Julia Rothacher

Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature - Nature A survey of tropical insect populations and thermal tolerance limits indicates that species from lowland areas have low capacity to survive increased temperatures, and that thermal tolerance is limited by fundamental properties of protein architecture.

Nature research paper: Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature

go.nature.com/4ua5R82

Elevation reverses the effects of forest structure on folivory and leaf asymmetry Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Congratulations to our postdoc Soumen on his new publication! 🎉🌳

In German beech forests, canopy gap and deadwood enrichment reduced insect damage but stressed trees at low elevations, while the opposite happened higher up.

👉 Local climate makes the difference.

📖 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

NEW JOB in #ornithology chasing #nutcrackers in Switzerland to understand seed dispersal patterns: buff.ly/Cx0OOQy

Postdoctoral position in Forest Genetics at @uni-freiburg.de with a focus on local adaptation and/or stress reaction of trees. The position combines research and teaching (4 SWS), and offers the opportunity to develop an independent research profile (4+ years).

Seems like the findings of @johannaasch.bsky.social on #dungbeetle diversity well match to the temperature stress responses of the forest dung beetle to changing climates🌡🪲 Stay tuned for exciting further insights 🤩

📃 Paper from press release:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🪲 🪱 🌳 WSL researchers sampled tree holes in France, Brazil and India and found that spatial structuring explained #macroinvertebrate diversity better than local conditions, highlighting the importance of connectivity and old-growth forests for conservation. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Vielfalt im Dorf, Ödnis auf der Wiese? Bayerische Wiesen sind laut einer neuen Studie der Universität Würzburg die eintönigsten Insekten-Habitate. #Artenvielfalt #Biodiversität 📷 Johannes Uhler
➡️ www.uni-wuerzburg.de/aktuelles/pr...

HIRING! We are looking for a new PhD student to work on insects in deadwood, effects of microclimate and land use. This is part of the Biodiversity Exploratories @bexplo.bsky.social and will use a new experiment using rain-out shelters in different regions of Germany. EU driver´s licence required.

I can recommend Rabea Klümpers, a young female artist from the Bavarian Forest increasingly specializing in nature illustrations. 😊 Here are some of her works:
illustratoren-organisation.de/portfolio/ra...

Job Offer: PhD Position Project bAImo: artificial intelligence for insect monitoring 3 years (initially) 65% TV-L Background: photo of a brown butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) on a purple flower

Come work with us! 🪲For our new project bAImo we are searching for a PhD researcher combining modelling 💻 with ecological expertise, aiming to improve interdisciplinary approaches to insect monitoring 🔎🐝 please visit tinyurl.com/bAImo-PhDoffer for more details. Looking forward to your application 🦗😊

Experimental enhancement of structural heterogeneity in forest landscapes promotes multidimensional hoverfly diversity Our results provide the first experimental evidence that enhancing structural heterogeneity at the landscape scale can restore multidimensional hoverfly diversity in temperate forests. They underscor...

Happy to share that our paper is out in @jappliedecology.bsky.social 😄

Experimentally increasing structural heterogeneity in forest landscapes (deadwood + canopy gaps) boosts taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of hoverflies 🪰🌳

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Calling on all forest disturbance experts: Please consider contributing to our study on global forest disturbance change, and help resolve the nuances of changing forest disturbance regimes. More details and survey here: www.lss.ls.tum.de/edfm/disturb...

Mehr Mist: Klimawandel könnte Bestände des Waldmistkäfers schrumpfen lassen

Unsere Doktorandin @johannaasch.bsky.social hat beim Deutschlandfunk über den Waldmistkäfer und den Klimawandel gesprochen 🌳🪲

www.deutschlandfunk.de/mehr-mist-kl...

New study on arthropod declines @natecoevo.nature.com 🪲

In two time series @jena-experiment.bsky.social & @bexplo.bsky.social we show how community (dis)assembly underpins local biomass declines.

It mostly boils down to species loss, with identity losing relevance.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nest mass in forest tits (Paridae) increases with elevation and decreasing body mass, promoting reproductive success Based on the concept of the extended phenotype, bird nest characteristics can serve as indicators for adaptations to changing environmental conditions. We examined how the nest mass of three cavity-n...

New study out @avianbiology.bsky.social 📃 Along our #BETAFOR elevational gradient 🗻 forest tits adjust their nest construction to macroclimatic conditions to maintain successful breeding as environmental conditions change.🐦🌳
Read it here: doi.org/10.1002/jav....

Browsing by roe deer poses a serious problem, particularly for young and low-growing trees. (Image: Vanell / AdobeStock)

Deer browsing limits forest diversity – even in the light. New study in @jappliedecology.bsky.social by Würzburg ecologists and others: Even sunny canopy gaps cannot offset the impact of roe deer on forest regeneration. 🦌🌳☀️
➡️ www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-...

