Scientific career

2020-	Full professor in Biodiversity Monitoring, University of Bonn and Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, Bonn
2015-2020	Full professor in Animal Ecology, University of Münster, Institute of Landscape Ecology
2012-2015	Senior lecturer in Agroecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
2012	Habilitation, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, subject area: Ecology; Thesis title: "Biodiversity and multitrophic interactions in changing terrestrial ecosystems"
2011-	Board member of the Centre for Statistics of University of Göttingen
2011-	Board member of the DFG Research Training Group "Scaling problems in Statistics"
2006-2012	Postdoc in the lab of Prof. Dr. Teja Tscharntke, Agroecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
2006	Dissertation, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany, Ecology (summa cum laude); Thesis title: Invertebrate herbivory, plant diversity and ecosystem processes in experimental grassland
2002	Diploma Thesis at Imperial College London, Silwood Park, UK. supervised by M.J.Crawley FRS. Thesis title: The effects of herbivory and competition on Senecio inaequidens DC (Asteraceae), an invasive alien plant
2002	Diploma, Biology (with distinction)
2000-2002	Undergraduate studies (“Hauptstudium”) at University of Rostock (Germany)
1998-2000	Undergraduate studies (“Grundstudium”) at University of Regensburg (Germany)

Employment history

2015-	Full professor, University of Münsterm Germany
2006-2015	Academic assistant, University of Göttingen, Germany
2002-2006	Research Assistant, University of Jena, Germany

Awards and distinctions

2017	FACULTY of 1000 Ecology Letters paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine; see here
2013	FACULTY of 1000 Ecology and Evolution paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine
2012	FACULTY of 1000 Biological Reviews paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine
2012	FACULTY of 1000 Nature Climate Change paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine
2011	Best Young Publication Award by the Foundation Board of the University of Göttingen (23 Nov 2011)
2010	FACULTY of 1000 Nature paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine
2008	Invitated participant of GAFOS 2008, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (German-American Frontiers of Science Symposium)
2007	Horst-Wiehe-Award 2007 of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria
2005	Sanofi-Aventis Nationwide Science Journalism Award 2005 (online section), topic: Molecular Medicine
2000-2001	Deutscher Studienpreis (German Thesis Award) 2000/2001, Research project on Human facial attractiveness
1999-2000	Deutscher Studienpreis (German Thesis Award) 1999/2000, Research project on public perception of genetically modified foods
1997	Jugend forscht Bundessieger, Biologie (Nationwide gold medal of the German Young Researchers Contest, biology) 1997
1997	Gold medal of the E. F. Blaese Foundation

Fellowships

2003-2006	International Max Planck Research School (Chemical Ecology, Jena), 2003-2006, member
2003-2006	Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation), PhD Scholarship, 2003-2006
2002	Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation), Foreign exchange scholarship, 2002
2001-2006	E-Fellows.net Career Network Scholarship, 2001-2006
1999-2002	Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation), Scholarship for Undergraduates, 1999-2002

Internships and training courses

2005	NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) course, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemical Ecology, 2005
2003	Advances in Ecology 2003, Imperial College London, Silwood Park
2002	The Glim course (Statistical programming), Imperial College, Silwood Park (UK), 2002 (3 weeks)
2001	Soil Science Lab, Univ. of Rostock (Germany), Dynamics of antibiotics in soil, internship, 2001
2000	Tropical Ecology, 3-week stay in Ivory Coast (West Africa), with S. Porembski, 2000
1998	EarthWatch Team member, Mother Goose Lake, Alaskan Peninsula, Alaska (USA), 1998 (3 weeks)

Board memberships and activities

Member of the Editorial Board of Ecology Letters (since September 2012)
Member of the Editorial Board of The Open Conservation Biology Journal (since March 2009)
Editor-in-Chief (retd.), Founder member, and editor of www.sciencegarden.de (since 2001)

Board member of the Centre for Statistics of University of Göttingen
Board member of the DFG Research Training Group "Scaling problems in Statistics"

Referee for Ecology Letters, Ecology, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series B, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Oecologia, Basic and Applied Ecology, Landscape Ecology, Ecological Indicators, Plant Ecology, Progress in Botany, Journal of Applied Entomology, Environmental Entomology, Insect Conservation and Diversity, European Journal of Entomology, European Journal of Forest Research, International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, Conservation and Society, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry; Book chapters: Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (ed. D Paterson, R Aspden, M Solan); Biodiversity and Insect Pests (ed. GM Gurr, S Wratten, WE Snider DMY Read)

Research proposals refereed for Swiss National Science Foundation, Czech Science Foundation.

