The Department of Ecology was established in 1993 and is part of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Technology in Faculty 2 Environment and Natural Sciences at BTU.

Research in the Department focuses on the effects of anthropogenic (e.g. climate and land use change) and natural disturbances (e.g. wildfire) on biodiversity, biotic interactions and ecosystem processes in natural, forest and agricultural ecosystems. Major research areas include the provision of ecosystem services, predator-prey interactions, litter decomposition by soil fauna, and biodiversity conservation with a focus on terrestrial invertebrates.

Teaching at the Department focuses on Bachelor's, Master's and PhD courses in the international programme "Environmental and Resource Management" and the German-language programmes "Umweltingenieurwesen" and "Landnutzung und Wasserbewirtschaftung". Courses focus on basic knowledge in ecology and biology (ecology: ecosystems, biotic interactions & nature conservation; biology: soil biology, forensics & parasitology).

Latest publications

• Alfeus, M., Irish, J., & Birkhofer, K. (2024). Recognition and completeness metrics from iNaturalist and GBIF can inform future citizen science and research projects: a case study on arthropods in Namibia. Research Square
• Cardoso, P., Pekar, S., Birkhofer, K., Chuang, A., Fukushima, C. S., Hebets, E. A., ... & Mammola, S. (2024). Ecosystem services provided by spiders. Authorea Preprints.
• Feng L, Arvidsson F, Djoudi EA, Birkhofer K (accepted) Isotopic niches and diets of ground-active arthropod predators differ between a post-mining and a natural lakeshore. Food Webs
• Melcher, A. C., Weber, S., Birkhofer, K., Harms, D., & Krehenwinkel, H. (2024). To pool or not to pool: Pooled metabarcoding does not affect estimates of prey diversity in spider gut content analysis. Ecological Entomology.
• Michalko, R., Birkhofer, K., Traugott, M., & Jonsson, M. (2024). Negative intraguild interactions drive niche variation in arthropod predators. Entomologia Generalis 44: 525-534
• Menares, E., Saíz, H., Schenk, N., de la Riva, E., Krauss, J. and Birkhofer, K. (2024), Co-Occurrence Patterns Do Not Predict Mutualistic Interactions Between Plant and Butterfly Species. Ecol Evol, 14: e70498. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70498
• Bucher, R., Batáry, P., Baudry, J., Beaumelle, L., Čerevková, A., de la Riva, E. G., ... & Birkhofer, K. (2024). Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms. Ecological Applications, e3035.
• Kober, K., Birkhofer, K., & Glemnitz, M. (2024). High soil moisture promotes the emergence of ground beetles and spiders from soils in wheat fields. Basic and Applied Ecology, 80, 72-80.
• Gavín-Centol, M. P., Serrano-Carnero, D., Montserrat, M., Balanzategui, I., Scheu, S., Truu, J., Birkhofer, K., ...& Moya-Laraño, J. (2024). Drought impairs detritivore feeding activity more strongly in northern than in southern European latitudes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 199, 109594.
• Heinken, T., Blumröder, J. S., Adhikari, Y., Balthasar, C., Binder, A., Birkhofer, K., ... & Ibisch, P. L. (2024). PYROPHOB–a post-fire ecosystem research project to inform management for resilient forest development. Tuexenia 44
• Aigbedion‐Atalor, P.O., Upfold, J., Coombes, C., Moore, S., & Hill, M. (2024). Sexual selection in Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) is shaped by contrasting geographic adaptations, but does it matter for area‐wide sex pheromone control tools?. Annals of Applied Biology.
• Aigbedion-Atalor, P. O., Fening, K. O., Adeyemi, A. O., Idemudia, I., Ojukwu, K. C., Nwobodo, M. A., ... & Oke, A. O. (2024). Regenerative edible insects for food, feed, and sustainable livelihoods in Nigeria: Consumption, potential and prospects. Future Foods, 9, 100309.
• Idemudia, I., Fening, K. O., Agboyi, L. K., Wilson, D., Clottey, V. A., Beseh, P., & Aigbedion-Atalor, P. O. (2024). First report of the predatory potential and functional response of the red flower assassin bug Rhynocoris segmentarius (Germar), a natural enemy of Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith). Biological Control, 191, 105465.
• Neyret, M., Le Provost, G., Boesing, A.L., Birkhofer, K.et al.A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification. Nat Commun15, 1251 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45113-5