Great to see the results of our massive biodiversity assessment at Berchtesgaden Natl. Park pour in! Cool insights on patterns & drivers of multidiversity!

#1 Macro- and microclimate interactively shape species diversity of multiple taxa in mountain landscapes by L. Geres. doi.org/10.1002/ecog...

Career perspective npj Biological Timing and Sleep - In this career perspective article, the author describes her long pathway to a professorship in Germany.

Very interesting career perspective from Charlotte Helfrich-Förster.

A lot of very good advices for young scientists

rdcu.be/ekQat

Looking for a PhD / researcher position on #arthropods in #urban green spaces? Our colleague @nadja-simons.bsky.social @cofeuniwue.bsky.social @uni-wuerzburg.de has a 3 year position advertised here:
www.uni-wuerzburg.de/karriere/sin...

Welcome to the 8th European Congress for Conservation Biology in Leiden (NL)! Here we will explore how biodiversity can be safeguarded effectively in the long term. First call is open now! Check eccb26Leiden.eu for more info. We are looking forward to your contributions!

Amazing week of #birdbanding with @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social! 🪶 For a long-term monitoring programme we captured, aged & ringed 21 #bird species 🐦‍⬛🦜, including 3 woodpeckes and a goldcrest from Northern Sweden 🇸🇪 ringed this autumn. Learned so much, thanks for having me! 💚

Würdigung für jahrelanges Engagement Prof. Dr. Heike Feldhaar hat die Bayerische Staatsmedaille für herausragende Verdienste um die Umwelt erhalten.

🌿👏 Congratulations to Prof. Dr. Heike Feldhaar, BayCEER, and University of Bayreuth, on receiving the Bavarian State Medal for outstanding services to the environment!

ubtaktuell.uni-bayreuth.de/umweltmedail...

#BayCEER #UniBayreuth #Ecology #Insects #Sustainability

Picture: Marco Ferrante sound recorder

Picture: Isabelle Arimond soundrecorder and video recordings on yellow plate for insect monitoring

International Spring School: #Bioacoustics & Species Recognition using AI 🐝🐦🦗

Join us March 23–27, 2026!
Infos & registration: www.biointakt.de/en/springsch...

@feda.bio
@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@thuenen.de

Ecological synthesis including forest ecosystems, grassland, land use, climate change, time series, stability, ecosystem functioning, biodiversity, species interaction networks

Three exciting #PostDoc 🧑‍🔬👩‍🔬🧕 positions on #Ecological #Synthesis at TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social for Reassembly #rainforest 🇪🇨 🌱🌴🦜 & #Biodiversity Exploratories 🌲🐄🚜🪲🐝🥀@bexplo.bsky.social
Please spread widely ✉️♥️▶️ & apply quickly 🙃
www.reassembly.de/the-team/job...

Loved that I could add a little creative twist to our Necrodes littoralis paper led by Annika Busse and @cofeuniwue.bsky.social by drawing some cute little painted 🎨🪲 beetles. Also impressive how far they can fly! #CarrionClub #silphidae

PhD-project | slu.se SLU - Science and Education for Sustainable Life

Are you interested in passive acoustic monitoring? Do you want to learn more about Broadleafification?

Why not apply at SLU in Umeå, Sweden for a PhD position where you will study vocalizing species like birds, bats and beetles.

Deadline: 22.09.2025
URL: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...

Our #BETAFOR PhDs had an amazing time presenting their research at last week’s #gfoe2025 at @uni-wuerzburg.de! 🌟 Full of fresh ideas and inspiring discussions, it’s back to daily life. 💻✨
@claudiki.bsky.social @piambr.bsky.social @johannaasch.bsky.social @juliarothacher.bsky.social

What a perfect last day of #gfoe2025 on our excursion to the @uni-wuerzburg.de forest! Inspiring discussions and impressive insights into how to beautifully disturb for biodiversity 🌳🪾🐞 @cofeuniwue.bsky.social

Anne Chao and @piambr.bsky.social, the 100% perfect dialogue duo at #gfoe2025! ✨
Thank you for sharing statistical insights on sample coverage and it's standardization in the first @gfoesoc.bsky.social keynote session using #BETAFOR data.🌳🌱
@uni-wuerzburg.de @cofeuniwue.bsky.social

Truly fascinating combination: the wonderful shots by @jan-haft.bsky.social beautifully accompanied by live music of "Orchester des Wandels" 🎶 - what a highlight at the #gfoe2025 Ice Breaker tonight! 🧊🥂
@gfoesoc.bsky.social