Death-feigning (thanatosis) helps amphibians to avoid being eaten by predators. It has been documented for white-lipped frogs of the genus Leptodactylus among other frogs. Niklas Fuchs, Markus Schönleitner and Mark Oliver Rödel now documented this behavior for the first time for the red-thighed thin-toed frog Leptodactylus rhodomerus, published as a …
Biodiversity metrics are affected by variation in sampling completeness, and notoriously underestimate the species’ diversity in a site. Recently, statistical tools have been developed to estimate and account for biases in sample coverage. These tools allow researchers to compare observed and expected diversity metrics and their change along gradients. This …
“A story of hope and opportunity…”. The non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform MONGABAY published an article on our research findings in the project Reassembly. Journalist Ruth Kamnitzer interviewed us and wrote the following article – worth reading:
Many members of Reassembly actively participated at the 8th European Conference of Tropical Ecology in Amsterdam from 24 to 28 February 2025. Our PhD candidates and postdocs organized a session on tropical ecosystem recovery, presented their work in talks and posters and contributed to lively discussions. And finally, both Malika …
All our scientific research in Reassembly on the recovery of species communities, interactions and ecosystem processes is based on a common design: our ‘chronosequence‘ is a set of 62 plots of different regeneration ages. It includes agricultural plots still in use, secondary forests 0 to over 38 years old, and …
The Northern Eyelash Boa (Tropidophis boulengeri) is endemic to the Chocó and is one of the most spectacular snakes. Especially during rainy nights in the lowland forests, they can be seen inside or near small and large rivers. These snakes often wait motionless with their heads submerged in the water …
Fundación Jocotoco reflected our collaborative effort in their latest Conservation News (Link). We are proud to collaborate with Jocotoco and are looking forward to continue our joint endeavor in the regenerating rainforest and in the Chocó lab. Science-based conservation meets conservation-based science.https://www.jocotoco.org.ec/web2#/EN/Noticias/6257/Science_based_conservation_The_Lessons_of_Reassembly___
Ocelots, jaguars, tayras, peccaries or armadillos may be surprisingly common in a tropical forest, but are very shy and hard to observe systematically. Only wildlife cameras reveal their often nocturnal activities and distribution. A team of researchers implemented such cameras across all sites and analysed the community composition and abundance. …
Noisy cicada calls often shape the sound of tropical forests each day from dawn to dusk, with a reproducible temporal pattern. But a new study revealed that these song patterns are strongly reduced, less common and simplified when forests are converted to agriculture, and when agricultural sites or forest fragments …
The Ecuadorian Chocó forests are highly diverse and therefore have attracted the attention of many researchers, including those working on amphibians. However, new species may still be discovered as a new study shows, now published in the Joournal Salamandra by researchers from the Reassembly unit and their colleagues from the …
