Research
Urban biodiversity modelling
I am interested in applying biodiversity modelling frameworks typically done in macroecology and biogeography in urban ecosystems Increasing urbanization worldwide poses threats but also offering opportunities for biodiversity conservation. Although the number of urban ecology studies is increasing, the knowledge on urban biodiversity is still hampered by the difficulty of extrapolating traditional biodiversity point measurements to a larger scale, e.g. a whole city. Biodiversity models, including species distribution models (SDMs) and species richness models (SRMs), have proved to be a key tool to solve this shortfall in biodiversity knowledge at studies set at larger spatial scales. However, biodiversity modelling have rarely been used in the context of urban areas due to either the lack of sufficient species records or high-quality predictors. Yet, new sources of data, both in the form of high resolution predictors and biodiversity observations are changing this quickly (see this, and this). Associated project: BioDiverCities
Nutritional ecology in human-dominated ecosystems
I am very interested in understanding how novel nutritional landscapes affect foraging behaviour and dietary patterns of animals, specifically insects. Furthermore, I am also interested in understanding how nutritional landscapes change in human-dominated ecosystems due to human actions and preferences, and in turn, influence species interactions with associated trophic levels and bioviersity patterns. In my past and current projects, I have focus on both the diet breadth and the nutrient intake of wild bees in urban and rural areas, employing DNA metabarcoding and chemical analyses on macronutrients such as amino acids, fatty acids and sterols. This has been achieved by establishing successful collaborations, specifically, the company allGenetics, the plant-insect interaction group at TUM, the mollecular ecology group at the LMU, and the chemical ecology group at the University of Neuchātel. Associated projects: BumbleDiets, BioVEINS, CityBees
Urban biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services under global change
Urban sprawl and densification is increasing worldwide, imposing main challenges for preserving biodiversity. Urban densification often replace and reduce existing green areas, replacing high biodiversity urban greenspace types as allotments or by reducing available greenspace in housing estates. Due to the existing constaints, finding an operational space within this suboptimal situation to guarantee maintaining urban biodiversity is critical. Similarly, increasing temperatures and pollution also pose main challenges to urban taxa, in turn affecting eco-evolutionary processes and ecosystem services Associated project: BioDiverCities, CityBees
People-plant-insect interactions
Humans have been gardeners and landscape planners and managers since centuries. Through facilitation and exclusion of plant species and their specific traits, we create unique urban plant assemblages, which in turn influence their associated taxa such as herbivores, decomposers or pollinators. I am interested in understanding how plants are selected and the organizaional scales at which plants co-occur together in human-dominated ecosystems, as well as the consequences on associated biodiversity, ecosystem process, functions, and contributions to people. Associated projects: PAPPUS, CityBees, StreuWiKlim
Assessing the effectivenesss of protected areas for insects in Switzerland and elsewhere
In the current times of biodiversity crises, implementing and extending the network of protected habitats has been propose as urgent and critical to counteract biodiversity loss. However, as highlighted in some of the recent international meetings on the topic, a main problem is that often it is unknown or untested how effective are protected areas in preserving biodiversity currently, and in the future. This reasons motivated me to study how well represented bee diversity was within the Swiss protected area network, making use of a remarkable coverage in species data. Currently, I am interested in further evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas in other taxa and in other regions. Associated project: MUTAAN