Affiliations

Ecological Society of America, member since 2012
Deutscher Hochschulverband (German Assoc. of University Professors and Lecturers), since 2011
Bavarian Botanical Society (1998-2008), member
German Carnivorous Plant Society (since 1992), member
Jugend forscht Jury member (German Young Researchers Contest)

Funds acquired

2017-	EU Horizon 2020 project "DIVERsify" -Designing InnoVative plant teams for Ecosystem Resilience and agricultural Sustainability - funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under agreement No. 727284.
2015-2018	EU-BiodivERsA project "BASIL" - Landscape-scale biodiversity and the balancing of provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services - funded by European Joint Call Biodiversa (with J. Joshi, Potsdam; see also here)
2016-2018	DFG-FOR 1451-3 "Exploring mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning" (2016-2018). Subproject leader in subproject "Consumer community structure and ecosystem functioning" (with U Brose, Jena & N Eisenhauer, Leipzig)
2013-2016	DFG-FOR 1451-2 “Exploring mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning” (2013-2016). Subproject leader in subproject “Aboveground interactions“ (with AM Klein, Freiburg)
2011-2013	Rapid Eye Science Service System. Project title: “Spatio-temporal shifts in ecosystem services across a landscape complexity gradient”. Principal Investigator.
2010-2013	DFG-FOR 1451 “Exploring mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning” (2010-2013). Subproject leader in subproject “Plant-insect interactions, flower traits, and pollination along an experimental plant diversity gradient“ (with AM Klein, Lüneburg)
2010-2013	DFG-GRK 1644 “Scaling problems in statistics” (2010-2013). Subproject leader in two subprojects „Scale dependence of plant-insect interactions and community structure in changing landscapes“ and „Scale and context mediated conservation management in fragmented landscapes and populations“.
2008-2013	Haeckel 1b-Cluster of Excellence "Functional Biodiversity research" at the University of Göttingen, Associated member and Subproject leader
2008-2011	DFG-SPP 1374 „Biodiversity Exploratories“, Subproject leader (2008-2011), Subproject “Effects of spatio-temporal land-use dynamics on plant-insect diversity and multitrophic interactions (InsectScale)“ (with I Steffan-Dewenter et al.)
2011	EU 7th Framework program, „increase“ project, Transnational access for a research stay within the „Climaite“ project, Denmark
2006-2008	DFG-ESF project “AGRIPOPES”, AGRIcultural POlicy-Induced landscaPe changes: effects on biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, associated member
2003-2006	Studienstiftug des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation), PhD scholarship 2003-2006
2002	Studienstiftug des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation), Scholarship for studying abroad (United Kingdom)

 

Editorial board memberships

• Member of the Editorial Board of Ecology Letters (since 27th August 2012)
• Member of teh Editorial Board of The Open Conservation Biology Journal (since March 2009)

Referee Activities

Multidisciplinary journals

• Nature

Ecology (general)

• Ecology Letters
• Ecology
• Journal of Ecology
• Journal of Applied Ecology
• Oecologia
• Basic and Applied Ecology
  
  Ecology (subdisciplines)
  
• Landscape Ecology
• Ecological Indicators
• Plant Ecology
  
  Entomology
  
• Journal of Applied Entomology
• Environmental Entomology
• Insect Conservation and Diversity
• European Journal of Entomology
  
  Forestry, Conservation and Tropical Biology
  
• European Journal of Forest Research
• International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation
• Conservation and Society
  
  Soil Sciences
  
• Soil Biology and Biochemistry
  
  Chemistry
• Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

I am collaborating with several institutions/people, among them:

• Alexandra-Maria Klein (Freiburg, Germany)
• Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter (Bayreuth, Germany)
• Wolfgang W. Weisser (Munich, Germany)
• Søren Christensen (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• Michael J. Crawley (London, United Kingdom)

 

 

A selection of nature and wildlife photographs I´ve taken over the last years

 

2017 Faculty of 1000 Ecology Letters Paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine

2013 Faculty of 1000 Ecology and Evolution Paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine

 2010  Faculty of 1000 Nature Climate Change Paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine

2011 Best Publication Award for young researchers, awarded by the Foundation Board of the University of Göttingen

2011 Proposed for election as an additional board member of the "Junge Akademie" (2011)

 2010 Faculty of 1000 Nature paper selected for the top 2% of published articles in biology and medicine

 2008 14th German-American Frontiers of Science Symposium, invited participant

 2007 Horst Wiehe Award of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland

 2005 "Heureka" Award for Science Journalism

 2000 German students award for a study on human facial attractiveness

 1999 German students award for a study on public risk assessment of genetically modified food

1998-2006 German National Academic Foundation, fellowship holder from 1998-2006

 1997 "Jugend forscht" National German Young Researcher Award for a study on a peat bog ecosystem

Institute of Landscape Ecology Münster (Board member, since 2015)

Centre for Statistics of the Georg-August University of Göttingen (Board member, until 2015)

DFG-Research Training Group "Scaling problems in Statistics"(Board member, until 2015)
German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (Deutscher Hochschulverband) until 2015
British Ecological Society (member, 2017)
Ecological Society of America (member, 2016)
German Network of Young Researchers - Das Deutsche Jungforscher Netzwerk (JuForum e.V ) until 2017
German Carnivorous Plant Society (Gesellschaft für fleischfressende Pflanzen e.V.)
Sciencegarden (Sciencegarden e.V.)