, Lucas P. J. J., Dell, Anthony I. (2017): The little things that run: a general scaling of invertebrate exploratory speed with body mass. Ecology

Brose, Ulrich, Blanchard, Julia L., Eklöf, Anna, Galiana, Nuria, Hartvig, Martin, Hirt, Myriam R., Kalinkat, Gregor, Nordström, Marie C., O\’Gorman, Eoin J., Rall, Björn C., Schneider, Florian D., Thébault, Elisa, Jacob, Ute (2017): Predicting the consequences of species loss using size-structured biodiversity approaches. Biological Reviews