What has always fascinated me most about ecology is the complexity of species interactions within ecosystems. How two partners can form close relationships shaping their behaviour, traits and morphology. In my subproject, I study the mutualistic relationships of ants and trees and their effects on forest recovery. Ants play an important role in biotic defence as protectors of plants against herbivores. In return, plants may offer food or shelter to attract ants. During my PhD I investigate on different aspects of this relationship, such as ant recruitment by trees, co-occurrence of ants with other arthropods and the effect of ant activity on herbivory and epiphyll development. My experiments take place in and surrounding the new 25 TREX (tree function recovery experiment) plots.
In the early stages of forest recovery ants face higher temperatures than in closed forests. Therefore, ant communities in these early stages are hypothesized to be able to endure higher temperatures than forest ant communities. One of my experiments focusses on how temperature influences ant activity and the critical thermal maximum of ants found in different stages of forest recovery. In a second experiment, I observe the recruitment of ants by trees. While some plants actively attract ants with extrafloral nectar, lipids in form of pearl bodies or shelter in form of domatia, others offer no reward. Here, I compare the success of rewarding and non-rewarding plants in ant recruitment for defence against herbivores. Apart from their interactions with herbivores, ants may interact with prey or predators on plants. To study these interactions, I collect arthropods from trees in collaboration with SP6. Additionally, I observe the effects of ant exclusion on herbivory and the development of epiphylls on leaf surfaces.
Before starting my PhD in March 2026 I studied Biology in Darmstadt (Germany). My first time in Ecuador was during my master thesis which focussed on herbivory in a tropical montane cloud forest. Seeing the high biodiversity of a tropical forest made great impression on me, supporting my decision to come back for a PhD.
(photo taken by Kirra McLeod)
(ant queen on the stem of a young Cecropia tree; photo taken by Julie-Isabelle Hammer)
(Julie during temperature experiments with ants; photo taken by Sarah Fritsch)
(ants on Cecropia; photo taken by Julie-Isabelle Hammer)