People
Myles Menz (Group Leader)
Myles’ research interests involve landscape ecology, animal movement, and community ecology. In particular, this encompasses the ecological and evolutionary drivers of migration in insects, the implications of migratory individuals for communities, and the ecology and conservation of mobile ecosystem services, such as pollination.
Marco Thoma (PhD Candidate 2015–) Unravelling pathways of insect migration in Europe using stable isotopes and citizen science data.
Marco has a broad interest in biodiversity research, animal movement ecology and migratory behaviour. In his PhD Marco is focusing on insect migration in Europe using different approaches such as stable isotope analysis, citizen science and mark-recapture methods, to explore flyways, ecology and behaviour of migratory insects. He is also interested in the potential effects that migrating insects have on their environment, especially on other taxa like bats and birds.
Kit Prendergast (External PhD Candidate 2016–2020) Determinants of native bee assemblages in urban habitat fragments in the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot and interactions between honeybees (Apis mellifera) and native plant-pollinator communities. Co-supervisors: Prof. Kingsley Dixon and Dr Bill Bateman (Curtin University, Western Australia).
Kit’s PhD, funded by the Forrest Scholarship Award, involves investigating which native bees occur in the Perth metropolitan area, located in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, an internationally renowned biodiversity hotspot. She will be identifying which local and landscape features, such as habitat type (bushland remnant vs. residential garden), floristic diversity and abundance of native and non-native plants, nesting substrate availability, and amount of built-up area in the matrix, determine the diversity, abundance, and community composition of native bees. She will also be investigating interactions between the introduced European honeybee Apis mellifera with native bees, to resolve the ongoing controversy over whether the exotic honeybee has a detrimental impact on native bees and pollinator networks.
‘Bees in the ‘burbs in a biodiversity hotspot’ Facebook Group page for her citizen science component of the project.
Former group members
Anick Hartmann (Masters student 2017–2019) Flight distance does not increase with latitude in migratory and non-migratory butterflies.
Alessandra Lochmatter (Masters student 2017–2019) Differences in flower visitation networks along an elevation gradient and the implications for pollination.
Pamela Terry (Masters student 2016–2018) The impact of migratory insects on bat feeding activity.
Judith Kramer (Bachelor thesis, 2018) Community assemblage and diversity of flower visitors along an elevation gradient.
Aline Knoblauch (Masters student 2016–2018) Orientation and migration phenology of dragonflies.
Leigh Martens (Masters student 2016–2017) Dispersal and population dynamics of dragonflies.
Lisa Fisler (Masters student 2015–2017) How does weather effect migration strength of hoverflies?
Alexandra Glauser (Masters student 2015–2017) Long term patterns of hoverfly migration in Great Britain.
Laura Dällenbach (Masters student 2015–2017) The influence of phenotype on flight behaviour in a migratory insect.
Raquel Lázaro (Masters student 2014–2017) Does the extent of urbanisation influence colony growth and foraging of bumblebees? Co-supervisor: Dr Eva Knop
Silvio Crameri (Masters student 2015–2017) Body fat and the fueling of migration in hoverflies.
Hasan Candan (Masters student 2014–2017) The effect of altitude on the structure of pollination networks.
Jannic Odermatt (Masters student 2014–2016) Constant behavioural tendencies in hoverflies and the impact of partial migration. Co-supervisor: Dr Joachim Frommen
Katrin Luder (Masters student 2014–2016) Effects of urbanisation on hoverfly communities and morphological traits.Co-supervisor: Dr Eva Knop.
Sandro Meyer (Masters thesis, 2014–2015) The effect of mowing regimes on hoverfly communities in lowland grasslands. Co-supervisor: Dr Jean-Yves Humbert.
Thomas Obrist (Masters thesis, 2013–2014) The role of invasive plants and ornamental garden flowers in an urban pollination networks. Co-supervisor: Dr Eva Knop.
Amanda Folkö (Bachelor thesis, 2014) The relationship between body size and dry weight in hoverflies (Syrphidae), and their movements along an urban linear landscape element.
Kevin Ingold (Bachelor thesis, 2014) Does body size influence movement distance in terrestrial spiders?