Dr Myriam Hirt

Postdoctoral Researcher

Affiliations

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Postal address

Puschstrasse 4
04103 Leipzig
Germany

Room: B.03.24

Contact details

Research Interest

From processes to systems – predicting global change impacts on ecological networks

Life on earth is interconnected. Plants and animals interact with each other and with their environment and are therefore linked in tight networks consisting of direct and indirect flows of energy and information. External stressors to ecosystems, such as those caused by global change, affect not only the individual, but the entire system in which they are integrated. Therefore, we need to understand (1) how these systems are interconnected, (2) what mechanisms constitute their stability, and (3) how changes in individual physiology and performance cascade through these systems, ultimately influencing their stability and, more importantly, their ecosystem services to the planet and to us humans.

Movement is a fundamental process of most organisms that enables interactions with their environment and other species. It allows accessing resources, searching for mating partners, connecting spatially separated habitats, and seeking shelter from predators or climatic stress. While global change drivers such as climate warming or habitat fragmentation directly affect the physiology of animals and thus their fundamental needs, movement realizes these changes in interactions and ultimately in entire networks and ecosystems. My main research questions are therefore how we can use information about animal behavioral and physiological responses to global change to predict the consequences for ecological communities and their provision of ecosystem services to humans. I use both empirical and theoretical approaches to answer this question. This type of empirically grounded theory helps make large-scale predictions from small-scale experiments on fundamental processes.

 

Short CV

Since 2019
Postdoc in the Theory in Biodiversity group at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity
Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.

2015 – 2018   
Doctoral researcher in the Theory in Biodiversity group at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity
Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.

2013 – 2014  
Teaching assistant in the Systemic Conservation Biology group at the Georg-August-University Göttingen

2010 – 2013  
Master of Science in Biological Diversity, Ecology and Evolution at the Georg-August-University Göttingen

2007 – 2010    
Bachelor of Science in Biodiversity and Ecology at the Georg-August-University Göttingen

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