New @Science Advances paper out showing #Biodiversity effects on multitrophic interactions in #croplands, grasslands and forests! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🌐📏🧪🌱 New research synthesizing data from our experiment and many others finds stronger biodiversity effects on functioning under drought & aridity in grasslands than forests 👇

Experimental Interaction Ecology@eisenhauerlab.bsky.social · 3w ago

New collaborative paper led by Takehiro Sasaki out @natecoevo.nature.com with plenty of contributors from our group & others @idiv-research.bsky.social Biodiversity enhances productivity under drought in more arid grasslands but has limited effects in more arid forests 🌱🌲 doi.org/10.1038/s415...

New results from 5 experimental grasslands, including ours! 👇

Experimental Interaction Ecology@eisenhauerlab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New paper out in @pnas.org , led by our postdoc Pubin Hong: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... "Differences in evolutionary history and plant traits reduce competition, thereby simultaneously promoting species coexistence and productivity." 🌱📏🧪 @jena-experiment.bsky.social

When vacuuming spiders makes sense: Ongoing since 2010, our first of three annual arthropod samplings is done 🪲🕷️🐝 160 bags are stored away in the freezer, waiting for identification 📏

Nature research paper: Predicting temporal stability and resilience from resistance and recovery go.nature.com/4uzovpx

Predicting temporal stability and resilience from resistance and recovery - Nature

New predictions for how temporal stability and resilience depend on their resistance and recovery components are explored.

go.nature.com

New paper in Ecology Letters by Zhang et al. 🌱☘️ "Species Assembly Is Lineage Specific: Phylogenetic Divergent Species Aggregate in Some Lineages but Segregate in Others" doi.org/10.1111/ele....

Species Assembly Is Lineage Specific: Phylogenetic Divergent Species Aggregate in Some Lineages but Segregate in Others

Phylogenetic relatedness of co-occurring species is often used as a proxy for inferring prior assembly processes. However, this approach ignores the possibility that different phylogenetic lineages m...

doi.org

Prof. Alexandra Weigelt, Prof. Alexandra Wright and I are delighted to invite colleagues to submit an abstract to our session 1 at the CBC Conference, in Leipzig, Germany. Abstract submission by April 21st lnkd.in/dz-bHADa lnkd.in/dq3ZUztV

Scenic spring retreat with our team at the historical observatory @uni-goettingen.de From field updates & planning our upcoming drought experiment "ResCUE" to impressive progress reports by our PhD candidates & Postdocs - thanks to everyone who organised, participated and to our hosts! 🌱🌼

Good news! ✨ The deadline has been extended – you can still submit your abstract and secure the early-bird rate. Look forward to inspiring keynote speakers and join us for an excursion to the Exploratorium Schorfheide-Chorin! 🌱🌿 Share the news with your scientific community. #BE20conference #🌐

Belated paper update from February: A new study by @sarawinterfeldt.bsky.social et al shows that higher plant diversity boosts microbial drought resistance and promotes soil carbon storage 🌱🦠 doi.org/10.1111/1365... @rousklab.bsky.social @journalofecology.bsky.social

Plant diversity increases microbial resistance to drought and soil carbon accumulation

We investigated how plant diversity influenced soil microbial processes during moist conditions and an experimental drought. Higher plant diversity increased below-ground plant input. This increased ...

doi.org

🚀 iDiv and @uni-jena.de are hiring! Join the Ecological Networks Lab as an IT Specialist (full-time, permanent). Work on lab automation, software dev, and cutting-edge research! 🌿💻 🗓️ Apply by 27 Mar 2026 📍 Leipzig (Germany) 👉 www.idiv.de/career/job-o... #JobAlert #ITJobs #Biodiversity #iDiv

We are currently looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in community ecology to work in the Arthropods Core Project of the Biodiversity Exploratories @bexplo.bsky.social Reposting is much appreciated for widest reach! Thanks. More information here: www.lss.ls.tum.de/fileadmin/w0...

New study by Medina-van Berkum et al. in @pnas.org Plant diversity influences plant volatile emission with varying effects at the species and community levels 🌱🌼🌿 -> "At the community level, plant species richness directly enhanced VOC emission and increased VOC richness" doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

New paper with many smart people, led by Nico Eisenhauer & Marie Sünemann @eisenhauerlab.bsky.social, surveying the state of literature on the effects of soil biodiversity on ecosystem functioning www.nature.com/articles/s44...

In the current issue of NEE, you can find our research on the community assembly mechanisms behind arthropod 🪲🕷️ biomass declines ⚖️📉 both as the original paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... and (new🌟) as research briefing by @ebelingae.bsky.social and myself: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nature Ecology & Evolution@natecoevo.nature.com · 7mo ago

Our January issue is now live: www.nature.com/natecolevol/... Featuring research on 🧪 🐝 pesticide impacts on wild bees 🪺 population genomics of avian brood parasitism 🌱 the origins of terrestrial herbivory Cover image from Abraham et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🏅Long-term biodiversity experiments have shown highly variable responses of individual species to increasing plant diversity. This new article shows that fast-growing, high-nutrient demanding species are winners, especially in young high-diversity mixtures 🔍 Read: buff.ly/KyaWCSy

We are very happy that 2025 has seen many great PhD defenses in our project. Congratulations once again!! Following the (random) order of pictures: Leonardo Bassi Laura Argens Francesca de Giorgi Pamela van Berkum Justus Hennecke Ana Bonato Asato Maximilian Bröcher ☘️🐞

New study by Roscher et al. in @journalofecology.bsky.social Making use of our established mixtures, they found that plant species that gained biomass (winners) in high-diversity plots have fast traits - but this is mostly detectable when mixtures are young. 🌱 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Plant species with ‘fast’ traits are winners in young and high‐diversity plant communities

The results suggest that fast-growing, high-nutrient demanding species are winners in high-diversity mixtures, which can be well predicted from their SLA. However, the results regarding NLeaf suggest...

doi.org

New study by @bmwildermuth.bsky.social et al. in @natecoevo.nature.com They asked whether arthropod biomass declines due to species loss per se, or which species are lost, or because of shrinking abundances of persisting species. 🪲🕷️🐝🦗 doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Arthropod species loss underpins biomass declines - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Insects are declining in many regions. Here the authors show that arthropod biomass losses in Jena Experiment and Biodiversity Exploratories time series are driven more by species loss than by species...

doi.org

Benjamin Wildermuth@bmwildermuth.bsky.social · 8mo ago

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...

