Professor
Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III)
ORCID: 0000-0002-5235-4746

My main interest is to understand how human activities influence insect biodiversity, species interactions and ecosystem functioning. The main focus is on wild bees, hoverflies and insect-pollinated plants, but I am also interested in herbivore-plant interactions, predators and parasitoids. My research is related to the fields of agroecology, sport ecology, urban ecology and global-change biology. I combine field- and landscape-scale studies with experiments in climate chambers to investigate how land use and climate change influence biodiversity and species interactions, and which measures help to mitigate the decline of biodiversity, now and under future climate change. My aim is to understand how rural and urban areas can be used sustainably, how the use of gratis ecosystem services like pollination and biocontrol can be optimized, and how agricultural production can be enhanced by ecological intensification.