Group members

Prof. Dr. Lars Opgenoorth

I am a plant and evolutionary ecologist working on the adaptability of forests and high mountain environments. In my work I utilize a broad array of tools ranging from experimental ecology, genomics, (remote) sensing to biogography and paleoecology. I enjoy long days of field work as much as spending hours with data trying to understand how ecosystems deal with environmental changes. One focus of my work is how we humans have shaped the environment and what we can do to minimize detrimental effects and protect the planet’s biodiversity.

Dr. Christian Lampei

Dr. Mona Schreiber

Dr. Julia Völker

Dr. Susanne Walden

Dr. Monica Berdugo

Jill Sekely, MSc

I am a conservation biologist with a background in animal ecology, endangered species conservation, and most recently forest ecology and genetics. I am currently working on my PhD candidacy as part of the international DFG-funded project LocalAdapt. This project combines dendrophenotyping and genetic association studies to disentangle the interplay of genetics, phenotypes, and environmental variables. Specifically, I study a common tree species Nothofagus pumilio along the stunning Andes mountain range. It is possible I have spent a little too much time out in the woods. However, there is no better way to tackle my curiosity about climate change, the future of forest ecology, and human sustainability than to be a part of a working group like this one.

Mekbib Fekadu, MSc

I am a PhD student in the DFG research unit 2358 and work on the ecology and paleoecology of the vegetation of the Bale Mountains.

Yeshitla Merene Abebe, MSc

My Ph.D. dissertation is on the comparative biogeography of ground beetles of the Ethiopian Highlands. Based on a literature review I try to develop the database on the general biogeography of the Ethiopian ground beetles. My study in the lab focuses on morphology, taxonomy, phylogeography and comparative phylogenetics of the Ethiopian ground beetles with special emphasis on the afroalpine areas of the Bale Mts. and other volcanic mountains of Ethiopia.

Erik Martiné, MSc

Marieke Lenga, MSc

Christian Mestre-Runge, MSc

Former group members

Prof. Dr. Katrin Heer

Katrin is an evolutionary ecologist and was a PostDoc as part of the TipTree project in my group. We have since been collaborating on a number of tree-adaptation related projects.

Dr. Sylvia Hofmann

works with the phylogeography, evolution and systematics of the herpetofauna and beetle fauna of High Asia, population genetics, effects of land-use change on biodiversity and genetic epidemiology. She has worked in my group in the framework of the DFG Research Unit Bale Mountains using ground beetles as a paleoecological landscape proxy.

Dr. Isabelle Lesure

Isabelle is a bioinformatician working on genomics and transcriptomics of forest tree species. She was part of my working group in the framework of the GenTree and BEECHgenome projects working on beech genomics.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt

Joachim is as an entomologist and ecologist specialising in ground beetle taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology, and biogeography. Joachim has been working as a PostDoc in my team in the framework of the DFG research unit 2358 the past three years. Joachim has uncovered an enormous ground beetle diversity and utlizes this diversity in the Bale Mts of Ethiopia as a proxy to derive the paleoenvironment of these mountains. We have been working and will continue to do so on beetle phylogeography as a paleoecological tool for reconstructing landscape histories.

Dr. Martin Leberecht

Dr. Graciela Romero

Dr. Barbara Rodriguez, MSc