7 | curriculum vitae
Scientific interest
Biodiversity & ecosystem functioning, plant-animal interactions, tropical ecology, landscape ecology, conservation biology, conservation genetics
Academic education
Since July 2008: Robert Bosch Junior Professor at the Philipps University of Marburg
January 2008 – June 2008: Research fellow at the Zoological Institute, Community Ecology, University of Bern
July 2005 – December 2007: Postdoc at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in charge of co-ordinating the BIOTA East Africa subproject E11 – Consequences of human disturbance for avian diversity, seed dispersal and regeneration processes of East African rainforests
June 2002 – June 2005: PhD project at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with the title: Impact of forest fragmentation and disturbance on the endangered tropical tree Prunus africana (Rosaceae)
September 2001 – May 2002: Diploma thesis at Philipps University of Marburg and Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with the title: Pollination ecology of the dioecious tree Commiphora guillauminii (Burseraceae) in Madagascar
1996-2001: Studies of biology with emphasis on conservation biology, ecology, zoology at Philipps-University of Marburg
Field work
10/2008: Establishing study sites, and collecting data on seed dispersal and predation along a disturbance gradient in South Africa
04/2008: Collecting data on pollination, seed set and predation within a fragmented landscape in Switzerland
10/2007: Pilot study on movement ecology of Trumpeter Hornbills in a fragmented landscape in South Africa
06/2002-08/2007: Various kinds of data collection, supervision of students as well as meeting with counterparts and experts in KakamegaForest, Kenya, Mabira Forest and Budongo Forest, Uganda
09/ – 12/2001: Master thesis on pollination ecology of Commiphora guillauminii in Kirindy Forest, Madagascar
09/ – 12/2000: Volunteer in a PhD project on mouse lemurs (Microcebus ) in Ampijoroa, Madagascar
02/ – 04/2000: Volunteer in a PhD project on top predators and the carcass community in Bialowieza National Park, Poland
09/ – 10/1999: University trip to several National Parks, Sibiria, Russia
02/ – 04/1999: Volunteer in a study on secondary seed disperal by ants in Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, South Africa
09/ – 10/1997: Internship at the Department of animal ecology of the federal agengy for hydrology, Koblenz, Germany
Lab work
02/ – 04/2004: Performing microsatellite analysis using a lab roboter (MWG)
07/ – 12/2002: Establishment of microsatellite markers for P. africana
Awards
Robert Bosch Junior Professorship for research into “Sustainable Use of Renewable Natural Resources” (2008-2013)
Career advancement by Robert Bosch foundation through coaching programme “Fast Track” (2007-2009)
Co-applicant for BMBF Grant, BIOLOG Programme, BIOTA-East “Influence of climate change and human disturbance on East African rainforests: management recommendations” (2007-2010)
Merian Price in the category best talk of junior scientist at the 18th annual conference of the Society for Tropical Biology in Berlin (February 2005)
Subsidisation by Marie-Friedericke-Wagner foundation to attend A Special Symposium of the British Ecological Society (BES) and the Annual Meeting of the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Aberdeen, U.K (July 2003)
Memberships
member of the organization and academic committee of the 2009 joint meeting of the Society for Tropical Ecology and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
member of the academic committee of the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
member of the scientific advisory board of the Society for Tropical Ecology
member of the Ecological Society of Germany, Switzerland and Austria
member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
member of the Society for Tropical Ecology
Service as a reviewer
Ad hoc referee for Acta Oecologica, African Journal of Ecology, Animal Conservation, Basic and Applied Ecology, Biological Conservation, Biotropica, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Ecotropica, Environmental and Experimental Botany, Forest Ecology and Management, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Journal of Tropical Ecology, Oecologia and Trees – Structure and Function
Subject Editor for Biotropica