• Preußer, D., Fischer, T. & Juretzek, T. Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Protophormia terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2024). doi.org/10.1007/s12024-024-00804-9
• Birkhofer, K,...Alfeus, M,...Arvidssson, F,...Djoudi, EA et al. (2024) Smallholder agriculture in African dryland agroecosystems has limited impact on trophic group composition, but affects arthropod provision of ecosystem services. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment 363
• Bötzl F,...Birkhofer, K,... et al. (2024) Distance functions of carabids in crop fields depend on functional traits, crop type and adjacent habitat: a synthesis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 291
• Michalko, R., Hamřík, T., Košulič, O., Songsangchote, C., Trisurat, Y., & Birkhofer, K. (2023). Effects of land use and climate on web-building spiders and their prey in dry dipterocarp forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 546, 121366.
• Tölgyesi, C., Bátori, Z., Pascarella, J., Erdős, L., Török, P., Batáry, P., Birkhofer, K.... & Gallé, R. (2023). Ecovoltaics: Framework and future research directions to reconcile land-based solar power development with ecosystem conservation. Biological Conservation, 285, 110242.
• Tluste, C., & Birkhofer, K. (2023). The Roman snail (Gastropoda: Helicidae) is not a generalist herbivore, but shows food preferences for Urtica dioica and plant litter. Journal of Natural History, 57(13-16), 758-770.
• Gavín-Centol, M. P., Serrano-Carnero, D., Montserrat, M., Meyer, S., Scheu, S., Kundel, D., Birkhofer, K.... & Moya-Laraño, J. (2023). Severe drought and conventional farming affect detritivore feeding activity and its vertical distribution. Basic and Applied Ecology, 69, 49-59.
• Damptey, F. G., Djoudi, E. A., & Birkhofer, K. (2023). Effects of post-mining forest restoration and alternative land uses on ground-dwelling arthropods in Ghana. Community Ecology, 1-14.
• Gerwin, W., Raab, T., Birkhofer, K., Hinz, C., Letmathe, P., Leuchner, M., ... & Lehmkuhl, F. (2023). Perspectives of lignite post-mining landscapes under changing environmental conditions: what can we learn from a comparison between the Rhenish and Lusatian region in Germany?. Environmental Sciences Europe, 35(1), 1-24.
• de la Riva, E. G., Ulrich, W., Batáry, P., Baudry, J., Beaumelle, L., Bucher, R., ... & Birkhofer, K. (2023). From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability. Agricultural Systems, 208, 103659.
• Fotang, C., Bröring, U., Roos, C., Dutton, P., Tédonzong, L. R. D., Willie, J., ... & Birkhofer, K. (2023). Mapping suitable habitat for Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-Western Cameroon. Primates, 1-12.
• Fotang, C., Dutton, P., Bröring, U., Roos, C., Willie, J., Angwafo, T. E., ... & Birkhofer, K. (2023). Tool use by Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees for driver ant predation in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-West Region Cameroon. Folia Primatologica, 94(1), 73-85.
• Ulrich, W., Batáry, P., Baudry, J., Beaumelle, L., Bucher, R., Čerevková, A., ... & Birkhofer, K. (2023). From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well‐being. People and Nature, 5(1), 69-83.
• Khum, W., Košulič, O., Birkhofer, K., & Michalko, R. (2023). The invasive pathogenic fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus alters predator–herbivore–ash food webs. Biological Invasions, 25(1), 125-131.
• de Tomás Marín, S., Rodríguez-Calcerrada, J., Arenas-Castro, S., Prieto, I., González, G., Gil, L., & de la Riva, E. G. (2023). Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica: Two neighbors with few things in common. Forest Ecosystems, 10, 100097.
• de Tomas Marın, S., Dıaz, J. G., Rodrıguez-Calcerrada, J., Prieto, I., & de la Riva, E. G. (2023). Linking functional composition moments of the sub-Mediterranean ecotone with environmental drivers. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1303022.
• de la Riva, E. G., Prieto, I., de Tomás Marín, S., Rodríguez-Calcerrada, J., Golabvand, P., & Galán Díaz, J. (2023). Living at the edge: the functional niche occupation of woody plant communities in the submediterranean ecotone. Annals of Botany, 132(3), 471-484.
• Preußer, D., Fischer, T., & Juretzek, T. (2023). Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Medical and Veterinary Entomology.