New paper by Solbach et al. @newphyt.bsky.social They find that repeated summer droughts weaken plant defense against protistan plant parasites 🌱🦠 doi.org/10.1111/nph.... @ag-bonkowski.bsky.social @dumack.bsky.social @eisenhauerlab.bsky.social

Legacies of consecutive summer droughts on soil‐borne plant parasitic protists (Oomycota: Stramenopila and Phytomyxea: Rhizaria) and protistan consumers (Cercozoa: Rhizaria) along an experimental plan...

Increasing frequencies of severe summer droughts and plant diversity loss disrupt ecosystem functioning and stability of European grasslands. Understanding how these factors interact with pathogens .....

doi.org

New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Consecutive droughts leave lasting impacts on protist plant parasites in the Jena Experiment Solbach et al. @jena-experiment.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

One more piece of evidence, on a growing pile, that insects are in decline. "...the general species turnover and biomass trends emphasize ongoing arthropod community simplification, and that even common species may be increasingly under threat." 🪲🪳🧪🌍 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Arthropod species loss underpins biomass declines - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Insects are declining in many regions. Here the authors show that arthropod biomass losses in Jena Experiment and Biodiversity Exploratories time series are driven more by species loss than by species...

nature.com

Nette Zusamfassung (auch Audio) unserer aktuellen Forschung zum Insektensterben 🪲 vom MDR: www.mdr.de/wissen/umwel...

Insektensterben: Studie zeigt Hauptursache für Biomasse-Rückgang | MDR.DE

Über 90 Prozent des Rückgangs der Insektenbiomasse in deutschen Grünlandflächen sind auf Artenverlust zurückzuführen. Das ist das zentrale Ergebnis einer neuen Studie, veröffentlicht in Nature Ecology...

mdr.de

What are the mechanisms behind terrestrial arthropod declines? @bmwildermuth.bsky.social and colleagues have some answers www.nature.com/articles/s41... @bexplo.bsky.social @idiv-research.bsky.social @jena-experiment.bsky.social

Arthropod species loss underpins biomass declines - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Insects are declining in many regions. Here the authors show that arthropod biomass losses in Jena Experiment and Biodiversity Exploratories time series are driven more by species loss than by species...

nature.com

Registration for the #BE20Conference is now open. We’re celebrating 20 years of the Biodiversity Exploratories with our first international conference. ✨ We appreciate when the news circulates in the community. www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ See you there. 🙂 @dfg.de @sgn.one

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...

Arthropod species loss underpins biomass declines - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Insects are declining in many regions. Here the authors show that arthropod biomass losses in Jena Experiment and Biodiversity Exploratories time series are driven more by species loss than by species...

nature.com

iDiv Biodiversity Research@idiv-research.bsky.social · 8mo ago

📢 Over 90% of local insect biomass decline in German grasslands is explained by species loss. “By the end of the study period, species loss, regardless of rarity or size, had become the main driver of decline”, says @bmwildermuth.bsky.social of #iDiv and @uni-jena.de www.idiv.de/majority-of-...

📢 Over 90% of local insect biomass decline in German grasslands is explained by species loss. “By the end of the study period, species loss, regardless of rarity or size, had become the main driver of decline”, says @bmwildermuth.bsky.social of #iDiv and @uni-jena.de www.idiv.de/majority-of-...

Majority of local insect biomass decline linked to species loss

A new study shows that over 90% of insect biomass declines are driven by shrinking species numbers, posing a risk to ecosystem function.

idiv.de

Huge congratulations to Pamela Medina van Berkum on successfully defending her PhD! Supervised by @sunsicker.bsky.social and Jonathan Gershenzon, her work on how plant biodiversity shapes chemical defenses bridges ecology, chemistry, and evolution. Pam is now part of Sybille’s group at @uni-kiel.de.

This week, we had a great retreat with our PhDs, Postdocs & PIs in Leipzig @idiv-research.bsky.social Apart from sharing our progress, we hosted a session on extreme events with guest speakers @sebastian-sippel.bsky.social & @miguelmahecha.bsky.social Thanks for the insightful talks & discussion!

#Chemodiversity is an important driver for plant–arthropod interactions 🌿 🪲 🐝. For more info check out this very impressive work by RU members Lina Ojeda-Prieto, @robinheinennl.bsky.social binheinennl.bsky.social and Wolfgang W. Weisser together with Eliecer L. Moreno doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Intraspecific plant chemodiversity at plot level has contrasting effects on arthropod functional groups

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

doi.org

New paper from our JenaTron facility: Bröcher et al. show that reciprocal effects between plants and invertebrate herbivores vary with plant species richness, plant history and soil history. Herbivores want nutritious plants with soil history, while they reduce plant height in monocultures 🐛🌱

Functional Ecology@funecology.bsky.social · 10mo ago

📰Published📰Plant-insect interactions are shaped by plant diversity and the history of plants and soil🌱 buff.ly/QZsolZQ 🧪🌍